Interesting article: Inside the Tracker's Pack
There's no getting around it - this hasn't been a particularly good year for me hiking and getting outdoors. But I'll save my year-in-review post for the end of the year. And it's possible that with a few days off over the holidays, I'll finish the year with an actual hike.
Stay tuned.
Sunday, December 21, 2014
Tuesday, December 16, 2014
Thru-hiking the A.T.
Backing up a bit, the Appalachian Trail is a hiking trail that goes from Springer Mountain, GA to Mt. Katahdin, ME - more than 2,100 miles along the crest of the Appalachians. Thru-hiking the trail means completing it in one year, which normally means starting in Georgia in the early spring and finishing in Maine by middle October (Baxter State Park in ME, where Mt. Katahdin is located, is closed for the winter on the first heavy snowfall, which is usually in mid-October.)
The upshot of our dinner conversation was that his daughter and her friend did great and had a wonderful time. A local newspaper did a feature on them, here.
The A.T. runs through PA, and its closest point to me is above Reading at Port Clinton - a little more than an hour's drive. I've probably day-hiked the majority of the PA trail between the Susquehanna and the Delaware River, and John and I did a memorable two-day backpack from Delaware Water Gap to Wind Gap in 2009 as training for our Grand Canyon backpack. (I posted trip reports from Day 1, Overnight, and Day 2.)
I've been asked, and have also asked myself, if I'd ever want to thru-hike the A.T. I can't say it's a burning desire. First of all, it's unrealistic. I can't just take six months off and hit the trail. And every time I've seen and talked to thru-hikers, they tend to be either recent college grads (i.e., haven't started "real life" yet and have no responsibilities) or early retirees (50's or 60's and reached a point in life where the kids are grown and they actually can take some time off.)
But even if you disregard that, I'm still not sure I want to. Everything I've heard is that a thru-hike is more a mental endurance test than a physical test. When it's poured rain for a week straight, and everything you're carrying is soaking wet, how badly do you want to continue? So I can't say that's a goal of mine - though hiking buddy Ted has stated numerous times that I will be joining him on a thru-hike one day. So we'll see.
One thing I definitely intend to do is to do more section hiking on the A.T. It runs the length of Shenandoa National Park, and I've only done a few miles of that. And it runs through Maryland near its narrowest point - just 24 miles. That would be a fun 3-day backpack to complete the A.T. in one state. I'd also like to complete the trial between the Susquehanna and the Delaware. These seem like much more realistic goals.
Saturday, November 15, 2014
Survival TV
I stumbled on this article about "survival TV" and Cody Lundin, and it's worth a read.
I have a weak spot for survival TV and have watched a bit over the years. My first exposure was Les Stroud and Survivorman, and I still prefer Les to anyone else. I was traveling and alone in a hotel room one night when I stumbled on a Survivorman marathon, and spent the rest of the evening entranced.
I got my whole family interested in Survivorman, and my girls particularly liked watching episodes with me. A DVD of a Survivorman season was usually one of my Christmas gifts in those years.
I've seen Cody Lundin on survival shows, and I like him and think he's the real deal. I also think his book is a must-read for anyone who spends time outdoors (reviewed by me, here.)
As survival shows got more popular, there had to be more "action", and became more wilderness stunts, and less survival (which is the point of the Cody Lundin article at the top.)
I found a new show a few weeks ago, Fat Guys in the Woods, while recovering from an unsuccessful attempt to cut off my thumb. I got sucked in, watched a few episodes, and it wasn't bad. A survival guy takes three fat, out-of-shape guys who have no exposure to the outdoors out into the woods for a week and teaches them how to survive.
I liked it with some caveats. I think they were being given food off-camera. You can't convince me that obese couch potatoes who have eaten little or nothing for 3-4 days (which is what the episodes depicted) wouldn't be moaning *constantly* about how hungry they are. But they weren't.
I'll be happy to watch it - at least until Les Stroud comes out with some new Survivorman eipsodes.
I have a weak spot for survival TV and have watched a bit over the years. My first exposure was Les Stroud and Survivorman, and I still prefer Les to anyone else. I was traveling and alone in a hotel room one night when I stumbled on a Survivorman marathon, and spent the rest of the evening entranced.
I've seen Cody Lundin on survival shows, and I like him and think he's the real deal. I also think his book is a must-read for anyone who spends time outdoors (reviewed by me, here.)
As survival shows got more popular, there had to be more "action", and became more wilderness stunts, and less survival (which is the point of the Cody Lundin article at the top.)
I found a new show a few weeks ago, Fat Guys in the Woods, while recovering from an unsuccessful attempt to cut off my thumb. I got sucked in, watched a few episodes, and it wasn't bad. A survival guy takes three fat, out-of-shape guys who have no exposure to the outdoors out into the woods for a week and teaches them how to survive.
I liked it with some caveats. I think they were being given food off-camera. You can't convince me that obese couch potatoes who have eaten little or nothing for 3-4 days (which is what the episodes depicted) wouldn't be moaning *constantly* about how hungry they are. But they weren't.
I'll be happy to watch it - at least until Les Stroud comes out with some new Survivorman eipsodes.
Tuesday, November 4, 2014
Map of Visited States
I've written before about the number of states I've visited - which is always a subject of interest among my hiking buddies. I posted here in March '13, that I'd visited 42 of the lower 48 states. My current total is 44 - I've visited one additional state, and I realized that I had already visited one that I hadn't claimed:
* Maine. We spent a week here in September '13, hiking and camping.
* Wisconsin. I'd completely forgotten that I'd ever been there, but I definitely have. I did a bit of traveling in one of my first jobs out of college, and one of our clients was children's clothing maker Oshkosh B'Gosh, located in...drum roll please...Oshkosh, WI. I think I was watching a football game one afternoon when an Oshkosh B'Gosh commercial came on. The thought hit me like a thunderbolt - Oshkosh.... Wisconsin! I have Wisconsin!
I'm thinking of this today because I stumbled across a website that lets you chart your visited states on an interactive map. The site is here. My map is below. I've followed the recommended guidelines for colors, as follows:
* Green: lived there or spent extensive time.
* Blue: spent a good amount of time there - at least a week.
* Orange: spent at least one night there.
* Pink: passed through, did not spend a night.
* Maine. We spent a week here in September '13, hiking and camping.
* Wisconsin. I'd completely forgotten that I'd ever been there, but I definitely have. I did a bit of traveling in one of my first jobs out of college, and one of our clients was children's clothing maker Oshkosh B'Gosh, located in...drum roll please...Oshkosh, WI. I think I was watching a football game one afternoon when an Oshkosh B'Gosh commercial came on. The thought hit me like a thunderbolt - Oshkosh.... Wisconsin! I have Wisconsin!
I'm thinking of this today because I stumbled across a website that lets you chart your visited states on an interactive map. The site is here. My map is below. I've followed the recommended guidelines for colors, as follows:
* Green: lived there or spent extensive time.
* Blue: spent a good amount of time there - at least a week.
* Orange: spent at least one night there.
* Pink: passed through, did not spend a night.
Thursday, October 9, 2014
GC: Five Years
I've noted before (probably many times) that dates tend to stick in my head. It's not a conscious effort - they just do. So I realized that this past week that it's been five years since our Grand Canyon backpack - three days and two nights, South Rim to the Colorado River and back on the Hermit Trail. As with many things, that five years seems simultaneously like a very short and a very long time.
I re-read my trip reports, and was *so* happy (yet again) that I write these up. Re-reading them takes me back there in a way that just looking at pics or sitting back and reminiscing can't do. All the trip reports, on one page in reverse chronological order, is here. Individual posts are here:
I can say without exaggeration that it was the coolest thing I've ever done. I can't even say what #2 is - just that it's a *long* way back.
I'm also thinking that I have a new goal: a return to Grand Canyon in 2015. It could potentially be done quickly and cheaply - cheap flight to Vegas, rental car or shuttle to Grand Canyon Village, camp there and hike for a a few days, then back home.
Is it possible? I say yes. But we'll see...stay tuned.
 |
| Pack break, Hermit Trail |
I can say without exaggeration that it was the coolest thing I've ever done. I can't even say what #2 is - just that it's a *long* way back.
I'm also thinking that I have a new goal: a return to Grand Canyon in 2015. It could potentially be done quickly and cheaply - cheap flight to Vegas, rental car or shuttle to Grand Canyon Village, camp there and hike for a a few days, then back home.
Is it possible? I say yes. But we'll see...stay tuned.
 |
| Three happy guys, ready for pizza and beer! |
Tuesday, September 30, 2014
A Sassafras Rock
A quick postscript to my hike Saturday in the Sassafras NRMA. Darling Wife was doing laundry on Sunday night, and the dryer started making a loud banging sound. She evened out the load, started it again...and the loud banging continued. I went to take a look, and spotted the problem - there was a large rock loose in the dryer...and I knew where it came from.
On the Lloyd Creek part of my hike, when the trail came down to the beach, it was full of what my dad called "Maryland gravel" - sand mixed with small round pebbles that have been polished smooth by the sand. I saw a small white disc-shaped rock, liked the look of it, and put it in my pocket. And then forgot about it until I saw it bouncing around the dryer.
I told Darling Wife that I'd found the problem, explained about the stone, and showed it to her. She was touched that, at an age where some men have grown hopelessly cynical, I've retained my boyish sense of wonder.
At least that's my interpretation of what she was thinking. The actual conversation went something like this:
On the Lloyd Creek part of my hike, when the trail came down to the beach, it was full of what my dad called "Maryland gravel" - sand mixed with small round pebbles that have been polished smooth by the sand. I saw a small white disc-shaped rock, liked the look of it, and put it in my pocket. And then forgot about it until I saw it bouncing around the dryer.
At least that's my interpretation of what she was thinking. The actual conversation went something like this:
DW: A stone in the dryer? That you picked up on your hike?
Me: Yes.
DW: You saw a stone, picked it up, and put it in your pocket?
Me: Ummm, yes.
DW: (shaking her head) What are you, five years old?!?
Sunday, September 28, 2014
Sassafras NRMA, 9/27/2014
With some time to myself and a beautiful day in the forecast, a hike was a definite. I thought about Hawk Mountain or The Pinnacle - but decided I'd take a vacation day sometime soon and go up there. I also had some things to do at the River, so I decided on a hike down there.
I did some hiking and geocaching at the Sassafras NRMA near Turner's Creek a few years ago, and the views are so beautiful that I decided on a return visit. The trails are not long or extensive, but they're pretty, and they lead to river vistas and to the river's edge.
A PDF map of the reserve is here. From the parking lot, you walk up a sand/gravel path, at which point you come to a junction, and can go left, right, or straight ahead. I took the right-hand path first, and went along the edge of a soybean field, passed a hunter's camp (with two hunters in residence - perhaps I should have been wearing my fluorescent orange cap?), then the path became sandy as I neared the river.
At the river's edge was a sandy clearing near the entrance to Turner's Creek. It was protected by overhanging trees, and would probably be nearly invisible from the water. I was looking across at the far side of Ordinary Point, and could see the back side of the red barn on the Decker Farm.
I wound back around to the junction point, and took the left-hand fork, which I knew would take me near the entrance of Lloyd Creek. After going along another soybean field, I came out at a gorgeous clifftop vista of the lower Sassafras. From there, the trail descends until it comes at on a sandy beach at the river's edge, just up from the mouth of Lloyd Creek. Maybe on a warm day, wearing shorts and water sandals, you could walk to the sandbar at Lloyd Creek. I'd like to try it sometime.
I re-traced my steps again, and back at the junction point, I decided against the third fork. It was unseasonably warm, and I was thirsty and hadn't brought anything to drink. (Well, I had, but it was back at the car and not in a day-pack.) So I decided that I'd had a good hike, walked back to the car, and spent the rest of the day at the River. According to the GPS, I hiked 4.67 miles in 1 hour 28 minutes.
If you're looking for a strenuous day-hike, this isn't the one. If you're looking for an interesting trail (in terms of technical difficulty or a new vista around every corner), this might not be the one. But if you're looking for river vistas, this is very highly recommended.
Photo album from the day is here.
 |
| Sassafras River, looking toward Kentmore |
I did some hiking and geocaching at the Sassafras NRMA near Turner's Creek a few years ago, and the views are so beautiful that I decided on a return visit. The trails are not long or extensive, but they're pretty, and they lead to river vistas and to the river's edge.
A PDF map of the reserve is here. From the parking lot, you walk up a sand/gravel path, at which point you come to a junction, and can go left, right, or straight ahead. I took the right-hand path first, and went along the edge of a soybean field, passed a hunter's camp (with two hunters in residence - perhaps I should have been wearing my fluorescent orange cap?), then the path became sandy as I neared the river.
 |
| Lloyd Creek overlook |
I wound back around to the junction point, and took the left-hand fork, which I knew would take me near the entrance of Lloyd Creek. After going along another soybean field, I came out at a gorgeous clifftop vista of the lower Sassafras. From there, the trail descends until it comes at on a sandy beach at the river's edge, just up from the mouth of Lloyd Creek. Maybe on a warm day, wearing shorts and water sandals, you could walk to the sandbar at Lloyd Creek. I'd like to try it sometime.
 |
| Cliff top view of the upper Sassafras |
If you're looking for a strenuous day-hike, this isn't the one. If you're looking for an interesting trail (in terms of technical difficulty or a new vista around every corner), this might not be the one. But if you're looking for river vistas, this is very highly recommended.
Photo album from the day is here.
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