Thoughts from the AT

Day 1 (Part two)

2005-08-22T14:51:00.000-07:00

After John felt better, we headed down to the Wesser Bald Shelter. John and I rested a few minutes and Jim went ahead to to the water source. We caught up with him as he was pumping water from an excellent source - a metal box that collected the water from a piped spring. The water can sometimes contain bacteria which can make you sick, so it's recommended you use a water filter before drinking the water.

Water filter

A word about water. Everyone needs different amounts of water while hiking. I, for example, do not sweat a lot. Well, that is to say I don't sweat a lot compared to most people, and consequently, I find that I don't need as much water as most people. John, on the other hand, is soaked through after only an hour of hiking. He needs to drink about twice as much water as I do when we're hiking the same distance. Jim is somewhere in between the two of us in terms of the amount of water he needs.

After we had enough water, we started toward the next shelter. I took the lead and was moving pretty quickly. There were a few ups and downs in this section. Here's one place that we stopped and took pictures:

After a while, we started on the very long down. I use two hiking sticks on the downs so my arms take a lot of the force instead of my legs. I am always trying to protect my knees.

Hiking sticks

I was soon out of sight of John and Jim. As I was moving down, I met a man and woman hiking up. The woman was out of breath and struggling. She asked how much further. I told her it wasn't too much further to the bald, which I assumed was their destination. I had the impression she was coerced into making the hike by her companion, who was carrying the backpack and seemed to be doing well. She signed and kept hiking after throwing an evil eye to her companion who seemed oblivious.

A little while later, I came across a mother-daughter hiking team. They were also headed past the Bald. The daughter and I chatted for a little while. The mother seemed happy to have a moment of rest. Both were carrying large backpacks. I remembered my pack last year and was glad I was slackpacking. It's truly the only way to hike.

I kept moving down quickly, enjoying the quiet of the trail. It was beautiful and there is something special about being alone in the wilderness with green all around you. I stopped a number of times to wait for John and Jim to catch up, but they never did. I figured they were moving slowly and stopping a lot, so I kept moving. Finally the trail opened up into a large clearing. To my left, a path lead to the water. To my right another path lead the A. Rufus Morgan shelter, named for a Reverend who helped establish and maintain the AT in North Carolina. I explored the area and them the shelter. It was nice enough and I took a short nap on the floor. I didn't have a watch, but I knew John and Jim should have caught up with me. I decided to head back up the trail to see if they were in trouble. I still couldn't believe there was really a problem, but I can't stand hanging around doing nothing. I am one of those people who always has to be doing something, so I figured the best thing to do was head back up the trail. I wasn't looking forward to it as it would be a helluva climb, but I had rested, eaten some jerky, and was feeling good enough.

After only a short way up the trail, I saw Jim heading down slowly. I called out and he said words I never thought I'd hear on the trail.

"John's down."

"Down? What does you mean, down?" I asked.

Jim was out of breath and completely out of sorts. I had never seen him like this before. See, I am the youngest brother. John is the closest in age to me and he's five years older. Jim has nine years on me. I defer to them and here was Jim looking like hell, beat down, worried; this was not good for confidence. He needed water because he had left all of his with John. I gave him what I had. Then he told me the story.

John's leg had cramped up on him as he was hiking and he nearly fell. Jim grabbed his arm and kept him from tumbling down the tree covered mountain. They rested for a while until John's leg felt better. They also switched packs. Five minutes, John's leg went out again and he collapsed. He couldn't stand. They rested again, but John's leg wasn't getting any better. Jim tried to scout ahead for a better place to rest, but there was nothing. John had fallen at the worst possible place - right in the middle of steep and narrow down. Finally, Jim decided to hike forward and find me, figuring... well, I am still not sure what the plan was. I don't think Jim had a definite one in mind. He mentioned hiking to the NOC, buying a tent, and getting back to John so we could make camp. But by the time he reached me, he had decided just to get some water, bring it back to John, and see if his leg muscles were working again. We got the water and started climbing back up. Jim stopped and said he needed to rest. He looked awful. I told him to give me his weight, but all he would give me was the extra water for John. We started up again, but Jim couldn't do it. I told him to go back to the shelter and rest. I was feeling good and would get the water to John. Frankly, I was surprised that he listened to me, but he did.

I hiked for about a quarter mile and my body was tiring out. My legs ached, my arms hurt, and the idea of John lying helpless on the trail exhausted me. Still, I kept going because what else could I do? To my surprise, just a few minutes later, I saw John hobbling down the path.

I whooped and he called out to me. When I reached him, we both drank some water. John told me he finally managed to work himself up to a standing position with the help of a nearby tree. Once up, John was determined to not fall again. He slowly, slowly started moving down the trail. Every step was a risk but he just figured he had to get down as he knew there was no way Jim and I were going to be able to carry him out. I was amazed that he made it down on his own power. I don't think I could have done it if I had been in his position.

John and Jim rested at the shelter for a long time. When John was feeling up to it, we headed out slowly. I carried John's pack for last mile hike to the NOC. We moved very slowly and carefully, but we made it. At Wesser, we ate barbeque chicken sandwiches. Then we got the cars and headed to Robinsville, where we figured we'd find a hotel. John needed a real bed to sleep in. On the way to Robinsville, John pulled over, got out of the car, and vomited. I drove the rest of the way. We got to the hotel, John went to sleep, and Jim and I grabbed a late dinner.

At the end of Day 1, I found myself in a strange predicament. For once, I was the one who was doing well and John was having trouble. This was a hell of a role reversal for me. I had no idea what the plan was for Day 2. More hiking? Home? I had no idea.

Hike 2005 - Day 1 (Part one)

2005-08-08T06:35:00.000-07:00

Every year, my brother John attempts a week long hike of a portion the Appalachian Trail (AT). The AT is a continuous marked footpath that goes from Katahdin in Maine to Springer Mountain in Georgia, a distance of about 2160 miles. For the past three years, I have joined him. Last year, our brother Jim and our sister Jane joined in the adventure. For this year, there are only three of us, as Jane decided one year of blistered ankles was enough.

Cast of characters:

John, the seasoned hiker. His first year out of Springer Mountain, he hiked something like 60 miles. First time he'd ever done any hiking of this sort. Naturally, as a member of my crazy family, he chose one of the most difficult hiking experiences - the Appalachian Trail. We Faldutos like to jump right into the greatest challenge. Working up to it isn't in us.

Jim, the relative newbie. Jim hiked last year and now it's in his blood. He loves the physical challenge. He's the oldest brother and feels a certain responsibility for both John and me, as older brothers are wont to do.

Matt, your humble narrator. I joined John for his second year and every subsequent one. I had a rough time my first two years with my knee taking me out the first time and bloody blisters ending my second excursion. By year three I felt great and for 2005, I was ready for anything.

Jim and John on the trail (left to right). Also pictured between the brothers is our sister Jane, who hiked last year and didn't wish to return.

Me on the trail in 2004.

The plan for day one was a simple 12 mile hike with minimal backpacks. It's often called slackpacking. John has moral issues with slackpacking. He feels you ought to hike with the pack the whole time. My feeling is you are seeing the mountain views either way, so who cares if you've only got 10 pounds on your back or 40? So with that in mind, each of us adjusted our packs. I carried only a hydration system and a few emergency items in the zipper pouch on the system, for a total of less than five pounds. Here's an example of a system, although not the one I used:

You suck the water out of the tube as you hike. It's very convenient, but the water doesn't taste as good as drinking it out of a bottle. There's a plastic-y taste to it. Jim carried a hydration system like mine as well as a bag with a few more supplies. He probably had about eight pounds on his back. John carried his actual backpack loaded with about 20 pounds of gear, which is about 10 to 15 pounds less than what he usually carries; that was as close to slackpacking as John was willing to get.

Last year we got out at Burningtown Gap, so that's where we started this year. Here's an elevation profile of the twelve miles on the first day.

As you can see, we start at about 4300 feet and climb to over 5000 feet. Then we go down and up some more and finally a huge down into the Nantahala Outdoor Center (NOC). Yuo would think the downs would be easy, but the scary part of them is the damage they can do to your knees. That's what took me out on my first AT hike. Jim, in particular, has knee issues, so he has to be extra careful on the downs.

We locked Jim's Lexus, strapped on the packs, and headed up the mountain. It was a tough climb without a lot of switchbacks, but I was feeling good and with no weight on my back, I was moving pretty quickly. Jim was right behind me and John brought up the rear. John had put on about ten pounds since last year and was probably 20 pounds over his ideal hiking weight, so he was determined to move slowly and not push himself. After about a mile, we reached Cold Spring Shelter and rested briefly.

It was not a very impressive shelter and I was glad we didn't have to spend the night there. It does hold the distinction of being the only shelter in the Nantahala National Forest above 5000 feet. We started down toward Tellico Gap. There were a number of rocky outcroppings on the way down providing some pretty spectactular views. At Tellico Gap, we rested very briefly. John was feeling the weight on his back but made no complaints.

This is Jim on his way out of Tellico Gap. He is pointing with his hiking stick at a white blaze, the two inch by six inch painted rectangles that mark the AT's path. You'll notice Jim is wearing a bug screen and under armour. Before the trip was over I would wish I could have one of those two items and was glad that at least Jim had the other.

We climbed out of Tellico Gap, moving through a rhododendron tunnel and into open forest again. About a mile and a half up the mountain, Jim and I came across a young man resting at the junction of the AT and a short trail that went to our right. That trail lead to a bald with a fire tower. Jim and I climbed the fire tower and found the young man's father enjoying the view. I called down to John, who assured us he was coming. What an amazing view. We could see for miles and miles in every direction.

My disposable camera doesn't begin to do justice to the view, but here's a shot of me atop the fire tower.

After a short while, John arrived and collapsed on the floor of the tower.

In this picture, you can also see John's backpack in the upper left and Jim's small slackpack in the upper right.

John was beat. This was very unlike him. During my first two years on the trail, John was unstoppable. He was always a few minutes or more ahead of me while consistently carrying more weight than I was. I still wasn't that concerned as I was still thinking nothing could ever stop Johnny on the Trail.

We rested for a while, drank some water, and we all dipped into our sweets. I had Bottle Caps and Fruit Rollups. Jim had Chewy Spree and John had a vast assortment of candy. After a while, John attemped to sit up and he immediately fell back as pain lanced through his leg. His muscles had seized up on him and he couldn't walk. We rested some more, John drank a lot of water, and then we helped him stand. He seemed to be doing better. We were hoping this was just a one-time-getting-used-to-the-trail-kind-of-twinge and he'd be back to his old self in a few more miles. It would turn out to be a vain hope.

(Continued soon)

First post

2005-08-07T12:51:00.000-07:00

Just checking things out.