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Posted by Tim Holloway [69.54.28.229] on Sunday, April 03, 2011 at 12:41:18 :
Well, I have been home almost a week from the big trip and between the normal crazyness of coming home after being away, and the M37 coolant leak, I havent had a chance to post a proper thank you to all the great Power Wagon brethren (and sistern?) who made the trip possible and really enjoyable.
As a brief recap, this trip was supposed to be a 2 week hike on the Appalachian Trail from the Southern end at Springer Mountain Ga, up to the highest point on the trail, Klingmans Dome, near Gatlinburg Tn. A length of just over 200 miles. My hiking companion Mike and his 32 year old Daughter Melissa are doing the entire 2200 miles of the trail. I have done a bunch of hiking,but my initial impression was that this was fairly optimistic mileage. Mike had done his homework and I was just along for the ride so I figured to wait and see how we did.
The logistics to leave the car in Gatlinburg and then get the rest of the way down to Ga were all handled by the Power Wagon Community and a huge thanks goes out to them all. I drove my truck to Rochester NY and left it at Mike's house. He and I then drove south tojust above Gatlinburg, where Lou from Tn. had arainged for us to leave the car in his shop for the 2 weeks. He also set it up for a friend of his to pick me up at the end of my hike and drive me to the car. Scott Youngblood drove up with his Father in law from Ga. and picked up Mike and I, and drove us down to a Hiker Hostel in Dahlonega Ga. That was a HUGE favor, as it was about a 500 mile round trip for him.
We got to the Hostel and said goodbye to Scott. Melissa was flying into Atlanta, and being shuttled to the Hostel later.
It had been cold that week, with snow . There were several hikers at the Hostel who wad started earlier, and after the snow pulled off to await a break in the cold. We shared a room with a hiker from Md. named Tom. Saturday morning we were given a hearty breakfast and we piled into a shuttle van to the trail. Weather was cool and clear, but a nice temp for hiking. I had weighed my pack at home at 35 pounds. About what I had been striving for. At the Hostel there was a spring scale, which said it weighed 45 pounds. Heavy but doable. We hiked about 14 1/2 miles the first day, a lot of fairly flat ground that we could really fly over. By the end of the day my legs were done flying! it felt really good to crawl into the sleeping bag.
The next morning we all felt pretty good. We got our breakfasts and packed up. After about a mile, I felt a hot spot developing on my left big toe. I stopped and put a piece of moleskin over it. Continueing on, I could feel it, but it wasnt painful. At lunch, I took off my boot and socks and the moleskin was nicely bunched up at the end of my toe, right above my new blister! The blistewr was about the size ot the first joint of my thumb. I replaced the moleskin and wrapped some adhesive tape around it and continued on. again, I could feel it there but it wasnt a bother. The rest of the day was good, my legs aching from the day before but getting better. We pitched our tents at the end of the day, cooked dinner and turned in.
The third day we were supposed to make a food pickup . We had mailed boxes to various points along the way with food for several days. The place was at an Outfitter located right on the trail at a road crossing. Talk about a captive audience. By now, my legs were feeling strong, the blister was not bothering but the balls of my feet were starting to hurt. Uphills were fine, but down hill or flat was painful. Rain had been forcast for the day, but none had yet materialized. We packed up our food and continued along the trail. The guide book mentioned a gap which had water and we were aiming for it. As the day wore on, and the clouds became lower, we were wondering how much further. Eventually we came down a mountainside to a sign, and a road crossing. We had overshot the gap we were aiming for by a couple of miles. Often there are features noted in the book, but there is nothing to tell you when you reach it. The only place to set up our tents was about 30 feet off the side of the road, not ideal but no other choice. We got dinner cooked and turned in, and still no rain. The rain began at 4 AM. By 4:10 I had water dripping on my face. By 4:15 I could feel my sleeping bag soaking through. I was in a bivy tent, which is essentially a big sock. The top at the high point was about 6" from my face. Not easy to work in. I got out of my bag, and stuffed it into its stuff sack to try to keep it as dry as possible. I then got my clothes and rain gear on and layed on my pad. The rain was coming down hard and seady with a pretty stiff wind. layed that way for a couple of hours and then decided to pack up and hike in to the next shelter. I got everything packed up, but it was still pitch black out. I stood behind a tree for awhile to get out of the wind, really glad I had brought long johns, gloves and a watchcap. As it began to get light I woke up Mike (nice and dry in his tent!) and told him I was hiking ahead to the next shelter. He told me to turn on my cell phone when I got there and we would figure out how to reconnect. The shelter was supposed to be .9 miles from where we camped. I hiked in the .9 to find a sign at a side trail directing me 1.2 miles to the shelter. Still driving rain, I continued on. I got to the shelter and dropped my pack. The balls of my feet were really bothering me by then. I was chilled and had not eaten, so I got out my stove and heated up water for oatmeal and a hot cocoa. I then cooked up a package of Ramen noodles. The warm food was great. I realized I hadnt turned on my phone, so after eating I turned it on. It immediately flashed on that I had a message. I figured it was Mike. When I played it, I was surprised to hear Bob Spooner's voice saying he had head I was in the area and if there was anything I needed to be sure to call him. Wow, talk about perfect timing! I consulted with another hiker at the shelter about what road crossing I would meet him at, and where I could rejoin Mike and Melissa the next day. With that figured out, I called Bob and told him the situation. He said he could be there in an hour, and I said I was about an hour from the road. I packed up my stuff and headed back out into the rain. I got to the road and about ten minutes later up pulled Bob! The first order of business was to get a new tent. We drove back to the Outfitter we had hiked through the previous day. Walked out with a nice lightweight 1 man tent and a $250 hole in my wallet!
Then we stopped and got lunch, and back to Bobs. Got everything dried out and a hot shower. Spent some quality time seeing Bobs collection of Power Wagons, M37s and a really nice Carryall.
The next day, Bob took me to another road crossing to meet back up with Mike and Melissa. Bob, you are a true angel!
We got back on the trail, but the balls of my feet were still really painful. I had hoped the day off the trail would have helped but it hadnt. We put in another long day, and camped at a gap with a half a dozen other hikers. We had a nice campfire and enjoyed the evening.
The next day was another food pickup. We had a 6.6 mile hike to a road, and to meet a shuttle into Hiawassee Ga. Ordinarrily 6 1/2 miles would be an easy walk, but that day the feet were worse. By the time we hit the road, I was done. I decided it would be easiest to find a way back to the car from a town, so it was a logical place to end. We checked into a motel that caters to hikers. By noon it was completely full, and there were only 3 cars in the parking lot. At least one was a hikers wife who had driven in to meet him. I inquired if there was a bus that went through and was told no. I then ran into Tom, the hiker who had shared our room a the Hostel. His wife was visiting him and resupplying him. It turned out she was heading back to Md. the next morning and agreed to alter her route and drop me off in Gatlinburg. The AT hiker community is a lot like the Power Wagon Community. Most folks were very willing to help each other out.
The next day I saw Mike and Melissa off on the shuttle back to the trail. It was extremely hard saying goodbye and watching them go. I got in the car with Tom and Pam, and we took off. We dropped Tom off at the trail, and we continued on. Pam dropped me off at an exit at Gatlinburg. I called Lou's friend Billy who came and picked me up and delivered me to Lou's shop. Thanks again Lou, for your help.
I headed North, with Joel Folman's house as a stopping point for the night. I got there late and went straight to bed.
The next morning Joel and I drove around the area and he gave me a good education on methods of coal mining in the area. It was fascinating.
We spoke with Dave Horvath in the afternoon, who was working on a pole barn at his parent's farm. We agreed to come over the next day.
We went over on Sunday, and there was Dave, Keith Wolfe. and both the Szewczyk Johns arrived. We all worked on the pole barn, occaionally dropping heavy metal objects on Joels head. Dave suggested that snce I wasnt hiking I should stay and work on the pole barn for the next week. Joel said it was fine for me to stay in the appartment he has over his garage, and Dave offered the use of his truck. I checked with my Wife and she was fine with it so I stayed.
I had a great time working with Keith, Dave Joel, John and John and the second saturday Rob Blair showed up to work too.
It was a really fun week, notwithstanding the mud that developed with some rain, Dave's Mom kept us going with great lunches and lots of homemade cookies.
Continued back to Rochester and then on home last tuesday.
So, again, thanks to all of you who helped along the way, it is what makes this such a great group of folks.
Tim
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