Tin Man
05-02-2006, 20:28
From KnoxNews.com (http://www.knoxnews.com/kns/travel/article/0,1406,KNS_336_4655698,00.html):
Reality check
Weary thru-hikers ready for advice by the time they reach first major AT pitstop
<!-- byline -->By MORGAN SIMMONS, simmonsm@knews.com
April 30, 2006 <!-- /byline -->
Neels Gap, Ga. - It was a weekday morning, and Winton Porter was with his fourth customer of the day - a 43-year-old backpacker from Chicago named Steve Holmquist who had reached Mountain Crossings the night before with a sore knee, and serious doubts about completing the Appalachian Trail. If Holmquist's first five days on the trail had taught him anything, it was that he had to lighten his load if he ever hoped to get beyond North Georgia.
After emptying the contents of Holmquist's pack on the floor, Porter ran down a checklist, culling the nonessentials. First to go were some first-aid supplies followed by extra clothes.
"Don't pull any winter gear until you get through the Smokies, or possibly Mount Rogers," Porter advised.
And finally, to get Holmquist's pack down to the desired 30 pounds with two days of gear, Porter suggested he jettison some reading material.
"I want to hike to Maine," Holmquist said. "Just tell me what to do."
Located at Neels Gap, 32 miles from the southern terminus of the AT, Mountain Crossings is both an outdoor store and a hostel where hikers can shower, do their laundry and buy groceries.
Each year Porter and his staff shake down between 500 to 600 packs, and ship back about 9,000 pounds of gear. For northbound hikers hoping to reach Mount Katahdin, Maine, Mountain Crossings is where the reality of 2,175 miles sets in.
Most thru-hikers see it as a place to rest and resupply. For others, it's a good place to quit.
A few minutes after helping Holmquist, Porter was back in the boot section, where a thru-hiker named Dave Greenbow had removed his boots and socks, revealing blisters on both feet.
Porter, who grew up in Atlanta and has hiked 80 percent of the AT himself, suggested that Greenbow invest in a new pair of socks, calling his old pair "a sack of potatoes." Next, he inserted arch supports and showed Greenbow a better way to lace his boots.
"You can wiggle your toes, can't you?" Porter asked. "We've tilted the foot up, supported the arch, and pulled it away from the sidewall. Tonight, drain the blisters and cover them with an antibiotic ointment, not Band-Aids."
"Should I toss the socks?" Greenbow asked.
"Use them as gloves," Porter replied.
Porter bought Mountain Crossings five years ago after spending most of his career managing large outdoor retail stores in Atlanta. He is tall and lanky, and he clearly enjoys his clientele, most of whom step into his store right off the Appalachian Trail.
"People plan this hike their whole lives," he said. "They've told their families and friends they're walking to Maine. By the time they reach us, they're not ready to quit; they're ready to listen.
"We give them a warm shower and a comfortable bed and then deal with the real issues of how to make the rest of their trip better. They leave here with a lighter pack, and hopefully a little smarter."
About 97 percent of the 1,500 to 2,000 thru-hikers that come through Neel's Gap every spring decide to press on. It takes approximately 5 million footsteps to walk the entire trail. Porter said the recent developments in ultra-light backpacking gear could both help, and hinder, the average thru-hiker.
"A lot of ultra-light gear won't hold up to 2,000 miles and six months on the trail," he said. "Working here, we get a chance to see what works and what doesn't, even after 30 miles. I probably spend 15 percent of my time talking people out of buying stuff."
Among the thru-hikers that came into Mountain Crossings that morning were Jim Bentley, age 67, and his sons Paul and Sean. In 2004 Hurricane Ivan destroyed the Bentley's home, and soon after that, Jim got divorced. Last year he retired and decided to thru-hike Appalachian Trail with his sons.
It had taken the Bentleys six days to hike from Springer Mountain to Mountain Crossings. At the beginning, Jim's pack weighed 65 pounds, and he suffered mightily for it.
"I'm a sedentary man," Jim said. "My two balancing weights are a remote control and a beer. The first five days were torture. All I could think about was how much I wanted to quit."
The staff at Mountain Crossings had a field day with the Bentleys' packs, especially Jim's. They got rid of their fleece pants, sent back a stove and suggested a lighter water purification system. Additional ounces were shaved by switching to smaller fuel bottles and getting rid of some carabiners. "The boys and I lost 39 pounds - most of it mine," Jim Bentley said.
Reality check
Weary thru-hikers ready for advice by the time they reach first major AT pitstop
<!-- byline -->By MORGAN SIMMONS, simmonsm@knews.com
April 30, 2006 <!-- /byline -->
Neels Gap, Ga. - It was a weekday morning, and Winton Porter was with his fourth customer of the day - a 43-year-old backpacker from Chicago named Steve Holmquist who had reached Mountain Crossings the night before with a sore knee, and serious doubts about completing the Appalachian Trail. If Holmquist's first five days on the trail had taught him anything, it was that he had to lighten his load if he ever hoped to get beyond North Georgia.
After emptying the contents of Holmquist's pack on the floor, Porter ran down a checklist, culling the nonessentials. First to go were some first-aid supplies followed by extra clothes.
"Don't pull any winter gear until you get through the Smokies, or possibly Mount Rogers," Porter advised.
And finally, to get Holmquist's pack down to the desired 30 pounds with two days of gear, Porter suggested he jettison some reading material.
"I want to hike to Maine," Holmquist said. "Just tell me what to do."
Located at Neels Gap, 32 miles from the southern terminus of the AT, Mountain Crossings is both an outdoor store and a hostel where hikers can shower, do their laundry and buy groceries.
Each year Porter and his staff shake down between 500 to 600 packs, and ship back about 9,000 pounds of gear. For northbound hikers hoping to reach Mount Katahdin, Maine, Mountain Crossings is where the reality of 2,175 miles sets in.
Most thru-hikers see it as a place to rest and resupply. For others, it's a good place to quit.
A few minutes after helping Holmquist, Porter was back in the boot section, where a thru-hiker named Dave Greenbow had removed his boots and socks, revealing blisters on both feet.
Porter, who grew up in Atlanta and has hiked 80 percent of the AT himself, suggested that Greenbow invest in a new pair of socks, calling his old pair "a sack of potatoes." Next, he inserted arch supports and showed Greenbow a better way to lace his boots.
"You can wiggle your toes, can't you?" Porter asked. "We've tilted the foot up, supported the arch, and pulled it away from the sidewall. Tonight, drain the blisters and cover them with an antibiotic ointment, not Band-Aids."
"Should I toss the socks?" Greenbow asked.
"Use them as gloves," Porter replied.
Porter bought Mountain Crossings five years ago after spending most of his career managing large outdoor retail stores in Atlanta. He is tall and lanky, and he clearly enjoys his clientele, most of whom step into his store right off the Appalachian Trail.
"People plan this hike their whole lives," he said. "They've told their families and friends they're walking to Maine. By the time they reach us, they're not ready to quit; they're ready to listen.
"We give them a warm shower and a comfortable bed and then deal with the real issues of how to make the rest of their trip better. They leave here with a lighter pack, and hopefully a little smarter."
About 97 percent of the 1,500 to 2,000 thru-hikers that come through Neel's Gap every spring decide to press on. It takes approximately 5 million footsteps to walk the entire trail. Porter said the recent developments in ultra-light backpacking gear could both help, and hinder, the average thru-hiker.
"A lot of ultra-light gear won't hold up to 2,000 miles and six months on the trail," he said. "Working here, we get a chance to see what works and what doesn't, even after 30 miles. I probably spend 15 percent of my time talking people out of buying stuff."
Among the thru-hikers that came into Mountain Crossings that morning were Jim Bentley, age 67, and his sons Paul and Sean. In 2004 Hurricane Ivan destroyed the Bentley's home, and soon after that, Jim got divorced. Last year he retired and decided to thru-hike Appalachian Trail with his sons.
It had taken the Bentleys six days to hike from Springer Mountain to Mountain Crossings. At the beginning, Jim's pack weighed 65 pounds, and he suffered mightily for it.
"I'm a sedentary man," Jim said. "My two balancing weights are a remote control and a beer. The first five days were torture. All I could think about was how much I wanted to quit."
The staff at Mountain Crossings had a field day with the Bentleys' packs, especially Jim's. They got rid of their fleece pants, sent back a stove and suggested a lighter water purification system. Additional ounces were shaved by switching to smaller fuel bottles and getting rid of some carabiners. "The boys and I lost 39 pounds - most of it mine," Jim Bentley said.