Paul's AT blog

Our bear bags hanging high This happened Sunday night but was too late to make my last post. I was sharing the first shelter in NC with JusMel, and three others - a solo female hiker in her 40s and a married couple in their 50s. We all hung our food bags in trees as proscribed to protect them from bears. About 10:30 PM we were awakened by the sound of a branch breaking followed by a loud thud. The married couple and JusMel went to investigate and found the couple’s food bag torn apart on the ground with stuff strewn about the base of the tree. Bear slobber covered half their stuff. They picked up the remains and used another of their drysacks to rehang what they could salvage. Thirty minutes later we were awakened again by another breaking branch and thud. This time the bear got the solo woman’s bag and ran off into the dark with her whole bag never to be seen again. JusMel and I were lucky the bear didn’t get our bags. Who would have thought bears could learn how to get to ...

When I did all my research about hiking the AT none of the books, articles, or videos mentioned how beautiful the trail is in Georgia. I just crossed into North Carolina. I will be reaching the Smokies later this week and I'm sure they will be even more incredible, but I am blown away by the mountains and forests of northern Georgia. The trail is sometimes like walking on a carpeted hallway with walls of rhododendron and mountain laurel on each side. Often it is a gently undulating path winding along the steep sides of wooded mountains with carpets of ferns rising sharply on one side and falling just as sharply on the other. Sometimes it is as rocky and steep as anything in the White Mountains in New Hampshire. It is a pleasant surprise to realize that the hundred miles or so of the AT in Georgia are not just something you have to get through to get to NC. They can be a destination of their own. It's that nice. Maybe the best part of changing my plans and coming to Georg...

I'm back on the trail after a long week recharging at home. My new ultralight pack and summer sleeping bag reduce my pack weight a few pounds. Switching out winter clothes for summer clothes further reduces weight. I traded my low hikers that gave me nasty blisters for a trusted pair of boots that should last at least a few hundred more miles. I think I am ready for the next big leg of this adventure. I made a pretty big decision while I was home this week. Since my calendar is mostly clear for, oh, the rest of my life, I am not going to try to complete the entire 2190 miles of the AT this year. Instead I hope to hike the 800 miles from Springer to Buena Vista, VA, between now and early August. That will give me about 1350 miles for the year. Then I will take ten months to rest up (and regain some much-needed body fat) before I attempt the final 850 miles of the trail from NJ to Maine next year. This plan allows me to significantly reduce my weekly mileage. I'll walk 12-15 mi...

I came off the trail for a week. Alison picked me up in Lexington, VA, on Thursday and we went to Pittsburgh for her father Jess's memorial service. At 97 Jess lived a good long life. The whole family was there celebrating Jess's life and sharing memories. The timing is good. I needed a longish break. The Priest got me. It's the first really big climb on the AT heading south. A 3,000 foot climb over three miles - comparable to hiking from Indian Gardens to the South Rim of the Grand Canyon. But it wasn't the steep climb that got me. I changed hiking boots about 150 miles ago and it turned out to be a mistake. I had hiked 400 miles without a blister but after the Priest I have some pretty nasty ones that will require a few days of rest to heal before I try knocking down many miles again. Not the worst thing but irritating none the less. The rest gives me a chance to downsize my gear and reduce pack weight for the warmer months. I also decided to restart my hike at...

For most of the five weeks I have been hiking the AT, I have enjoyed the solitude of hiking alone. It has been an amazing experience to walk for miles through the forest over ever-changing terrain and in wildly varying weather immersed in my own thoughts. But this week I discovered something very special - the joy of backpacking with a good friend. Speed Bump has been a friend for over forty years and he is one of the Three Amigos - a trio of old hiker buddies prone to doing things our wives think are crazy. This week Speed Bump joined me for over 100 miles to hike through the Shenandoah National Park. Walking through the woods for a week with a good friend who finds great joy in the beauty and challenge of living on the trail refills my fuel cells and reminds me just how special this journey is. Speed Bump can't go ten minutes without pointing out how beautiful the trees are or how incredible the views are or how perfect the weather is. He sees the special gift that the Trail give...