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View Full Version : When was Wingfoot's last notible hike?



stranger
06-29-2007, 01:36
This is not a Wingfoot bashing opportunity, I would just like to know when his last notable, and verifiable, hike was? If anyone can answer that on Whiteblaze.

fiddlehead
06-29-2007, 02:06
Don't know for sure but i think his hiking career ended in the early 90's or late 80's. (perhaps i shouldn't say his career ended but his long distance hiking anyway) IMO

I have pros and cons on the man. He helped me out when i was in need of a place to stay in hot springs in '95, and then came over when we had a party for a nice chat.
However, he kicked me off his website a few years later because i disagreed with his opinions.

Frolicking Dinosaurs
06-29-2007, 06:37
I'm thinking it was nearly two decades ago. From Wingfoot's site (http://www.trailplace.com/portal/display.php?page=meet_wf):

Dan Bruce, known in hiking circles simply as "Wingfoot", is the guidebook author widely recognized as the leading expert on A.T. thru-hiking. Since 1985, he has hiked more than 25,000 miles, including seven end-to-end hikes of the Appalachian Trail and numerous long-distance A.T. section hikes.

His 1987 thru-hike, the much-publicized Golden Anniversary Expedition (http://www.trailplace.com/visuals/letter_1987.jpg), served as the centerpiece of the Appalachian Trailīs fiftieth anniversary celebration, focusing nationwide attention on the Trailīs value as a recreational treasure for all Americans. That hike is still considered by many to be the best coordinated and most successful effort to build grassroots support for the Trail done by anyone. It was coordinated with ATC, which saw substantial gains in membership and income as a result of Dan's anniversary hike.

In addition to hiking for personal enjoyment, Dan has been tireless in his efforts to serve the A.T. hiking community. Since 1985, he has given more than 50,000 hours of volunteer service to A.T. hikers and Trail organizations, and thousands of hikers from all over the world have benefited from his efforts.

Over the past fifteen years, Dan has spent about half of the time hiking on the Appalachian Trail, taking notes and photos of the footpath and its nearby environs, and the rest of the time he has spent preparing information to be shared with A.T. hikers. When not hiking and/or writing guidebooks, he gives seminars on backpacking, serves as a consultant to manufacturers of backpacking gear, and promotes citizen involvement in the preservation of Americaīs outdoor-recreation resources, with emphasis on protection of Appalachian Trail lands.

In 2002, Dan moved from the mountain town of Hot Springs, North Carolina, back to the Atlanta area (combining his household with that of his aging parents who need extra care and attention nowadays), where he coordinates the work of the A.T. Center and writes his best-selling A.T. guidebooks. He has also served as designer/webmaster for this Trailplace.com website since it was introduced on-line in late 1996. Wingfoot is the only author of A.T. and thru-hiking guidebooks who makes himself easily accessible to folks in the A.T. community on virtually a 24/7 basis. He welcomes inquiries from the hiking public by e-mail, instant messaging, or telephone, and is available to give interviews to magazines, newspapers, and other media by arrangement.

Wingfoot is a member of the following organizations ...
Appalachian Trail Conservancy
The Sierra Club
The Wilderness Society
The Nature Conservancy
The Audubon Society
Natural Resources Defense Council
National Parks Conservation Association
American Civil Liberties Union

aaroniguana
06-29-2007, 06:46
That's a heck of a bio. Think he wrote it himself?

camojack
06-29-2007, 06:57
This is not a Wingfoot bashing opportunity...

Of course it's a Twinkletoes, er, Wingfoot bashing opportunity! :eek:


However, he kicked me off his website a few years later because i disagreed with his opinions.

SEE?! :rolleyes:


That's a heck of a bio. Think he wrote it himself?

What makes you ask that? :D

superman
06-29-2007, 07:51
I respect Wingfoot. He introduced many people to the concept of "trail Etiquette." He provided valuable information for potential thru hikers. He gave voice to trail issues (political, trail development, trail maintenance). He provided information for informed gear selection.
TUK, Winter and I had a very nice conversation with him on his front porch.
Unfortunately when I finished the AT I moved and it took a while for my situation to settle down. By the time it I got settled my trail journal had been dumped. There was no guarantee about the longevity of the trail journals but it was a loss to me. (Insert whiney noise here.)

mrc237
06-29-2007, 09:58
If WF has retired from active hiking I can only say this: Better to have been a "has-been" than a "never-was"! WF has done much for and is still giving to the hiking community.

Lone Wolf
06-29-2007, 10:23
1991 was his last thru-hike. 1992 he did a big section then got off the trail.

icemanat95
06-29-2007, 10:34
I have a similar story as Fiddlehead. Wingfoot put me up for several days in Hot Springs when I limped into town. Had a great time. I was active on his Trailplace site for a long time until I was kicked off for too many disagreements with Wingfoot. I still drop him a line from time to time to see how he's doing.

I respect Wingfoot, but I don't agree with him much anymore.

thestin
06-29-2007, 11:04
1991 was his last thru-hike. 1992 he did a big section then got off the trail.

Model T mentions this is in his book. ATC offered Wingfoot the chance to take over the Thru-Hiker's guidebook, and he left the trail at Harpers Ferry.

He mentioned on his website a couple of years ago that he was going to do another hike, but it didn't happen. I believe he is caring for his elderly parents.

Ender
06-29-2007, 11:40
You gotta respect the guy for what he's given back to the trail. More than me, that's for sure.

TJ aka Teej
06-29-2007, 15:30
[email protected]
Dan answers his email, so why not ask him?

warren doyle
06-29-2007, 16:03
1985-1991 is seven years. I don't recall Dan doing thru-hikes for seven straight years. I was surprised when he claimed seven end-to-end-hikes when I thought he had only done 4-5 thru-hikes.

Lugnut
06-29-2007, 16:39
By the time it I got settled my trail journal had been dumped. There was no guarantee about the longevity of the trail journals but it was a loss to me. (Insert whiney noise here.)

Here is a link to the archived 2000 journals. See if yours is there.



http://web.archive.org/web/20000229102639/http://trailplace.com/

Cookerhiker
06-29-2007, 20:02
1991 was his last thru-hike. 1992 he did a big section then got off the trail.
.......He mentioned on his website a couple of years ago that he was going to do another hike, but it didn't happen. I believe he is caring for his elderly parents.

He announced that he'd thruhike in 2005 to mark the 20th anniversary of his first thruhike but never did. At that time, I was on his site frequently (I never visit it now) and recall him saying how he'd use a lot of his same gear and how he'd probably use a different trail name just for that hike.

superman
06-29-2007, 20:11
Here is a link to the archived 2000 journals. See if yours is there.



http://web.archive.org/web/20000229102639/http://trailplace.com/

Thanks, but my trailplace journal won't open.

GlazeDog
06-29-2007, 20:59
Yeah yeah...Wingfoot has done some good. As all of us good and not so good have done. But seriously that guy is a poster boy for self-will run riot. I think he's doing more damage than good anymore. Yes--he puts out his great book. But a non-hiking librarian could manage the updates at this point and not offend and distance hikers. Why do you think WhiteBlaze is so successful, despite Wingfoot's earlier popularity? Because White Blaze doesn't act like a pair of Donkey's #@$%&@#s. White Blaze is respectful to differences of opinion--and doesn't say that only they're opinion is worthy. Wingfoot has lost humility and has developed a small god complex.

Good job to White Blaze!!!!!!!
GlazeDog

The Mechanical Man
06-30-2007, 00:01
My wife gave Dan Bruce a ride to Wind Gap from Smith Gap Pa, so he could skip that 8 mile section during one of his "so called" thru-hikes.
When I later told Earl Shaffer in 1998 during his visit with us, that Wingfoot asked for a ride and took it, then claimed a thru-hike that year again,.......... Earl said, "I knew it, I knew it!".

Frolicking Dinosaurs
06-30-2007, 06:29
Thanks, but my trailplace journal won't open.Perhaps the webmaster of the site could be persauded to sent you a text version of the jounal from the database. It wouldn't hurt to ask. This would not have the pretty formatting, but all your words would be there.

superman
06-30-2007, 07:05
Perhaps the webmaster of the site could be persauded to sent you a text version of the jounal from the database. It wouldn't hurt to ask. This would not have the pretty formatting, but all your words would be there.

I spoke to Wingfoot about it and it's not there.

Frolicking Dinosaurs
06-30-2007, 07:09
I'm so sorry, Superman. Losing a journal really sucks. I back-up our journal from TJ to an external hard drive because I could never recreate it.

Nightwalker
06-30-2007, 08:04
If WF has retired from active hiking I can only say this: Better to have been a "has-been" than a "never-was"! WF has done much for and is still giving to the hiking community.

Very well put. His book has helped a lot of people, and their's no way that he makes much money off of it.

Frolicking Dinosaurs
06-30-2007, 08:16
Wingy puts out a good book. I don't buy it because I want to support the trail instead of Wingy and the other major guide's profits go to the trail.

I do wish Wingy would be a bit more tolerant of alternate views on his forum, but it is his forum. If he wants it to show only a single view, then it is his right. However, his single view approach limits the usefulness of his forum IMO because backpacking solutions are not one-size-fits-all. The more info available from others experience, the more likely a new backpack is to find a solution that works for him or her and an experienced backpacker is to find solutions to new problems. YMMV

Jaybird
06-30-2007, 08:25
This is not a Wingfoot bashing opportunity, I would just like to know when his last notable, and verifiable, hike was? If anyone can answer that on Whiteblaze.





Probably as long ago as his last true update on his book! ha:D
(No Bash...just fact.....the biggest complaint i heard this year from Thru-hikers wuz....."WingFoots book is not very accurate")

Nest
06-30-2007, 23:00
I spoke to Wingfoot about it and it's not there.


Well, I only see one reasonable solution. You've got to do another thru hike. It's the best option in my opinion. See you out there next year then.

weary
07-01-2007, 02:14
Very well put. His book has helped a lot of people, and their's no way that he makes much money off of it.
Absolutely true. So true that I felt obligated to respond from Juneau, Alaska. Wingfoot is his own worst enemy. But he has done more for the trail than anyone I know, especially during the critical Saddleback effort of a few years ago, when ATC caved in early and Wingfoot carried the ball, pretty much alone.

Weary

TJ aka Teej
07-01-2007, 07:14
he has done more for the trail than anyone I know,

Then you don't know that many people...

Jim Adams
07-01-2007, 11:50
My wife gave Dan Bruce a ride to Wind Gap from Smith Gap Pa, so he could skip that 8 mile section during one of his "so called" thru-hikes.
When I later told Earl Shaffer in 1998 during his visit with us, that Wingfoot asked for a ride and took it, then claimed a thru-hike that year again,.......... Earl said, "I knew it, I knew it!".

i hiked quite a bit with Dan in 1990 and infact he summired the day before i did. back then the Philosopher's Guide was the "town / trail" book but the author was publishing it for the final year (i believe 1990) and Dan was asked to take it over. Dan's book replaced that guide and IMO is one of the most informative trail books out there. anyway, if i remember correctly, Dan did have to start spending more time in towns to gather more detailed and correct info for the new book and it did take away from his hiking time on the trail hence the rides into towns may be correct. he did thru hike again in 1991 completely to check the accuracy of his book. he has been a good friend to me over all these years and i respect him greatly.
how many town / guide books have been written by all the others on white blaze?
geek

superman
07-01-2007, 11:57
Well, I only see one reasonable solution. You've got to do another thru hike. It's the best option in my opinion. See you out there next year then.

I've been thinking about doing another thru hike. Pat and I did the first 30 miles this last spring and it has re-lit the fire. Winter can't hike any more so it would require Pat staying home to dog sit.

if I did another thru hike maybe I could do a better journal than the last one. It wasn't Shakespear. A common post was "We hiked up and down, Winter is asleep and I will be soon." People read my journal mostly because the posts were brief.

Who knows...maybe I'll see you out there.

saimyoji
07-01-2007, 20:44
how many town / guide books have been written by all the others on white blaze?


One continuous amorphous update lending all pertinent info to those who ask...you can even fjord the Kennebec, whether you can spell it corectly or not....:rolleyes:

the goat
07-02-2007, 13:05
how many town / guide books have been written by all the others on white blaze?
geek

i wrote my own.

only i don't share with others due to sensitive information regarding my secret beer caches.

Alligator
07-02-2007, 13:13
i wrote my own.

only i don't share with others due to sensitive information regarding my secret beer caches.No, no you should camel up at the source.

Heater
07-02-2007, 13:25
No, no you should camel up at the source.

Is it even possible for a goat to camel up? :-?

The Weasel
07-02-2007, 14:04
Summary of thread:

1) No one knows answer to question posed at start of thread.
2) People bash Dan as often as they feel like it, given the opportunity.
3) Dan isn't perfect, has plusses and minuses.
4) Some people drink beer.
5) Other people take the thread away from 1).

If there's anything new, add it. But after all the "Dan" threads, I think Ecclesiastes was right.

The Weasel

the goat
07-02-2007, 14:11
If there's anything new, add it.

getting back on topic:

wingfoot is also unaware of the positioning of my secret beer caches, and respects my privacy by not mentioning them in his book.

Alligator
07-02-2007, 14:15
Is it even possible for a goat to camel up? :-?As surely as an alligator can go ape, dog:cool: :) .

Lone Wolf
07-02-2007, 14:17
1) No one knows answer to question posed at start of thread.

it was 1991 as i said before

The Weasel
07-02-2007, 16:06
it was 1991 as i said before

Thanks; missed that post. No reason to doubt you, since none of the babble after it disagrees.

Unless someone has something new to diss Dan about, I assume that's the end of the thread. Until the next one.

The Weasel