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View Full Version : Askus3's AT hiker sightings - 2007



Askus3
05-11-2007, 09:43
Yesterday, Thursday evening, May 10, I came upon Just Jack staying in the William Brien Memorial Shelter in Harriman Park, NY. He said he was from Cocoa Beach, FL. He was by himself and in good spirits. He hiked from NY 17 to this shelter location this day and he is section hiking the AT from Port Clinton, PA northbound to Vermont.

Askus3
06-12-2007, 13:45
Here when we went to deliver some Trail Magic between 6-7 PM the recipients were: Dog Summer(?)from TN and Erin "3 Hills" (Thrills) from Concord, NH & their dog "Storm Trooper" an akita who received from us trail angels a dog biscuit. They were the thru-hikers. Also at the shelter were five members from Troop 714 from Marietta, GA. They were section hiking from PA & the Delaware Water Gap to the NY-CT line. They were "Sandwich Man", "MoonPie", "Pig Pen", "U-Turn" & "Daddy Long Legs".

Lone Wolf
06-12-2007, 13:47
Here when we went to deliver some Trail Magic between 6-7 PM

what kinda tricks did ya do?

Askus3
06-12-2007, 13:53
Two miles from the nearest road, a jug of half-frozen water, snacks, cold beer, cold soda and a dog biscuit magically appeared from a pack that was carried in! What more could a backpacker ask for?

Lone Wolf
06-12-2007, 13:55
What more could a backpacker ask for?

magic tricks. feeding hikers ain't trail magic

Askus3
06-16-2007, 09:07
This was my second in a series of "trail angel" hikes to the shelter (the first one in New York, going north. Accompanying me were Caroline & (Smarties - a collie mixture), Martha & (Ben - a Golden Retriever) & my dear companion "Sam" the Pug. At the shelter, recipients of our ice cold handouts were: Thru-hikers: Cheez from Wisconsin who became a good friend of M&M (a friend of mine and thru-hiker) who is about a week + behind on the trail, Widow Maker who resides in Ohio and related to me the story of a tree falling on him the first day out from Springer, Matt & Uwharrie (dog) from NC. Uwharrie was treated to a dog biscuit which he savored. Katerpillar was also there inviting several to take a break from the trail and go home for a day to Long Island, and Twofer the hiker from the group that came the furthest to hike the AT (He resides in Iowa). He is doing quite well, considering I always thought Iowa was flat and the AT is anything but. Section hikers Godfather a southbounder started in Hanover, NH and the jokester Cracker starting in Virginia were also there for the treats. It was a beautiful, cool and pleasant evening and we all had a nice visit.

My next entry will be when I come back from my own section hike next week up in the Whites and I will let you know who I come across up there.

Askus3
06-28-2007, 21:00
Just got back from my annual AT section hike where from 6/21 thru 6/27, I hiked from Gorham/US 2 to Crawford Notch/US 302. Along the way, I bumped into the following thru and section hikers. Uncle Walt who stayed one night at Hikers Paradise (6/19) in Gorham and the next night (6/20) was taking a zero day and saving money and staying at the Rattle River Shelter. We then passed Ben on our way up Mt. Moriah who is a section hiker going northbound from Rutland, VT to Gorham. He was a bit saddened that his journey was virtually almost over. Next, we met Boone & Follower on Fri. 6/22 near North Carter Mt. Boone is a thru-hiker while Follower is a section hiker joining Boone from PA on north. On our way up the Trinity Heights Trail (AT) and just below the summit of Mt. Washington on Mon. June 25, Slim & T-Wing from Oklahoma passed me. They were the first and only southbounders I came across. They left Katahdin via the Abol Trail on May 28. Stayed at Lakes Hut working for board. Then they passed me again next morning (5/26) at Mt. Franklin after getting a late start due to their work activity at the hut. The last thru-hiker I came across was No Joke who I had a nice chat with at Mizpah Hut on Tuesday evening, May 26. On my way to Mt. Jackson on Wed. May 27, I came across a section hiker called Zephyr who was section hiking the state of NH northbound.

Askus3
07-02-2007, 01:47
Sam & I resumed our trail magic visits after coming back from New Hampshire's White Mountains and along with four other AMC members we went back to my favorite AT Shelter - Wildcat in NY on Sunday, July 1. Along with the trail angel group were Sam "the Pug", Hercules "the miniscule Pincher" and Koko "the amazing shiatsu". At the shelter we met southbounder Tortuga who is hiking from Dalton, MA to the Delaware Water Gap and then doing a flip-flop. Three northbound thru-hikers The Dude, Ziola, and Chico were spending the night here at the shelter. Chico was eyeing the guacamole a member of our group brought and I am sure he was going to consume it before morning. Ziola was the only female in the group of hikers at the shelter when we arrived. To round out the cast of hikers at Wildcat were The Blazer, Fire Marshall & No Worries. Starting in Pearisburg, VA was Blazer. No Worries joined the trail at Daleville and the Fire Marshall picked up where left off in 2004 at Duncannon, PA. What a nice group of elite backpackers to congregate for some great beverage and treats at the Wildcat Shelter and wow, did they get a display of some wonderful canine entertainment! And when we left on our way back to 17A, we ran into Eula from CO. You should have seen her consume her Mike's Lemonade as she continued merrily northbound along the trail knowing she was joining the illustrious crowd at Wildcat.

ms doolittle
07-02-2007, 08:53
Chico... LOL!

If you've read any of his shelter journal entries, they are a riot! Green Hornet hiked with him through the Shenandoah's and up into PA. I met him in Shenandoah as well.

Looks like he's a day and a half to two days behind Green Hornet now. He'll be farther behind once Hornet starts putting in the miles.

MrHappy
07-02-2007, 12:03
I saw that Thr'ills, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, and a few others had lunch at the Hemlocks on June 24th.

Askus3
07-07-2007, 10:36
Yesterday (7/6), I went out to meet my friend Dawn(the female M&M). As I was hiking on my own southbound, I came across Golden Boy in a field near NJ 94. I then met her on the famous Vernon Boardwalk and walked east (north) with her to NJ 94 and Heaven Hill Farm Ice Cream/Farm stand. There I shuttled a group of northbound AT thru-hikers to the Vernon Church Hostel. This group included M&M (male), Low Branch, Evil Eye, Kiwi, Pootz, TomB (Too many Birthdays), Grasshopper . An interesting note is that Dawn, TomB & Kiwi all started on March 17 (St. Patrick's Day) at Springer Mt. and here they are all together at the Vernon Hostel. Do you think they will summit together on Katahdin? Stay tuned!

Today (Sat. 7/7), I picked up M&M and brought her from the Vernon hostel to the AT xing of NJ 94. Here Sam, "my pug" and I joined M&M for the climb up to Pinwheel Vista, one of the toughest climbs in New Jersey. On my way back to the car, I ran into Rangoon continuing his Northbound venture. He did not stay at the hostel. Then just as I came out to NJ 94, Rodney DangerTrail who normally gets no regards, got some from me as I couldn't pass up his request for a ride back to the Vernon hostel.

I will be out again Monday (7/9) hiking with M&M near lake Tiorati in Harriman Park. I bet I see some of these regulars there again.

Askus3
07-09-2007, 11:44
I helped shuttle Dawn (M&M) and set up her car at Bear Mountain and took her back to the AT crossing of Arden Valley Road near lake Tiorati in Harriman Park, NY this morning. I also shuttled Tripod (Steve) & Mosey (Suzy) who are two section hikers going from Bear Mountain to Delaware Water Gap southbound.

Askus3
07-12-2007, 23:06
Back for my fourth edition of Trail Magic at Wildcat. The spring at the shelter is now bone dry. So my jug of water and beverages were greatly appreciated. Enjoying the additional thirst quenchers along with the snacks my cohorts brought this evening were: Thirty Pack who got his name carrying batteries??? (Don't ask).Kevin a local section hiker going from NY 17A to Bear Mountain. Half Step who is excited about getting back towards his home state of New Hampshire. Also there were: Stone Age who told me to say "HI MOM, I'm doing fine!", Almost Lucky, who is hiking for a cure. See his website log at http://www.hikingforacure.com/about.php . It is always nice to see someone giving while enjoying the outdoors. I feel that by giving a little "trail magic", I am supporting his cause. He is very proud of his supporters. And just as my "trail angel crew" was ready to depart, Triple Deuce another Georgia native (Stone Age, the other) and Bird Dog & "D" arrived on the scene. The entire group of eight were heading northbound.

jlb2012
07-13-2007, 08:31
good to see Stone Age and Triple Duece are still out there - I remember them from Hightop in SNP this year.

Askus3
07-17-2007, 11:54
I bumped into Circadian at the Bellvale Creamery on 17A at the AT crossing. He is doing well on his northbound thru-hike. Heading for Wildcat Shelter for the night.

Askus3
07-21-2007, 22:21
Tonights trail angel hike to the shelter brought encounters with: Barking Spider, Plodder & Pop Corn near the Eastern Pinncles. What was weird was these were northbounders and I met them going north from 17A to the shelter. I said "aren't you going the wrong way?". They were slackpacking this section, so they were going south today in a northbound thru. Later in the evening, I met Lunar and he said they probably are the only northbound thru-hikers ever to hike the trail southbound! Actually Popcorn is only on the trail a few days joining his Dad "Plodder" who is thru-hiking and helping with the car shuttles. At the shelter, besides Lunar we met Way, & Cosmo. Way is a section hiker going from Damascus to Pawling, Cosmo is going from NJ High Point to MA & Lunar was a thru-hiker from Tucson who also lived for a time in VT. Then on the way back to 17A at the Cat Rocks we bumped into Popeye, Lightweight & Grits. They were singing loudly on the trail and after getting beers from us, the volume picked up a notch as we departed company. Lightweight & Popeye said this was a great day and the beers topped it off.

Yahtzee
07-21-2007, 22:25
Thanks askus3. That sort of post is why I visit this site. To hear trail happenings. Even if it makes me INSANELY JEALOUS that I am not one of those singing hikers who were lucky enough to score a beer. But I know the feeling and posts like yours take me back to when I was out there.

Keep it up.

Askus3
08-01-2007, 06:58
Once again I went out for Trail Angel Hike #6. This time without my trusted hiking partner "Sam", as I left him (my Pug) behind due to the heat. On this hike we met northbound thru-hiker Bill "The Pony from Macon, GA at the shelter. Also greeting us when we arrived and partaking in the refreshments were Ronin & Lazy Legs. These two guys were unique in that they lived within one block of each other in their hometown of Madison, CT but never met until one rainy afternoon on the trail near the Delaware Water Gap. They have been hiking together for the last 70 miles in New Jersy and into New York.

On our way out we crossed paths with Walking Will from Stowe, VT. Accompanying him was his black lab "The 4 Legged One". Since I am planning to lead a trip on the Long Trail over Mansfield next year, I picked his brain about a few things in our short encounter. Next on our way out we still had some goodies for The Coach & Kimchi. The Coach was from the northwest corner of Alabama (Florence, specifically) and Kimchi hailed from Utah, recently moved to NC and now is progressing northbound on the AT. The last couple we met while wrapping up our hike at the Bellvale Creamery and enjoying some terrific home-made ice cream. This was Mate (from Colorado) & Genesis (from Ohio). When we left them they were eating dinner, ice cream and still planning on hiking the two miles to Wildcat Shelter by the light of the silvery moon (a full one at that)! So this time our group of four trail angels served up beverages, fruit, snack bars and a peach cake to eight northbound thru-hikers.

My next and last Trail Angel Hike in the series to Wildcat Shelter will be Wed. Aug. 15. I wonder who we will encounter then. Maybe some southbounders next time.

wudhipy
08-09-2007, 01:21
has anyone seen " sandwich "and or "not yet":rolleyes: I met them at trail daze and was hoping for a sighting. any info appreciated.

Askus3
08-15-2007, 21:06
Today on our way in for our Trail Angel Hike from NY 17A, we intercepted Stoker from Texas. We met him just south of the Eastern Pinnacles. He was the first and only southbound thru-hiker that we greeted and partook in our goodies in our series of Trail Angel Hikes. Then solo camping at the Wildcat Shelter was Phyllis a section hiker working her way south from Great Barrington to the Delaware Water Gap.

mark lena
08-16-2007, 18:31
I met Mary and Emily, no trail names yet, hiking SOBO on the side of the road in Gorham...dropped them off at the Barn. Someone name them!

Askus3
08-19-2007, 07:28
What a spectacular and exceptionally cool day, thus yesterday was a fantastic day to go out hiking. I decided to hike that scenic stretch of the AT in CT where the trail parallels the west bank of the Housatonic River for over four miles. Continuing southbound we climbed over the St. John's Ledges and eventually on to CT 341 and Kent. Well the northbounders were out in force and also a couple of southbounders were boogeying down the trail passing us.
First to be seen taking a break at Silver Hill Campsite at a picnic table in the pavillion were Google & Sunshine. They have their own website at http://www.thruhike2007.blogspot.com/ . Just shortly afterwards we bumped into Nutella. She also is known as the "Flame" as she grew up in Maine and now resides in Florida. So FL=Florida, A=AT & ME=Maine, thus this knickname as she connects the two with the AT. Hong Kong Fuey was next as we passed him along the river near the Stewart Hollow Shelter. A couple of our hikers actually bumped into him in the local deli in Kent prior to the hike and now once again on the trail. On our way up the incredibly steep St. John's Ledges we came upon Bunkers, because the trail is so crazy, I told her she should be renamed "BONKERS". A young couple called Hawkeye & Wyoming were next, followed by Dirt. He took his handle from the popular Rock Group "Nitty Gritty Dirt Band". At Glacier Rock we chatted with our first southbounder, Snacktime from North Carolina. And lastly, as we were almost out and crossing the bridge over the Macedonia Brook was Obie from Georgia as he is heading home. He still has a long way, so we gave him some refreshing Gatorade for his travel.

sasquatch2014
08-20-2007, 10:11
I had the chance to share some magic with Dirt, Hong Kong Fuey, Hawkeye and Wyoming back on the 16th. I was making a water trip from the Dover oak up to the Telephone Pioneer shelter as the stream has been dry of late. I met Dirt and Hong Kong Fuey just a bit south of West Mt. and walked with them down to the oak where they joined up with Hawkeye and Wyoming again. Gave out some chocolate pudding which was eaten quickly and packed out any extra trash.

A few days before this on 8/15 and 8/14 met up with Calmwater, Coldylocks and Suduko (sp). On the 14th they were in Pawling and then saw them again on the 15th over at the Wiley Shelter on their way to Kent.

Yesterday met two SoBo at the Telephone Pioneer Shelter as I brought pudding and water up. They were Fairsong from Tn and Rising Star. You should see them in a few days down your way.

sasquatch2014
08-20-2007, 18:33
Passed a few NoBo'ers today while out to fill water. they are pushing on to the CT line. Good day for miles it was cool and overcast few bugs. They were Jan, Rub-A-Dub, Nugs Knowledge and two others who were traveling in that group.

sasquatch2014
08-23-2007, 21:51
Saw two SoBo today while out for a hike. They are Two step and Faithful.

Askus3
08-24-2007, 07:33
Peter Heath from New Zealand, also known as Spoonman is a southbound thru-hiker we met at the William Brien Memorial Shelter in Harriman Park. He started from Katahdin in mid-June. He is the oldest thru-hiker I met this year at age 73. He also hiked the AT northbound in 2002. This time he is going in the other direction to see the other side of the trees and slower to smell the roses and sniff the flowers along the way. He was the only long distance hiker we met on this dismal gloomy evening here at the shelter.