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View Full Version : Completed my Thru-hike!



firemountain
02-17-2007, 17:59
On September 5, 2006 I summited Katahdin and began hiking south. 5 months and 8 days later I reached Springer on February 13, 2007. The hike was an incredible experience. I chose winter for solitude and cooler weather, and I got plenty of both. Now the only problem is returning to the real world... I want to keep walking. I took 22 zero days on my hike and stayed in many great hostels and small towns. There are also a few more southbounders still on the trail that I know of. Tundra Wookie and Iceman should be less than a week away from finishing now. I believe that Combat and Jaybird are also only a little ways back.
Early Bird ME --> GA DONE!

stuco
02-17-2007, 18:03
Wow, congratulations

stuco
02-17-2007, 18:04
Maybe you should just get back on the trail and do a NOBO

buckowens
02-17-2007, 18:13
Congratulations!! A very big accomplishment. Might as well pick out another trail and start planning now ;)

Marta
02-17-2007, 18:18
Congratulations! Well done...and welcome back to the "real world." Prepare something ambiguous to say when people say brightly, "You must be so glad to be home!"

Marta/Five-Leaf

firemountain
02-17-2007, 19:27
As far as doing a yo-yo - I would love to! But I've got to work for six months now to save money to play again next winter :)
Start planning my next trip? Well... I had plenty of time to think while walking for over five months. I will making the transition in gear from lightweight (15lb winter base load) to super ultra light. Using what I have learned on my AT hike and purchasing new stuff. Then next fall I will hike the Long Trail (southbound) with only a single re-supply then hike the Metacomet Monadnock trail south in a single push ending up about three miles from where I live. So I already have something to be excited about. After that who knows, the PCT is calling but I'm not a huge fan of hot. I like cold much better.

OrionTheRanger
02-17-2007, 19:59
Congradulation on completion your thru hike!

Hangman
02-17-2007, 20:19
Congradulations!! Man i know its been cold these last few weeks! Trip of a life time.

Brushy Sage
02-17-2007, 20:28
A life-changing accomplishment! Congratulations, and best wishes.

iliketacos
02-17-2007, 20:28
A big congrats.

Smile
02-17-2007, 20:43
Way to go! I hope the rest of the year is full of great things for you :)

Sly
02-17-2007, 20:47
Kludos! :banana

trlhiker
02-17-2007, 21:10
Congrats. to you on your accomplishment.

Phreak
02-17-2007, 22:24
Congratz!!!

Earl Grey
02-17-2007, 22:30
Awesome. gratz

Rough
02-18-2007, 13:16
Well... I had plenty of time to think while walking for over five months. I will making the transition in gear from lightweight (15lb winter base load) to super ultra light. Using what I have learned on my AT hike and purchasing new stuff.

Congrats, what are some of the top things you learned on your AT hike?

rickb
02-18-2007, 13:48
OK.

But how did you get back?*




*I hope I am the only one who asks you that-- but I doubt it. :D

Mega congrats on hiking your own hike.

Froggy
02-18-2007, 13:56
What a way to change years!

Congratulations!

And when you get the time, how 'bout writing it up for us? Thanks!

bfitz
02-18-2007, 14:43
Brrrrr.....

MarcnNJ
02-18-2007, 15:12
Thats Hardcore...congrats!

lobshot
02-18-2007, 15:37
Congrats! I would really like to hear about the last month or so when the weather has been really nasty. What was the worst you experienced?

Chaco Taco
02-19-2007, 21:12
Congrats man. That is a wonderful accomplishment.


Thats Hardcore...congrats!

MArcnNJ, Man your pics are amazing of your thru. Congrats also

Appalachian Tater
02-19-2007, 22:43
Congratulations. A winter hike is quite an accomplishment. I agree that you should yo-yo. Don't tell anyone that you are yo-yo-ing, just tell them you're out for a few days on a section hike.

firemountain
02-20-2007, 21:25
Addressing the two questions: How did I get home, and what did I learn (regarding gear).
Josh from hikerhostel.com picked me up at 2:30pm from USFS road 42 which is .9 miles from the summit of Springer. I spent the night at his place and got to the Gainsville GA bus station at around 8:40. The lady at the counter informed me that all buses north of Washington DC were canceled and heistated at giving me a ticket. I told her that I would be fine whatever happened. A short bus ride later (Charlotte NC) about four hours N, I was stopped and not allowed to continue. This was on 2/14 and a winter storm was hitting the NE with ice and sleet. In Charlotte the skies were blue and temps in the mid 40's, but I had to wait 24 hours for the next bus and then spent another 20 hours traveling... That's the way it goes sometimes though. Ticket only cost me $71 for over 1000 miles. I spent the layover time feasting at a local sports bar.
What I learned about: I started off the hike with a fairly lightweight pack, baseload of about 16lbs with winter gear. Using a GG Vapor Trail, EMS Mt light 0 degree bag, Blackdiamond Betalight tarp for the big three. I believe that now I have the confidence to take the next step and use gear similar to what is described on backpackinglight.com Basically taking everything down to the absolute bare minimum. For example for clothing on this trip I carried a midweight long sleeve base layer, wicking tshirt, zip neck poly mid layer, mnt hardware compressor pl (primaloft sweater 14oz), and gore-tex shell. I think that if I removed the mid layer and primaloft sweater and replaced them with a cocoon hooded jacket, and replace the 15oz gore-tex with an epic rainjacket at half the weight I would be fine. Even when it is in the single digits with high winds all I wear on my torso is a base layer and gore-tex, the rest is for wear at camp. When it is very cold I immediately crawl into my sleeping bag as soon as water has been gathered. Just with that one example of torso clothing I would save over a pound and a half. In all would like to cut 8-11lbs from my base weight (winter gear), without compromising comfort or safety.

firemountain
02-20-2007, 21:55
As far as weather is concerned, I started to encounter sub freezing temperature in southern Maine, and they continued (with exceptions) for the duration of the hike. However the winter was quite mild until the first week of January. From 9/5 to 10/21 I used a 35F sleeping bag to save weight while my body grew stronger. I did not always get a great nights sleep, but this encouraged me to get an early start in the morning (hence my trail name), sometimes as early as 2am (would go to sleep around 6pm) and consistently by 4:30am. I once I switched to a zero degree bag in MA the temps actually warmed up for a bit. By the time I reached PA though nights were regularly in the mid 20's and at this time the coldest night was 18F. Once I got the southern VA winter was starting to set in, from around Troutdale south there was snow high up. At the shelter just north of Roan Mt it was 12F and windy when I awoke. I remember that stretch as being particularly tough. It snowed the whole next day and I took a pretty good fall coming down off Roan. Broke my trekking pole and bruised my hip enough that I had to sleep on my other side. Coming out of Erwin from Bald Mt shelter to Flint Mt shelter it was 27F and pouring rain! I haven't seen anything like it before, the rain was wet but would freeze immediately upon contact with anything. I had icicles coming off my hood, and the buckles on my pack were frozen. Everything was covered in ice. Just after I arrived at the shelter the temperature rose about five degrees and the rain came down even harder. Soon all the ice which had accumulated in trees started to fall. For about 40 minutes it sounding like somebody was throwing hundreds of golf balls at the shelter roof. I woke up the next morning inside of a cloud (which sucks because everything gets very damp). The Smoky Mountains were the section that I felt most 'on the edge' through. I decided to bring six point petzl instep crampons after hearing reports of ice, so I needed to switch my trusty trail running shoes for Asolo Fugitive boots which I dislike but are narrow enough in the heel to fight the european crampon (apparently designed for small euro feet). The first day climbing up from Standing Bear Farm Hostel to Pecks Shelter it was mid 30's and snowing. I trudged through wet snow which got deeper the higher I climbed. When I reached the shelter my boots were wet. The next morning it was 14F inside the shelter, and I set out for Silers Bald Shelter. The stretch from Pecks Corner to Newfound Gap was very diffacult. On the ridge it was 7F and the wind was blowing 15-25mph, snow was 8-10 inches deep with deeper drifts. I had trouble keeping my feet warm, and when I finally reached the shelter at sunset I removed my boots to find my socks frozen! I pulled the insoles out and there was frost caked up in the outline of my toes. It took two hours in my sleeping bag with a hot water bottle to regain feeling. I did no damage but probably came quite close. The next morning was 5F when I woke up and a daytime high of 12F! But the biggest mountains were behind me and I was very motivated to get to Fontana Dam and a warm room (and food). That was the last of the very cold temperatures, the last week of my trip was fairly mild. There was still some snow and ice on the trail nowhere near as much as in the smokies.

Early Bird ME->GA