The First Patrol

March 8, 2015 / jim fetig / Leave a comment

This tree was snapped off like a match stick

Hiawassee, GA, Top of Georgia Hostel, Sunday March 8, 2015 — My first patrol was over late Friday night. The hiking was energy intensive at times, especially in the snow early on. The ice and wind inflicted some serious damage on the trees, especially along the expose saddles between mountains.

Overall, the trail treadway is in good shape. The water is draining properly and the mud is minimal under the conditions although my clothes were covered with it by the time I’d reached the summit of Springer Mountain.

Along the way I was able to clear several blowdowns that impeded navigation.

The hikers seemed strong and determined for the most part. I did notice a propensity for them to hold at shelters or dive into town when it rained. I can’t say I didn’t do some of that during my hike. Hiking in the rain is miserable.

My patrol pattern will be changing for the rest of the time I’m here. From now on, I’ll be hiking south from Neels Gap to Springer where I’ll spend two days while the caretaker there is off. This makes sense since most of the need to help hikers occurs in the first 30 miles.

Naturally, Murphy was lurking over my shoulder. I didn’t get back to Hiawassee until 11:30 p.m. Friday evening. I was so tired that I locked my car keys in the trunk. I had to go to Atlanta to get a new one. Lesson learned!

This weekend was spent at the Appalachian Trail Kickoff. It’s a hiking seminar at Amicalola State Park. The presentations ranged wide and far from bears, to hostels, to lightweight gear. It’s designed to help hikers learn what would be helpful for them to know prior to starting their hikes.

It was a special privilege to meet and talk with Gene Espy, the second person ever (1953) to thru hike the Appalachian Trail.

Next week we do it again.

Ghosts of Hikers Past

March 8, 2015 / jim fetig / 6 Comments

Neels Gap, GA, Sunday March 8, 2015 — Neels Gap is where a lot of hikers go to die, that is if they make it that far. Around a third of the erstwhile starters give up at this spot, just under 40 miles from the start point.

Hikers quit for a range of reasons. This early it’s usually because they are so out of shape that they can’t continue or they realize that they are totally unprepared for the weather conditions – either low temperatures, snow or rain. Many are carrying very heavy packs stuffed with irrelevant gear or the wrong gear.

I met a young married couple and the husband’s brother last week near Neels Gap. They seemed fit enough, but said they were postponing their thru hike until they learned more about functioning winter weather. They realized they weren’t prepared. They made an intelligent decision. They also became a statistic.

If they make it to Neels Gap, the heavies have an option. The trail actually passes through the breezeway of a building in which a conveniently located outfitter just happens to be.

The staff at Mountain Crossings are all former thru hikers who perform pack shakedowns upon request. In this way hikers can dump their frying pans, coffee pots, axes, outsized gear and the like. Of course they can replace their iron with titanium or other miracles of modern materials science, all for a price of course.

My favorite part of Mountain Crossing is the boot tree. Ill-fitting blistering boots get tossed over its branches like Halloween decorations serving as a goulish reminders of painfully dashed hopes.

The trail from White Blaze serial number 1 on Springer Mountain to Neels Gap is well maintained and rather gentle compared to the AT over all. It’s primary terrain feature is Blood Mountain. It’s a well-switch backed trail but challenging to anyone in less than top shape humping a heavy pack. Blood Mountain is aptly named. The notches on it’s gotcha stick are many.

Trail magic helps a lot of folks get over the hump. Trail Angels cook hot dogs, pancakes and coffee at various road crossings. Bless them all!

Garbage Man

March 2, 2015May 22, 2015 / jim fetig / 12 Comments

Neel Gap, GA, Saturday March 1, 2015 — Beep – beep – beep – beep. That’s the sound of your friendly hiker garbage man backing out of a shelter with his pack full of detritus others have left behind.

When I staggered into the hostel at Neel Gap with ten pounds of junk. The most galling was the four liters of frozen water.

Seems some folks didn’t realize that you take your water bottle to bed with you when it’s freezing outside at night. So they left the frozen water behind for yours truly to haul thirty miles to the nearest trash receptacle. That’s not to mention the other junk in the photo.

This really isn’t a complaint. That’s why we are here, to help the hikers understand how to do the right thing. When they don’t, we remove the trash before it can serve as a bad example to others.

We also remove blowdown. Sawing keeps you warm, believe me.

In the morning the snow reminds me of a stiff starched white shirt. Sort of crunchy when you put it on. The weather is turning so by noon the snow is as limp as that same starched white shirt on a Georgia summer day. Today the slush was three inches deep with about an inch of water as a top coat.

Tomorrow the forecast is for rain. That’ll remove the snow and slush, but only by turning the trail into a river in the process.

Throughout all of this, the hikers seem intrepid. After all, they’ve come 50 miles. Maine can’t be far ahead.

Winter Wonderland, North Georgia Style

February 27, 2015February 27, 2015 / jim fetig / 6 Comments

Top of Georgia Hostel, Hiawassee, GA, Friday February 27, 2015 — A couple of days ago I marched into the woods to begin my duties helping hikers get through their first of the Appalachian Trail’s (AT) 14 states.

My duties are to educate hikers on Leave No Trace principles, which at its essence means that they are supposed to live in and leave the wilderness undisturbed by their presence. “Leave only footprints” is the mantra.

We also hike out trash we find, help where we can and be a friendly presence on the trail as well as eyes and ears.

The first day began at 9 a.m. at about 70 miles north of the AT’s start point on Springer Mountain. This section begins with a 1,500 foot climb right out of the door. It took about a nano second for me to fully appreciate that the 2,200 mile-strong “trail legs” earned on my thru hike last year were past their expiration date. Ooooph!

But I slushed on through the snow, stopping every 50 yards or so to cool down and catch my breath. I’m packing about 35 lbs. of cold weather gear, gaiters, food, stove, first aid kit, water purification pills, tooth paste and the like. Then there’s my trail saw, trash bags and bungee chords. Oof Da, as the Norwegians say.

First stop was to check the Deep Gap shelter and pick up some detritus left behind by hikers. Not much thank heaven. Then to push on to the Tray Gap shelter, about seven more miles up hill and ahead.

A storm was expected to roll in about 5 p.m., so no day dreaming was allowed.

The snow was typically heavy and wet southern snow ranging from four to eight inches deep with some drifting to a foot. My calves were screaming from pushing up hill and slipping back. What would have been a five hour hike on dry trail unfolded in just nine hours.

Of course the storm hit around four o’clock, an hour early. I arrived at the shelter covered in thick white stuff. Three hikers were there. They were strong and competent though the strongest among them told me that he’d been plowing Georgia snow for 12 days! That’s normally five to six days for most people just starting out.

I ate and took a deep dive into my down bag and reached slumber depth before anyone could say it’s snowing.

Throughout the night the wind whipped snow across my face, waking me occasionally. Who knew what we’d find in the morning.

The dawn sparkled with a fresh landscape of new snow, six to 12 inches adrift over everything. At least it looks good, I reasoned.

Now this has always been a family blog. But hikers have to do their business in the morning. Let’s just say that some mornings are easier than others.

The snowscape was inspiring.

Along the way I removed trail obstructions and noted some heavier work for later.

Wild pigs love to root and pillage.

Needless to say, the slogging was tiring. The smart decision was to push on another 8 miles and over another 1,500 foot climb to Unicoi Gap where I could get a ride back to the Top of Georgia Hostel where I’ve set up my base camp. I’d totaled only 20 miles.

Today is a zero day and the snow is melting. Tomorrow it’s back to Unicoi and another steep climb up Blue Mountain. We’ll see how far I get.

Trail Ambassador

February 22, 2015 / jim fetig / 10 Comments

Role playing exercise

Great Smoky Mountains National Park, February 20, 2015 — I’ve spent the past week gettin’ ready for love. Oh, not THAT kind. I’ve been with a group of people training to assist hikers on the Appalachian Trail this year. We love the trail and the people who hike on it.

Our base camp is a modern style house from the late 50s or early 60s owned by the National Park Service. During the summer it is basecamp for the trail crews that work in the park.

Our mission is to educate hikers primarily on “Leave No Trace”™ principles, encourage them and help them in practical ways.

An estimated three million people walk at least some distance on the Appalachian Trail each year, so Leave No Trace is a big deal. The national scenic trails, of which the AT is only one albeit the most famous, are being “loved to death. The number of users continues to increase at a high rate. Therefore, the impact on the environment from human footsteps alone is enormous. Add their feces and urine, toothpaste, dishwater, dropped litter, abandoned gear, fires, animal disturbance and all the rest together and the sum is enormous.

Unfortunately, individual hikers fail to appreciate that their impact is additive to all the others. That’s why Leave No Trace is more than Pack it in. Pack it out. Hikers are expected to plan and prepare for everything they might encounter on their hike. Understanding how and where to camp prevents erosion and unsightly scars. Knowing how to dispose of human waste properly is critical to preventing water contamination and disease. Respecting wildlife, fellow hikers and campers, leaving what you find undisturbed and generally being considerate round it out.

Here I’m demonstrating how to hang a food bag in a way that is not tied to any tree. Bears have learned to break ropes tied off to trees and feast on what falls to the ground!

Human food kills bears. Once they become unafraid of humans, bears have to be trapped and moved, or worse, destroyed. They are magnificent animals. Being thoughtless has sad consequences. The AT-wide bear statistics weren’t encouraging. Bear territory is shrinking and the animals are only trying to find food.

Had a small bear encounter at the outfitter in Gatlinburg, TN.

During the week, the Forest Service taught us a lot about hiker/camper psychology and methods to be persuasive without confrontation. Nobody wants to hear that they are a screw-up. Above all, we learned to count small victories.

Then there’s the weather. Minus 23 at altitude in the Smokies! Holy frostbite Batman!!! My gear will get me to -15F at best with a miserable night. I’ve experienced and slept outside in -50F in Alaska and northern Minnesota. I can’t carry that kind of gear over these mountains. Best to stay in town when the weather forecast looks like this.

Today I drove to Hiawassee in north Georgia to visit a couple of hostels and assess trail and weather conditions. There weren’t that many hikers around. Several had been driven back to or into town by the subzero temperatures. They said the snow wasn’t a big deal, but that there were a lot of downed trees to impede progress.

Ridgerunners/trail ambassadors carry large pruning saws to attack blowdown up to about a foot in diameter. At a minimum, we can trim away the branches from a large trunk. The going will be slow next week. Can’t wait.

Tuesday the Georgia crew meets with the Forest Service and the local trail club for coordination. Let the games begin!

Dick’s Creek Gap today.

Same rock. Better weather!

Back to the future

February 14, 2015 / jim fetig / 10 Comments

February 14, 2015 — I’m packing up and headed for some training in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. The Appalachian Trail Conservancy (ATC) has a base camp there used for training year round and for trail crews in the summer.

I’ll be joining a group of ridgerunners. Ridgerunners patrol in season the Appalachian Trail (AT) from beginning to end. The onset of thru hiking season is just around the corner, and it’s time to get ready.

My role is to test the use of volunteers to augment the paid seasonal staff. The difference is that I’ll be there only for the month of March. Everyone else is there for the duration of hiking season – until autumn.

The need for the test is that AT (and other trails) is expected to see a large increase next year in thru hike attempts in response to the movies “Wild” in theaters now, and “A Walk in the Woods” which will be in theaters before summer’s end.

Historical data establishes a direct correlation between increases in thru hike attempts and popular mass media about hiking or the AT. Books, television, videos have done it every time. Now we have Hollywood to help drive up the numbers next year.

My patrol area is the AT’s 78 miles in Georgia. We walk five days and spend four nights on the trail. The sixth day is off. Of interest, we hike southbound (SOBO) for the purpose of meeting as many thru hikers as possible. Once we reach Springer Mountain, the Georgia Appalachian Trail Club shuttles us back north to do it all again.

Among our duties is to help hikers as we can, educate them on Leave No Trace™ principles and trail etiquette, pick up litter, do minor trail repairs, and report issues we cannot handle. These hikes are not about miles. They’re about the smiles.

The forecast isn’t friendly, at least for next week. It’s going to be colder than a well digger’s backside in the Smoky’s. So much so that we’ve been told that we’ll be spending our nights at the basecamp and none sleeping outside. Yea! No sense practicing being miserable.

The weather in Georgia will probably whip back and forth between ugly and nice with huge improvements toward the end of March. Still, the southern Appalachians are high enough that snow can fall into April, even when the temperatures in Atlanta and points south are cooking.

I’m looking forward to some former stomping grounds. Dick’s Creek Gap is just short of the North Carolina border and the northern edge of the patrol area. Blood Mountain is in the center of the sector. It’s got some interesting native American history with some ornery bear activity on the side.

I plan to blog daily, but publish them as every fifth or sixth day as time permits just like I did on my thru hike. So stay tuned. If anyone has read Bill Bryson’s “A Walk in the Woods, you know this could be interesting.

Went for a walk on a winter’s day

February 9, 2015 / jim fetig / 9 Comments

Compton Peak

Appalachian Trail, Shenandoah National Park (SNP), Compton Peak to Jenkins Gap, Saturday February 7, 2015 — Each inch of the Appalachian Trail has a human who is responsible for its upkeep. These folks are called overseers. Stewards would be more like it.

Overseers remove blown down trees, branches, clean and repair erosion control structures like check dams and waterbars, build new ones as needed, cut back vegetation that may harbor ticks and pick up trash when necessary.

As luck would have it, yours truly is about to become responsible for one mile of the Appalachian Trail from Jenkins Gap to the top of Compton Peak (SNP north district). That’s AT northbound miles 957.4 to 958.7. I’m about to become a proud papa.

This is a handsome section of trail if I do say so myself. From the Jenkins Gap parking lot, it’s optically flat for about a half mile. This part has been burned over in the past. I’m going to have to learn more about the fire. Consequently it is infested with lots of vines and thorns. These will require a lot of attention.

The second half begins with a nice flight of stone steps leading to a sluice a bunch of us built two years ago. The Sluice keeps water from a healthy spring from washing out the trail. The grade to the top is gentle by any standard. The treadway throughout has a minimal number of rocks. Yea! This isn’t Pennsylvania, you know.

The trail section ends on top of Compton peak.

A blue blaze trail crosses the AT on Compton Peak leading west to a nice overlook and east to a columnar basalt formation which is one of the few on the east coast. Eighteen months ago we built 68 stone steps to help make the trail to the basalt formation more passable and to help control erosion. Judging from the tracks in the snow, it’s popular year round.

The primary reason for building the steps to the basalt formation was a spring that washed out the trail. Looks like we’ve got more to learn about water management.

Columnar basalt.

The day was pleasant. The temps hovered around 32F with zero wind. The sun was mostly cloaked by heavy lead-colored clouds.

Without overseers, trails would quickly become impassible no matter whether they are in a state or local parks or one of the big ones in the national trail system.

Before and after.

In total there were a even dozen obstructions that had to be removed.

Jenkins Gap. End of the line.

Let’s go hiking

January 20, 2015 / jim fetig / 2 Comments

A few folks have asked me to continue hiking adventure stories. There are a few real adventures in the work, but in the meantime, here’s what a friend and I were up to this weekend as posted on “Life at two miles per hour.”

Winter Test Drive

January 20, 2015 by jimfetig in Active Retirement, Adventure, Camping, Hiking, Life, People, Travel and tagged active retirement, adventure, Appachian Trail, AT, camping, cold weather, enjoyment, fun, hiking, Shenandoah National Park, winter | Edit

Shenandoah National Park, Appalachian Trail NOBO miles 917.2 to 937.2 (20 miles), January 19, 2015 — Just like a new car, it’s best to test drive hiking and camping in the winter before buying in completely. So it was with my friend and trail crew colleague. She knows her trail craft and is quite comfortable in the woods, but she wanted winter experience. She’s hoping to thru hike the AT in the future and knows that partying in the cold and snow is almost an automatic on an AT thru hike. Unlike most guys who would not admit it, she embraces her desire to learn with gusto.

Denise

So, off we went this weekend on a 20-mile, three day/two overnight, trip along Shenandoah’s most scenic vistas and popular places including Hawksbill (the highest peak in the park), Big Meadows, Rock Springs, Skyland, Stony Man, the Pinacles and Mary’s Rock.

Though the sun smiled upon us most of the time, the temps averaged in the 20s with a biting wind entering stage right and left at cheek chapping intervals. The objective was not to cover ground. It was to live in the winter weather for the better part of three days and two nights and see what we could learn.

So off we went… Enjoying the winter wonderland.

The first day’s walk terminated at Rock Springs Hut. I stayed there on my thru hike last year. It’s setting features a gorgeous view through the trees in front of a nearby cabin owned by the Potomac Appalachian Trail club.

Rock Springs Cabin

Four adult Scout leaders were using it – getting away from the boys for a weekend.

After camp chores at the shelter, we went down to the cabin to snap some pics.

On the Appalachian Trail, shelters are called “huts” in Shenandoah and “lean-toos” in Maine.

Would you believe it was cold outside?

The view from the cabin.

Sunset behind the privy.

Overnight the wind snarled with gusto, but the dawn air was so still you could hear yourself change your mind! We popped up, packed up, and after a quick meal of coffee and oatmeal, made a quick giddy up. No sense wasting time when it’s temperature is singing bass notes toward the low end of the register. Movement = warmth!

The scenery during the second day was worthy of being memorialized by the likes of Winslow Homer.

Same scene. Different vantage points.

Winter is nature stripped down to its birthday suit. Not much to hide.

Birds Nest 3, our final shelter is a party spot and not the most hospitable place. The fireplace doesn’t do much good in a three sided enclosure. The wind howled all night and occasionally spit enough granular snow to remind us who was boss.

The morning made for a quick get-away back to our cars.

All in all, a weekend marked by challenge and success.

Return to mundane life

August 15, 2014 / jim fetig / 6 Comments

Kensington, MD, August 15, 2014 — I saddled up my car in my cousin Deb’s Grantham, NH driveway, ready for the journey home. The leaves are hinting their fall colors and it was time to leave.

On this phase of the journey, the pathway would mostly be on I-95 which exists as a remarkably dissimilar parallel universe to the the sylvan setting we’ve come to know as the Appalachian Trail.

The drive home was relaxing and noneventful to my delight. I arrived around midafternoon on a delightful late summer day featuring low humidity. I pitied the traditional Washingtonians who’ve made their lemming-like August escape. This place can be delightful with a huge chunk of the local population out of town.

The mood wasn’t right to do much after arriving, so I unloaded the car and junked my gear in a pile to be sorted another time. The stuff that smelled like ripe gym socks stayed quarantined in the garage. Like the rocks, nothing was going to go anywhere.

The cats were happy. They expressed their glee in the usual ways, rubbing and purring up a storm. Then I fired up the grill, savored non-dehydrated BBQ and melted into my chair to watch “Project Runway” with my wife and daughter. Sophie, my favorite cat assumed her usual position on my knee.

This morning I got a haircut. Afterwards I could not resist grazing at my favorite donut shop next door. I adore their glazed donuts. Let’s not make that a habit, I reminded myself. Reintegration is nearly complete.

The heart of today’s plan was to clean up my gear, wash my clothes, sleeping bag and down jackets, and remove the funk from my rain gear. Since my trail crew is working tomorrow I needed to prepare my contribution to our post work pot luck dinner. The theme this month is Caribbean. Here’s hoping my finely chopped mixed greens with pineapple, mango and watermelon, drizzled in balsamic vinegar and olive oil dressing will complement everyone’s jerk chicken.

Late this afternoon, the laundry remained a work in progress, so I decided to skip tenting tonight (Friday) and instead will drive up early tomorrow morning. I will camp Saturday night. I hate to miss spending Friday with some of the more intrepid crew members, but I really don’t feel like practicing my deep woods sleeping skills just now. That can wait until next month. Monday I return to the gym to get ready for cross-country ski season.

After Katahdin, I needed to clean up two short trail sections I’d skipped. I was too ill to join Swayed when he hiked the Wildcats, a taxing 21 mile chunk from Pinkham Notch, NH to Rt. 2. With pending big rain as the motivation and aided by fresh and healthy knees, I knocked it off in 14 hours nonstop. A day earlier I ripped through a seven mile stretch, centered outside Andover, ME and Moody Mountain, in what turned out to be a no-challenge jaunt. The yellow blazes have been erased from the record.

Wednesday morning I met with a rep from the Appalachian Mountain Club (AMC) about the perception of their brand in the minds of thru and long distance hikers. They are well aware and nondefensive. Best, since this was my second conversation on this subject, my impression is that they are willing to listen and repair as much of the damage as possible. I’m hoping to be a productive part of that process, after all that’s what most of my communications career was all about.

Once the weekend’s work is done, I’ll begin sorting out my trip report for the Appalachian Trail Conservancy (ATC), final equipment review, lessons learned and the video. Then there’s the honey do list … here’s a hint. It’s long.

Better than Disney World

August 8, 2014August 8, 2014 / jim fetig / 4 Comments

Kennebunkport, ME, Friday August &, 2014 — Reintegration back into non-hiking society began in earnest this morning with a visit to a local coffee shop called Morning in Paris. Can’t get much further from the back woods than that.

Later we jumped on my friend Ed’s Vespas and scooted to the beach to watch some friends surf. His daughter Katie is home from her job with the United Nations, so naturally we posed for our “life is a beach” pic.

The adrenaline drained from my system during the shuttle from Millinocket yesterday. I was too exhausted to join a party in progress at a local Irish pub. Instead, I sat on the front deck sipping wine and let the sound of the crashing waves massage my cares away.

I can tell that I’m still suffering from adrenaline withdrawal because I’m dragging a bit. It feels a lot like the aftermath of a long business trip.

I can’t get too far in front of my ski tips. I have two short sections of trail I skipped over, about 27 hours total hiking time. I’ll get the first six hours on Sunday and the remainder Monday and Tuesday.

Tuesday or Wednesday I hope to meet with some Appalachian Mountain Club officials to offer them some requested feedback centered on their brand image with thru hikers. These are the Appalachian Money Club folks.

Then it’s off to my cousin’s to retrieve the gear I Ieft there. After that it’s home to join my trail crew working next Saturday in Shenandoah National Park.

Thanks to everyone for your kind kudos since Katahdin, especially HOBO whose congratulatory text reached me on Katahdin’s summit. His timing was perfect.

Note the genuine Paris bistro chairs.

After you hike the AT, life truly is a beach!!!

A fork in the road

Yogi said, "When you come to a fork in the road, take it." So I'm following the white blazes.

Adventure