Gatlinburg - 4/29

Ryan called this evening from Gatlinburg to set up his next mail drop at Hot Springs.  He said they had just left McDonald's where he had eaten 2 chicken sandwiches, 2 double cheeseburgers, and a large fry.  He was currently looking for something else to eat because he was still hungry.
As of today he has hiked 215 miles from Springer Mountain.  He has covered about 10% of the trail.
 He said that they had reached Klingman's Dome last evening and watched the sunset from the tower.  They night hiked 4 miles to the next shelter where they camped for the night.  They got up this morning and hitched a ride to Gatlinburg.  The plan was to resupply and get back to the trail this evening but decided to stay in Gatlinburg.  They found a hotel that cost everyone $10 each so they split a room and are eating their way through Gatlinburg.
He reported that his ankle was almost healed, everyone was doing well, and civilization has become a novelty. Unless he's doing a really good job of faking it he sure sounds like the excitement of hiking has not worn off.

New Pictures 4/28

I added the rest of Ryan's first group of pictures to the slideshow.  There are about 75 additional pictures. This is everything he's sent so far.  Expecting another disk the first of next week. 

Entering The Smokies - 4/28

Ryan called Wednesday evening.  When I asked how he was doing, his response was “sitting on the top of a mountain waiting for the hail to start again”.   They pulled up short of their planned destination to hunker down in a shelter.  They had been hiking most of the day in 50 mph winds and sleet.  The worse exposure was on the mountain top balds.  They are in a shelter for the night about 3 mile N.E. of Thunderhead Mountain.  His description of the past two days was “rough”.  Since leaving Fontana Lake they climbed to 5000+ ft and have been hiking at that elevation for the past two days.  This part of the trail follows along the Tennessee / North Carolina border.
   

In addition to the rough weather, Ryan said he sprained his ankle on Monday climbing out of the Fontana Valley.  He said he stepped wrong and bent it 90 degrees and heard it pop.  He was able to get back on it and has been able to walk.  The first night it went black and blue and had doubled in size.  He said it is getting better each day but is still black and blue.  He also mentioned that on the day he sprained it Fish and Lemon hiked ahead to the camp site and dropped their packs and back hiked to help carry Ryan’s pack.  He was very appreciative of that. He mentioned matter-of-factly that he was glad he got this first injury over with.  Injury is inevitable and he was glad it wasn’t worse. 

On the lighter side, he saw his first bear out in the open.  He said it was on the trail in front of him.  His reaction was to grab his camera and chase after it but half way up the trail, he realized it probably was not a good idea.   Even with the weather and a sprained ankle he is still in great spirits, his conviction seems solid. You can hear it in his voice and words.  They plan on being at Klingman’s Dome by Friday and will make a trip down to Gatlinburg to resupply and find an all-you-can-eat anything and everything.  He also reported that everything is good with Lemon, Fish and Bear Bait.  Data decided to push on several days ago and they’ve not seen him since.  It appears he may have left the group.  Ryan said he had a detailed and agressive agenda, hence the name Data.

Picture and journal entries will be sent from Gatlinburg.  His next food drop will be at Hot Springs. 

Tennessee - 4/26

Looking at today's GPS location it looks like he is right on the Tennessee / North Carolina border. I received a package delivery confirmation from Fontana Dam that his package was delivered to him.  I'm expecting a return package this week with some more pictures and journal entries. He was also supposed to have new boots delivered to Fontana. 
He clocked in today at around 4:30.  Looking at the location he is right now at 4,800 feet of elevation.  This part of the trail is a long uphill climb out of the Fontana Lake valley.  He and his fellow hikers should be in the Smokey Mountain National Park by tomorrow.    

Call from Ryan - 4/22

Ryan called last evening to let us know that he was taking a down day.  Not exactly sure where they are other than where they show up on the map.  He said they all rented a cabin and were taking it easy.  Everyone has mail drops at Fontana Dam and if they pushed on it would be Sunday when they arrived and the post office would be closed. They are making very good time.  The two boys Ryan and I picked up in Gatlinburg to take back to the trail head were running almost 2 weeks behind where they are. 
He continues to sound like he's having a great time.  We worked out the next food drop.  Sounds like he's getting tired of the freeze dried meals so he cut way back.  He said they're finding other, cheaper and tastier ways to eat on the trail.  He mentioned easy mac with a pack of tuna mixed in as a great option.
I got some of his pictures posted yesterday.  Go into the file and pick slide show to get them at higher resolution.  I also added excerpts from his Journal pages he sent home. Still having issues with the map locator.  Looks like it will work best if only showing the last GPS check-ins. 

Got a comment from Ollie (Bear Bait's) parents from Germany this morning.   You can read it in the comments section.

Ryan's Journal Entries - 4/9 thru 4/14

4/9/11

I’m sitting here on my first night around a camp fire with a German named Ollie, Mike who just got off the phone with his wife who's going to see Gallagher tonight, and Bill.  Our boy Sweeny has not stopped talking about gear and the “right” way to hike the trail for a couple of hours.  That’s why we have separated ourselves from the shelter. Hawk Mountain shelter is a two story wood building with a tin roof.  A lot of tents are sprawled out around the shelter.  At first I was reluctant to go out and socialize on the first night.  I was half right.  It was a fun day and with only one “holy shit” moment but it was brief.  The first 6 miles of the day was pretty easy and extremely enjoyable.  It is going to take a while before I can really let my mind go.  I kept catching myself thinking about things that really don’t matter now.  Live for the day. I live in the woods now.  Walk, eat, drink, and enjoy. Frog Paw just showed up with 3 packs on.  One main pack, a pack strapped to that pack, and an extremely big front pack.  Good gracious.

There was one tough stretch in the 8.7 miles I hiked today. Right around 6.5 miles the trail was pretty steep for a mile.  I felt great at the end of it though.  One thing I found to be helpful is to pop the boots and socks off for about 15 minutes.  Once I put them back on it felt like I had just started hiking. 

It was a great first day. Low mileage, beautiful scenery and I found some hiking buddies.  It is funny how the younger and not so bitchy group instantly found their way to the same part of the campground. I’m very excited about tomorrow. I have 7.5 miles, I think, and some new friends.  Should be an easy day other than the 900 feet of elevation in a quarter of a mile.  Until tomorrow.

4/10/2011

Got 7.8 miles in today by 1:00.  I started at 8:00 this morning.  It was a little bit of a hard day but hiking with Ollie and Bill was a lot of fun.  I kept a very good pace and saw a lot of great views. The top of Sassafras Mountain was beautiful. Saw my first snake today on a water break. I didn’t filter the water from a fast moving creek. Let’s see if that comes back to bite me in the ass. 

Taking a break at Gooch Mountain shelter. It’s a pretty new shelter and is in very good shape. Laid down on the loft and saw 3 mice in 10 minutes. That supported the idea that I have no interest in staying in shelters.

Getting some food cravings but not too many.  Bill was eating a bagel with peanut butter and it looked amazing.  The freeze dried stuff is good but I think there needs to be some balance. I had a steak craving yesterday and I had Skyline on the brain for about an hour today. Once I got it shut out, 5 minute later it was back.  Time for lunch, freeze dried chicken pot pie. 

We took off from the shelter once it started to fill up around 3:30.  The goal was to find somewhere that didn’t involve the likes of Sweeny.  No one could handle another night of that.  We hiked about a mile down to Gooch Gap. We set up camp at a grassy wooded area pretty confident it would be secluded away from the group.  Turns out we were wrong.  A couple from Hawk the night before were there when we came back from getting water – (not filtered).  

The attempt at a bear bag hanging was a big failure.  Not really too concerned about bears at this point but everyone else did it so we felt obligated.   We had a 10 minute conversation about all of the different kinds of crackers there are and how we wanted all of them - first really strange craving.  This must be like being pregnant. 

Time to crash. Another early day planned tomorrow. Headed 11 miles to Slaughter Creek Campsite.

4/11/2011

I was the first to rise this morning.  I figured I’d go get the food bags out of the trees.  Then I realized this had to be the worst attempt at a bear bag ever. Had a lazy morning getting everything together and eating breakfast - granola and blueberries again.  My feet started burning pretty quick today. They were numb after about 10 minutes of hiking.

At the first stop.  I put a piece of moleskin around a blister that was forming on the ball of my left foot. I DON’T GET BLISTERS! The AT doesn’t mess around.  It’s beating everyone up today. Our new friends Fish and Lemon are all banged up, knee and ankle issues. Luckily no one is all that mentally beat up. Spirits are high. No one in this loose group has given any thought to giving up. It’s great! I’m sore and beat up but I’m loving every minute of it. You hike up a tough 900 foot incline and at the top you are rewarded by an amazing view of the Georgia countryside.  There are random farmhouses and rolling hills that get greener the further you go.  The trees above 3,000 feet still haven’t put on leaves. The only green is the pines and hemlocks and some wildflowers just breaking through. The trail is pretty rocky through at this elevation.  Lots of great views, and wonderful breezes.  It’s been hot during the day especially in the sun. I’ve almost rolled my ankle quite a few times. You can’t help but get lazy and careless with your steps from time to time with the views. Going downhill is by far the toughest on your body.  The climbs get you winded and your legs burn but you get over that once you stop or change elevation.

Camped at Slaughter Creek tonight.  11 miles today.  It feels good.   Blood mountain summit is a mile away and 2 miles past that is Neels Gap. There is an outfitter there that the AT passes straight through.  I’m going to send a couple of things home.  Rainpants, radio, food bag, extra notebook, under armor cold gear just excess weight.  Should shave 5 pounds.  I normally carry 2 liters of water.  There have been some stretches I carried 4 which brings my total weight up to 45 lbs. That weight is somewhat brutal. 

There is a 70% chance of thunderstorms tonight. It might get interesting. None of us has yet to see any rain. We all think we’ve got this down.  Ha, we’ll see when it rains for 6 days straight. They say some go off the trail after just two days hiking in the rain.  Up at 6:30 to get to Neels by 9.  The mind is starting to get right. It’s almost gone!

4/12/2011

Today was the day I gained understanding of the whole bear issue.  I was woken at 5:30 this morning to Chris running around with his headlamp on.  He was yelling that Ollie’s food bag was pulled down and scattered around the camp.  Needless to say I was awake for the day. 

After the mornings festivities the day started with an ascent to Blood Mountain. At the top we met Norman, Kevin and Lunchbox at the shelter. I heated some water for a cup of coffee and signed the trail register.  Looking around we noticed bear claw marks in the tree limbs 8 feet up.  Bears had climbed and taken the entire bear bag here last night.  Blood Mountain shelter is a two story stone hut. It has 4 walls, unlike most shelters. Definitely the coolest looking shelter yet.

It was 2.6 miles from Blood Mountain to Neels Gap. The outfitter at Neels was a very welcome sight after 2.6 miles downhill.  First it was kind of a milestone but I was also out of food.  After resupply and some junk food gnarling Bill and Ollie decided to stay and take showers and do some laundry so the rest of us moved on.  Chris and I pushed on to Boggs creek so we could have a nice and easy day the next day.  So we pushed on to Low Gap shelter making for a 14 mile day. 

My feet were sore and aching but there were no blisters.  I haven’t had a problem with blisters since I started taping the balls of my feet with athletic tape.  The blister I had is almost completely gone.  I feel like I’m becoming what I need to become on the trail - malleable, resourceful and adaptive. 

Low Gap was packed so I moved on to a spot at the top of the hill. Chris showed up about 45 minutes later. I’m starting to get back to hiking by myself. I’m starting to enjoy that more. My own pace entirely. I have seen more wildlife and have been able to take better pictures.  We cooked dinner, lasagna scooped onto saltine crackers with Oreos for desert. Delicious!

 It’s getting very cold and supposed to be much colder tonight. My tent and sleeping bag are great.  I’ve not been cold yet. Still haven’t got much sleep.  It will happen soon. 

4/13/2011

Not a lot of sleep! I feel fine though.  Today was an awesome day of hiking. Didn’t get out of camp till 10:30 and only had 7 miles today.  The trail was smooth and very little grade. I was in no rush. The rhododendrons made a tunnel down long stretches of the trail. Spring growth is just getting started and the leaves are just barely budding. They seem to be in less of a hurry than I.

Bill, Ollie, Fish, and Lemon caught up with us at Blue Mountain Shelter.  It was good to see all of them again.  The mood was great at camp. We got a huge fire going and all sat around talking about Sweeny 1,2,3, and 4 and smart ass gear inventions.  For instance a gore-tex snuggie and eagle head leatherman. The idea of leading cattle out into the woods and eating them as we see fit has been discussed on multiple occasions. 

Blue Mountain shelter is a pretty basic wooden shelter. There is a tarp up on the open side because winds from the North are known to be pretty brutal at night. So far it’s a very calm night but we’ll see.  Getting tired.  Think I’ll crash. 

4/14/2011

The day of the burger and beer at camp.  I finally got some sleep. Thank Jesus. The sleep came with some pretty crazy and vivid dreams but, hey, I can’t be choosy.  Sleep is sleep.  As I unzipped the top of my tent I was greeted by a beautiful sunrise right in front of me.  It was as if the entire production was for my benefit. It can’t be beat.

I thought about going into Helen today with Bill and Bear Bait. Bear Bait was voted in as Ollie’s trail name. He was the first to have his food eaten by a bear. I decided against going to town because Berry Patch was coming up in two days. I would like to conserve some money and spread my town days out for places I want to visit. Who know maybe that will change.  Maybe I’ll become a town junky. The woods just feel right at this point.

I had a nice lei surly pace today overall but there was 3000 feet of elevation change in 3 consecutive miles. The inclines are getting owned but the declines are just so tough on the joints. The hills were steep and long.  I knocked out 8 miles in 3 1/2 hours today. The feet are feeling great. The blister is very close to being gone. I think it’s time to go to a mid boot or low top shoe. I like my boots but they are so heavy.

Bill and Bear Bait went into Helen to eat and get a beer. The town is a Bavarian town so BB wanted to see what it was all about. Helen is called the Gatlinburg of Georgia. Fish, Lemon, Chris, and I were at camp building a fire pit up with rocks as high as we could get it.  It ended up looking like an old well with a fire in it.  Bill and BB rolled into camp with big smiles on their faces and busted out the beers from BB’s home town and 6 Cheeseburger from Wendy’s. To top that off they had 3 different kinds of fudge. It was a great night at camp!  The view we had at Troy Mountain shelter was ridiculous. It was such a clear day.  You could see forever. After the burger and beers everyone made a double batch freeze dried meal.

Food is such a common subject. It’s all based on mileage and food.  I love this group of people.  The Wolfpack.  It all feels like a dream at times. Another really fun day. The places I get to everyday are unreal. I saw two snakes today and got a lot of pictures.  I really need a book on wildlife. I am starting to see a bigger variety of thing.

Got a bit of trail magic today for the first time. Got a bar and crackers from a couple of folks at the road crossing that goes into Helen. Let’s see if I can string together a couple of nights of sleep. Got a sunrise to see!

Ryan

Package From Ryan - 4/21

Received a package from Ryan today with a SD card with about 150 pictures and 12 pages of his jounal entries.  I'll be getting these posted Friday and Saturday.  He checked in on GPS this evening and he is just about to Fontana Lake.  The Map function has not worked very well today.  The site appears to be down.  I'll get this corrected ASAP.

Siler's Bald - 4/19

Ryan (Spork) called this evening from the top of Siler’s Bald in North Carolina.  He is currently hiking well above 4,000 feet and said everyone got good telephone reception tonight.  So they are ordering food and supplies off the internet to be sent to their next resupply mail drop.  He’s ordering a new pair of boots.  He’s happy with all of his equipment choices but says his boots are too heavy and too small.  He needs to go up another size.  Feet can swell up to two sizes larger with hard hiking.  They say an AT hiker will usually go through 5 or 6 pairs of hiking shoes. 

Today was “100 mile” day.  He completed his first 100 miles. They covered that distance in 8 days of actual hiking.  He said they did 19 miles yesterday and 14 today.  Both are beyond what they should be hiking at this point.  He agreed they need to cut back a bit.  Tennessee will do that automatically. 

He’s lost 10 lbs.  So, he gave a list of protein bars, carb gel packets, and Protein Powder I’m ordering to try to get to him by Gatlinburg.  He’s discussing food every other sentence.  He was fantasizing over easy-mac with packets of tuna mixed in like it was a Big Mac and fries. 

He said last night they hiked about a mile out of camp to a ridge on Big Spring Mountain to watch the sunset.  He described it vividly and said the best part was once the sun dipped over the mountain in front of them, the moon came up over the mountain behind them.   He said it was very gratifying to spend the day hiking straight up when you could reap the benefit of a sunset and moonrise over the mountains. 

He sounds really good. 

Voice from the Woods - 4/16

Ryan called at 11:30 this morning.  He and his tribe is at the Berry Patch Hostel in Hiawassee, Georgia.  Ryan talked non-stop with trail details and stories.  He sounds like he is having the time of his life.  They camped last night at Tray Mountain in a driving thunderstorm.  This was the first night he stayed in a trail shelter.  This morning he had a 3 mile hike to Route 76 where they were immediately picked up by the guy who owned the Hiking Hostel.  They planned this day as a down day.  After getting a shower he and his friends are headed into Hiawassee to destroy an all-you-can-eat buffet.

He says he feels great and his feet are holding up.  After learning a trail trick of taping your feet he has his blisters under control.  Today marks 1 week on the trail.  Many have given up by the North Carolina border.  Ryan is 1 day from making that crossing at Blye Gap.  He has hiked approx 70 miles this week.  He says he is tired and really needed this down day but he feels strong and he sounds strong.  He said that the Georgia Mountains are very difficult.  Yesterday in 3 miles he went straight up 1000 feet of elevation, down 1000 feet and back up another 1500 feet. 

It sounds like the group of hikers plan on staying together.  They all hike at equal rates and all get along well.  Although they plan on a common destination each night, all hike alone through the day.   Ryan said one of the advantages of a group is being able to move into a shelter and take it over.  He talked about campfires every night and said it is one of the more pleasurable times on the trail.

Ryan talked about his friends and finally gave me some names, trail names.  The guy from Germany's name is Bear Bait, from losing his food to a bear the second night.  Chris from N.J. is called Data from constantly checking the maps and setting alarms for wake-up.  Bill is called Beer Burger. He and Bear Bait blue blazed off the trail into town the 4th night and met up with the pack the next night with 6 cheeseburgers and 6 beers.  Ryan said it was the best fod he has ever eaten.  There is also a married couple hiking with them, Fish and Lemon.  Fish is from Florida and is an avid saltwater fisherman and his wife, Lemon. 

AT through hikers are always given a trail name.  Most often their moniker is assigned by those they hike with.  Ryan is now known as Spork.  He got it last night in camp when someone offered him a taste and Ryan whipped his spork from behind his ear.  Apparently he carries his spork behind his ear all of the time.  So, he's now known as Spork.

Ryan said he will be mailing a data card home from Hiawassee with pictures.  These will be posted as soon as they arrive.  He said his boots are already getting worn and splitting at the seams and he will be looking to buy new boots in the next few days as soon as he comes to a good outfitter.  He is evaluating his equipment and really only questions water purification going forward.  Ryan is using a purification pump.  All water he consumes on the trail comes from springs and creeks and has to be purified before it can be drunk.  There are several options and he's back and forth on which is best.  He asked that I try to find a certain protein bar for his next food drop shipment.  Today he received his first package that was mailed to Berry Patch Hostel.  His next will be sent in the coming week to Fontana Dam.

Since he got into Hiawassee before noon today he plans on getting back on the trial tomorrow.  They are starting the day with the traditional Berry Patch Hostel breakfast of Blueberry pancakes.  Ryan says there is as much conversation about food on the trail as anything. 

He should be camping in North Carolina Sunday night.  They are calling for rain and thunderstorms for the next few days.   

Apparently Ryan was in proper condition for this effort.  They say Georgia and the first week is the toughest.  He seems to be cruising.  The coming two weeks will take him through the Smokies and across the tops of the highest mountains in the southern section.  He currently has his sites set on being at Clingman's dome by the 25th.  

Ryan checked in one more time last night to give directions for his next food shipment.  He said they were lounging around the Hostel and eating a pizza.  He also said that he is sending some pages from his journal and asked that I post them.  He ran down the entire list of the wildlife he had seen.  He was hoping for a good night's sleep and seemed anxious to get back on the trail.  Hearing how well he is doing sure puts your mind at ease.   

Call from the trail 4/12

Ryan called this morning from the downhill side of Blood Mountain.   He was at the first restocking point on the trail, an outfitter on the trail called the Walasi-Yi Outfitter at Neal’s Gap.  He met and is currently hiking with a group of 3 guys from Germany, Florida, and New Jersey. He said they all met at the first shelter and have hiked together for the past few days.  Ryan sounded in good spirits and genuinely seemed to be have a great time.  He reported a thunderstorm last night but said his equipment kept him dry.  He said he’s not sleeping a lot because he feels too hyped up.  He also said that the guy from Germany got his food broke bag into by a bear last night.  I got the impression the experience gave them all a different perspective on the possibility of meeting bears.
    

He said that every day is tough and he was starting to feel a little beat up as was the rest of the group.  Ryan said he was getting his first good blister.  He was pretty matter-of-fact about it all. He also commented that the hardest part of hiking was going downhill.  They had just climbed Blood Mountain this morning which was the highest peak in Georgia.  The long downhill hike shifted weight and put different pressure on his feet.  At this point on the trail you are either going up or down, nothing in between.  He’s already rethinking his whole eating regime.  He’s giving up on cooking a hot meal twice a days and giving in to cold “snack” stuff for lunch.

He discussed his next food shipment to Blue Berry Patch Hostel and that he may be sending a few things home but in general he was handling the weight in his pack well. 

For some reason his GPS ping did not come through last night so he re-sent from the outfitter.  He will mark his location tonight when they camp.

He said he'd been doing a lot of writing and would be sending some stuff to post on the blog along with pictures one he gets to Hiawassee.  

All in all he sounded great.  There was a completely different tone to his voice.  It was almost a cautious cockiness. I think he has crossed a mental and physical boundary.

Pictures from the trail head April 9, 2011

The trip up to Springer was about 3 hours off the interstate.  It ran from 4 lane to 2 lane to 1 lane to gravel to dirt.  The morning was very foggy and it was often hard to see much more than a car length in front.  The final road was nothing more than a logging trail that wound 7 miles around the top of Springer.  It was like driving into a movie set.   Much to our amazement once we got to the top there was a dirt patch parking lot with several other day hikers and a few through hikers preparing their equipment.  Much quicker than I was ready for him to go Ryan was outfitted and ready. 

We snapped a few pictures, exchanged goodbyes and off he went. It wasn't easy watching Ryan walk off into the fog.  Parental anxiety aside,  I felt at ease with his preparedness, his lack of hesitation, and his conviction to the trip.  I'd be lying if I said my heart wasn't a little heavy. 

Ryan knows his family and friends love and support him.  We're all proud of what he's doing but more proud of the man, brother, son and friend he's become. He's now on his own but he will never be far from those of us who love him. 

Dad 

April 8 - Night Before

I sit here in a hotel room in Cleveland, Tennessee, the door propped open with my pack listening to the passing highway traffic, knowing that tomorrow is the day, the day that I will embark on a 2,200 mile journey from Springer Mountain, GA to Mt. Katahdin, Maine. This fact is something that is still sinking in. You would think that this would be pretty real at this point but it still seems like a dream. I am ready. Ready to put down the books. Ready to stop staring at a floor full of bandaids and freeze dried food thinking, "am I forgetting anything?" Ready? Who the hell knows. Ill figure it out as I go just as I do everything else. I am as ready as I can be. What I do know is that I am just as excited today as I was the day I decided this was what I wanted to do. I still remember the feeling, the exhilarating and the smell of the unknown. Unknown and adventure is what I am looking for. Tomorrow is the day I officially clock out.

Ryan