Maintaining and Protecting the Trail

   Back in 1980 I finally completed all of the Appalachian Trail in Virginia. As I entered West Virginia I quickly had to carve a small notch on my hiking staff with the initials "WV". I say "quickly", because the trail was in West Virginia for only about six miles! It cuts across a tiny part of the State before going into Maryland.
   One of the pleasures of West Virginia was a short stop in Harper's Ferry. This town was famous for its role in the War Between the States (Civil War). The Appalachian Trail Conference has it's headquarters in Harper's Ferry. I went by and visited for a short time, signed into the register, and had my photo made with some other thru-hikers. Since that time, the name has been changed to the Appalachian Trail Conservancy (ATC). I became a Life Member not long after finishing my thru-hike. I still get the regular newsletter with information about the trail.
   The ATC is an important volunteer organization that maintains the trail and works to protect the trail. Over the years they have been able to buy sections of land and relocate the trail off of many roads that I hiked in 1980. Piece by piece they continue to add land, with the goal of having the trail 100% protected from development. Without the ATC we wouldn't have the Appalachian Trail. Their work and dedication has preserved this national treasure to be enjoyed by many generations to come!
   Here in 2011 I weighed in at 177.4 pounds this morning (almost unchanged from yesterday). That actually is a good thing considering that I went to a giant tailgate party last night followed by the Braves baseball game. I didn't have a hot dog, I had TWO hotdogs and a hamburger and a small bag of potato chips and a box of popcorn at the game. It's a good thing that I had a big salad for lunch and drank a lot of water! Tomorrow is a small family reunion for Father's Day. I will try not to "pig out" too much on all the good food!

An Adventurous Side Track

   In 1980 most of the Appalachian Trail was in the mountains and woods. But there were some short stretches where the trail was forced to follow a road (sometimes dirt road, sometimes paved road). In the far north of Virginia there was a stretch of trail that followed a paved road. Now, hiking on a paved road has its advantages. The surface is smooth, so you don't have to worry about tripping on tree roots or rocks or slipping in mud. The road is usually straight, while the trail often twists and turns with "switchbacks" going up and down mountains. You can make a lot of progress fast on a paved road. You can also miss the turn too. That's what I did...again.
   I was hiking with two or three other people at this point. Maybe it was our conversation, maybe it was the fact that the turnoff was poorly marked. All I know is someone piped up and said, "Hey, has anyone seen a blaze in a while?" Those small white paint marks were our guide to following the trail. We stopped and looked ahead, no blazes. We turned around and looked back, no blazes. No one remembered seeing a blaze for a while. And no one wanted to turn around and backtrack who knows how much distance. Someone had a map and pulled it out to study. He was insistent that although we had missed the trail, we could connect to another road in a short distance and reconnect back up with the trail.
   We were all for adventure, so we headed out. Shortly we came to an old general store. That means ice cream and cold drinks for backpackers! When I say "old" general store, I really mean "old". The merchandise was loaded onto shelves, but there was a counter blocking access to all of the shelves. One man ran the store. You asked for the items you wanted and he picked them off the shelves for you. That was the way stores used to be in some areas a long, long. LONG time ago.
   After getting snacks and cold Gatorade, we discovered that our grand plan for reconnecting with the trail wouldn't work. Fortunately another customer in a pickup truck knew where the trail was. We all loaded up in the back of the truck and he took us to the place where the trail left the road and went back into the woods. It was an adventurous side track. We decided it was worth the extra walking for all the goodies we bought at the store. As I hiked down the trail, my right foot started aching again. It had been a week since I bruised it, dancing barefoot in Waynesboro. I just kept going. The trail stretched ahead of us, something over 1,000 miles left to Maine. I knew I was going to make it.
  2011 update:  This morning I weighed in at 177.2 pounds. I went jogging again, but my right calf muscle got tight (again). It's frustrating to have injury problems when you are trying to exercise (*sigh*). Today I have a lunch with a church planter consultant. I also have a tailgate party & the Braves baseball game tonight. I will try to stay away from all the fat, but I might "have" to eat a hotdog! Go Braves!

On the Edge of Insanity!

   I was in the far northern part of Virginia about this time in 1980. After leaving the Shenandoah National Park, I remember hiking through some other areas. Some had large fields with tall grass. I picked up a couple of ticks and had to check myself frequently to make sure I didn't have any more. The last thing I wanted was Rocky Mountain Spotted fever or Lyme's disease (both spread by ticks)!
   One day I was hiking along through a field, enjoying the sun and a light breeze. I could hear a bird singing in a nearby tree. I gazed across the horizon and saw giraffes grazing in the distance. I began to think about lunch when....WHAT?!! GIRAFFES? For a moment I thought that I was losing my mind. I imagined that they would find me somewhere curled up into the fetal position muttering about giraffes and elephants and who knows what else. They would shake their heads and say, "this is what happens when they stay out on the Appalachian Trail too long." I imagined it would be a long time before my sanity was restored.
   I looked again, and sure enough, there WERE giraffes grazing in the distance. I was on the edge of insanity, but survived. I was relieved that my mind was intact (and I wasn't going to be hauled away by men in white coats)! Then came the big question: WHY were there giraffes grazing in the distance? After all, this is Virginia, not Africa! It turns out that the zoo in Washington D.C. had an wildlife reserve where they kept extra animals. Fortunately there was a very tall fence that kept the giraffes (and I understand elephants) from straying. The Applachian Trail went right by this wildlife reserve area. I knew I would see lots of things while hiking the trail, but I never imagined this!
   2011 update:  No, I haven't seen any giraffes in McDonough, Georgia today. But I did weigh in at 177.4 pounds this morning. That's a little more than yesterday, but still in the good range. Jogging this morning went better, I didn't have to stop and walk at all. Cracker Barrel for lunch today with my cousin from Nashville. I think I will get the salad and skip the biscuits!

The Roar of a Small Backpacking Stove!

   Back in 1980 I would wake up in the morning, often to the roar of small backpacking stoves. Other hikers always got up earlier than I did, and they would fire up their stoves to cook breakfast. When I say "stove" it doesn't mean something very heavy. My stove probably weighed less than two pounds. I would sit up, often still in my sleeping bag (because it's chilly in the mountains in the early morning). I would take a few scraps of paper and light them with a match. I would hold the stove over this small flame to heat up the bottom. This was called "priming" the stove. The fuel would expand enough to where a small amount would come out into a special indentation in the stove. After the paper burned out, I was able to light that small amount of fuel and it would heat the stove up enough to where it sprang to life.

   First I would heat some water and fix my first cup of tea (Plantation Mint tea with lots of sugar). Then I would heat more water and fix two packs of instant oatmeal (twice as much as what a normal person would eat). I would add some powdered milk, raisins, and honey. Once the oatmeal was ready, I heated up another batch of water for more tea. After one or two more cups of tea, I turned off the stove. It's amazing how loud a small backpacking stove is. The silence was "deafening"! 

   After breakfast, I would gradually climb out of my sleeping bag and start packing up my gear. I would scrub out my cooking pot, wiping it dry with a bandana. The bandana would be tied to the back of my pack in order to dry in the sun. I would usually fill up my canteens and then hit the trail. Breakfast had a lot of calories, but I was burning a lot of calories too! By this point I was almost done with Virginia. I knew that I would be in a new State soon. My right foot was still sore from where I bruised it in Waynesboro, but I kept moving forward.

   2011 update:  This morning I weighed in at 177.0 pounds! The "big salad" strategy along with jogging is helping to trim off these pounds! My daughter made me some blueberry pancakes with fresh blueberries this morning - yum!

Why Hike the Appalachian Trail?

   When some adventurers set out to climb Mt. Everest they were asked "why?" Their response was simply, "because it's there." When I set out to hike the entire Appalachian Trail in 1980 I had people ask me "why?" There were a lot of different ways to answer that question. I loved the mountains. I was an Eagle Scout and enjoyed hiking and camping. I like big challenges and the opportunity to do something that is difficult.
   But there was one underlying reason I hiked the Appalachian Trail. I had lived in Georgia most of my life. I was ready for a change. I had just finished my first year of college and decided that I would find another State where I could move and re-settle. I knew that out of State tuition at colleges was often very high, so my plan was to find a State, move there, work some kind of job for a year in order to establish residency, then enroll in a college. That was my plan, although I didn't share it with anyone at the time.
   I was quite surprised to be given the trail name "Georgia" right at the beginning of the trail. And after a little over one week, I left Georgia headed north, looking for the perfect place to move and settle down. The farther I hiked, the clearer it became to me that I had found the "perfect" place for me. It was a State that had mountains and cities and towns and rivers and beaches. It was a State that had lots of opportunity. It was a State that had friendly people. It was a State that was near and dear to my heart. That State was Georgia!
   I set out looking for someplace new and found out how wonderful home really was. Every State I hiked through was unique and had a lot going for it, but Georgia was the place for me. Yes, I was going to finish hiking the trail. By this point 31 years ago I had just finished two months of hiking! But I also looked forward to the day when I would be able to return to my beloved Georgia. Sometimes you have to leave home to find out what really matters in life!
   Here in 2011 I continue my project. Yesterday was busy and I didn't get a chance to blog. This morning I weighed in at 178.6 pounds. I'm going to eat a salad for supper tonight. This morning I went jogging. I think this is going to be a good week to make some significant progress on losing weight. Why do I want to lose weight? Because it's there!  :)