View Full Version : Standouts from the class of 2006
I was at the Tray Mountain shelter with a group of thrus and sectioners and the conversation meandered to the standout hikers the group has encountered along the way.
Patriot can be recognized for the tricorner hat that he wears. He is carrying a handmade tomahawk, which he plans to deliver to his blacksmith uncle in Williamsburg, VA.
DOT is an accomplished hiker with the PCT & JMT under his belt. His skin out weight is ~18 lbs, except for his wine. It is rumored that he carries a gallon of wine. He has a buddy back home, shipping wine in ever increasing quality further up the trail as an incentive to complete the hike.
Trapper James takes the cake. He hopped on the trail at Hogpen Gap (Georgia) last week and is NOBO. He is not much of a hiker as he is averaging less than 5 miles per day. He is not a hiker at all, but is just using the AT to move to Canada, on foot. His skin out weight is a mere 400 lbs. He has so much stuff that he carries what he can for a little while, drops his load, and goes back for more, advancing a little bit at a time. It is rumored that Trapper James estimates that he will complete the trail in 10 years.
What other trail legends are in our midst?
Dances with Mice
04-29-2007, 17:07
Trapper James takes the cake. He hopped on the trail at Hogpen Gap (Georgia) last week and is NOBO. He is not much of a hiker as he is averaging less than 5 miles per day. He is not a hiker at all, but is just using the AT to move to Canada, on foot. His skin out weight is a mere 400 lbs. He has so much stuff that he carries what he can for a little while, drops his load, and goes back for more, advancing a little bit at a time. It is rumored that Trapper James estimates that he will complete the trail in 10 years.Sounds a lot like 2007 hikers to me...
Patriot's not still in GA is he? I met him several weeks ago south of Woody.
And I heard about someone doing the Approach Trail with so much gear he was making 3 trips to portage his load forward. Is he still on the Trail too?
mweinstone
04-30-2007, 04:21
bfitz, baltimore jack tarlin , jolly green giant, wonderfoot,and others cary my dreams and hopes with them for there own epic hikes. as do all this and each year. go class of infinity!
Frolicking Dinosaurs
04-30-2007, 05:33
Wonderfoot for sure - she has overcome serious adversities and has more energy than both dinos put together.
Jack - for all the sparing he and I do re: things political, he continues on as life continues on and I know that is not the easier, softer way from experience. Hope the knees are holding out.
Finnigan also comes to mind - this kid is hiking with a violin and is an extremely talented fellow.
Spock - a fellow who has taken DYI to a new level - is another exceptional member of this class IMO.
Jack - for all the sparing he and I do re: things political, he continues on as life continues on and I know that is not the easier, softer way from experience. Hope the knees are holding out.
I am not so much interested in how many miles he has done but the thing that I find intriguing is how he (Jack) does it year after year. I know he has some connections NOW but I am wondering about the first one or two thrus.
I will have to PM him when he gets done. Might have to wait a while as I hope he does another complete thru of the ENTIRE trail in '07. Not because of the mileage accumulation as much as just wanting to see him do it again.
Wonderfoot for sure - she has overcome serious adversities and has more energy than both dinos put together.
Jack - for all the sparing he and I do re: things political, he continues on as life continues on and I know that is not the easier, softer way from experience. Hope the knees are holding out.
Finnigan also comes to mind - this kid is hiking with a violin and is an extremely talented fellow.
Spock - a fellow who has taken DYI to a new level - is another exceptional member of this class IMO.
Spock. Go Spock 'cause he is from my hometown if we are talkin' about the same person
Patroit got off the trail right after Neels Gap. Winton would not let him stay in the hostel until he got rid of his Glock 9MM. He mailed his 9MM and tomahawk home for the safety of others. Now he is off the trail with no money...
spittinpigeon
05-01-2007, 13:27
I met Crazy Horse in Damascus around mid March. I don't know if he's hiking again this year (he says he's hiked a bunch southbound and north). He was walking around the hostel with headphones on doing this annoying very loud breathing. He drives that red corvette with all the stickers on it, and pretends to be working on the engine all day so people will come over and admire his mediocre sports car. We were talking on the front porch with another nobo thru, and I have to say that Crazy Horse is quit a rude man, and pretty mean. Maybe he just needs a change of meds.
Gray Blazer
05-01-2007, 13:48
Spock. Go Spock 'cause he is from my hometown if we are talkin' about the same person
Spock is called Spock because he looks like Spock. When he told me his trail name and I looked at him, I didn't know what to say except live long and prosper. Saw him around Burningtown Gap, Mar 31.
Frolicking Dinosaurs
05-01-2007, 13:53
Spock. Go Spock 'cause he is from my hometown if we are talkin' about the same personThere are two Spocks out there this year - the one I'm talking about is from Austin, TX and looks a bit like Leonard Nimoy.
Gray Blazer
05-01-2007, 16:00
That's prolly the guy cuz to me he looked a lot like Leonard Nimoy or Spock who I assume are the same person since I've never seen them in the same room together. I should have had him practice the Vulcan Death Grip on me and perform it on MS at TD's (or whoever).
That's prolly the guy cuz to me he looked a lot like Leonard Nimoy or Spock who I assume are the same person since I've never seen them in the same room together. I should have had him practice the Vulcan Death Grip on me and perform it on MS at TD's (or whoever).
Nimoy's photography. I wonder... does the hiker Spock like the plus sized too?
http://www.leonardnimoyphotography.com/images/2/fullbody/Zz301.jpg
Frolicking Dinosaurs
05-15-2007, 20:59
I'm a chubette and that scares me.
::: dino hides under bed :::
D'Artagnan
05-16-2007, 08:45
HOLY LORD! Now that's a WHOLE LOT of lovin' !! Yikes!
D'Artagnan
05-16-2007, 08:46
I guess that explains the curiously raised eyebrows (not sure about the pointy ears, though).
Do you really want me to go there?????
RockStar
05-16-2007, 10:39
WOW more incentive to lose weight! eek
I was at the Tray Mountain shelter with a group of thrus and sectioners and the conversation meandered to the standout hikers the group has encountered along the way.............BLAH,BLAH,BLAH.................... .........................
WOW!....to be a "TRAIL LEGEND"....wouldn't you have to complete a trail, first?:D
They were made when meat was cheap.
WOW!....to be a "TRAIL LEGEND"....wouldn't you have to complete a trail, first?:D
I don't think so:-?....just be legendary:sun
I don't think so:-?....just be legendary:sun
I agree.
I've always been a bit disappointed with AT folks, especially the majority here online, that seem to think a thru-hike is the only way to validate a persons outdoor experience and knowledge. I always cringe when I see someone ask if another person they disagree with is a thru hiker, or some of the posts that tell people, in effect, after you finish your thru, then I'll listen to your opinion. Granted not all people take this attitude, but I believe that the majority do. Let me tell a little story:
Back in the early 1980's, I was fortunate enough to meet a man named Lee Bundy, from Yale, Michigan. We were introduced by a mutual friend, because I had recently returned from a long-distance backpack. Lee was interested in learning all he could about hiking the AT, and doing some shakedown hikes to boost his confidence. We spent many hours talking about backpacking. We also went on some early spring overnight hikes at the local Scout Camp. We made sure to include the steepest, most rocky trails we could find. Since it was early spring, they were also covered in ice. Lee decided on these hikes that it was worth a shot for him to give the AT a try.
Lee is retired, and his wife very reluctantly allowed him to take off in March to follow his dream, in spite of the fact that she had great reservations about his ability to remain safe. To make a long story short, Lee went to Springer and successfully followed his dream, struggling much along the way. He made it to Harpers Ferry, where he was forced off the trail because he had contracted Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever. He had a very long recovery, so finishing the trail that year was out of the question.
During the course of the months until he could resume his hike, he came to the realization that he had in fact proved to himself that he could hike the entire trail. He no longer had to prove that to himself. His wife was now even more worried. Lee had been VERY sick with the fever, but she was still willing to support him in finishing the trail. Lee made the decision that that was too much to ask his wife to go through for another summer. He happily decided to stay home, secure in the knowlege that he was changing his plan because he felt it was the right thing to do, not because he couldnt handle the hike.
Oh, one thing I didn't mention. Lee Bundy was legally blind. He was unable to read a book, or trail signs. At most he could distinguish light and dark. Lee hiked from Springer to Harpers Ferry carrying his pack, using a white cane, no seeing eye dog, no sighted companion. Several years later, Bill Irwin came along, hiked the trail with a dog, and has become legend. No intention to diminish Mr. Irwin's accomplishment, but he was NOT the first blind man to hike the trail.
Just my opinion, and perspective.
Lyle
Paul Bunyan
05-17-2007, 13:40
I've heard stories that Patriot had a loaded Glock on him. Is this True?
Jim Adams
05-17-2007, 14:18
mr. parkay... completed his thru with minimal pack and supplies from Hanover, N.H. since they were lost / stolen. finished with a daypack, emerency blanket and food. KEPT HIKING! did the BMT, was on Springer for New Years, hiked the Pinhote Trail, the Bartrum Trail, hiked Springer to Davenport Gap then joined Boudin and myself at Campo and is currently hiking the PCT. he hiked 51 miles into the Saufleys at Agua Dulce. he is attemptng to finish the PCT before going to law school in august. HE IS A TRAIL ANIMAL! VIVA 2006.
geek
Frolicking Dinosaurs
05-17-2007, 18:49
I don't think so:-?....just be legendary:sun.........
Lee Bundy was legally blind. He was unable to read a book, or trail signs. At most he could distinguish light and dark. Lee hiked from Springer to Harpers Ferry carrying his pack, using a white cane, no seeing eye dog, no sighted companion. Several years later, Bill Irwin came along, hiked the trail with a dog, and has become legend. No intention to diminish Mr. Irwin's accomplishment, but he was NOT the first blind man to hike the trail.Thanks for sharing Lee Bundy's story with us. I agree, many people who have not competed the trail deserve to be considered trail legends - Manfire (a legally blind hiker from 2005) and One-Leg (who hiked about 2,000 miles with an artificial leg) come immediately to mind.
I've always been a bit disappointed with AT folks, especially the majority here online, that seem to think a thru-hike is the only way to validate a persons outdoor experience and knowledge. I always cringe when I see someone ask if another person they disagree with is a thru hiker, or some of the posts that tell people, in effect, after you finish your thru, then I'll listen to your opinion. Granted not all people take this attitude, but I believe that the majority do.
I have to say that I disagree somewhat with your perception that that majority here think only thru-hikers have valuable experience and insight. There have been some insightful posts in the past on this subject which agree with your position that doing a trail at one go is not the best measure of...whatever we're supposed to be measuring. I especially remember a post by Sly in which he commented that he, for example, had several thousand trail miles (having completed the AT and the PCT with interruptions) before having a "thru-hike" of the CDT. Was he an experienced hiker before the CDT hike, with much of value to impart to others? Yes.
I will agree, however, that there are many slighting remarks directed towards people who have not thru-hiked, questioning their experience and judgement. Sometimes those insults are quite undeserved, but sometimes they are in response to a common phenomenon--a newbie bursts on the scene full of enthusiasm for a plan he/she has hatched of hiking the AT. He/she has a detailed dream of how it's going to be and proceeds to let everyone on the list know how fast/light/strong/brave/whatever they are and how (against all evidence to the contrary) there is no question that THEIR hike is all brilliantly worked out and the execution of the plan is a trivial formality.
When anyone has the nerve to suggest that the poster might be in the 80% who quit instead of the 20% who finish, the poster often reacts angrily, saying "I am different! I will obviously succeed!"
20% of the time, they're right. The other 80% of the time, they're wrong.
How many times a year does this happen? A couple dozen, at least. I haven't been on Whiteblaze all that long but I already recognize the pattern.
So "Have you done a thru-hike?" is a quick way to find out if a person is a fantasy hiker/web blazer/cyber-hiker, or a real hiker.
I absolutely agree that that question is far from the best measure of experience or courage. Completing a thru-hike is largely an exercise in commitment. Working on a multi-year section hike requires staying power over a much longer span of time. Some of the bravest people who have ever hiked have physical or psychological handicaps that make hiking at all an act of incredible courage and will. They have much to teach the rest of us.
To people who have thru-hiked, though, there are several attitudes copped by non-thru-hikers that annoy.
Number one is probably the statement: "You're so lucky! I wish I could take six months off to hike!" This statement shows a complete lack of comprehension by the speaker that arranging to take six months off to hike is very, very hard. It's hard for almost everyone to get the money together, to arrange things back home, to leave spouses, parents, kids, jobs... Luck plays almost no part. It was a deliberate decision and was very, very hard to arrange. It's almost always easier to something else besides hike.
Number two is probably a lack of recognition that completing a thru-hike IS a big deal. It's hard. Before I hiked, I thought I had some appreciation of how hard it would be. (I had been hiking all my life and had done 500+ AT miles already.) I was wrong. It was much, much harder than I thought it would be. Much. Is it the hardest thing I have ever done? No. Does it make me worth more as a person than anyone who has not thru-hiked? No. But it was very damned hard, and I will tell anyone planning to hike (especially female SOBO hopefuls) that they should approach the Trail with humility and respect. The bigger your dream bubble is, the more soap gets in your eyes when it bursts.
It's a lot like before and after having children. People who have children take the advice of the childless with more than a grain of salt. It's not that they don't have insights, but the personal experience just isn't there.
To me approaching the Trail and the outdoors with humility and respect is the main thing that differentiates someone I would listen to from someone who obviously doesn't know what they're talking about. Yeah, a person can thru-hike without gaining that. But I don't think that happens too often. Many, many people of Whiteblaze who have not thru-hiked also have those qualities. (Female Dino comes to mind.)
Anyway, I've been rambling on way too long already. I obviously need to get out and go for a walk. Not to mention packing for Trail Days!
Marta/Five-Leaf
Kerosene
05-18-2007, 09:10
Working on a multi-year section hike requires staying power over a much longer span of time.That, plus an understanding spouse, a predilection for repeated physical 'abuse', and a lot of money to get back and forth from the Trail!
Marta,
Maybe I was being a bit harsh in saying the majority of people take that attitude. But it does seem to be implied a great deal. My point is that there is nothing majical about completing a thru. The majic is in completing your plan, whatever that happened to be. Granted, a thru-hike is an easily defined plan that most any hiker can relate to, but it is not necessariy the most challanging accomplishment, as you said.
I have nothing against thru-hiking, plan to do several before I kick off. I just think too much emphasis is put on where a hike began and where it ended, and too little on what was involved inbetween.
Lyle
Gray Blazer
05-18-2007, 10:22
Marta,
Maybe I was being a bit harsh in saying the majority of people take that attitude. But it does seem to be implied a great deal. My point is that there is nothing majical about completing a thru. The majic is in completing your plan, whatever that happened to be. Granted, a thru-hike is an easily defined plan that most any hiker can relate to, but it is not necessariy the most challanging accomplishment, as you said.
I have nothing against thru-hiking, plan to do several before I kick off. I just think too much emphasis is put on where a hike began and where it ended, and too little on what was involved inbetween.
Lyle
You're not the first.
Gray Blazer
05-18-2007, 10:50
mr. parkay... completed his thru with minimal pack and supplies from Hanover, N.H. since they were lost / stolen. finished with a daypack, emerency blanket and food. KEPT HIKING! did the BMT, was on Springer for New Years, hiked the Pinhote Trail, the Bartrum Trail, hiked Springer to Davenport Gap then joined Boudin and myself at Campo and is currently hiking the PCT. he hiked 51 miles into the Saufleys at Agua Dulce. he is attemptng to finish the PCT before going to law school in august. HE IS A TRAIL ANIMAL! VIVA 2006.
geek
Mr. Parkay is a classy guy.
Jim Adams
05-19-2007, 01:49
Mr. Parkay is such a bad a** that Chuck Norris is his sherpa!
geek
Nightwalker
05-21-2007, 02:04
Have you done a thru-hike?
No, but I've done more miles than most of them that have. Not having a 2000 miler rocker used to bother me. Now I'm just grateful for the 5,000+ miles that I've got, and looking forward to rolling over 6,000 sometime in '08, God willing. :)
If people want to try to act superior because their miles are in a different place than yours, that's just stupid/weird/W T F-ever, ya know?
Sometimes.....the best trip is not going from point A to Point B
I've only got just under 1000 miles, but I have gained a life from the AT. The people, the freedom of being in the woods, the feeling of reaching the top. All things that I cling to and live for. I realized this year that I will not ever be able to do a "thru" hike. I'm not blessed with great health, and my legs just will not let me. This DOES NOT mean that I will stop hiking......just that I have to listen to my body, and hike what I can. Every step I take out there I see as a miricle. Does this mean I'm not a "Hiker"? Maybe to some of you....and frankly, I don't give a rats azz what those of you think. I have spent months on this trail.....I'm an AT hiker
Wow, this thread got off track.:confused:
This is a Hiking Humor thread.:D
Let's hear about interesting people & stories you hear while on the trail.:banana:banana