--Brian
aka "Bytecode"
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Done!
2174 miles done
Thursday, May 31, 2007
5/30 Pickle Branch Shelter
Well, we've been making good time towards Troutville, and my mom's visit. It is raining out right now, it has rained every day in the afternoon recently. We just find some shelter, sit it out, then move on afterwards. Today we will probably do another 6 then call it a night...if the rain stops.
Bonus blog -- The real threat to homeland security.
Chipmunks. Indeed my skeptical readers, we are in mortal danger from these pint sized rodents of doom. First off, they far out number us, maybe 10 to 1. Second, they are crafty little buggers, able to climb, dig, go under , over almost anything human minds can conceive of to stop them. Third, they are active both at night and during the day, I myself was attacked by one of them just the other day as I sauntered down the trail. (side note: sauntering with a full pack is difficult, however, nowhere near as hard as sashaying.)
This little guy gets spooked by the ruckus that I was making (side note again: sauntering with a pack is difficult AND loud) he comes skittering out of the underbrush onto the trail and runs smack dab into my shoe. He was far more startled than I was, you see, your brain very quickly adapts to conditions and sounds out here, when something moves in the brush you can usually ID it without seeing it, so I knew it was a chipmunk or mouse. Anywho, he sat there for a sec, twittered his tail a bit then dashed off back the way he came. I'm sure he was off to report back to chipmunk HQ my whereabouts. If they ever grow thumbs, we're doomed!
This little guy gets spooked by the ruckus that I was making (side note again: sauntering with a pack is difficult AND loud) he comes skittering out of the underbrush onto the trail and runs smack dab into my shoe. He was far more startled than I was, you see, your brain very quickly adapts to conditions and sounds out here, when something moves in the brush you can usually ID it without seeing it, so I knew it was a chipmunk or mouse. Anywho, he sat there for a sec, twittered his tail a bit then dashed off back the way he came. I'm sure he was off to report back to chipmunk HQ my whereabouts. If they ever grow thumbs, we're doomed!
--Brian
aka "Bytecode"
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5/28 Stealth Campsite
Okay, just to clarify some terminology, 'stealth' doesn't mean we are hiding or anything, it is just that we are camping in an area that isn't an established campsite.
We did 21.3 miles today, we were awoken at about 4 by a herd of deer stomping around the camp. We left at about 7 and got out 21 done by 4pm, and thats with about 2 hours worth of lunch and chill out breaks.
not a bad pace. The blister isn't killing me as much any more, but I may be coming down with a cold, I'm not sure what could be worse than having a head cold and trying to hike.
--Brian
aka "Bytecode"
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5/27 Rice Field Shelter
Nice easy day today, only 8 miles out of Pearisburg. Of course it was straight uphill! The trail north of P-burg is in dire need of maintenance, in many places it was very overgrown and there were numerous blow downs, some of which had been there quite a while. Then there is the nice 'Industrial Landfill' that you pass, we saw a couple weekend warriors swimming in a creek just down stream from there...not me sucker!
Tomorrow should be an easy 21.3 mile ridgewalk, maybe more. Word is that the trail is pretty benign north of here. The blister did really well today, it popped last night and didn't refill too much today. We're in the summer pattern now of expecting thunderstorms every afternoon, we've been really fortunate so far in that regard, but hiking in the rain is just no fun!
Tomorrow should be an easy 21.3 mile ridgewalk, maybe more. Word is that the trail is pretty benign north of here. The blister did really well today, it popped last night and didn't refill too much today. We're in the summer pattern now of expecting thunderstorms every afternoon, we've been really fortunate so far in that regard, but hiking in the rain is just no fun!
My mom and Jeff are coming down for a visit at the end of the week. The plan is:
Sunday night Rice Field Shelter
Monday-Stealth Campsite 21.3 miles
Tues-Sarver Hollow Shelter 16 miles
Wed-Pickle Branch Shelter 16 miles
Thur-Campbell Shelter 17 miles
Fri-Troutville 17 miles
But who knows, the plan usually falls apart once we start craving town food...we might do a 30 and stop in Catawba, VA for a burger or something silly like that.
--Brian
aka "Bytecode"
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Saturday, May 26, 2007
Bonus Blog Gear list
Well, I sent home 3 lbs of gear in Bland, included in that was my stove so another 9 oz in fuel was gotten rid of. Grand total about 3 and a half pounds. So whats left?
ULA Catalyst...soon to be changed as it is way too much capacity now.
Marmot Hydrogen 30 degree, a little too warm but not worth changing.
Hennesey Hyperlight...you can have my hammock when you pry it from my cold dead fingers!
Thermarest prolite 3 3/4 length...may switch out to a foam pad.
Clothes:
-Hiking shirt by Columbia
-Mtn Hardware shorts
-(2) Under armor compression undies
-(4) pairs of footie style hiking socks
-Patagonia Capaline 1 Long underwear bottoms
-Patagonia rain jacket
-The North Face 100 weight fleece
-Bandana
Gadget bag
Bandaids, Pocketmail, cell phone & charger, camera charger, camera, headlamp, mp3 player, eyeglass repair kit, swiss army knife, spare tarp line, earplugs, $5 digital watch
1/2 CCF sit pad, $1.99 flipflops
--Brian
aka "Bytecode"
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5/26 Pearisburg, VA
Did a little over 16 today on a really bad blister. It is on the back of my left heel...really nasty. But after 20 minutes of agony the foot goes numb, so I'm still able to hike, but with a serious hobble...Just a hitch in my giddy up.
--Brian
aka "Bytecode"
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5/25 Wipiti Shelter
Trail Word:
Quantilicious -- adj A food, or combination of foods, that ordinarily would be deemed objectional, however, when in the context of thru-hiking they become desirable due to their quantity as opposed to taste. example:
Bigby: What ya got there Sideshow?
Sideshow: Its a chicken flavored Lipton Side, Shrimp flavored Ramen and a package of tuna fish.
Bigby: Man, that looks quantilicious.
Quantilicious -- adj A food, or combination of foods, that ordinarily would be deemed objectional, however, when in the context of thru-hiking they become desirable due to their quantity as opposed to taste. example:
Bigby: What ya got there Sideshow?
Sideshow: Its a chicken flavored Lipton Side, Shrimp flavored Ramen and a package of tuna fish.
Bigby: Man, that looks quantilicious.
Hiked 26.5 miles today, got poured on by rain and developed my first really bad blister. Tomorrow should be fun, 16 miles into Pearisburg.
--Brian
aka "Bytecode"
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Thursday, May 24, 2007
5/24 Bland, VA
So we needed a quick resupply, so have headed into Bland, VA. I've also ordered a new set of trail runners as mine are dead.
Also, I've decided to go cold. What that means is that I'm not carrying a stove to cook with. At first, having a warm meal at the end of the day was nirvana. Mostly because the weather was so cold. Now we are sweating all day and without a shower at the end of the day, a hot meal just isn't too appealing. It also means shaving pound out of my pack. I'm also sending home a bunch of other stuff, probably close to another pound. At this point I need about 2800 cubic inches of pack space, seeing as I have a 4300 cubic inches I'm in the market for a new pack. I'll probably go for either another ULA pack (circuit) or a Granite Gear (Vapor Trail). Both of which are over a pound lighter than my current pack. Grand total will be 3 pounds lighter. My base weight (not counting food and water) is getting close to 12 lbs of gear.
Also, I've decided to go cold. What that means is that I'm not carrying a stove to cook with. At first, having a warm meal at the end of the day was nirvana. Mostly because the weather was so cold. Now we are sweating all day and without a shower at the end of the day, a hot meal just isn't too appealing. It also means shaving pound out of my pack. I'm also sending home a bunch of other stuff, probably close to another pound. At this point I need about 2800 cubic inches of pack space, seeing as I have a 4300 cubic inches I'm in the market for a new pack. I'll probably go for either another ULA pack (circuit) or a Granite Gear (Vapor Trail). Both of which are over a pound lighter than my current pack. Grand total will be 3 pounds lighter. My base weight (not counting food and water) is getting close to 12 lbs of gear.
Hope all is well back home, yesterday was my worst day on the trail so far, but today was much better.
--Brian
aka "Bytecode"
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5/23 Chestnut Knob Shelter
Well, let me catch you all up. Yesterday Church and I hiked a 15, we got absolutely hammered by a storm and did the last 2 miles, straight uphill in hail that was way beyond pea size. But that was ok, we were going to make it up today, now at lunch we are holed up by another storm with pea sized hail and lightning dancing around the shelter. Of course the shelter is on top of a bald and has a metal roof.
In other news, I can report that Montrail Hardrocks can last 500 miles before the treads are worthless. Seeing as we are at mile 557 it will come as no surprise that I took my first fall today. I enjoyed it so much I repeated the performance not a half mile later. Needless to say, it has not been the best day on the trail. We are waiting for the hail to stop then will go walkin in the rain. We've been lucky so far, looks like that luck ran out!
In other news, I can report that Montrail Hardrocks can last 500 miles before the treads are worthless. Seeing as we are at mile 557 it will come as no surprise that I took my first fall today. I enjoyed it so much I repeated the performance not a half mile later. Needless to say, it has not been the best day on the trail. We are waiting for the hail to stop then will go walkin in the rain. We've been lucky so far, looks like that luck ran out!
--Brian
aka "Bytecode"
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Monday, May 21, 2007
5/21 The Best Laid Plans
So Churchmouse and I were planning on eating breakfast at the corner diner then hit the trail by 7am or there abouts. We would hike 15 miles to Partnership shelter where we would enter 'hiker bliss'. You see Partnership is no ordinary shelter, no no no. It is one of the few shelters that has that extra something that makes it special. The Fontana 'Hilton' at Fontana Dam is the size of a D.C. apartment and has a view that would make any land developer drool. Partnership has running water, hot showers, and, AND you can order pizza delivery. Needless to say, this was our target for the day. 15 easy miles, a shower, and pizza....brilliant!
Well, these things rarely play out the way you plan them. We racked out at about 7, hit the diner, ate and finally got to the trail at 8:30. We busted out our 15 quickly and arrived at the shelter by 1pm. Only to find that the water had been turned off by some construction nearby. And id the water was turned back on, there was no propane to heat the water heater. And finally, the pizza place required a 30 dollar order and the menu had been written on by hikers that it was a rip off.
So, well, we moved on, I mean when you get your mind stuck on a hot shower, a bird bath in a creek just won't suffice. 11 miles further down the trail is Atkins, VA, cheap hotel, burgers, coffee, and a respectable 25 mile day. We took our 2 hour lunch break and headed out. Along the way we walked up on a bear on top of Locust mountain. And, yes, before you ask, I got a picture! In fact I got a movie of it! Now, I'm sure the picture won't win any prizes, and the movie looks less convincing than most 'bigfoot' movies, but there you have it.
--Brian
aka "Bytecode"
Well, these things rarely play out the way you plan them. We racked out at about 7, hit the diner, ate and finally got to the trail at 8:30. We busted out our 15 quickly and arrived at the shelter by 1pm. Only to find that the water had been turned off by some construction nearby. And id the water was turned back on, there was no propane to heat the water heater. And finally, the pizza place required a 30 dollar order and the menu had been written on by hikers that it was a rip off.
So, well, we moved on, I mean when you get your mind stuck on a hot shower, a bird bath in a creek just won't suffice. 11 miles further down the trail is Atkins, VA, cheap hotel, burgers, coffee, and a respectable 25 mile day. We took our 2 hour lunch break and headed out. Along the way we walked up on a bear on top of Locust mountain. And, yes, before you ask, I got a picture! In fact I got a movie of it! Now, I'm sure the picture won't win any prizes, and the movie looks less convincing than most 'bigfoot' movies, but there you have it.
--Brian
aka "Bytecode"
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5/20 Dickey Gap
Today was a great day, we got almost the whole crew back together and slack packed through the Grayson Highlands. Yep you read that right, I re-hiked 9 miles, the weather was much nicer and it was worth doing in good weather. churchmouse and I are staying at a small hostel near Dickey Gap, while Grizzle, Sideshow, Chach, Shanty and Shanty's brother headed back to Damascus to hike out tomorrow. They are about 60 miles behind, but I hope they catch us eventuallly.
--Brian
aka "Bytecode"
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Sunday, May 20, 2007
Trail Days
Wow, where to begin.
Well, Trail Days is a town festival for Damascus, VA that also celebrates the Appalachian Trail and the hikers. The trail goes right through town and the town is billed, rightfully so, as the friendliest town on the trail. Trail Days brings in the hikers from hundreds of miles around and, for the most part, we all stay down in this one field called 'Tent City'. Trail Days is also a reunion for hikers from years past. There is a parade of hikers down main street that turns into a massive 'spectator vs hiker' water balloon fight....good fun!
It also attracts pretty much every major gear vendor because they know that we are out there putting their gear to a pretty tough test and they want feedback and to take care of any problems. As an example, my hammock was having a couple small problems, I took it down to Hennesey Hammocks booth, showed them the issues, chatted for a while and they whipped out a new hammock for me, no real questions asked. It helps that I had basically sold 2 hammocks for them while I was out there, but that is the point, we are really good advertising for them. If a piece of gear fails it can really ruin your hike and word gets around, so they take real good care of us. Having a problem with your Osprey pack? Take it to them, they look at it, hand you a new pack and tell you to just keep your old one if you want. Problem with your hiking poles? Take em to Leki, regardless of brand, they will fix em, or if they are Leki, they may just hand you a new set. Don't like your headlamp? Take it to Princeton Tec and trade it in (and 2 snickers) for a new headlamp. These are all true stories!
The Tent: So Grizzle and Sideshow got to Damascus about 3 days early for trail Days, and were planning on hiking out after a resupply, then hitching back. Well as you can guess, they ended up just staying, but after a beer or two a plan was hatched to build the 'Mother of All Tents' in Tent City. And so it began, this thing is soo big we had 50 hikers under it partying away during a heavy rainstorm. The cops were going to make them take it down but one of the head honchos at Granite Gear (owner maybe?) talked them into letting us keep it up. We had folks stopping by just to take a picture of the tent. It is probably 25' by 20' and made out of tree branches, cheap tarp, tyvek and duct tape. A real McGuyver construction project but it survived gusts to 30mph and a heavy 3 hour downpour. Next year the plan is a 50' diameter teepee.
Old Friends: So I'm hanging out waiting for the parade to get going and I hear 'Brian!' which is odd because I haven't really answered to that in a while :) Up comes a guy I played soccer with on the Flying Pigs, Kirk S aka 'OddJob', turns out he hiked a big section last year and was down for Trail Days.
And the best part: Heather, Lance and Noah came out for a visit. I can't tell you how great it was to have them down here and introduce them around. We hung out all weekend and I told them all the stories that I just don't have time to put on the blog (sorry!). Noah was a champ, he never really got fussy even though the days were long and filled with all sorts of stimulating stuff. He ran around Tent City and had a good old time. Getting here was a different story, the road to Damascus is a twisty mountain road and he got a little sick. And by a little, I mean like 'Exorcist' sick. But all survived and were in good spirits when they made it to town.
Plans: Well, Shanty has decided to bounce up to Damascus from Erwin, TN and just hike on with us then come back later and knock out the miles he missed. This is great as we can all group up again. Church mouse and I have decided to come back to Damascus and do the Grayson Highlands again (slack packing) with the rest of the crew. One reason is to group up again, but we also had marginal weather when we went through the first time, and it is just such a nice area, it is worth doing on a nice day. From here on in VA we will all be concentrating on making miles, there just aren't as many towns to get sucked into until you get up north to Front Royal. Probably a good thing as Maine isn't getting any closer!
Thats all for now, hope all is well back in the real world, it is great here!
--Bytecode
Well, Trail Days is a town festival for Damascus, VA that also celebrates the Appalachian Trail and the hikers. The trail goes right through town and the town is billed, rightfully so, as the friendliest town on the trail. Trail Days brings in the hikers from hundreds of miles around and, for the most part, we all stay down in this one field called 'Tent City'. Trail Days is also a reunion for hikers from years past. There is a parade of hikers down main street that turns into a massive 'spectator vs hiker' water balloon fight....good fun!
It also attracts pretty much every major gear vendor because they know that we are out there putting their gear to a pretty tough test and they want feedback and to take care of any problems. As an example, my hammock was having a couple small problems, I took it down to Hennesey Hammocks booth, showed them the issues, chatted for a while and they whipped out a new hammock for me, no real questions asked. It helps that I had basically sold 2 hammocks for them while I was out there, but that is the point, we are really good advertising for them. If a piece of gear fails it can really ruin your hike and word gets around, so they take real good care of us. Having a problem with your Osprey pack? Take it to them, they look at it, hand you a new pack and tell you to just keep your old one if you want. Problem with your hiking poles? Take em to Leki, regardless of brand, they will fix em, or if they are Leki, they may just hand you a new set. Don't like your headlamp? Take it to Princeton Tec and trade it in (and 2 snickers) for a new headlamp. These are all true stories!
The Tent: So Grizzle and Sideshow got to Damascus about 3 days early for trail Days, and were planning on hiking out after a resupply, then hitching back. Well as you can guess, they ended up just staying, but after a beer or two a plan was hatched to build the 'Mother of All Tents' in Tent City. And so it began, this thing is soo big we had 50 hikers under it partying away during a heavy rainstorm. The cops were going to make them take it down but one of the head honchos at Granite Gear (owner maybe?) talked them into letting us keep it up. We had folks stopping by just to take a picture of the tent. It is probably 25' by 20' and made out of tree branches, cheap tarp, tyvek and duct tape. A real McGuyver construction project but it survived gusts to 30mph and a heavy 3 hour downpour. Next year the plan is a 50' diameter teepee.
Old Friends: So I'm hanging out waiting for the parade to get going and I hear 'Brian!' which is odd because I haven't really answered to that in a while :) Up comes a guy I played soccer with on the Flying Pigs, Kirk S aka 'OddJob', turns out he hiked a big section last year and was down for Trail Days.
And the best part: Heather, Lance and Noah came out for a visit. I can't tell you how great it was to have them down here and introduce them around. We hung out all weekend and I told them all the stories that I just don't have time to put on the blog (sorry!). Noah was a champ, he never really got fussy even though the days were long and filled with all sorts of stimulating stuff. He ran around Tent City and had a good old time. Getting here was a different story, the road to Damascus is a twisty mountain road and he got a little sick. And by a little, I mean like 'Exorcist' sick. But all survived and were in good spirits when they made it to town.
Plans: Well, Shanty has decided to bounce up to Damascus from Erwin, TN and just hike on with us then come back later and knock out the miles he missed. This is great as we can all group up again. Church mouse and I have decided to come back to Damascus and do the Grayson Highlands again (slack packing) with the rest of the crew. One reason is to group up again, but we also had marginal weather when we went through the first time, and it is just such a nice area, it is worth doing on a nice day. From here on in VA we will all be concentrating on making miles, there just aren't as many towns to get sucked into until you get up north to Front Royal. Probably a good thing as Maine isn't getting any closer!
Thats all for now, hope all is well back in the real world, it is great here!
--Bytecode
Friday, May 18, 2007
5/16 Wise Shelter
I Hate day hikers...there is one here that hasn't shut up for 4 hours...grrrrrr
Anywho, our shelter is surrounded by the wild ponies, they are begging for food and trying to nibble gear that has salt from sweat on it.
It is a rainy day here on the Grayson Highlands, the area is very nice and would have been a great hike except for the weather not cooperating.
Churchmouse and his brother bailed out about 4 miles back and are going to try and hitch back to Damascus. Which means tomorrow I'll beat feet into Troutdale, and either crash there tomorrow night or try and hitch down to Damascus.
Anywho, our shelter is surrounded by the wild ponies, they are begging for food and trying to nibble gear that has salt from sweat on it.
It is a rainy day here on the Grayson Highlands, the area is very nice and would have been a great hike except for the weather not cooperating.
Churchmouse and his brother bailed out about 4 miles back and are going to try and hitch back to Damascus. Which means tomorrow I'll beat feet into Troutdale, and either crash there tomorrow night or try and hitch down to Damascus.
--Brian
aka "Bytecode"
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5/18 Damascus, Tent City
Well, I pulled a big day, 16 miles by 12:30. Hitched to Troutdale, then to Damascus. I have found Babylon, it is called Tent City. And the biggest, baddest, tent in tent city? Constructed by the pain train, griz and side show. At one point the police were going to tell them to pull it down but the rep from Granite Gear (one of the biggest gear companies) came to the rescue and taklked them out of it.
That said the Grayson Highlands are now my favorite section of the trail. Incredible, really incredible. The Mp3 player hit the sound track to Lord of the Rings as I was hiking it and it fit to a tee.
That said the Grayson Highlands are now my favorite section of the trail. Incredible, really incredible. The Mp3 player hit the sound track to Lord of the Rings as I was hiking it and it fit to a tee.
--Brian
aka "Bytecode"
------------------------------
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5/15 Mt Rogers Area
Not much going on right now, small days leading up to Trail Days.
One thing I can tell you is that Big Shanty is back on the trail, that's great news, I was worried his injury would knock him off trail for good.
One thing I can tell you is that Big Shanty is back on the trail, that's great news, I was worried his injury would knock him off trail for good.
Other than that, not much going on. I'm in my summer gear now. The hammock underquilt went home, as did the long pants, montbell thermawrap. I figure I got rid of close to 3 lbs of cold weather related stuff. The next week will be touch and go, weather wise, but worst case I put in a long day and get to town.
Tomorrow we spend all day up on the highlands which will be nice, there is the rumor of rain floating down the trail, I hope it hold off just a bit!
--Brian
aka "Bytecode"
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5/14 Saunders Shelter
Ah, good to be in Virginia! Virginia has switchbacks on the trail, something that Tennessee doesn't have. We did an easy 9 out of Damascus today, there is no need to rush because Heather will be picking me up 50 miles down the trail on Friday. We are coming up to the Grayson Highlands tomorrow. There are wild ponies up there that are so tame you can feed them. It is suppose to be great hiking, lots of open balds and we should have nice weather.
So I'm now hiking with music, which is really different. I don't have playlists set up so it will jump from Cypress Hill to Enya...big jump. It really makes the miles disappear.
So I'm now hiking with music, which is really different. I don't have playlists set up so it will jump from Cypress Hill to Enya...big jump. It really makes the miles disappear.
--Brian
aka "Bytecode"
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Sunday, May 13, 2007
5/13 Happy Mother's Day!
Well, tomorrow I hike out of damascus with Churchmouse, his brother and Bigby, who rolled in today. We are going to take it easy for a couple days so that we can still make miles but let some niggly little ouchies take care of themselves.
And now the confession, Churchmouse and I rented a car and drove up to Northern VA to pick up his brother. It was great to see charlotte and Isaac for a little while. I wish I had enough time to get together with everyone, but it would have been tough. Saying goodbye the second time was harder than the first time. Everyone says that you shouldn't go home because it is too easy to stay and not go back, I see what they meant now.
Anywho, my sister, Lance and their son Noah are coming down Friday for a visit and to check out Trail Days in Damascus. I can't wait, I haven't seen Noah in a while and he is groing like a weed, it should be a blast!
BTW Martin has hooked up PainTrain.org for me, it has links to some of the other guys' trail journals if you want to check them out, we'll add more as we get urls and some of these slackers get their journals updated. Thanks Martin!
And now the confession, Churchmouse and I rented a car and drove up to Northern VA to pick up his brother. It was great to see charlotte and Isaac for a little while. I wish I had enough time to get together with everyone, but it would have been tough. Saying goodbye the second time was harder than the first time. Everyone says that you shouldn't go home because it is too easy to stay and not go back, I see what they meant now.
Anywho, my sister, Lance and their son Noah are coming down Friday for a visit and to check out Trail Days in Damascus. I can't wait, I haven't seen Noah in a while and he is groing like a weed, it should be a blast!
BTW Martin has hooked up PainTrain.org for me, it has links to some of the other guys' trail journals if you want to check them out, we'll add more as we get urls and some of these slackers get their journals updated. Thanks Martin!
Happy Mother's Day mom!
--Brian
aka "Bytecode"
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Thursday, May 10, 2007
Pain Train update
I've heard back from Big Shanty's dad, he is just starting out from Hot Springs, NC. Turns out he pulled his calf and strained his achilles tendon. He's hoping to be in Erwin, TN by 5/18. The rest of the crew have synced up in Kincora, which is about 60 miles in our rearview mirror. Churchmouse and I are taking a couple days off, so hopefully we will be back with the crew when we leave Damascus.
--Brian
aka "Bytecode
5/10 Home Sweet Home!
We did 22 miles yesterday. We were trying out a new schedule. We woke up at 5:30am and hit the trail a bit before 6:30. We hiked until about 9 then took a 30 minute break. We continued until 1p when we broke for lunch, we ate and then took a nap for 2 hours during the heat of the day. A nice shoes off pass out in the shade break. We got going again until about 5:30 when we hit the next shelter and had a dinner and another hour, shoes off break. After dinner we knocked out another 5 miles, setting up camp just as the sun was going down. Basically the idea is to hike a long day, but with breaks for the heat, and to allow feet to recover. It worked great, we did 22 miles without killing ourselves or our feet.
We woke up this morning at 6 and got moving, 15 miles to the big D. About half way there we took a break for water, snacks and for me to 'water the bushes'. I wandered off to take care of business and nearly stepped on a 3'6" rattle snake. I got within 2 feet of him before seeing him, and he never rattled! That would have been bad news! I got a short movie and some pictures of him, very cool. Oh yeah, we saw another bear, this time I got my camera out and took a picture, you can't see him, but really, he's there! So far thats 5 bears, 3 snakes, 2 deer, 1 rabbit & 42 million mice and chipmunks.
About an hour after the snake, we crossed into Virginia, I told Tennessee what it could do with itself (kiss a certain part of my anatomy). We took some pictures at the sign, it is good to be 'home'. Now there is just 500 miles of trail in Virginia to do...piece of cake!
Hope all is well with everyone.
--Brian
aka "Bytecode"
------------------------------
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5/8 Watauga Lake
Well we are back, actually carrying packs. It was a hard day, 2000 ft vertical climb in 3 miles to start. We ended up doing a total of 13 and a bit. We chilled at the lake for a while, then moved on up the trail until we found a decent spot to sling our hammocks. We'll knock out 20 tomorrow then high tail it into Damascus the following day.
So back when we were slacking, we were hiking with two other folks, one of which was from Montreal. He reminded me of my buddy Martin in many ways. I guess there must only be one or two types of people in Montreal, so far the three I've met are all the same :)
So back when we were slacking, we were hiking with two other folks, one of which was from Montreal. He reminded me of my buddy Martin in many ways. I guess there must only be one or two types of people in Montreal, so far the three I've met are all the same :)
--Brian
aka "Bytecode"
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Monday, May 7, 2007
5/7 Mountain Harbour Hostel
Trail Magic. Let me explain, trail magic is a wonderful thing, it is usually food, but can be anything. A ride when you need it, a piece of gear, a friendly face etc. But most often it is food, because on the trail your diet is severly restricted to quick, easy, no refridgeration food stuffs. So Churchmouse and I have been slackpacking for the past 75 miles and getting increasingly nasty looks from our fellow hikers. We would approach them struggling up a hill with their packs, meanwhile we are carrying a liter of water and a couple snickers bars. You could almost see fiery red daggers of envy/hate go from their eyes to our very empty backs. It got so bad that after a seemingly innocent comment, by yours truely, that I got chased down and smacked on the back with a copy of the trail guide. The otherwise mild mannered assaulter was Sylvan a very nice young lady who started at about the same time as we did. In retrospect, I suppose the comment could be viewed as antag!
onistic, Sylvan and another hiker, Blue Dog were talking about drying their gear out, I asked if they had gotten a little wet in our recent storms...Now, I was merely curious as I've been as snug as a bug in a rug in various hostels during the said storms...Apparently, this comment was viewed, not as curiousity, but some other way. Dunno why :)
But back to trail magic, Churchmouse and I were beginning to feel the first pangs of guilt at our slackpacking. I mean, we got a ride to the top of one of the harder mtns in the area twice, to avoid walking up it..we walked down both sides. Now everyone always says 'work smarter not harder' and to me this seems a perfect extension of the concept. But alas, we did begin to feel guilty, so we devised a plan to not only assuage our consciences, but also promote ourselves to the level of 'minor trail dieties' at the same time...not trail gods, but perhaps a lord or something. We would head up the trail 25 miles, walk south with a pack full of beer and treats of a sugary nature. We would dispense said goodies along the way and wish our fellow hikers a happy hike. Our plan, now executed, was a brilliant move of trail politics as we are now nearly forgiven for our slackpacking indiscretions. Tomorrow we are back in harness and will be schleping our 25lbs packs north towards !
Damascus. North Carolina is now 'done' we are in Tennessee until we cross into the biggie, good ole Virginia, home sweet home, and 500 miles more of the trail.
onistic, Sylvan and another hiker, Blue Dog were talking about drying their gear out, I asked if they had gotten a little wet in our recent storms...Now, I was merely curious as I've been as snug as a bug in a rug in various hostels during the said storms...Apparently, this comment was viewed, not as curiousity, but some other way. Dunno why :)
But back to trail magic, Churchmouse and I were beginning to feel the first pangs of guilt at our slackpacking. I mean, we got a ride to the top of one of the harder mtns in the area twice, to avoid walking up it..we walked down both sides. Now everyone always says 'work smarter not harder' and to me this seems a perfect extension of the concept. But alas, we did begin to feel guilty, so we devised a plan to not only assuage our consciences, but also promote ourselves to the level of 'minor trail dieties' at the same time...not trail gods, but perhaps a lord or something. We would head up the trail 25 miles, walk south with a pack full of beer and treats of a sugary nature. We would dispense said goodies along the way and wish our fellow hikers a happy hike. Our plan, now executed, was a brilliant move of trail politics as we are now nearly forgiven for our slackpacking indiscretions. Tomorrow we are back in harness and will be schleping our 25lbs packs north towards !
Damascus. North Carolina is now 'done' we are in Tennessee until we cross into the biggie, good ole Virginia, home sweet home, and 500 miles more of the trail.
Another crew has caught up to us, we call them the bucket brigade because one of them is carrying a 2 gallon bucket, 'chimpmunk proof food cannister'. One of the guys, Brady, aka 'Tater' mentioned that someone he knew was following the blog, so a special shout out goes to them. He is doing well, inside the hostel watching Apollo 13 with the group.
One final note, we passed a sign today nailed to a tree, it had an arrow pointing south that read 'Springer Mtn GA 398' and another with an arrow pointing north that said 'Mt Katahdin 1776'. It is a relly long way to go, but I'm feeling good. Next update will be from Damascus, VA, we will have done close to 500 miles, about 25% of the trail. I still miss Charlotte and Isaac terribly, it really is the worst pain, feet, knees, ankles can all be helped with Advil, but missing the ones you love is hard.
At 100 miles we celebrated, at 200 we celebrated, when we got to less than 2000 left we all realized just how big this thing is, but we are slowly eating away at it and maybe, just maybe, I am beginning to see that I can finish this meal. One bite at a time...or should I say 'Byte'
--Brian
aka "Bytecode"
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Sunday, May 6, 2007
5/6 Mountain Harbour bed & Breakfast
Well after 3 days of clouds, drizzle and the threat of truely nasty weather, the front passed and we had an awe inspiring day today. Churchmouse and I again slackpacked, this time north from Roan Mtn, 15 miles. Today was an incredible hike, this is one of few sections, so far, that I would come back and do again. After starting in clouds atop Roan Mtn, we descended below the cloud layer, shortly thereafter the clouds parted, the sun came out and angels sang. We have finally had some rain and some good sun and you could feel the woods coming to life. An explosion of greens topped with blue upon blue skies with photo perfect 'Simpsons' style puffy, white clouds. We crossed 2 miles of balds with a gentle breeze and intense sun warming us. Further down the trail we crossed huge boulder fields and large out croppings of rock. We ended the day on a long gentle downhill stretch that ends with a fabulous B&B and a 10 dollar steak dinner. Boy, this hiking astuff sure is tou!
gh!
gh!
--Brian
aka "Bytecode"
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5/5 Greasey Gap Friendly
So Churchmouse and I have discovered the easiest way to defeat big mountains. Only hike down them! I know, I know, you are saying "But Bytecode, how can that be? You have to go up the mountain to go down the mountain!" But alas my wayward readers, it is indeed possible and does not require any violation of the laws of nature that we have all come to love and hold dear. Most of these mountains have hostels near them, or bed and breakfasts that also cater to hikers...these mountains also tend to have great views, and if there are great views, there is a road...so you drive to the top and hike down one side and then the next day, drive up and hike down the otherside. Today we drove up Roan Mountain and hiked back to the hostel, in this case we were hiking south, tomorrow we drive up and hike north. Now, here is the best part, there is a 6 dollar hostel on the other side of the mountain, and we are dropping our packs off first, thus we will have hiked Roan Mtn, down both !
ways, without carrying our packs! brilliant! All told, since leaving Erwin TN we will have hiked 55 miles over some notoriously nasty terrain, and not have carried our packs 1 mile. And they said this trail was hard...It just takes some proper planning! :)
ways, without carrying our packs! brilliant! All told, since leaving Erwin TN we will have hiked 55 miles over some notoriously nasty terrain, and not have carried our packs 1 mile. And they said this trail was hard...It just takes some proper planning! :)
I like this hostel, there are 3 resident animals, 1 dog, a husky/akita mix named Fuzzy, a mutt cat and a Maine Coon cat named Nemo that reminds me of a cat I grew up with.
--Brian
aka "Bytecode"
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5/4 The Greasey Creek Friendly
Churchmouse and I slack packed 24 miles today to a hostel just short of Roan Mountain. Tomorrow is a light day, 10 mile slack pack from the top of Roan Mtn back to here. It seems like cheating to me, but it is hard to pass up a hot breakfast and dinner, shower and a roof over your head, considering the price is about the same as eating the expensive food in my pack. This is a nice little hostel and the owner is a nice, almost too friendly lady who is just a bundle of energy.
The hiking today was just great, it drizzled off and on and we had thunder chasing us the entire 24 miles, but some of the forest was breathtaking. Old pine forest where the ground is a 1/2 deep in old needles and there is no secondary canopy or undergrowth below the massive pines. The air was redolent with pine scent, almost overwhelming, It was at about 4500 feet and there was a dense fog/low clound from the rainstorms, but the ground was dry and the birds were singing. The leaves and plants are finally making an appearance, we saw tones of these little red salamanders on the trail today. I kept moving them off the trail so they wouldn't get squished..it took a while, but the salamander population is very grateful, I'm sure.
If we hadn't sent our packs ahead, we would have stopped there and camped. I'm sure I'll run into more of these sorts of spots but this one was incredible. It is named Beauty Spot which sums it up nicely.
--Brian
aka "Bytecode"
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Thursday, May 3, 2007
Weather
Man are we getting some thunderstorms down here! Today we watched a bunch of hikers come back to Erwin after being forced off the trail by hail and lightning. Funny thing is that when I was talking with them it turns out one of them is from Centreville, VA also. Literally, he lives 5 miles from me. It is an amazingly vast 'small' world.
I'm off to slack pack tomorrow, it's funny, I'm actually nervous about doing it. It's not the miles, it is not having all my gear with me. I know (now) that if you give me my pack, drop me in the woods, and I'll survive. Tomorrow it is water, camera and a couple of snickers. It is just a day hike, but after living out of my pack for a month, it'll be weird not to have it with me.
I'm off to slack pack tomorrow, it's funny, I'm actually nervous about doing it. It's not the miles, it is not having all my gear with me. I know (now) that if you give me my pack, drop me in the woods, and I'll survive. Tomorrow it is water, camera and a couple of snickers. It is just a day hike, but after living out of my pack for a month, it'll be weird not to have it with me.
--Brian
aka "Bytecode"
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5/3 Erwin, TN
Well, we (churchmouse and I) have arranged for a couple days of slack packing. Slacking is when you have your pack driven 20 or 30 miles down the trail, then you hike with just water and some snacks for a day. We have figured out a way to blast our way to damascus pretty quick. Should be fun, and it will give joints and feet a break!
--Brian
aka "Bytecode"
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Wednesday, May 2, 2007
5/2 PS
Forgot to add I had another bear encounter, a mother and two cubs playing on the trail not 75 feet from me. I came upon them, the mother was off to the left and the cubs were playing on the right. This is the worst situation, if you get between mom and cubs, you are a dead hiker. Luckily, the heard me as I saw them and went scampering away down the hill, momma bear in tow. It loked like they were playing tag the whole way. And no, I was too slow on the camera to get a picture...one of these days I'll get em!
--Brian
aka "Bytecode"
5/1-5/2 Erwin!
Well, it was 104 degrees in the sun, brutal, brutal, brutal. The problem is there aren't any leaves on the trees yet, so, it is all 'in the sun'. I knocked out a 15 and change by about 2pm. At about 3p Churchmouse shows up, the first thing I asked him was if he wante to do some night hiking (its a full moon) he smiled and said yeah so we rested up and left the shelter at about 9p. The moon was so bright we didn't even use the headlamps. We knocked out a great 10 miles and hung our hammocks at about 1am to get a quick 5 hours of sleep. Up with the sun, we struggled through another hot, humid, relentlessly sunny day. Banging out the remaining 17 miles into Erwin, TN. The night hiking was fun and I enjoy attempting these big days...Sort of a, see how big you can go thing...40 miles with 5 hours of sleep...pretty cool and I'm still feeling a little wired from doing it.
Pain train update: As you can tell we are a little fragmented right now, I'm in Erwin, Bigby is a day behind but hiking a strong, Grizzle, Sideshow and newest member 'Chach' our first lady member are about 2 or 2.5 days behind. Sideshow picked up an injury 1/2 a day out of Hot Springs so they laid up at a hostel a day or so out. And poor ole Shanty is still back in Hot Springs with his busted up ankle. He is going to the doctor tomorrow, hopefully, we'll get some good news. Either way, I hope we can reconstitute the train around Damascus, VA.
--Brian
aka "Bytecode"
4/30 Jerry's Cabin Shelter
15 and change today, what a difference a day makes! After so many down days, my feet and ankles led a rebellion against the empire. The rebellion was crushed by Darth Willpower and his legion of Storm troopers from planet Advil.
Today was much better, the rust was shaken out and we were rolling. Also, I got a great sleep last night, in bed by 7:30 and woke up at 7am...amazing what a good night sleep will do. I spent most the day hiking with a guy we call Churchmouse. He is pretty quiet and reserved in groups, but talks up a storm on the trail. He is a true hiking machine, he did a 42 mile day, with pack. He actually hiked BACK 6 miles to trailfest. I'll be hiking with him tomorrow, 15 miles then a marathon into Erwin probably.
--Brian
aka "Bytecode"
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4/29 Ah the simple life
Well, I finally escaped Hot Springs, NC. Shanty decided to take another day to heal up his ankle. Probably a wise move, an injury like that could haunt you all the way up the trail. Its nice to be back in the woods, maybe I'll get some rest out here. Sharing a hotel room with 4 or 5 guys, while cost effective, is not conducive to a quiet nights rest.
One thing I thought of today was just how complex modern life is. We juggle careers, friends, family and fill our homes and our time with countless gadgets to make our life 'simpler'. Out here life is absurdly simple, the cost is that simple things become complex. Just going to the bathroom is a chore compared to at home.
--Brian
aka "Bytecode"
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