Category Archives: Appalachian trail

A Great First Day on the Appalachian Trail!

A Great First Day on the Appalachian Trail!
I was up at 7 am. Packed my gear and headed uphill to Springer Mountain, the official start of the Appalachian Trail. I took a photo of the plaque and headed back to the parking lot. Onward! The landscape was rather gray with most of the trees and shrubs without leaves. Eastern white pines, eastern…
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Happy Feet, Happy Hiker

Happy Feet, Happy Hiker
Long-distance hikers utterly depend on functional feet that can take a beating and keep on walking. The photograph shows me doctoring an infected blister on the outside of my left heel on the Colorado Trail in 2009. You can see the outlines of strips of duct tape that I wrapped around my heels. I learned…
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A Steep Hike Ahead of Me

A Steep Hike Ahead of Me
Three weeks from today, I expect to camp at the Hawk Mountain Shelter at mile 7.8 on the Appalachian Trail, day 1 of my AT through-hike. To get to that point, I’ve been steadily checking off tasks on my spreadsheet.  See my Appalachian Trail Gear List. The AT is reputed to be more challenging than…
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My Appalachian Trail Gear List

My Appalachian Trail Gear List
Here is my Appalachian Trail Gear List! Last fall, I started thinking seriously about hiking the Appalachian Trail. I was ready to continue my long-distance hiking cycling adventures. One major consideration was my wife, Betsy’s, feelings about my being gone for 4.5 months. I was grateful that she gave me the go-ahead to attempt a…
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