After leaving Shenandoah National Park for a quick trip to Texas for the funeral of one of my cousins, we traveled to the southern start of the Appalachian Trail (AT). The AT almost has two trailheads: The Approach Trail that begins at Amicalola Falls State Park that I did 
and the Official Trailhead. Some hikers feel that you aren’t a real AT hiker unless you do the Approach Trail while others feel that it is a nice hike but not part of the AT.
and the Official Trailhead. Some hikers feel that you aren’t a real AT hiker unless you do the Approach Trail while others feel that it is a nice hike but not part of the AT.
The trail goes up these stairs to the top the falls and continues on to the Official Trailhead
Throughout much of the Georgia section I hiked with Byron and Evelyn Morris with Shirley shuttling us to the daily trailhead and picking us up at the end of each day’s hike. Byron and Evelyn are cyclists that I have known since the 1980’s who live near the southern terminus of the AT. We stayed at Byron and Evelyn’s house for about a week. Aside from being cyclists they are Returned Peace Corps Volunteers from Mauritania. Their stories about Africa inspired me to join Peace Corps. (http://peacecorps.gov)
Thirty miles from the southern terminus the AT passes through Neel’s Gap, the home of Mountain Crossings, which sell all kinds of supplies for backpacking. I bought a pair of trail runners to replace the Keen sandals that I had hiked in for over two hundred miles. They did a wonderful job of ensuring that the shoes fit. I really craved ice cream, but I was a little early as their new ice cream freezer was still waiting to be uncrated.
There is no shortage of oddities 
These guys even carried folding chairs. It was amazing what people carried and others left in shelters after they decided that their loads were just too heavy.
In Georgia trail signs like this were common.
This was my first camp
Much of the AT passes along tops of ridges. Views like this was both awesome and common.
In this area you could almost lose the trail in the leaves.
This through hiker is eighty.
Although the shelter had an electric socket it lacked electricity. I am sure that this socket has provided hikers with lots of hours of something to talk about.
After three or four nights of camping I reached Fontana Dam, which was the beginning of Great Smokey Mountains National Park. Just outside of the Park is the Hike Inn, which is a motel just for hikers. I resupplied there and spent the night. In the photo are two other hikers.
I ran into these fellows several times during my hike. I made it, the younger of the two, was on his second attempt to do the trail. He was even a later riser than me and often got into camp like a phantom at dark. The other was Old New York. He had just retired. We seemed to end up in the same shelter either for lunch or overnight.
I had just spent a cold rainy night alone in this shelter when this group came in the shelter. I was sure glad to see them. I had become a little too cold the day before helping a hiker who was suffering from hypothermia while waiting for paramedics to arrive and take him off the trail. I was having trouble staying warm myself even though it was one day later. I helped Sunshine and Kenny, the two standing, get their gloves off and I made the group hot tea. ET is the hiker sitting above the other two. From that time each time I ran into either one of them they told whoever was around that I saved them. As soon as the rain had stopped for a while I left the shelter. Walked on to Newfound Gap. Where I hitched a ride into Gatlinburg to spend a couple of days.
This was a typical Shelter scene in Great Smokey Mountain National Park. The shelters were crowded as every one was required to say in a shelter or camp near a shelter. The large number of people was fun and importantly made the shelter warmer.
The fellow on the right is Jason. He had yet to acquire a trail name. He had just retired from the Army and was looking for what was next in his life. I suggested Peace Corps. He seemed to have the right temperament for it. Maybe he will consider it further. I met several veterans who had either just retired or they had finished several years in the service and decided to leave. All that I met were using the AT as a transition point between the service and what ever is next.
This is Little Janie from Greenville, Texas. This is her third AT attempt over a period of several years. Her determination was unbelievable.
While Shirley traveled to Canada for twelve days I grew a beard. Shaving wasn’t practical. It felt good, but as soon as Shirley got back and I got to a motel I shaved off the beard.
A fellow hiker said that finishing the AT without getting hurt is like winning the lottery: A lot depends on chance. In Great Smokey Mountains National Park I saw hoof prints of a horse that was brought in to take out a hiker who had a stress fracture in her leg and could not longer walk. I met several hikers who had to leave the trail due to damaged knees. One went out with strained ankles. A close trail friend who looked like an awesome athlete had a heart attack and died. The accumulation of too many poorly placed steps on pointed rocks caused my left foot to become bruised and swollen. After a few days of rest I decided to leave the trail before it became worse or my altered gait hurt my knees and/or ankles.
Photo is by “Bert Chopper” Allen, who is another trail friend, of George “Highlander” Grant. Highlander had already hiked the Pacific Crest Trail and was 81. He was an awesome hiker and trail friend. He was from Scotland but lived in Australia. He passed away while coming into town to resupply about the time I left the trail.
I had a wonderful trip: I hiked 450 miles in beautiful country; met so many interesting and awesome hikers; lost seven or eight pounds; and visited with many friends who lived near the trail. Shirley drove a phenomenal amount of miles ferrying me back and forth and she too met some wonderful people. She became well know on the trail as people started to look for her at various pick up points and took great delight in teasing her when they met her. Currently, I am back to bicycling. Cycling is so much easier on the body and I enjoy it as much as hiking, if not more.
March 28, Harpers Ferry to Radford, VA
The trail from Harpers Ferry, West Virginia to Radford, Virginia gave us loads of new experiences and challenges.
We visited The Appalachian Trail Conference in Harpers Ferry. Staff took our photo for their through hiker book. We bought maps and books and got to know the staff a little.
I stopped at several trail shelters along the way. Each shelter has its own character. The one below had to be the nicest one that I have passed. It even had its own solar shower
The Potomac Appalachian Trail Club has several cabins that it rents to hikers. I walked down to this one thinking that no one was there. As I was looking around the door started creaking and a man stepped out. He was half of a couple that were members of the club and were spending a few days in the cabin. They were gracious enough to show me around. 
While on the porch looking around, I found a Monster Maul a tool like the one that I used years ago to split firewood. The cabin was dedicated to a member who has passed on but must have been well liked.
We also visited our first hiker hostel on the trail. It was an awesome place that was hosted by a couple that had hiked the Appalachian Trail in 2011. It was owned by the Appalachian Trail Conference and managed by the Potomac Appalachian Trail Club,
I hiked one day in Shenandoah National Park before Winter Storm Vector came through and dumped several inches of snow in the area. The National Park service shut down Skyline Drive due to ice and snow thus making it impossible to reach trailheads by car. Sean Sumner, who is a Peace Corps friend of ours who lived in a nearby town in Panama when we were volunteers, invited us to spend a few days at his home in Radford, Virginia. We had a great time visiting Sean and seeing this part of Virginia. We should be heading back to Shenandoah National Park tomorrow to continue hiking.
March 14, I killed Spot
Spot no longer blinks
March 1 was my first day on the AT.
I KILLED SPOT. Awwwww…
Spot is a satellite tracking device that tells my followers where I am. It sends a signal that show where I am on Google Maps. Some of the little lights still blink, but not the ones that say that it is working correctly. Ignoring the little lights, I moved Spot around from one pocket to another hoping for better transmission, but the lights were telling the truth; Spot was dead. I didn’t mean to kill Spot, but I probably flung my pack one time too many and Spot’s poor processor got rattled and quit processing.
Spot no longer blinks
Shirley bought Spot several years ago when she realized that if something happened to me while I was out in the woods that she might not ever find me. Needless to say, Shirley wasn’t too keen on waiting to see if Spot would come back to life and she immediately ordered me another newer one with a few more bells and whistles. Shirley uses it for more than just finding me if I break a leg and can’t get in, she follows my progress on her computer so she knows when to get to our rendezvous location. Cell coverage out here is poor and calling her from the trail isn’t a certain option.
After reading several blogs and books on the Appalachian Trail I found that Shirley is not unique. Several writers said that their partners were reasonably keen on them hiking alone if they carried a Spot and shaved and showered before coming home. Anyway, I plan to be nicer to new Spot.
March 1 was my first day on the AT.
The trail passed through pasture and farm land. I passed close to housing subdivisions. I walked next to a tiny and not too maintained cemetery away from any road. I ended up walking six and a half miles. Although I saw footprints, I didn’t see any hikers. My hiking day was short as we had spent the morning finishing our 1300 mile drive from Texas and visiting the Appalachian Trail Conservancy, one of the groups that is responsible for the trail.
Yesterday was quite different. The trail passed through a deciduous forest. As none of the trees had leaves I had great views. The trail went over high hills and down into creek bottoms. At the top of one hill the trail went through a rock maze.
The path went through a narrow passageway through a fissure. The designers of the Appalachian Trail are famous among hikers for avoiding passes to go over hills. The term for these hills is PUDs or Pointless Up and Downs. At one point I could see a group of approaching hikers. The trail turned away to go over a hill and I only passed them much later. So far I love the way the AT designers laid out the route; the scenery changes constantly and I cannot help but feel that the designers wanted to give hikers the best experience possible. I saw my first trail shelter and I missed my first turn.
There were even a few snow flurries. Today I walked nine miles. I am having a great time; the trip couldn’t be better.
Today was a short day. I had the choice of twelve miles, which is much longer than I want to hike during my first week on the trail or four miles. The four miles was perfect distance for me to experiment with wearing Keen sandals. If they didn’t work at least I wouldn’t have far to go. They worked very well and I suspect that I will be hiking in Keens for most of the trail. The trail continued through the forest that I mentioned earlier and I had the trail to myself.
February 28, 2013
After spending three days driving from Nacogdoches, Texas to Boiling Springs, Pennsylvania, we are passing through a light dusting of snow.
If you look at an A.T. map you would probably wonder why we chose a point near the center of the A.T. to begin a through hike. Actually the middle is a great place to start: We avoid all the crowds of people starting in Georgia. By starting in one of the flattest sections of the A.T. I get to break in my legs gently. I avoid one of the hottest and driest areas of the A.T. during the summer and I should be able to hike the southern part of the A.T. when the weather is the best.
2/24/2013
Follow Danny on his adventures while hiking the Appalachian Trail starting March 1, 2013 and Shirley, his wife, who will be doing his slack hiking support.
The planning has been going on now since Christmas 2012 and is moving along nicely. Our life is ruled by "más o menos" and our start date is más o menus March 1st, somewhere in Pennsylvania. But wait a minute, the Appalachian Trail starts in either Georgia or Maine, not Pennsylvania. What gives? I will leave this for Danny to explain ...
