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.

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.

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.

Worst Case Scenario

January 5, 2014December 28, 2017 / jim fetig / 7 Comments

Winter Wonderland

The range of winter weather in the southern Appalachian Trail and mountains ranges from pleasantly mild to bitter cold with heavy snow.

The Great Smoky Mountain National Park is both noted as the home of the highest peak east of the Mississippi (Clingman’s Dome – 6,643 ft.) but probably more so for its terrible winter weather. Just this week a group of ill-prepared hikers required rescue from the cold and snow. http://www.weather.com/video/hikers-rescued-in-snowstorm-42994?

With facts like these in mind, I re-evaluated my winter kit over the holidays.

When I left the trail to celebrate Christmas with my family, my basic sleeping system, due to my distance runner’s stature, was based on a woman’s Sierra Designs woman’s dry down 25 degree bag supplemented by “puffy” down booties, pants and two down jackets sized to fit inside one another.

I am a warm sleeper and reasoned that the sleeping bag was good to at least 20 degrees F in my case. With the booties, pants and jackets I figured that I could get to -10 F comfortably. A zero degree night of borderline comfort proved me wrong.

So, I resurrected my zero degree 70’s vintage, but weighty, Holubar sleeping bag . Holubar was bought by North Face decades ago, for the record.

Please don’t misunderstand. I adore winter hiking and camping. To be redundant, it’s unique and there’s nothing like it. To be selfish, this week I spent four days on the AT and guess how many other hikers I saw? Zero! The AT was mine alone for that time. Not a human track anywhere.

I enjoy company on the trail, but those who have thru hiked during the crowded traditional hiker season may appreciate what it means to have the trail and the woods, not to mention every shelter and privy all to one’s self. It’s an amazing experience and privileged access to a treasured public accommodation not to be lightly dismissed.

When I hit the trail on Tuesday, I knew that the weather forecast for Thursday and Friday was ominous. As I ‘misunderstood’ it, the chance of rain on Thursday was 40 percent with an 80 percent chance of snow on Friday. The bottom was supposed to drop out of the thermometer Friday night. I was only slightly off.

Knowing it “might” rain on Thursday, January 2, I prepared appropriately. When I bounded away from Thomas Knob Shelter, I was ‘armored up’ in rain gear including waterproof mitten shells and my new (and third) pack cover was battened down with a cat 5 hurricane in mind.

What foresight, if I do say so myself. Ever seen a cow urinate on a flat rock? That’s how the rain let loose about five steps after I jumped out of the shelter door!

Bam!!! I was swimming in the soup. The volume varied, but the precipitation didn’t let up all day as my boots squished steadily southward across White Top Mountain in the direction of Damascus. The going was slow.

Here’s the good news and bad news. First the bad. The temperature all day hovered around 32 degrees. The ground remained frozen. As proof, I nearly crashed and burned crossing a gravel parking lot glazed with a hidden layer of slick black ice. On the positive side, my rain gear and base layer did their jobs. I arrived in camp in very good shape considering.

I had hoped for a 24 mile day. If I could do that, I’d be in Damascus by noon Friday and home Friday evening. That was not to be. Oh well, flexibility is a key to happy hiking.

At 4:30 p.m. I made Lost Mountain Shelter. The temp was dropping and the rain was just beginning to mix with snow. With my quota still six miles away, I realized that I’d be night hiking yet again. This time with early darkness caused by the cloud cover, it would mean almost three murky hours in sleet and snow.

The decision to stop for the night was a no-brainer. I was fatigued from the previous two tough days. Given the day’s rain volume, who knows how heavy the snow might become. Headlamps penetrate snow no better than car headlights see through fog. The trail bed was icy in spots. Check dams can form frozen skating rinks in winter. Not safe. Time to check my ambition at the door and brake for sanity.

Good decision. The shelter was clean and in good repair with convenient amenities thanks to the local trail club volunteers. The spring and privy were handy. The setting was aesthetically pleasing. It doesn’t get better than that on the AT.

It also was nice to have extra time to settle in. I wouldn’t have to cook or set up my bedroll by headlamp. As the curtain of darkness smothered the landscape, my appetite was satiated and I rolled into my sleeping bag. It was around 6 p.m. Hiker midnight is a relative condition… set at any time you want if you’re solo.

Since the previous two nights bottomed out in the low 20s, I expected the trend to continue because my understanding was that the super cold would arrive overnight on Friday. By then I could now anticipate being comfortably ensconced once again at Crazy Larry’s. Accordingly I chose to wear fewer layers and not don my down pants or booties. I did, as I habitually do, tuck into bed with me a liter of water, a butane canister and a pair of mittens. Since it was time to change socks, I put on fresh liners and socks.

I fell asleep almost immediately. When I winked out, rain drops were still tapping the shelter’s tin roof. In time nature called. Without glasses I glanced at my watch. I thought it read 5:30 a.m. I felt like I’d slept through the night. That would be a record. As I parked my glasses on my nose to confirm the time, I realized it was only 9:30 p.m. Oops!

The weather was calm. The rain had stopped. Not much snow was falling. The temperature was moderate. I plugged in my iPod to a vintage radio playlist and drifted off to an episode of “Richard Diamond, Private Detective.”

Ever imagined what sleeping next to a thousand-car freight train at full speed sounds like? That thought jerked me awake around 11:15 p.m. as the wind howled and trees cracked and groaned. Thank you Benton MacKaye for imagining shelters built like military bunkers.

The snow was swirling like icy diamond dust as it sprinkled my face with surrealistic pin pricks. I cinched down the opening to my sleeping bag to the size of grapefruit. My nose was colder than I could remember it being for a long time, yet my body was toasty. Back to sleep.

The wind kept blasting away. Falling branches and trees served as multiple alarm clocks trough the night. My exposed nose-o-meter sensed remarkably lower temperatures. What layers should I wear tomorrow if this continues, I worried? That the next day’s destination, 18.5 miles away, was Damascus was the saving grace. With that in mind, I reasoned I could gut through most anything.

A sudden silence awakened me around 5:30 a.m. The driving wind stopped like Mother Nature flipped a switch. Check. The front moved on. One problem solved. Extreme wind chill was out of the wardrobe and safety equation. Amen!

Knowing I had big miles to go, I was up and moving well before six. As I stumbled to the privy in rock hard boots, the light powdery snow squeaked and crunched. Oh oh. It’s colder than I thought. Snow doesn’t make that sound unless it’s 10 F or colder.

The thermometer on my pack read -15 F. The bottom had fallen out a day earlier than I expected. In spite of all that, I was comfortable through the night without the benefit of my full kit. The added tonnage on my back paid its dividend.

Think about it. At 4:30 p.m. the previous evening, the rain had soaked all my exposed equipment. My pack straps, nylon webbing, including my trekking poles, had been thoroughly dunked. How about my rain jacket and rain cover? Oh boy!

I’d hung my gear up in hopes that dripping and some evaporation would occur before everything froze. As every professional manager knows, hope is not a method. By morning everything was crunchy to say the least. What an understatement.

This is the worst case scenario that I have seriously worried about since contemplating a thru hike. What happens when hikers get soaked right before the temperature crashes to a dangerous level? At -15 F, skin freezes on contact with any material that rapidly conducts heat. Frostbite and hypothermia are clear and present dangers. You can be serious trouble before you even know it.

Fortunately I have profited from previous soakings. In those cases, luckily timed town stops saved my bacon as I slopped thoroughly waterlogged beyond imagination into Erwin, Tenn. and Damascus, Va. This time, the cargo compartment of my pack was dry inside and out. The base layer I was wearing dried out because it was only damp with sweat. The waterproof mitten shells worked. For redundancy’s sake, back up gloves, mittens, socks and a base layer were in the ready rack if need be.

When it is seriously cold, everything takes at least twice as long. After unzipping my sleeping bag, I slipped on my glove liners; then my mittens. You never want bare skin to touch anything. When I needed dexterity to stuff cargo sacks or manipulate zippers and the like, I took off the mittens. When the task was complete I jammed my hands back into the mittens until they warmed up again. Only then did I attempt the next task.

The valve on my NeoAir was frozen shut. Why not? Breath is full of water vapor. Only bare hands could wrench it open. That smarted.

Once the pack was set, the real adventure unfolded. Everything that had been exposed to rain was stiff and solid. Think of a pack harness forged of wrought iron. Board-like straps didn’t slide in buckles. The frozen-solid rain jacket stood up by itself. The straps on my trekking poles which had been hung on a peg resembled rabbit ears…

Fortunately, I always loosen the laces on my boots before bed. If I had known just how cold it would get, I would have put them inside my sleeping bag. Thanks to the thick dry socks, my feet never got cold in spite of wearing icy boots. Walking saved the day. Gaiters kept the snow off my socks and out of my boots.

The snap, crackle and pop sounds of Rice Crispies echoed off the walls as I struggled into my gear. Had you been there, you would have had to pardon my occasional “french” expletives.

The shelter faded behind me around 8:30 a.m. Not bad considering. As the day unfolded, body heat thawed the equipment, the straps loosened, and everything ultimately began to fit properly.

The day’s high hovered around 5 above. My water bottle even got slushy inside my jacket. That NEVER happened at -20 in northern Minnesota! I had different and a heavier outer layer then which may account for the difference.

The day and trail itself were awesome. Brilliant sun reflected off a snow frosted landscape. The tracks on the pristine path read like a story book with Br’er Rabbit and his pals eluding foxes and bobcats. Wild boar and deer made their separate grocery shopping trips. Guess what? No bear tracks. That was a surprise.

I’m home now in preparation to fly with my daughter to Colorado on family matters. I can’t wait to get back on the trail. As for future weather? We’ll see.

Stolen Sign Epiphany

September 1, 2013September 1, 2013 / jim fetig / 1 Comment

I lunched today with two fantastic southbound thru hikers, a couple of folks from the great state of Tennessee. Their blog on www.trailjournals.com is so creative, I just had to meet them.

Since Maine, they’ve been living for the day when they’d slide south of the Mason-Dixon line and return to the land of sweet tea, mac and cheese, biscuits and gravy, and almighty grits.

We met at my usual spot in Harpers Ferry. The Appalachian Trail Conservancy headquarters is like a temple where thru hikers memorialize their hike with an official photo that is filed in the official data base forever. They can bring their kids back decades later, open the book, and there they are in full glory. There’s even a copy to be found on line, so you don’t actually have to visit.

As I drove in, I couldn’t miss them. There they were marching up the hill distinguished by their bright orange pack covers. The international orange pack jackets are supposed to protect hikers from deer hunters figuring no one would ever confuse a deer with a traffic cone – would they?

After the obligatory introductions and photo ceremony, we headed out for lunch in the historic district where John Brown’s raid on the arsenal and some anecdotal civil war history happened.

We found a eclectic eatery nestled in a house erected in the early 1800s. We settled into a cozy patio carved from the rocky cliff behind the house. Shaded on a hot day, it was nice.

The conversation superseded pouring over the menu, so we ordered on the fly.

I need to digress a bit. I have lived enough in the south to be an honorary southerner with certain southern culinary habits. I like all of the aforementioned southern delicacies, and often substitute them for haute cuisine.

Back to the story. It wasn’t until I ordered sweet tea that my guests fully realized they were back on Confederate territory. You see, someone has stolen the sign demarking the Mason – Dixon Line. Without that reminder, who knew!

A quick check of the menu revealed mac and cheese and most of the other great southern dishes. So, there they were. Hike only half way done, but almost all the way home.

Trooper and Number 2, thanks for letting me have a tiny share of your most excellent adventure. Godspeed.

Marching to different drummers on the Appalachian Trail

August 2, 2013August 3, 2013 / jim fetig / 3 Comments

Sometimes you just need to march to the beat of a different drummer – something other than the tired soundtrack pounding in your head. It could be a little up-tempo mojo music will help your giddy up. Other times distracting yourself from pain or rain may be necessary to preserve sanity itself.

The remedy for fashionable hikers this season, appears to be accessorizing with ear buds. All colors of the rainbow are acceptable so long as they’re plugged into your favorite personal bowling alone device.

None of this is any surprise since most of us have evolved into smart device-dependent cyborgs these days. Heads bowed like digital monks, we follow our screens wherever they lead us. This prayerful posture may be the only typically urban behavior useful to hikers.

Keeping your eyes on the prize (the trail) is not a virtue. It’s a necessity! On the trail, evil roots and rocks lurk in the muck and shadows hoping to ambush passing innocents stumbling by. The most points are awarded for full face plants, broken bones and sprains. Bruises and strawberries gain far fewer. Don’t fall for looking around and marveling at the scenery. It pays hikers to bow so not to scrape. (Groan.)

Some purists don’t believe in electronics on the trail. Their view is that the natural soundtrack of the forest is the most authentic experience of all, and everything that anyone needs. I agree with that sometimes, but not always. HYOH, right? Not going to argue this one.

Occupying one’s mind is important since there’s a lot of down time spent waiting – alone in a shelter for severe weather to pass, for laundry, the post office, hitching a ride or just reading oneself to sleep. We haven’t even discussed the big “L” – loneliness.

Variety is the spice of life. The hikers I interviewed this summer talked about needing a wide range of music, pod casts, audio books as well as books to read. Light-weight tablets such as the Kindle were popular. TED Talks and NPR’s This American Life were mentioned most often as favorites.

Juice! The little electronic critters are efficient, but they eat power like hikers consume pancakes. A wide range of axillary battery options exist ranging in price from about $100 to $20. “Mo” is the operative concept. Mo power equals mo money and mo weight. A couple of hikers up-graded at Harpers Ferry, so pick your poison.

What to bring? There’s the old double duty maxim. Smartphones are definitely the digital equivalent to Swiss Army knives. Most hikers said they used their phones for everything – calls, photos, music and reading. Others preferred to husband their phone batteries and bring iPods and Kindles which individually are far more energy efficient at their singular functions. For example, in temperate weather a Kindle battery lasts five weeks. If you’re reading, a phone lasts a few short hours at best. At any rate, a phone, iPod and a Kindle together weigh less than a decent size book and take up less space.

As for me, I’m schlepping an iPod nano and a Kindle in addition to my iPhone. I will fill the nano with a variety of music for moods ranging from the need to jack up the amperage in difficult terrain to quiet music for relaxation and sleep time white noise. I’m also including a variety of iTunes U lectures, pod casts and a particular favorite of mine – vintage radio dramas from http://www.radiospirits.com. “The Shadow knows!” “Tired of that everyday grind? We bring you ‘Escape!” I also love the smell of “Gunsmoke!”

The AT Class of ’14 has an on-going music discussion on our Facebook page. Folks are sharing a lot of great ideas and good music ideas there.

The story of a thru hike can be told in music. When this year’s hikers blog something that reminds me of a song, it goes on a special AT playlist.

Some topics are obvious – any song that names an AT state, rain, “Rocky Top,” or is by John Denver. Then there are songs like “Hitching a Ride” and folk songs like “500 Miles.” The old graves and churches remind me of country gospel. For dark humor, there’s Queen’s “Another one bites the dust.” Hanna Montana’s “Climb” is uplifting. So far the playlist has 202 songs lasting12 hours. Here’s hoping that helps carry me into the “Appalachian Spring” through “Shenandoah” on my way to “Almost heaven, West Virginia.”

I know of two hikers who ditched their iPod Shuffles for lack of capacity. Music can get stale, but new material is easy to get. There are useful apps that subscribe to free RSS feeds that automatically update your subscriptions with fresh stuff. I have two. One is ‘RSSRadio;’ the other is ‘Podcasts.’ TED Talks and vintage radio dramas come via the former and history lectures from the latter.

People love choice. Of all the advice the Class of ’13 shared with me, the capacity to carry tunes and good books was high on their list. Since I don’t know that many songs by heart and I love to read, I’m going to bring a little help fortified by a high capacity auxiliary battery.

The next post will cover what folks shared about photography on the Appalachian Trail.

Mid-point Reality Check

July 9, 2013 / jim fetig / Leave a comment

Mid-point Reality Check.

Conversion on the road to Damascus (VA)

April 28, 2013April 7, 2014 / jim fetig / Leave a comment

Leave no trace hiking/camping has evolved from a concept originally called low impact camping. It became possible after lightweight camp stoves made it possible to cook without building a fire. Once camp fires are eliminated, coupled with some simple personal hygiene, it’s possible to walk to town without smelling like a Boy Scout as my mother used to say.

Just as there are ultralight enthusiasts, there are leave no trace militants. To them no trace not only means no physical trace – not disturbing the ground or vegetation, packing out all garbage, burying human waste, no fires – but also very minimal visual impact. This translates to dark earth tone colors – backpacks, tents and clothing. The idea is to blend in so nobody even has to know you’re there.

This idea has merit. Once, in Colorado, I was waiting for the golden hour at day’s end to photograph a stunning valley. Just as the light began to glow its reddish blush, a group of 30 rubber duck-yellow dots waddled across the valley floor destroying my shot. The next day I caught up with them to learn that Outward Bound dresses its students in yellow rain gear. At that point I decided to be invisible out of courtesy to others.

Yesterday all that changed. Tye Dye, a ’13 hiker I’ve been following posted an amazing photo of herself on trailjournals.com where she blogs about her hike.

The colors jumped joyously into my head. Epiphany! Why hide in a trail civilization featuring shelters, zillions of people, picnic tables and enthusiastic folks like Tie Dye. Why not have some fun and broadcast happiness with bright, upbeat and positive colors. The bears don’t care. I wrote her a message crediting her with a saved soul.

The back story is that Tye Dye’s daughter, a college senior, thought her base layer was dull. So, this artsy kid took matters into her own hands and generated a whole new brand and visual identity for dear mom. Bingo! My daughter, two years out of college, has a distinctively creative streak … maybe?

Unfortunately I’ve already acquired a black and gray pack, but that’s where it ends. The sun will come up tomorrow, and when it does, I intend for me and it to be indistinguishable on the trail next year.

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.

AT Through Hiker