faxanadu
12-15-2013, 23:27
Trail Name: Shake N Bake
First, i wouldn't call it a thru hike (technically it wasn't) or even a hike. A journey is really what it was because i did a lot of things in addition to hiking. Some memorable things:
- Realizing about 3 times that i still had not made it to the top of Clingmans Dome.
- 100 miles in 5 days of rain to Daleville VA with a lot of sketchy rock scrambles.
- I wandered off the trail on accident before Erwin. I followed an old forest service road for a while until i realized that it wasn't leading me off the mountain. Then i got to do some river fording early on because i found a small stream (which turned into a river) and followed it off the mountain. After 30 miles and some road walking i made it to Erwin at midnight.
- Did the Virginia Creeper trail with a few other hikers. It was a beautiful little hike.
- Built rafts with 3 other hikers and floated 150 miles of the Shenandoah River. Took us 3 weeks ... rafts are slow :)
- I got new shoes in Harrisburg PA that gave me huge blisters within 3 miles. Turned around with another hiker, went to Walmart, got bikes, and rode them to Stroudsburg PA the next day.
- Got a very mild version of the norovirus.
- Gave some Aspirin to a day hiker in the Smokies that thought he was having a heart attack.
- Got bored of hiking in Vermont so i got another Walmart bike and solo road from Bennington to Ludlow VT the first day then to Hanover NH the next day.
- Took another break at the NH/Maine boarder and drove to Foxwoods Casino for 2 weeks with another hiker to play poker. Soooooo random hah.
- Finally figuring out my ball of foot pain after 1000 miles and 4 different pairs of shoes.
- Trail angels! And the cool people that gave us random rides and random beer.
- Cool couple that i met floating the Shenandoah that invited all of us to eat/sleep/hangout at their house for the night.
- All the great and interesting hikers.
Average speed when hiking = 20 miles/day
# zeros = 30+
Favorite gear = baby wipes / copper spur ul2 tent
Least favorite gear = used baby wipes
Favorite trail spot = Tinker Cliffs
Least favorite trail spot = Autumn Inn in Bennington ... would rather sleep in a shelter and have mice crawling all over me.
What i would do differently if i did it again?
Honestly, i would try to go super minimal. My gear weighed around 15lbs (without food/water). I would be really tempted to use one of those large camelbak backpacks, even lighter tent/hammock setup, NO STOVE, cheap Walmart shoes. I'm a firm believer that Less is More now ... and weight is just part of that.
Advice i can offer?
1. Footwear, footwear, footwear. Figure it out before you go if you can. I went through trail runners, hiking boots, minimalist shoes, and finally settled on Nike Free's.
2. Listen to your body! If you're in pain ... take a break. I saw people just push and push with horrible blisters, infections, busted body parts, etc. Trust me ... there is plenty of time to finish.
3. Live in the moment, enjoy the journey, stop and smell the roses! If you're not having fun ... try something different.
What i learned?
You can't run away from your problems. They will follow you to the ends of the earth until you decide to confront them.
First, i wouldn't call it a thru hike (technically it wasn't) or even a hike. A journey is really what it was because i did a lot of things in addition to hiking. Some memorable things:
- Realizing about 3 times that i still had not made it to the top of Clingmans Dome.
- 100 miles in 5 days of rain to Daleville VA with a lot of sketchy rock scrambles.
- I wandered off the trail on accident before Erwin. I followed an old forest service road for a while until i realized that it wasn't leading me off the mountain. Then i got to do some river fording early on because i found a small stream (which turned into a river) and followed it off the mountain. After 30 miles and some road walking i made it to Erwin at midnight.
- Did the Virginia Creeper trail with a few other hikers. It was a beautiful little hike.
- Built rafts with 3 other hikers and floated 150 miles of the Shenandoah River. Took us 3 weeks ... rafts are slow :)
- I got new shoes in Harrisburg PA that gave me huge blisters within 3 miles. Turned around with another hiker, went to Walmart, got bikes, and rode them to Stroudsburg PA the next day.
- Got a very mild version of the norovirus.
- Gave some Aspirin to a day hiker in the Smokies that thought he was having a heart attack.
- Got bored of hiking in Vermont so i got another Walmart bike and solo road from Bennington to Ludlow VT the first day then to Hanover NH the next day.
- Took another break at the NH/Maine boarder and drove to Foxwoods Casino for 2 weeks with another hiker to play poker. Soooooo random hah.
- Finally figuring out my ball of foot pain after 1000 miles and 4 different pairs of shoes.
- Trail angels! And the cool people that gave us random rides and random beer.
- Cool couple that i met floating the Shenandoah that invited all of us to eat/sleep/hangout at their house for the night.
- All the great and interesting hikers.
Average speed when hiking = 20 miles/day
# zeros = 30+
Favorite gear = baby wipes / copper spur ul2 tent
Least favorite gear = used baby wipes
Favorite trail spot = Tinker Cliffs
Least favorite trail spot = Autumn Inn in Bennington ... would rather sleep in a shelter and have mice crawling all over me.
What i would do differently if i did it again?
Honestly, i would try to go super minimal. My gear weighed around 15lbs (without food/water). I would be really tempted to use one of those large camelbak backpacks, even lighter tent/hammock setup, NO STOVE, cheap Walmart shoes. I'm a firm believer that Less is More now ... and weight is just part of that.
Advice i can offer?
1. Footwear, footwear, footwear. Figure it out before you go if you can. I went through trail runners, hiking boots, minimalist shoes, and finally settled on Nike Free's.
2. Listen to your body! If you're in pain ... take a break. I saw people just push and push with horrible blisters, infections, busted body parts, etc. Trust me ... there is plenty of time to finish.
3. Live in the moment, enjoy the journey, stop and smell the roses! If you're not having fun ... try something different.
What i learned?
You can't run away from your problems. They will follow you to the ends of the earth until you decide to confront them.