Newbie...

[Eagle_Hiker]

Hi guys and gals...I stumbled upon this site doing a google for water required for hiking per day. I have hiked two sections of the trail, the first back in '95 with my boy scout troop from Newfound gap south to Fontana Dam, the second back in '02 i think, in Standing Indian campground in the Piscah National Forest. I would love to start at Springer and work my way back north, maybe in the next year or so with the new kids in my troop. This looks like a great site with a ton of info. I have learned a lot (the hard way) about what to bring and what NOT to bring, hopefully i can learn some new stuff.

One of our older scouts has hiked the entire trail starting in Maine, for his honeymoon. Had a wonderful experiance.

Wayne

[gold bond]

You shoulda never mentioned the "S" word! Not alot of scout friendly people on this site...not to say they are bad.....just not happy with the way some scouts and leaders do.

That being said I'm a scouter to. My son is an Eagle scout. Welcome aboard. Have you been to Philmont? We are going this June.

Happy trails!!

[Eagle_Hiker]

Wasn't aware of the ill feeling towards scout. I myself am an Eagle Scout since '91. Still serve as an Assistant Scoutmaster. Our troop has always been a conscientous group towards camping and hiking and leaving a place better than we find it. I do understand that not all troops follow that creed however. I have never been to Philmont, but we sent 5 kids last year. They hiked over 85 miles during the week. You will have a great time. It's a tremendous experiance.

Just hoping to learn more about the trail and it's history and new ways to do things better on our hikes. Not many mountains here in Florida, so it's nice to get up to some elevation. We are going to summer camp in South Carolina this summer, Old Indian Camp.

[dzierzak]

Eagle Hiker - congratulations on the Eagle even though it's been a while ago.
gold bond - great to have a son make it to Eagle!

That said, I've been involved in Scouting for a number of years. I did an LNT Masters course years ago and was dismayed at the reputation of Scouts with public lands folks. They mostly dreaded having Scouts in nat'l parks and forests, this was in the late 90s.

Fortunately, this seems to be improving. Still, it seems that many Scout leaders feel that rules don't apply to them. It would be nice if more of them could remember the 12.

By the way, I've been to Philmont, going again in 08 as one of the FOM (fat old men). It's an incredible experience.

ed

[gold bond]

I am from SC! We have the best of everything here! We have the beaches and the swamps on the coast, we have the history of the midlands which is basically a college town, then we have the mountains of the upstate....the foothils trail, the palmetto trail which runs from the coast to the mountains! We have it all....even the confederate flag!

Old indian is a nice camp, but an older camp. You will have fun. great staff. we will be at Rainey Mountain this year.

Do not misunderstand my first post. ALL the people here on WB are first class, very knowledgeable people with a ton of hiking experience. I have learned so much from all the information that has been posted here. I would consider it an honor to hike with anyone that is on WB but....alot of the people on this site have, for whatever reason, had a bad experience with scouts or scouting. Mostly with leaders and their lack of knowledge with the outdoors. I am trying my best to take the negatives that I read about dealing with scouts and use them in our local training to try and change some of the perceptions that I read about here. I urge all scouters to use this site as a positive resource.

Just don't be to thin skinned and take it all personally.

[Eagle_Hiker]

Thanks for the heads up. We have been to Rainey Mountain, a very nice camp in it own right. Nice seeting, and run very organized. You will have a great time as well. Have also been to Camp Daniel Boone, another great camp.

No, i don't take offense easily. I understand there are some troops that run loose and don't have a firm leadership staff. But with our boys, they are all kids who want to be there, and enjoy the places we take them.

I would really like to hike another section of the AT, maybe even the part i did in the beginning. We never made it to Fontana Dam, we had to take a side trial down to Cades Cover. There was a drought that year, and reports from hikers coming up the trail warned of no water for 2 days. So, rather than risk getting into trouble with our boys, we hiked down to the cove. Saw plenty of beautiful sunsets out there, one right in top of Clingmans Dome the first day. So much i want to learn about equipment, water purifiers, etc.. hopefully i can learn a lot from people here.

[gold bond]

This is the place to be! Nothing but great information here. Check out the thread about companies with the best customer service....again, so much usefull info. I find myself checking this site 4-5 times a day.....I'm hooked. If you like it think about donating...just a thought not a pitch.

As well the Ap. trail cons. is a good site. I joined that as well. Have not gotten any of the newsletters yet though but I only joined in December.