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  1. #1

    Default Why Is Thomas Gathman Hiking the Appalachian Trail in Winter - Outside Magazine


    Outside Magazine

    Why Is Thomas Gathman Hiking the Appalachian Trail in Winter
    Outside Magazine
    Before sunrise one morning in mid-December, two weeks into his winter attempt to thru-hike the Appalachian Trail, Thomas Gathman marched toward two of Mount Bigelow's craggy peaks in western Maine as a snowstorm descended. By the time he'd ...



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  2. #2
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    Better him than me.
    "It's fun to have fun, but you have to know how." ---Dr. Seuss

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    Registered User marisajane's Avatar
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    His photos & videos on instagram are really something> https://www.instagram.com/therealhikingviking/

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    I agree. I really enjoy his updates in the "off season".

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    Registered User Majortrauma's Avatar
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    I checked it out thinking yea, should be a few good pics. Gross understatement. His instagram is absolutely amazing.
    Quote Originally Posted by marisajane View Post
    His photos & videos on instagram are really something> https://www.instagram.com/therealhikingviking/

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    ok, not to throw water on something thats still pretty cool, but wasnt his attempt to thru hike over the second his utterly bizarre plan for starting his hike resulted in him not being able to climb katahdin?

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    Registered User soilman's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by tdoczi View Post
    ok, not to throw water on something thats still pretty cool, but wasnt his attempt to thru hike over the second his utterly bizarre plan for starting his hike resulted in him not being able to climb katahdin?
    Are you saying a flip-flop or any other non-traditional hike of the entire trail is not a thru hike?
    More walking, less talking.

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    Quote Originally Posted by soilman View Post
    Are you saying a flip-flop or any other non-traditional hike of the entire trail is not a thru hike?

    nope, not at all. but itll be may when he gets back to katahdin, if he goes. if i were to go out and hike from damascus to north adams in the winter and then bag the southern end and the northern end in warmer weather, would that be a "winter thru hike"?

    its a sort of weird concept to begin with. winter is 90 days. very few people can hike the trail in that amount of time and in winter conditions its probably impossible, so some aprt of it is going to be done not in winter. that allows all manner of different flipping and flopping to be done to sort of "beat" the system. heck, one could make multiple flips based on local conditions to insure they were always hiking the part of the trail where the weather was best. at what point does it become no longer what it is supposed to be? i dont know where, but surely somewhere it does.

  9. #9

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    Eh, he seems to be having fun, and making the people around him happy. As for hiking the part of the trail where the weather is best, that seems like a smart and indeed responsible idea. Shoving on through all places in all conditions in the winter is inviting disaster.

    As for what it's supposed to be, I'm not at all caught up in the whole trail celebrity for doing something unusual routine. Whatever he accomplishes or doesn't accomplish, doesn't affect me. That's his business.

    I did look at some of his great pictures however, and it makes me consider upgrading my camera, or maybe just learning to use the one I have... or just leaving my camera at home, because my pictures never turn out that awesome.

  10. #10
    Registered User Kookork's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Puddlefish View Post
    Eh, he seems to be having fun, and making the people around him happy. As for hiking the part of the trail where the weather is best, that seems like a smart and indeed responsible idea. Shoving on through all places in all conditions in the winter is inviting disaster.

    As for what it's supposed to be, I'm not at all caught up in the whole trail celebrity for doing something unusual routine. Whatever he accomplishes or doesn't accomplish, doesn't affect me. That's his business.

    I did look at some of his great pictures however, and it makes me consider upgrading my camera, or maybe just learning to use the one I have... or just leaving my camera at home, because my pictures never turn out that awesome.
    I also like to know what camera he is using but I will not be surprised if his camera turns out not to be a top notch camera. His photos are awesome mostly because he is in the right place at the right time IMHO.

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    he's a Marine combat vet with 2 tours in Iraq. he's done more by accident than most of us will ever do on purpose.
    Semper Fi Marine

  12. #12

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    It helps that this has been an unusually warm winter with very little snow. Had he attempted this last year, he'd not have made it out of Maine.
    Follow slogoen on Instagram.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Slo-go'en View Post
    It helps that this has been an unusually warm winter with very little snow. Had he attempted this last year, he'd not have made it out of Maine.
    oh really. you have lots of experience?

  14. #14

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    Quote Originally Posted by Lone Wolf View Post
    oh really. you have lots of experience?
    As a matter of fact, I do.
    Follow slogoen on Instagram.

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    for you to say he would not have made it out of maine last year is just an opinion. not fact. i dropped a guy off at the north end of the long trail in the middle of january one year in 5 feet of snow. he made it all the way to mass.

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    Is Gathman actually the first? Maybe deja vu, but I seem to recall it has been done before.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Kookork View Post
    I also like to know what camera he is using but I will not be surprised if his camera turns out not to be a top notch camera. His photos are awesome mostly because he is in the right place at the right time IMHO.
    f/8 and be there, the pros say.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Puddlefish View Post
    As for hiking the part of the trail where the weather is best, that seems like a smart and indeed responsible idea. Shoving on through all places in all conditions in the winter is inviting disaster.
    but aside from skipping K because of a bizarre schedule mishap, he is doing the latter, not the former.

  19. #19

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    Quote Originally Posted by tdoczi View Post
    but aside from skipping K because of a bizarre schedule mishap, he is doing the latter, not the former.
    I haven't read his whole blog, but the one part I did read showed that he jumped a section to hike Washington during a weather window, then returned to the skipped part.

    I honestly have no idea what you're trying to convey. He skips around trail sections in a manner that doesn't please you?

  20. #20

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    Quote Originally Posted by Slo-go'en View Post
    It helps that this has been an unusually warm winter with very little snow. Had he attempted this last year, he'd not have made it out of Maine.
    I was shoveling the driveway today and feeling fortunate compared to last year. Maybe a foot total this year. Last year was brutal. Had about 10 feet of snow total last year, but luckily 90% of it was light and fluffy.

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