View Full Version : Anyone on the AT on 9-11-01?
Programbo
09-11-2006, 19:19
If so how did you hear about the attacks in NYC,DC and PA?
I've wondered the same thing. My wife was on Katahdin on 9-11-03 and commented that the anniversary was on everyones mind.
Jack Tarlin
09-11-2006, 19:40
I was probably one of the LAST people in America to find out.
I was at Full Goose shelter in Maine with two good friends. None of us carried radios or phones. Around 9 o'clock some hikers came in late and told us what had happened. We were all horrified, and what was worse, we all knew people in New York and Washington.
We considered hiking out, but we were miles from anywhere. There was really nothing to do.
We got up at first light, not that we slept much, and FLEW thru Mahoosuc Notch, and then up and down Old Speck to Grafton Notch. I've never hiked to fast in my life and I don't understand why I didn't break my neck.
My friends from the Cabin in Andover, God bless them, had sent a car for us and we spent the next few days watching T and making phone calls to practically everyone we knew.
We weren't sure what to do, and considered going home. One of my friends was British and couldn't really go anywhere as planes were grounded indefinitely and she wasn't exactly looking forward to flying anyway.
In a few days, we headed North, with mixed feelings. Our heart wasn't in it. I think we all just wanted to be home with people we loved.
Around three days north of there, we looked up and saw a passenger plane flying overhead. Ordinarily, the noise and contrails of a plane aren't something that hikers usually enjoy seeing or hearing, but that day we jumped up and down and cheered, and then I started crying.
We knew things weren't going to be the same, but somehow we knew that things would go on.
Itwas five years ago today and it could have been yesterday.
That's a part of my hike I'll never forget. I was hiking SOBO, after flipping in Duncannon. I had spent the night of Sept. 10 In the Ski Patrol building on the top of Stratton Mountain. On the morning of Sept. 11 I hiked down with a couple of section hikers who also spent the night with me. I said good by and continued on my way. About 11 I decided to listen to a little radio I carried. I was shocked to here what had happened. I was alone and had no one to talk to about it. I soon came apon four day hikers and asked, "did you hear what happened in New York?" I than told them. One of them said to me"what the hell you been smokeing?"
The next day I hiked into Bennington, Vermont to get a newspaper and call home.
Gray Blazer
09-11-2006, 19:56
No, I wasn't out during 911 but I was out the week following in the Eastern Smokies/Max Patch area. I'll always remember it because there were no Jet Contrails or even aircraft sounds. Pretty noticeable for the absence thereof. If you do a lot of hiking on the AT you'll notice if all the jet sounds go away.
Strider, Gunslinger & Maximus were. You can check out TREK for a short segment on that very thing, they didn't really believe it till they got to town, guess they heard it from another hiker with a radio.
the goat
09-11-2006, 21:24
good thread. i was on the AT headed sobo on a thru and i had crashed near kittantiny ridge (?) i think, the night of the 10th. well, it had rained that night, and being that rain was a rare event in the summer of '01, i told the dude, that i camped with that night, to check his radio for some weather.
well, as you might imagine after he had the radio on for a few minutes he told me "wow, a plane crashed in NYC this morning".
i thought to myself: "big deal, is it gonna rain tonight?"
he then exclaimed:"ohmygod! two planes crashed in NYC this morning!"
well, we then knew something awful was going on.
it was an eerie day. having gotten used to all the flight patterns going over NY all day long, it was a defening silence hiking that day, with all flights grounded.
i remember being confused when i hiked into DWG, PA and saw candles in windows, and flags everywhere, for i had no media contact & didn't know how the country was banding together. that made me proud. i didn't see the footage until much later, but when i did, it took my breath away, and it was then that i understood.
it had a much more personal effect in october when i took a pit stop at my home in VA. i was opening all my mail and found that two of my classmates died in the twin towers, and a family friend perished in the pentagon. surreal.
Alligator
09-11-2006, 21:46
My hiking buddy and I were in the Smokies, hiking through the park. We didn't find out until Thursday two days later. The only people we ran into between the attack and then was another group going through the park. We didn't notice the planes were missing. We ran into an old (81 years old I think) section hiker at Peck's Corner. He told us the what happened. We had a hard time believing it. The next day we ran into another hiker and he told us it was true. Wasn't much we felt like we could do and we only had one day left to go so we stayed the last night and got out on Sat.
My condolences to you Goat and any other members who lost friends/family in the attacks.
Shutterbug
09-11-2006, 21:48
If so how did you hear about the attacks in NYC,DC and PA?
I was five days into a 9 day hike of the Wonderland Trail. The trail circles Mt. Rainier. On 9/11/01, I reached the place that the trail crossed the parking area at Reflection Lakes. A car was there with the windows down and the radio on. As I walked past, I heard the report that a plane had hit the first tower. At that point, they thought it was an accident.
A few hours later, I reached the complex at Longmere, where there was a pay phone. I called my wife. By that time, the second tower had been hit. The estimate at that time was that 20,000 people were dead.
As I continued my hike, I picked up a little information from other hikers. One of the things that was remarkable was the absence of aircraft noise. I really hadn't thought about how many times aircraft pass overhead until suddenly there were none. As I recall, two military aircraft passed in the four days.
When I finished my hike, I was astonished to learn that the deaths had been only 10% of the estimate that was in my head for four days. I was also greatly relieved to learn that none of the people I knew who worked in the World Trade Center were killed or injured.
The primary topic of discussion on the trail was "Who is Al Qaeda?" There was also a lot of discussion about when commercial airplanes would start flying again.
Some of the people I met on the trail were military. They were very concerned that the U.S. was immediately going to war.
Footslogger
09-11-2006, 22:34
My wife (BadAss Turtle) was at the Hiker's Paradise in Gorham. She was in the shower and there was a large group of hikers there at time and someone told her to come out of the shower and watch the TV to see what had just happened. She immediately called me on the phone.
'Slogger
Not to take away from the WTC, but as I was watching another special tonight on 9-11, I kept wondering why the Pentagon attack was getting zero coverage. From the pictures I saw back when, could it be that a plane did not hit the Pentagon? I've heard the theory and have tried to dimiss it, but the silence is speaking.:-?
maybe because the loss of life at the WTC was over 3,000 and the loss of life at the Pentagon was 184. Also, over 300 firefighters, NYC cops and port authority cops were killed at the WTC. The WTC were 2 of the tallest buildings in the world (not the tallest but I think in the top 5). The Pentagon survived the attack, the WTC did not. Forget the conspiracy, there isn't one.
I was in NYC for 9/11 and after a horrible day of helping to close our offices and making sure people got home. It really hit me when I finally got home myself and I cried when my wife and kids greeted me at the door. Two days later, my brother and I decided to go ahead with our planned section hike in CT and MA, our first. We ran into quite a few SOBO'ers and they had all heard of the attack. One SOBO'er told us he had a job offer at the WTC and chose to thru-hike instead. We went into town mid-way through our hike to check the news and call home. At the end of our 50 miles, we saw a convoy of Humvee's going under the hiker bridge crossing the Mass. Pike. Someone had placed quite a few flags in the fencing on the bridge. We stood and waved at the convoy and the cars passing underneath. I cried again.
Not to take away from the WTC, but as I was watching another special tonight on 9-11, I kept wondering why the Pentagon attack was getting zero coverage. From the pictures I saw back when, could it be that a plane did not hit the Pentagon? I've heard the theory and have tried to dimiss it, but the silence is speaking.:-?Check out this article:http://www.popularmechanics.com/science/defense/1227842.html?page=6&c=y
maybe because the loss of life at the WTC was over 3,000 and the loss of life at the Pentagon was 184. Also, over 300 firefighters, NYC cops and port authority cops were killed at the WTC. The WTC were 2 of the tallest buildings in the world (not the tallest but I think in the top 5). The Pentagon survived the attack, the WTC did not. Forget the conspiracy, there isn't one.
I may try to "forget" the "conspiracy", which I never claim there was.;)
But why "forget" the 184 and the terrror of those at the Pentagon.:confused:
Seems like you are saying because the Pentagon didn't have the numbers or loss of structure(s), that it isn't as impotant?:eek: If all those died on the same day of the same cause, why rank them lower? Numbers you say...:(
I may try to "forget" the "conspiracy", which I never claim there was.;)
But why "forget" the 184 and the terrror of those at the Pentagon.:confused:
Seems like you are saying because the Pentagon didn't have the numbers or loss of structure(s), that it isn't as impotant?:eek: If all those died on the same day of the same cause, why rank them lower? Numbers you say...:(Good point Nean. People are people.
This is an excellent thread!
I was not on the trail, well I was and I wasn't unless you want to count Harpers Ferry Outfitters as being on the trail, then that is where I was at.
I had hiked into HF on Sept. 9th. I was at The Outfitters gearing up a little when Laura hollared at me from upstairs in her apartment and told me to come up there and watch the TV. I told her I didn't enjoy watching TV too much. She said "Well I think you had better watch this....."
I'll never forget that. Train service in HF stopped immediately. The town became very quiet. We were just a hop, skip and a jump from the Pentagon up the Potomac.
There was just a very eerie feeling in the air there for days....
Active duty in the military. Base shut down, only essential personnel allowed. Scarey time.
bartender
09-12-2006, 12:35
I wish I was on the trail that day, instead I was driving to work watching them burn, I'll never forget thinking that they looked like two giant smokestacks and naively wondering how long they would be closed after the fires were out for repairs. Stood in the parking lot of the restaurant and watched them fall and thinking of all the firemen and wondering how many of the 40000 who worked there got out. Then last night driving home I was looking at the two pillars of light where they used to be.
SawnieRobertson
09-12-2006, 13:30
Checking e-mail that morning in my home in Colorado, I saw on AOL that a plane had crashed into one of the Twin Towers. I thought that pilots ought to be more careful or something the equivalent of that.
Then my phone rang. My hiking partner said, "Sawnie, turn on your TV. This is big."
Linda is not an alarmist, so I did as instructed. Then the second one hit. Then all the coverage of the horror.
I remembered that there is a spot on the trail at which one can view the skyline of NYC. I wondered (and am still wondering) if anyone stood there, watching the whole thing come to pass, even just saw the smoke.
Kinnickinic
RockyTrail
09-12-2006, 15:40
Talking about how things changed that day, does anybody remember what happened in New York City in August 2001?
Just weeks before 9/11, an idiot (for lack of a better description) flew a motorized parachute very close around the Statue of Liberty and got hung on the torch. Rescue personnel carefully extracted him and his flying machine and he was charged with a crime (probably a misdemeanor?). The whole incident was treated in the media as a humorous stunt. Illegal yes, but no malice was intended and no one was hurt.
But today...oh my...can you imagine?
That guy would be toast:eek:
before he even got out of the toaster
RockyTrail
09-12-2006, 15:50
Update: It was Aug 23, 2001, about 2 weeks before 9/11.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/1506206.stm
Nope, not on the trail, watching TV as the networks picked it up. When the 2nd plane hit, I was 99.9% sure it was a terrorist attack. Five years later that .1% uncertainly remains. Too many unanswered questions...
http://www.911pressfortruth.com/
What? Don't tell me your one of the consiracy theorists! Sly, I knew it was bin laden in the frst 5 seconds.
.1% is mighty slim. I wouldn't call him a conspiracy theorist. 99.9% sure is as sure as I can feel without being there.
Okay, I was 99.9341615..........................percent sure it was bin laden. But in a situation like that everyone usually rounds up. When he said too many unanswered questions I got a little nervous....
Headed out on a weeklong trip on 9/13/01. The more I listened to the radio the more freaked out I got and the less I felt like hiking. Just seemed too surreal and somehow felt wrong to be hiking. Came off the trail around Tuxedo NY and caught a bus into NYC. Wound up getting stuck in NYC for three days as there were constant alerts which kept shutting down the bridges and tunnels. Finally decided to walk down to lower Manhattan and was just blown away by all the missing picture displays. Personalized the fact that these were real people with real families. The one incident that really sticks out in my mind was when you first get a view of the rubble. You walk for blocks and blocks and see dust and debris but really not much else. Finally you hit a cross street that runs into the WTC and your just stunned. I literally was speechless. Having been in the WTC a couple of times it just seemed unimaginable they were gone. Finally wound up just sitting on a mailbox for hours watching other peoples reaction as they also got their first real view at that intersection. People would come down the street carrying on like they were at Disneyland and then see the rubble pile. Their reactions were incredible. Some just stood in the intersection and cried. Probably the most moving event I've ever witnessed. Hope to never repeat it.
Programbo
09-12-2006, 22:06
Not to take away from the WTC, but as I was watching another special tonight on 9-11, I kept wondering why the Pentagon attack was getting zero coverage. From the pictures I saw back when, could it be that a plane did not hit the Pentagon? I've heard the theory and have tried to dimiss it, but the silence is speaking.:-?
Most likely because the attack in NY was actually filmed from so many angles and the actual collapse was so long in coming...By the time anyone even turned around the Pentagon attack and destruction was basically over so I guess it`s not as a spectacular event witnessed by so many as it happened....There can be NO doubt that an American Airlines jet hit the Pentagon as it was witnessed by 100`s of people as it crossed a 10 lane highway which was jammed with cars basically at a stand still during rush hour
little bear
09-12-2006, 23:28
I was in Basic Law Enforcement Training at the time and heard about it on a break while sitting in my truck smoking a cig. My mother was a flight attendent with Midway and she was flying from Raleigh NC to Boston MA that day, so I was scared to death when I could not get in touch with her, Found out she was fine. My prayers still go out to the family of loved ones.
Check out this article:http://www.popularmechanics.com/science/defense/1227842.html?page=6&c=y
Popular Mechanics, now we're talkin';)
Thank goodness for a piece of metal that looks like it could fit in my/someones trunk. Yep, that's all the "proof" I need!:rolleyes:
I'm so silly.:o
JoeHiker
09-13-2006, 10:04
Yes, you are.
Popular Mechanics, now we're talkin';)
Thank goodness for a piece of metal that looks like it could fit in my/someones trunk. Yep, that's all the "proof" I need!:rolleyes:
I'm so silly.:oYou only looked at the pictures?:D
Not on a hike, but after spending much of the day glued to the tube I needed to get out in the woods. Hiked up to do some routine maintenance at Pass Mt. Hut in SNP, not far from home.
There were three SOBOs there who somehow hadn't heard. When I told them they refused to believe me. Then a family out for a couple days, who had just started a mile south of the hut, came in and told the same news I had. Other SOBOs then came in who had heard the news earlier while taking a break at Elkwallow.
There was quiet, followed by anger. The register, which now resides at PATC HQ, would undoubtedly be filled with their thoughts.
Though some of the SOBOs needed to use their cell phones or get down to the payphone at Thornton Gap, no one talked about getting off the Trail. It seemed like the wisest, most friendly, perhaps safest place to be right then.
I was at work for Verizon in Pearl River, NY. They sent me home so I could come back and cover the night shift that night - since all the bridges & tunnels were closed (employees in Westchester, NYC and Long Island couldn't get to Rockland). Later that evening - 7 WTC fell on a major Verizon building (140 West Street) where my Grandfather worked for 40 years - and where many of my friends worked. Some of my friends saw things that day that they still refuse to talk about.
I'll never forget the plume of smoke that I could see from 25 miles away as I drove to my daughter's house to be with my wife & kids. Our eldest had reservations at Windows on the World for 6 PM that night!
I'll also never forget that the view from Bearfort Ridge (near where I lived and grew up) is forever changed. The whole experience was the death blow for the corporate world for me. It totally re-ordered my priorities. A year later I bought a home in Tennessee - and here I sit.
9/11/01 was the first night of my first class in the fire academy. Seriously. I had quit my high paying sales job, got a 40 hour 9-5 to pay the bills while I was in fire and EMT school at night and that was day #1. I got home and my wife just said to me "OK, WHAT are you going to be doing for the rest of your career?" 5 years later and 5 years into the job and it still blows my mind.
I was not hiking that day. I lived in Reno, NV at the time, so it was early morning when the phone rang. I was still asleep, and decided that if it was important they would call back. AS couple seconds later the phone rang again. This time I thought to myself, "if it is really important they will call back." The phone began to ring again. This time I got up thinking "okay this is important." I answered the phone and it was my mom crying. I didn't even really understand what she was trying to tell me. Something about NYC and being attacked and to watch the news. I couldn't believe what I was seeing. It was very heart wrenching.
jaywalke
09-13-2006, 16:06
I wasn't hiking that day, but had a big trip on 9/20 to the Tetons that a bunch of buddies and I had been planning for a year. We went back and forth about whether or not to cancel. Some folks dropped out but a dozen of us still went, since sitting home in anguish sure wasn't doing any good.
It was eerie flying. O'Hare was empty except for the FBI and the National Guard.
We stood at Old Faithful on a beautiful September Saturday morning with about twenty people total, a place that would have been shoulder-to-shoulder any other year.
One guy in our group had an office in the Pentagon. The plane went right through it. He was elsewhere because his suite was being remodeled and was behind schedule.
We walked seventy miles through the Tetons and saw four people aside from our group. The mountains stood uncaring and unchanged. The skies were quiet, and being there helped me.
I may try to "forget" the "conspiracy", which I never claim there was.;)
But why "forget" the 184 and the terrror of those at the Pentagon.:confused:
Seems like you are saying because the Pentagon didn't have the numbers or loss of structure(s), that it isn't as impotant?:eek: If all those died on the same day of the same cause, why rank them lower? Numbers you say...:(
I'm not sure I follow your response to Teatime. I don't think he was suggesting we forget those that died, or qualify the significance of their deaths. Perhaps he was searching for some logic in why there would be such a theory as something other than a plane hitting the Pentagon.
I just learned of that theory on Monday when some co-workers were discussing 9/11 events and told me they thought this theory was true. I about ripped their throats out I was so disgusted. Hello!?! Then where are the folks that were on the plane?!!?? They're not here anymore! Talk about forgetting about the people that died there.
www.whatreallyhappened.com (http://www.whatreallyhappened.com)
Anyway, back to the actual thread topic...
I'm not sure I follow your response to Teatime. I don't think he was suggesting we forget those that died, or qualify the significance of their deaths. Perhaps he was searching for some logic in why there would be such a theory as something other than a plane hitting the Pentagon.
I just learned of that theory on Monday when some co-workers were discussing 9/11 events and told me they thought this theory was true. I about ripped their throats out I was so disgusted. Hello!?! Then where are the folks that were on the plane?!!?? They're not here anymore! Talk about forgetting about the people that died there.
www.whatreallyhappened.com (http://www.whatreallyhappened.com)
Anyway, back to the actual thread topic...
Fair enough.:)
Like you, I've heard the theory. (Didn't I say that?) I agree we should not be forgetting the people who died there, which was my point BTW, :eek: and couldn't help but to wonder why the all the media I saw -would.:(
Unlike you, I didn't about ripped anyones throat out. You sound violent.
SavageLlama
09-14-2006, 02:09
I would have very much liked to have been on the trail... I was living in lower Manhattan, just a couple blocks away from the towers in Sept of 2001.
You sound violent.
Sorry, I'm not. I guess I was looking to express the profound disgust I felt in hearing of this theory, and this figurative language came to mind at the time. I certainly could have worded it more mildly.
Was just looking to defend Teatime, not attack you, and I apologize if I came across that way. :o
Sorry, I'm not. I guess I was looking to express the profound disgust I felt in hearing of this theory, and this figurative language came to mind at the time. I certainly could have worded it more mildly.
Was just looking to defend Teatime, not attack you, and I apologize if I came across that way. :o
No problem scope. Have a wonderful day.:)
Green Bean
09-14-2006, 10:48
I was probably one of the LAST people in America to find out.
Itwas five years ago today and it could have been yesterday.
Indeed. ~GB
I was on Katahdin on 9/11/01. There were some thrus finishing their hike and a guy was greeting them at the top. The only thing I heard from the guy saying to the thrus was "It's a great day for you guys, but a bad day for America". We hiked back down and a lady came up to us and said "Did you hear? A plane crashed into the twin towers and a bomb went off at the pentagon" My brother-in-law and I looked at each other and I said "sounds like either a coincidence or a coordinated attack". We headed down to the car and for the two hour ride back we listened in silence to the radio tying to piece together what happened.
Looking back, although I didn't know him at the time, the guy greeting people at the top looked like Bag O' Tricks. I still wonder if it was.
Jack Tarlin
09-14-2006, 14:08
I don't think so, but I'll sure ask him when I see him. I'm not sure Trix has made it up top yet, and if he were there on THAT particular date, I think I'd have heard the story. And knowing Trix, I'd have probably heard the story around fifty times! :D
I was on Katahdin on 9/11/01.
We hiked back down and a lady came up to us and said "Did you hear? A plane crashed into the twin towers and a bomb went off at the pentagon"
Hmmmmm:confused: :-? :confused: :-?