MinnesotaSmith Update

[The Old Fhart]

the goat-"twas good indeed....wolf- i shoulda got 2 jars instead of one; when i woke up on sunday, i realized that the late night fire-ring crowd and i had downed the whole thing. "

Actually you looked pretty steady when I saw you at the campfire. Of course, being a goat and having four legs helped you there!

[the goat]

Actually you looked pretty steady when I saw you at the campfire. Of course, being a goat and having four legs helped you there!

why thank you, fhart. although i must admit that a coupla my legs are hollow, that's what gives me the lasting power! i think it was after 4am when jester, teatree & i gave up on the bonfire and crashed.

[ed bell]

I've already put my chip down on Thanksgiving and I'm going to let it ride.

So the Thread calls 38 days for the over/under.

[silver]

Minnesotasmith just took a bus south from the AT Lodge in Millinocket headed for Hanover to complete there to Kent Conn. for his thru hike. I must say he had one of the largest/heaviest packs I have encountered. Seemed in good spirits and reasoable condition.

[STEVEM]

Minnesotasmith just took a bus south from the AT Lodge in Millinocket headed for Hanover to complete there to Kent Conn. for his thru hike. I must say he had one of the largest/heaviest packs I have encountered. Seemed in good spirits and reasoable condition.

Silver, MS has actually decided to lighten his load recently. He left his Springer pebble on Mt. Katahdin.

[mdionne]

Somebody on another forum mentioned that a certain poster named MinnesotaSmith was hiking the whole AT and posted a link to WB's.
Never heard of the guy before that but have been checking in to see his progress.
Glad to see he made he made it up Katadin before they closed it.
Hope he enjoys his southbound make up section. Too bad he had to skip over like that.
Anyway I thought the whole AT was called the Long Trail until I started reading here.
One other good thing came out of it also. Some gentleman got a ride from the trailhead into Johnson on Saturday from me. If it hadn't been for WB's he would have done a little more walking.

you're not the first vermonter to think that the AT was called the long trail...

the long trail and the AT actually join together for about 91 miles from the mass/vt border to shepard's pass (i think??). the AT bangs a left and heads to nh while the long trail keeps going up to the vt/canuckian border.

by the way, to whiteblaze!

[Lone Wolf]

you're not the first vermonter to think that the AT was called the long trail...

the long trail and the AT actually join together for about 91 miles from the mass/vt border to shepard's pass (i think??). the AT bangs a left and heads to nh while the long trail keeps going up to the vt/canuckian border.

by the way, to whiteblaze!

The LT/AT join together for 105.2 miles. The AT bangs a RIGHT and goes to N.H.

[minnesotasmith]

I'm in Hanover, having arrived here by bus last night. There is only one bus a day leaving Medway, Maine, and it arrived here about 2100 hours.

I stayed the night with a friend I made in a hut in the Whites. Knees dictate a couple of zeros. More after I read the latest posts here and get lunch.

[minnesotasmith]

what was the pouring of the schnapps for?

the sign will be nice and sticky for the next hiker?

I poured a few drops on the right post, which no hiker would IMO likely touch. Anyway, schnapps are fully biodegradable and envirofriendly. Trust me, Maine gets plenty of rain to wash it away in any event.

[minnesotasmith]

Way to Go Minnesota Smith......the rest will be easy for you....

and this thread should never be closed. I want to know what MS is doing during his retirement.

peace
mf

The plan is (in no particular order):

-write one or more books (I've already published in scientific journals)
-go back to work
-find a wife
-start a family of my own
-rehike Georgia
-go do some unusual Trail magic next year
-go to Trail Days next year (if my work schedule permits), where I'd like to give a talk if possible
-move to Alaska
-share some of my Trail and hiking observations on WhiteBlaze.net
-start up a website
-get 2 cockatiels and/or 1 cockatoo (all of which I'd handfeed myself, as I've done with over a dozen 'tiels already) and/or 1-2 dogs (after I get married)
-register with the local Constitution Party chapter, wherever I end up settling down
-send Katahdin picture cards to everyone who helped me during my thruhike whose address I can obtain (after I get to Kent and finish this thing)
-send educational letters to a couple of ill-conceived hostels or other businesses I encountered during my hike


That's enough on my plate for the time being, I think.

[minnesotasmith]

Winter is long and fast approaching.

Let's keep our options open.

The night of 10/13-14, I had both (full, 1-L) Nalgenes get full of slush. That transpired with them inside a plastic bag. I haven't seen this since I left the Smokies around 3/23.

BTW, there were spots of 1" thick ice on the approach to Katahdin the day I summited, plus bits of roughly week-old snow in some crevices just before the Gateway.

[Sly]

-send educational letters to a couple of ill-conceived hostels or other businesses I encountered during my hike

I'm sure that will go over big.

Since you have a few days can you tell us about your apparent turnaround concerning the AMC and the Huts?

[The Old Fhart]

MinnesotaSmith-
The plan is (in no particular order):

-.....
-.....
-find a wife"

You make it sound as romantic as buying a used car. Be sure to kick the tires first!

[The Solemates]

I'm sure that will go over big.

my thoughts exactly. you may want to run those ideas by us here at WB first, MS.

[max patch]

You make it sound as romantic as buying a used car. Be sure to kick the tires first!

Big business in buying Russian and other Eastern European wives. Does MS have a credit card?

[Sly]

What's wrong with a few suggestions or constructive criticism on how to provide better service/do business better?

I suppose nothing, suggestions are one thing but when a 1st time thru-hiker comes trotting in and calls your hostel or business "ill-conceived" the 1st thing I'd do is show him or her the door.

We still don't know what MS's suggestions are or how they could be implemented. Perhaps they're minor or quite costly.

[MOWGLI]

What's wrong with a few suggestions or constructive criticism on how to provide better service/do business better?

Why couldn't that have been offered face to face while he was at the establishment? What would he write in a letter that he couldn't have told the business owner or manager while he was there?

[minnesotasmith]

I'm sure that will go over big.

Since you have a few days can you tell us about your apparent turnaround concerning the AMC and the Huts?

The essential problem with the hut system in the Whites is that thruhikers and other hikers don't have a right to be there. I hated having to basically repeatedly beg some college kid for the right to spend the night in the trailside shelter, which is exactly what the current setup constitutes. The other is that every other organization overseeing part of the AT (with the sole exception of Baxter State Park) has their feces together to the extent that they are able to construct and maintain a system of free, hikers-are-welcome-with-no-BS shelters along their section. Whatever organizational or personnel issue the AMC has that prevents them from doing the latter, they should get rid of it and have fricking shelters like the rest of the AT clubs. I refuse to accept that the AMC is right and all 35 (or whatever number it is) other AT clubs are wrong in their policies; obviously, it's not all the other members of the band that are out of step with one member.

Now, I will admit that the huts were a good deal from my POV, in that the work I did was of significantly lesser value than the food (alone) that I received, along with the potable water, the (mostly) climate-controlled indoor place to sleep, etc. I believe that I worked harder at my work-for-stay than did some other thrus; I consciously tried to give good value in exchange in advance. Twice I was allowed by the hut croo to sleep in bunks, which I suspect was a violation of policy. I also had a good time interacting with the paying guests; it was a nice break at times from the solitude of the Trail.

The essential core point IMO still stands; (nongroup & human) hikers who cause no problems should have a right to be in the shelters, without someone being able to decide if they are in the mood to disallow those hikers to stay even when there is ample room. Remember that while the AMC hut croos bent over backwards in most cases to fit in thrus while I was in the Whites, one phone call from an AMC bigshot could change all that. In 2 hours time, all thrus passing thru the Whites could find that they have to have reservations and have paid full price to so much as set foot inside the huts for a moment, with no recourse. The shelters in the Whites should be in common, usable as a matter of right by all nongroup human long distance hikers.

[Sly]

Why does it matter if he's a first time thruhiker or not?

A 1st time thru-hiker passes through once and has no idea of what it takes to run any particular hostel, how many funds may or not be available to implement "suggestions' ect. Many 1st timers are more demanding and expect extras like picking them up at a trailhead at the whim of a cellphone call, taking them to the store, or the outfitter. Some actually get pissed when places charge to hold a package. Thru-hikers aren't owed anything and should be thankful for a cheap place to stay period.

[mdionne]

The LT/AT join together for 105.2 miles. The AT bangs a RIGHT and goes to N.H.

thanx wolf, i figured i was messin' that up!