The Appalachian Trail...2013

A couple of years ago while we were on holiday in San Antonio, Matthew read Bill Bryson's A Walk in the Woods. He really enjoyed it, so Stephanie and I read it and then Matthew and I half-heartedly made plans to "do that some day". It was the kind of statement you make while lying on a beach chair in the sun reading, while wistfully thinking about how cool that would be. Hmmmm... Amazingly, that day will arrive on March 27, 2013. Now, I realize that this is the kind of "some day" that most people will never have the luxury to find. I am (we are) incredibly lucky to have a chance to do this. Our benefactor - my generous wife Stephanie, is supporting us on this journey. She's staying home with Samantha and working, while Matthew and I wander in the woods for half a year. I am the luckiest guy alive and am continually amazed that she puts up with me. Her only condition: If we start it, we have to finish it - all 2160-ish miles of it. I owe her the world.

We're committed. We have been buying equipment, walked some short (10-12 mile) segments of the AT in New York to see what it looks like, and we have our one-way airline tickets to Atlanta. Stephanie and Samantha will be flying down with us to drop us off at the starting point on Springer Mountain near Atlanta, Georgia and they plan to meet up with us a couple of times on the journey when we are near civilization - once again, supporting us all the way. Have I told you how lucky we are?

I am planning to keep track of where we are on this blog using BlogPress and GPS Location. Between these two apps, I'll be able to save drafts of posts with photos and our position even when we're off the cell network. This will allow anyone to see where we are and what we're doing (at least after I get back near enough to civilization and cell service to post the drafts). Ideally these updates will be daily; it will probably be more like weekly. I guess I'll find out how connected one can be from the wilderness. As I write this in February, it's less than six weeks until we're out there.

The first two posts are just a couple of tests from the AT in early January to try out the software. While doing this, I discovered that BlogPress fails to find your location when you are not on the cell network, so I'll be using the GPS Location app to add coordinates to the posts.

Here's a link to the current weather all along the trail.

Saturday, June 1, 2013

Rattlesnake!

May 28

We've finally met a rattlesnake. Luckily it didn't seem too interested in us and just used its rattle to tell us to back off. (We listened) It was about 3-4' long and had a very loud rattle.
The rattle end was closer to us:

I took a short video so you could hear the rattle:

Location:Virginia

Suspension Bridge

May 28

Another nice river crossing.

Little Ottie Cline Powell

May 27

A very sad monument to a little boy who died here a long time ago.

It was just a few yards from the top of a very tall mountain.

Location:37.66002, -79.34647

The Best Days on the Trail

May 25 - 27

While waiting in the Scotto's Pizza parking lot in Glasgow for Steve and Sam (Stephanie and Samantha) to arrive for the long weekend, I took a photo of the dinosaur on the other side of the road. (As you do...)

We were so excited to see them after being out here over 8 weeks.

The weather was beautiful. The weekend they visited was amazing. Along with supplies for us (and beer!) Steve made and brought tiny salmon quiches (our favorite) and beef, mushroom and onion savory pastries (excellent too). Have I mentioned recently how lucky we are? She is the most amazing person I've ever met.

It was a very long drive from NY on a busy holiday weekend and we really, really appreciated it.
Steve, Sam and Matthew in the parking lot on our way back to the trail Monday:

Location:Glasgow, VA

Sunday, May 26, 2013

More Aviation Equipment

May 23

Mountaintop aviation directional equipment on s cloudy day.

Thought this looked great against the dark sky.

Getting There...

May 24

Over one third there. Hard to believe it's going by so quickly.

Longest Pedestrian-only Bridge on AT

May 24

The James River Foot Bridge.

Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)