AT Trail Hike

Hey everyone,

I've been getting back into hiking more this summer and just went on a short 15 mile hike on Sunday. I brought a light pack, but my friend had his full frame and a tent, good thing too, it stormed on us, so it came in handy.
I had a great time, and was amazed that I climbed up the steep incline that the trail turned into... I haven't done any freestyle rock climbing since a kid. No big deal for you experts out there, but it was a thrill for me.
I always look for wild edible's while hiking and since blueberries are in season, we munched along the entire trail.
At the top of a peak, I sat next to a small tree and noticed something familiar... yup... a black birch, so I snipped a few twigs to make tea later on..yummy.
Down the path was a nice stream where I found some crayfish to cook up and growing nearby was some hemlock pine, which I also grabbed for tea.
We traveled down stream until we found a deep pool and my friend went swimming in the cold water...Brrrrrrrrr!!!!
And at the end of the hike, like all other trips, I never want to leave. My friends made a comment about me staying there, so I turned around and walked back down the path, but they called me back... I said, "don't tempt me, you know I'll take off into the wild, and survive just fine" they replied, "we know... come on, lets go home."

Though we got in the car and drove away, I was thinking... I may be going back, but my home is in the wilderness, and some day, I'll find it.

Peace all,
Spirit Wynd

 

And that's exactly why I'd rather live in a tent and hike the AT year round, than live in a house.

 

Hey there Zoomie, how are ya?

Somehow I knew you'd find this...lol.

Peace man

 

Yeah anything with AT in the title drags me in like a tractor beam...

 

I've been on various stretches of it in the Smokies. Someday I would love to hike the whole trail!

I wonder what some of the highlights of it are (beyond the smokies)?

 

I've only been to like a dozen places on the AT in NJ, PA, and NY, and every part of the trail for me was a highlight. But there is something special about the streams and creeks that flow through... like a childhood memory trying to emerge. I always flip a few stones looking for crayfish, or try to spot a frog or something.
It's also great to spy upon a forest critter going about the business...even signs of their presence, or finding and eating a wild plant is a treat as well.

A highlight is whatever draws you and that you make special during your visit. Make it a personal experience, take some pictures, maybe write about it in a journal.
Many people, like with all things, may be able to look... but they never see.

I believe even if you hiked the whole trail, it would take a lifetime to see all of it.

Hey Zoomie, you've seen quite a bit of the AT, what do you think?

 

Well the bits I've been on in the smokies were high elevation ridge walk stuff. So the highlights in that area I would say were the views. Just beautiful. Plus there were many nice patches of light forest and wild flowers.

 

Sounds like a highlight to me... very cool. I bet you had a blast and look for such each trip you go on.

 

that sounds like such an amazing time! i was so close to hiking these mountains in italy and they were so pretty but we never called the right people to help us set something up. im not at all in shape to hike the whole mountain but just to put my feet on it would of been amazing. i hope i can do that before i die many a times!

 

The first 500 miles and the last 500 miles are the hardest and also the most beautiful. The middle is kinda flat, PA is kinda rocky.

The rest you have to discover for yourself. You'll be glad you did.

 

It's the journey, not the destination.

Lately I've been more into hiking the side trails than covering ground. I've come to the conclusion that I could spend an entire lifetime exploring local parts of the AT, yet barely scratch the surface.

Of all the sections of the AT I've covered, including Northern GA around Springer Mountain, the Smokies, the Greens in VT, the Whites in NH, my favorite part's the Northern terminus, near Katahdin up in Maine. It's quiet, remote, and pristine up there.

Nothing like spending time hiking with all your gear on your back and sleeping on the ground to appreciate what's real and what's important.

 

Quite true.

 

That's exactly why I don't have a favorite area or place or state on the AT. I love every step of it I've taken (and it has been neither enough nor many) and it's not something you can adequately describe. It has to be experienced.

 

Zoomie's got it right, having a "favorite" part of the AT is like saying one part of heaven, utopia, or whatever, is better than the rest, there is no "best" part (though I had my wedding not too far from Katahdin Maine a couple years back, so it bears a special significance for me).

'Bottom line is, if you're out in the woods sleeping on the ground, and you're comfortable and safe, with plenty of provisions (like wasabi peas, and maybe a flask of good bourbon), it's all good.

 

I always bring my digital camera and put the picture's on my pc, so whenever I need to, I can visit the trail again and refresh the memories... not even close to the real thing, but until you go back for real... a good picture or three works fine.
I put each hike into a different folder, for each place has its own unique highlights. And I cherish them all...

 

You should put some of those pictures in your gallery.

 

Seconded. Being a dedicated gram weenie I don't carry a camera. My picture folders are in my head. Kinda hard to download...

 

Right on Zoomie... the best pictures are in my head, along with the flavor of being there,but with my memory, I'd like to have something to look at as well.

 

I agree the best pictures are the ones you've got in your head, but the ones you take with your camera are for sharing with the rest of the world. I've got a fairly small waterproof digital camera I try to bring on my excursions, and the picture quality can be sketchy depending on the light conditions, but sometimes I get lucky.

Here's a shot I took one morning up in Maine.

 

My '98 thru hike was the expierence of a lifetime.