UPDATE 5/9/11

All, I apologize for not being able to update this blog as often as expected.  AT&T has proven to be a horrendous cell/internet provider for the trail, making it extremely difficult to sign on to the web.  I have been keeping a more updated blog through my facebook application if you would like to check there.  The page is titled "Appalachian Trail Thru Hike 2011".  I still, however, cannot post photos on this page either (thank you AT&T). 

Consequently, I will make sure to upload all trail images, videos, and journal entries to this blogsite upon completing the trail in October and use this as a review of this amazing hike!

We have now made it to Virginia and will be in this state for about a month (550 miles).

Please check back in October 2011.... I'll have TONS of pictures, videos, a thorough personal gear review, trail stories, etc!!! 

Update 2: only have time for a few pics, sorry!

Bear bagging our food.  Also remember to include toothpaste, drink mixes, and chapstick...

Thank you CHARLES for the Mapdanna... LOVE IT

Thank you RENEE for the Poo Bags.... they are AWESOME

Shelter #1 - great night. We were spoiled with this Class A shelter!

Update 1

The hike is going well so far! My legs feel like jello and my feet are already bandaged up, but I am completely in love with this hike. The AT is certainly an amazing place. I have met many people from all walks of life including a young man that played his shakuhichu for everyone by the campfire (aka Rebel), a 65 year old man walking to Virgina with 60lbs on his back to visit his daughter (aka Tequila Joe), and a girl that thought she woukd be fine sleeping in shorts and no thermarest pad (we almost had a hypothermia scare).

Things I've learned so far:
1)If you leave your pack upright on the shelter table, it WILL fall over right into a fresh mud puddle
2)If your pack falls into a mud puddle, your camelback mouthpiece will too
3)Hikers midnight starting at 8pm is NO JOKE
4)My homemade stove is the bomb
5)I have been dubbed "Benz"
6)I have never known a mile to be so long.
7)Let me repeat, I have never known a mile to be so long. EVER.
8)Trail magic is REAL.
9)If you are a new hiker and trek over 11 miles on day two, you will have bandaged feet and limp with your back bent over almost parallel to the ground.
10)The AT is awesome!!!


I have tons of pictures to share, but unfortunately cannot post from my trail phone. Ill be sure to post when possible.

Ash :)

Dehydrating, Organizing, and Packaging 6 months of food



Unless you want to live off of tuna and trial mix for the next 6 months,

you probably want to get somewhat creative with your food :)



 

Every meal should be packaged and categorized as conveniently as possible!  Or maybe that's just my OCD kicking in :)



My homemade stove.  Made from a Fancy Feast cat can.  CHEAP and LIGHTWEIGHT. 
Touchdown.

Davie County Showin' Some Luv

PRACTICE HIKE 3/5/11

Leaving for the practice hike and camping at 4pm today.  Pack is at 26lbs including consumables (2.5L water, fuel, and 1.5 days worth of food).  Needs a little work since I'll be adding 4 more days worth of food poundage and other thru-hiking necessities (first aid kit, winter gear, etc).

OH and note the animal print duct tape.  I know I'll catch a LOT of crap for this haha



Infamous foot shot.  Cheetah print duct tape looking fabulous.





What an awesome lunch session on the Cape Fear River!



FAQ's

Over the past few months, I have encountered many of the same questions from friends and family curious about various logistics and details of this AT Hike.  Below are a few answers if you happen to wonder yourself:   

1. So, how do you handle your “BUSINESS” on The Appalachian Trail? – Well, let’s just say the VERY old fashioned way.  Say goodbye to shiny white porcelain stools 3 feet off the ground with 4 walls of privacy that simply flush all your worries away, and say HELLO to digging a 6 inch cat-hole with your trowel or stick, rolling a log up next to it to sit on for comfort, and providing a 360 degree panorama of your call of duty/doodie for all other hikers around.  Aka:  You poo in the ground.  Oh, did I forget to mention that according to “Leave No Trace” guidelines, you are supposed to pack out your used toilet paper in a plastic zip lock bag, and carry with you until you reach the next trail town?  (Hmmm, maybe I’ll just use the local flora/fauna in place of your normal TP.  Of course, after I update my knowledge on what poison ivy leaves look like).

2. So, how often do you SHOWER on the Appalachian Trail? – Until you run out of alcohol swabs and wet naps.  Oh wait, you mean the type of shower with luxurious, clean, clear, Giardia-free sparkling steaming hot water?!?  Not as often as you may think.  We will be hiking through trail towns offering hostels, motels, hotels etc. every 3-7 days.  Considering I shower approximately 1.7 times every single day, this will undoubtedly be a huge adjustment.  Especially taking into account that you are hiking an average of 13 miles per day (sometimes more), out in the open woods, with 30 lbs on your back, sometimes during the sweltering hot summer sun with monkey butt.  Scrub-a-dub-dub.

    

3.       So, will you be sleeping in your TENT the whole time on the Appalachian Trail? – For the most part, yes… yes I will.  We will occasionally stay at a nearby hostel which provides a 2 inch mattress on an actual elevated bed frame (this will be considered a luxury after sleeping on my Thermarest pad on the ground every night).   However, there are approximately 270 shelters or “lean-tos” scattered along the AT.  Hikers have the option of sleeping in these shelters if there is room.  I have chosen the tent option because of the following advice received not too long ago:  “If it is not too cold outside at night and you choose to sleep in a shelter, lay down with your head facing the outside opening and not where the back wall and floor connect on the inside.  This is where many of the mice, spiders, and all other critters like to run around, and these fearless rodents will run right over your face.  Oh yeah… snakes feed on them at night too.  So your head will be lying right in the middle of a feeding frenzy.”  I.E. -  TENT WINS.

4. So, how and what do you EAT on the Appalachian Trail? –Considering you will be burning up to 6,000 calories every day, the type of food you eat, and its caloric density, is very important.  On average, you’re only 4-5 days away from a trail town, which means, on average, you will be carrying 4-5 days worth of food on your back.  It is said you will eat about 1.5 pounds of food per day.  You do the math.  And thanks to my Mom and Dad (I love you so much!!!),  I will be receiving mail drops about every two weeks which will include homemade dehydrated meals (light to carry, dense and fluffy after cooking), tuna packets, instant mashed potatoes, peanut butter, GORP, powdered milk, granola bars,  etc etc.   These mail drops will be mailed to General Delivery and held for me and Joanna at Post Offices along the AT.  We will also load up in trail towns when we run out of food.  I will have my mail drop schedule and locations up in the next couple of weeks:  feel free to stop by your local alphabet store and send us as many airplane bottles as you would like!!!  CHEERS!         

5. So, how much WATER do you carry on the Appalachian Trail? – The average hiker should be consuming approximately 3 liters of water every day.  One liter of water weighs about 2.2 lbs. x 3 liters per day x 5 days = 33 extra lbs.  Not happening.  In consequence, we will be cultivating our drinking water from streams, rivers, etc and purifying it chemically or by a water filter.  After researching this and considering all options… I have decided to purify my water with chlorine tablets.  (Guess it will taste kind of like pool water, without the pee). 

6. So, what about the BEARS on the Appalachian Trail? – Plan A: According to Winnie the Pooh, all they want is some honey.  Before you leave for the trail, dehydrate some honey pellets, stash in an easy to reach pack pocket with a sling-shot and launch.  Plan B:  If honey isn’t what Mr. Bear is after, bust out some Kung-Fu.  Plan C:  Use common sense.  Black bears, unlike Grizzlies, are very shy creatures.  Believe me, your boney hiker’s butt won’t look very appetizing to Mr. Bear… he just wants your food.  So… don’t sleep with food in your tent and make sure to bear bag it (hang it in between two trees on your nylon cord).  Also, run in the opposite direction of you see a baby bear cub:  Momma Bear is guaranteed to be nearby with binoculars watching every move your boney arse makes.     

7. So, are you going to carry a GUN on the Appalachian Trail? – Guns on the AT are highly discouraged.  You are more likely to need protection at night (or even the day) in the streets of the city YOU live in.  Plus, guns are prohibited in many of the National Parks you hike through.  Yes, there have been some accidents reported over the past century regarding crime on the AT, but they are most likely FAR less than the crime statistics of your own town.  No, you don’t have a dead-bolt on your tent and no, you don’t have police officers trolling the trails.  But you are always surrounded by your hiking buddies, which will be happy to whoop some arse for their fellow man if needed.  The thru-hiking community on the AT is a close-knit group.  You are, for the most part, never alone, and with people that are more concerned with drinking clean water, singing Kumbaya, and enjoying the raw nature that is part of our hiking objective.  Guns are for wimps anyway, wuss.

8. So, how much does it COST to hike the Appalachian Trail? –  A lot.  So send me some money, please J  On average, thru-hiking the AT will cost about $2 per mile, and the AT is 2,175 miles long.  This amount does not take into account the gear you have to buy before leaving and during weather swaps.  To date (2/18/11) I have spent close to $2,500 on gear (I started from scratch).  You also have to remember health insurance, cell phone service, rent, mortgages, credit card bills, and any other monthly bills you are leaving behind.  Thru-hiking is a major financial commitment and can take a very long time to build up enough cushion.  In my personal circumstance, I started saving up for a new SUV back in 2009 and decided to stick with my current car (the little VW Jetta, putt putt) and keep saving for a big adventure, which happens to be the AT in 2011.  The past two years of saving up will make for a lifetime of stories to tell!

PRE-AT HIKE: Wilderness Survival School (WSS) at the NOC 9/2010


 

Hiking up to our campsite/classroom  for the weekend

 

Our WSS classroom for the weekend.  Fully equipped with camp fire and military parachute

Let's learn about snakes.  Big 'ole snakes that you WILL see while hiking the AT.

 

Learning all about knives and carved our own tools for cooking, building shelter, stakes, pot holders, etc

Cultivating water from the natural springs.  In this simulation, we had to use condoms since "that's all we had in our survival kit that would hold extra water".  (These can hold up to 5 liters of water by the way...)

Water purification system.  We took nasty, murky, muddy water in the mud pit next to Jono and purified it naturally into clean, clear drinking water

Fire starting and what to use

Vaseline and cotton balls... works like a charm

Poor fella didn't pass class

Natural foliage shelter

Shelter for the night.  Was larger than appears in photo.  Two 55 gal trash bags duct taped together.  Also learned how to tie various knots and set up different styles of shelter

Under the parachute Saturday night.  Very cool

The Master Bathroom

Nationally recognized botanist teaching about edible and medicinal plants.  Jojo getting ready to eat the root of this one

This plant can be used as a natural insect repellant... its poultice smells like a bath and body works scent!

Shave the bark off with your fingernail and you get a "toothpick" flavored exactly like rootbeer.  Can also be used for flavoring foods or water

Animal tracking and capture

Example first aid kit

PRE - AT HIKE: Wilderness First Aid (WFA) Class at the NOC 8/2010

Mom made us a big cup o' CHEESE GRITS for the drive up to our WFA class at the NOC.  (Thx Mom <3)

The Hostel at Basecamp

Jono teaching us how to splint and sling with cravats, tshirts, shoe laces and duct tape

Bivouac making impromptu

CPR class with the infamous Drev

The beautiful NOC (Nantahala Outdoor Center in Bryson City, NC) where our classes were held.  The AT actually crosses the bridge in the picture.

We were able to squeeze in a little white water rafting in between classes  ;)

"TRAIL MAGIC" already coming in!!

A HUGE thank you is extended to Mark Van Osdal (a fellow Wilderness First Aid classmate from Nantahala Outdoor Center) for reserving his amazing mountain cabin for us to take a break while hiking through North Carolina!!  http://www.independencelodge.com/

MANY MANY THANKS MARK!

What to expect AFTER your hike

Thought this was interesting.... Copied from an article on Whiteblaze.net

"Post-thru-hike:  God you are not going to believe the changes that will have occurred to you if you complete a thru-hike of the Appalachian Trail. Physical, mental, spiritual changes.
This is something you might want to take into account prior to starting your thru-hike -- like, don't plan to start work the very next day after you finish your thru-hike! It would be best to plan to take a month off between finishing your thru-hike and your first day of work if possible. That'll give you some time to come back to the reality of society and get accustomed to what everyone else thinks is 'daily living'.

Also, be aware that people who know you well prior to you starting your thru-hike may find a different person returning from the Trail. Here are a few changes that I experienced right after my thru-hike -- I think most of these are pretty common changes experienced by thru-hikers:

a) You are considerably skinnier! Ha. Your facial appearance may have changed substantially, you may have grown a beard, your hair may be 6 months longer and it may be difficult for some to recognize you without having to stare for a moment or two at you. The first thing people say to you who weren't aware you went on a thru-hike of the Appalachian Trail is, "How did you get so skinny!" The next thing they might say is, "Why are you always hobbling like you're in pain?"

b) You eat like a horse and don't have any table manners left. Yeah, little pinkies up didn't seem to be all that important to you over the course of the last six months. You'll probably come around to fitting back into table-manner society though.

c) You see clean water running from a sink spigot that doesn't have to be treated with iodine as the most amazing and enjoyable invention of man. For the first few days back from your thru-hike, you may find you still drink from your water bottles and fill them up from that amazing colossal sink spigot.

d) Taking a shower and being clean all the time -- woo boy this whole side of life is such a joy! And people get to do this shower thing every day?? With hot water?? Ha, wait until someone tells you they think it might be a good idea for you to start considering under-arm deoderant. Big ol' pitch of the head to the side as if you heard a high-pitched noise.

e) Cologne and Perfume. You are probably not going to be able to stand the smell of perfume and cologne. Even today, three years after my AT thru-hike, it still gags me. Right off the Trail your sense of smell will likely have become so acute that even the smallest amount of perfume is magnified many times over. But your own natural skanky body odor... yeah, that smell somehow gets filtered out by your brain.

f) You are going to find out just how noisy life back in civilization can be -- the noise level that most people live with every day of their life (and actually think of as being "quiet"!) is annoying to you when you first return from your thru-hike.

g) You may find yourself scared to death riding in a car doing 70mph down the freeway while the driver has their head turned talking to you rather than watching the road ahead. Just keep pumping that imaginary brake pedal and grabbing the dashboard...

h) You may constantly wonder where your backpack is located. You've carried the thing for over 2000 miles and it's become a part of you. Knowing where your backpack is located while your on the Trail had become very important to you and being without it after your thru-hike is going to feel so odd.

i) You are going to be way more relaxed than most non-thru-hiker people you meet right after your thru-hike. You'll find that most non-thru-hikers don't think anything about carrying on two, three or four activities at the same time. It's become the norm to them to maximize the use of time. They're talking on cell phones while they're typing on a laptop while their eating. Woo boy is that gonna seem so strange to see!

j) Sleeping indoors. I know if you're sitting at home right now contemplating your upcoming thru-hike next year, this idea of not getting used to sleeping indoors is gonna seem strange to you. How could you not wanna sleep in a soft bed with warm covers inside a building? For some thru-hikers returning after their thru-hike where they tented all the way the length of the AT, a bed may seem to be too soft and uncomfortable when compared to sleeping in a tent with a sleeping bag. After a few days or weeks most thru-hikers will come around and get used to the idea of sleeping indoors in a regular bed. However, I have heard of past thru-hikers who, 30 days after their hike, continued to sleep outdoors in their sleeping bag on their front porch at night.

k) Sunrise. You may find that once the sun comes up, you can't sleep anymore even if you try to go back to sleep. And all those birds at home that start chirping at sunrise that you'd never heard before...yeah, you're probably going to hear them every morning for say, the first month back in civilization.

l) Fears and worries. Right off the Trail you're probably not going to have too many worries and you're probably not going to have fear of much of anything beyond the speed of cars on the freeway. Fears are things you'll re-acquire to some extent once your back into civilization on a full-time basis.

m) Confidence. Ha, right off the Trail you are probably going to be the most quietly confident person you've ever met. Nothing of importance is going to seem too big a challenge. It'll take a while for society to beat a little of that confidence out of you but in the end, it'll still be a huge net gain of confidence after society is through melding and molding you into the way you end up becoming after your thru-hike.

n) Clothes. Why in the world do people have so many clothes?? Well see, it's this way. People always want to look their best because looking good helps them feel better about themselves and others will remember that you just wore such-and-such sweater two days ago and...

o) Animals. After my thru-hike I found animals had a great attraction to me. I can't explain it much except maybe it was due to animals not sensing fear in me. Or maybe they were attracted like flies to the smell! Ha.

p) Reflexes. If you used hiking poles during your thru-hike you're going to find that your hand reflexes are on the extreme side of fast. Much of that is probably due to constantly having to guide hiking poles with a fine touch without having to think much about the placement of poles while you hiked.

q) Television. If you were a TV hound before your thru-hike you may have a great desire to catch up with all the TV shows you missed while you were on your thru-hike. Then again, you may end up deciding that television is simply a means where Corporate America can sell products interspersed with a little entertainment now and then. In any case, there will likely be an amazement of some kind about the power and/or waste of television.

r) Music. I listened to music almost every day of my AT thru-hike. I'd made it a point to purposely listen to music that I hadn't really encountered much prior to my thru-hike. Particularly country music and classical music. When it rained in Georgia I listened to Chopin because his music sounded much like rain to me. When I passed through Tennessee I listened to country music because, well that's all there was on the radio! Ha. For someone who didn't like country music at all prior to my thru-hike it's become the preferred music I listen to on the radio in the car.

s) Trail Talk. Right after you return to civilization all you are going to talk about, think about and dream about is life on the Appalachian Trail. Your co-workers, your spouse, your kids, your parents are probably not going to want to talk about the Trail *NEAR* as much as you are gonna want to talk about the Trail. Eventually you'll get some additional interests and start talking about other subjects after having been back in society for a while. But talking about the Appalachian Trail will not likely ever leave you completely."

8 WEEKS UNTIL DEPARTURE!!

After MONTHS and MONTHS of EXTENSIVE planning, I have decided to take on the challenge of thru-hiking the Appalachian Trail.... walking 2175 miles across 14 states for 6 months in one go! The entire length of the AT involves elevation changes equaling 16 ascents of Mount Everest. This is all accomplished by walking a half-marathon every day (13 miles) for 6 months carrying around 30 pounds on your back. BRING IT!

In the beginning, I remember looking up the definition of a "THRU-HIKE". Now how times have changed! Over the past year, I have found myselft captivated with the idea of thru-hiking and getting OUTSIDE!!! Since April of 2010, I immersed myself in the idea of hiking the AT ... reading several books and meeting with several veteran AT hikers to glean info from their experiences. I have also finally accomplished the goals of obtaining a WFA Certification (Wilderness First Aid), WSS (Wilderness Survival School Level 1) and CPR certification. All of this hard work will surely help me accomplish my next goal of HIKING THE APPALACHIAN TRAIL IN 2011!

This trip is not taken with a group or guided by a professional. So needless to say, one can only imagine the intense planning required to accomplish this feat: budgeting for a 6 month period, mapping your itinerary, planning mail drops (thank you Mom and Dad!), food planning (you burn up to 6,000 calories every day), how to cultivate and purify your drinking water(gravity filter vs. iodine vs. chlorine etc...), fire starting, building shelters and bivouacs, dehydrating food, what to do in lightening storms, medical conditions without immediate medical help such as hypothermia, Lyme disease, rabies, paresthesia, stone bruises, hantavirus, giardia lamblia infections, cryptosporidium, poision ivy/oak/sumac, not to mention protecting yourself from ticks (with Lyme Disease, yuck), administering to potential spider bites (brown recluse ring a bell? ewe), bears, rattle snakes (there are lots on the AT, ahh!), moose, how to bear bag your food, Leave No Trace practices, wilderness injuries and care, the myriad of gear choices... and the list goes on...

My main objective is to get back to the basics, void my life of the luxuries we ALL have, but tend to overlook everyday. Tired of waking up to alarm clocks just to fight traffic and be inside a building all day, wondering what the fresh air smells like outside and taming the insatiable desire for fresh sunlight. I want to experience raw nature, get back in touch with my soul, experience peace, calmness, and my relationship with God.

This page was created to share my experience with all who may be interested in this 6 month hiking adventure!

Please stay tuned as I will be updating with pictures and information regularly.


"Many of us exist in a state of disenchantment with the contemporary world. We are tired of bills, crowds, pollution, and consumerism. The onslaught of technological and commercial intervention in our lives is a motivational force that drives some people to the refuge of the woods for a prolonged break. Rather than looking at this as an escapist retreat from society, a long hike should be viewed as a healthy exploration of an alternative lifestyle."

-Michelle Ray in How to Hike the AT