P.S.

July 13, 2023July 13, 2023 Catwater 2023 Catwater Hikes, Trail Life 2019

12/17/19 Appalachian Trail in 2020?

This trail scares the snot out of me. So why do it? And how? And why?

My main motivation is dumb really, I want the Triple Crown of hiking. The rain, the brutal trail rocks, the ups and downs without switchbacks, the crowds, the frequent towns, I have to immerse myself in a new hiking culture and try not to compare it to other trail cultures. That’s the true challenge, mentally reorienting myself. Will I become part of a so-called trail family, a “tramily?” Will I hunker for days in a hostel because I can’t face hiking out in rain? Well maybe if it’s warm rain, I’ll hike out, humidity doesn’t bother me, cold does. (I know, I know, I’m Alaskan, I surely love the cold and dark, right?)

I’ve been so accustomed to low numbers of humans on the CDT, enough companionship to make me happy but not so many as to make me nervous about filled up campsites or hostels in town.

I can’t start the AT till April 15. But what about weather and winter heading north in April? I just don’t know. I have a hard time leaving a nice comfy motel room when it’s raining and I think it rains a lot back East. I’ve become pretty good at figuring out logistics though. And I have a hiking umbrella with an extra long telescoping handle I can tuck into my pack for hands free hiking.

From social media it appears that huge numbers of prospective hikers know little about hiking or camping and live back East with the AT built into their conscience as a great thing to do. Attrition rate reaches 70% by the 1/2 way point. The PCT attrition rate is something like 50% by the end.

Why do it? The Ravens and Puff Puff, the people I’ve spent hundreds of miles hiking with, have commented in their blogs that I’d hate it. So I found a book, The Appalachian Trials, written for newbie hikers but applicable to me anyway, that says write a list of whys, laminate it, and read it on the trail when you feel in need of motivation. Top of my list, to get the Triple Crown of long distance hiking (PCT, CDT, AT) which is kind of lame but that’s my main motivator. Others: explore more history, give my snowboarding friends the chance to help me along the way while visiting their states, walk through new mountains, face my Northerner’s fear of the East, and experience the super hiker friendliness the people along the AT are known for.

The AT purist attitude is where the dumb “thru hike” phrase comes from, as in “I’m going to thru-hike a 31 mile section of the AT,” or “It’s not a thru-hike if you don’t… “. These people have yet to hear of the concept of connecting your footsteps even if not the actual blazed trail. Apparently somewhere there is a rule that you have 12 months to hike every foot of the current white-blazed trail in order to be a thru-hiker. I’m hiking the AT, I’m a long distance hiker, I intend to hike the entire AT, I connect my footsteps in an unbroken track, sometimes it will be wearing a daypack, sometimes I may take an alternate, and if a section of the trail is closed, for whatever reason, I won’t hike it.

The insanity of the social media sites devoted to discussing the AT is mind blowing. “What’s the best underwear?” “How many pairs?” Food storage is huge with people claiming their method is “perfect” and others countering with horror stories about said “perfect” method. Some people have never backpacked before and are building their entire kit from scratch and are understandably anxious and confused over what pack, bag, shoes or boots, tent or hammock, etc to get. “How many miles a day are you all going to hike?”

I started thinking about what scared me about other hikes I’ve done. I remember camping on my own many years ago, that scared me until I did it. My first PCT in 2015, I was terrified of starting in the desert at the Mexican border until I did it. Now I’m terrified of overflowing shelters and tent sites, until I do it.

What does not scare me about the AT? Snakes, ticks, sidearm packing Southerners, bear, coyotes, day trippers, pitching my tent, running out of food, blisters, sprains, snow, hiking 10-hour days, or crappy IPAs.

AT The End: Franklin, NC to Springer, GA

July 8, 2023July 13, 2023 Catwater 2023 Catwater Hikes Catwater

7/7-12/23 87 miles

Flip pages to the end of the mystery book— I did it! I finished the Appalachian Trail at Springer Mountain on July 12, 2023.

I’ve been ridiculously anxious the last couple hundred miles about something happening that would make me get off trail. Maybe it’s weird but I just wanted to complete this trail. This time it hasn’t been about the journey, it’s been about the achievement. For myself. I did it.

The weather north on the AT has been really bad, the flooding in Vermont has washed out at least one bridge, and caused hikers to slog through “Vermud” where they could. Hikers have been asked to get off the trail for their own safety. I was so lucky last year to have way better conditions, just a couple of days where I was wet, cold and miserable.

Meanwhile the record snowfall in the Sierra has been a massive challenge for people trying to thru-hike the PCT.

My decision to walk these last 470 miles from Damascus to Springer in June and July means I’ve been in the lush rainforest, the green tunnel with very few other hikers. If I’d continued last October I would have had better views since the trees and bushes are deciduous and drop their leaves in the Fall. Doh. But I wanted to finish the AT in time to apply to get the Triple Crown of Hiking at the Fall Gathering of the American Long-Distance Hiking Association-West (ALDHA-West) this September. I did it.

I’ve barely had to pitch my tent the last few weeks. I’ve taken advantage of the unique situation along the AT. There are numerous shuttle operations that will pick me up, drop me off and pick me up again and bring me back to a motel or hostel for a dry comfortable place to sleep. It takes quite a bit of cash but I’m no purist, as anybody who’s hiked with me knows. I connect my footsteps so I’ve not missed a mile. Platinum blazing has kept me injury free and given me the social connections that keep my anxiety at bay.

The Hidden Pond Hostel was the last place I stayed. I hiked off trail about 0.5 miles and Potholder picked me up for the short ride. Along with M&M and Pootz, he’s keeping the place open for hikers. Many hostels are closed now since the NOBOs are long gone. Two women I’d met briefly a day or two previously, Strider and Feral, were staying there on their section hike from Hiawassee to Amicalola State Park just past the Springer terminus. Sitting in the common area, I expressed my dream that I wouldn’t have to pitch my tent again, that there was a slackpack option to get me 15 miles the next day, leaving just 9 for my last day. M&M and Pootz (2007 AT hikers) calmly started talking about it. And made it happen, yay!

GA, the 14th of the 14 states the AT travels through

Rock wall with culvert holding up the trail

M&M, Pootz,Feral, Strider, Catwater celebrating at the top of Springer

P.S. I wrote a little essay in 2019 after I finished the CDT about hiking the AT in 2020. Which I didn’t do that year because of the pandemic. It follows this post, unedited.

AT Fontana to Franklin, NC

July 7, 2023July 8, 2023 Catwater 2023 Catwater Hikes

7/1-7/6/23 65.6 miles

I took a zero. Seems like every 5 or 6 days I just don’t feel like slogging down the trail all day. It really gets tedious actually, especially with the gray skies overhead and surrounded by wet, green vegetation. What does it mean when I start counting centipedes and then refine that to include which direction across the trail each is traveling?

This is an endurance event for sure. I picked this time of year to finish these last 470 miles to avoid crowds of NOBOs (north boulders) and to finish the AT in time (mid-August) to report to the American Long-Distance Hiking Association-West (ALDHA-West) and officially earn the Triple Crown of Hiking. It’s also the time of year when all the trees and bushes have their view shrouding foliage. Fall would have views, oh well.

The walking is hard of course, but not really hard. I mean I get assorted aches and pains, I get tired, I slip and fall, I get cold and wet. There are hikers out for a few days, not a lot, but nice to see them.

What a strange world I’ve created. Hike, boring and tedious, then get a shuttle to comfort. Only on the AT! Fontana, then Gorgeous Stays near the NOC, then Franklin and so on….

Anyway, my hike has recently been about wonderful shuttle providers and places to stay inside. “Platinum blazing” is getting me down the trail. There are drivers listed in the FarOut app who will pick me up, take me to a trail head, pick me up at a designated road access trailhead at the end of my day, then take me back to wherever I’m paying to stay. And then the thunder showers commence. It’s a cash transaction. Without exception, every driver has been prompt, courteous and professional. I’ve tried to stay at hostels that support hikers, but many are taking a break at this time since the NOBO bubble has passed through and there’s just a few hikers needing their services. So I’ve found hotels. I wanted to avoid the crowds and so I have. A bit lonely, but also rather pleasant to have these beautiful woods to myself. I’m happy to be here.