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Terry7
02-19-2008, 10:35
Everyone seems to talk about thru-hiking but does anyone eles go on the trail to live for 6 months out of the year. I do not mean staying in one spot. I mean enjoying the time and not the miles. Nothing wrong with thru-hiking, just wondering if anybody eles hikes the A.T. this way.

Lone Wolf
02-19-2008, 10:37
very, very few. roy does.

Terry7
02-19-2008, 10:39
How about Pirate?

TOW
02-19-2008, 10:39
When I'm home I hike the entire width of the trail at least once a day. Does this count?

Terry7
02-19-2008, 10:41
If you do it for 1000 years.

Lone Wolf
02-19-2008, 10:43
How about Pirate?

he hangs out in TOWNS and hostels along the trail and no further north than Harpers Ferry.:D

Terry7
02-19-2008, 10:46
Sounds good to me except I try to keep town stops to no more than 3 days.

mountain squid
02-19-2008, 11:06
:-?Couldn't help but notice that everyone who has replied to this thread resides in Damascus...:):D:rolleyes::cool::p:eek:

See you on the trail,
mt squid

Terry7
02-19-2008, 12:10
Damascus is just that kind of town.

ScottP
02-19-2008, 12:11
Everyone seems to talk about thru-hiking but does anyone eles go on the trail to live for 6 months out of the year. I do not mean staying in one spot. I mean enjoying the time and not the miles. Nothing wrong with thru-hiking, just wondering if anybody eles hikes the A.T. this way.

not sure if I would call that hiking the AT.

Lone Wolf
02-19-2008, 12:14
Duffle Bag Tim and Harry the Indian come to mind. Also Tom Horn.

Terry7
02-19-2008, 12:18
not sure if I would call that hiking the AT.
I did 1200 miles last year in 5 months. When I saw a great view or like a good camp site or made some new friends in town, I could stop and enjoy the time spent. This is my way nothing wrong with your way. H.Y.O.H.

Lone Wolf
02-19-2008, 12:19
not sure if I would call that hiking the AT.

sure it is. the way it was intended to be walked

Terry7
02-19-2008, 12:21
Duffle Bag Tim and Harry the Indian come to mind. Also Tom Horn.

Maybe someday people will say "how about terry7 from Damascus" if my knees hold out for another 20 years. To many years skateboarding.

Gray Blazer
02-19-2008, 12:25
not sure if I would call that hiking the AT.

Do you mean if they are not thru-hiking the AT they can't possibly be hiking the AT?

To answer the original question...I don't know about the 6 month part, but, I do know that for myself, I love to camp and hike on the AT whenever I get the chance. I'm sure there are others like me. By the time I finish sectioning the AT I will have done it twice....I hike in for about 3 days in one direction and then hike back to my car.

ScottP
02-19-2008, 12:26
I did 1200 miles last year in 5 months. When I saw a great view or like a good camp site or made some new friends in town, I could stop and enjoy the time spent. This is my way nothing wrong with your way. H.Y.O.H.


I misunderstood what you meant. Thought you meant living in shelters for the summer.

Terry7
02-19-2008, 12:30
I met a guy last year who would park his car at every road stop then hike back to the last road stop then turn around and hike back to his car and do it again. When this guy finishes the AT he will have hiked it twice. There are all kinds of way to hike.

Terry7
02-19-2008, 12:33
I misunderstood what you meant. Thought you meant living in shelters for the summer.

No problemo I think I wrote " I do not mean staying in one spot".

hobojoe
02-19-2008, 12:43
I met a guy last year who would park his car at every road stop then hike back to the last road stop then turn around and hike back to his car and do it again. When this guy finishes the AT he will have hiked it twice. There are all kinds of way to hike.
Is that kamazi? I saw him doing this in 2004. Short asian dude wearing a red helmet, a trooper for sure.

hobojoe
02-19-2008, 12:44
I've seen calendar george hike like that. Just happy to be out there. Drawing art on napkins, and making a killing no less!!

Terry7
02-19-2008, 12:46
Is that kamazi? I saw him doing this in 2004. Short asian dude wearing a red helmet, a trooper for sure.

No this was an older guy around 60 or so. I wish I had met this Kamazi he sounds interesting.

geoffrey morris
04-12-2008, 01:13
Everyone seems to talk about thru-hiking but does anyone eles go on the trail to live for 6 months out of the year. I do not mean staying in one spot. I mean enjoying the time and not the miles. Nothing wrong with thru-hiking, just wondering if anybody eles hikes the A.T. this way.


I know of this guy that hikes it in that manner, well lets just say he gets in trouble with the law every now and again and goes hiking to avoid capture. lol but i don't think he would stay in one spot too long, but rather hide out in an area or particular section of trail. Then he gets his girl friend to drop him supplies and give him news and updates.

MagicSFK
04-12-2008, 06:01
Duffle Bag Tim and Harry the Indian come to mind. Also Tom Horn.

Is Duffle Bag Tim still around? I met him at a shelter in PA back in the early 90's and shared some coffee with him.

Sly
04-12-2008, 06:38
Everyone seems to talk about thru-hiking but does anyone eles go on the trail to live for 6 months out of the year. I do not mean staying in one spot. I mean enjoying the time and not the miles.


not sure if I would call that hiking the AT.

What do you mean not hiking? I met Tom Horn and although he may not hike for 6 months, he hikes several hundred miles of the southern AT every winter.

Lone Wolf
04-12-2008, 06:39
Is Duffle Bag Tim still around? I met him at a shelter in PA back in the early 90's and shared some coffee with him.

he passed away in the shenandoah national park in 93

sasquatch2014
04-12-2008, 07:15
I read the book Earth Under My Nail or Dirt Under My Nail, something like that, anyhow it was a guy who did the LT but his main thing was to stay on the trail and not go into towns. He had set up food cashes ahead of time and hid them near road crossings. I think he had a month or so that he just kept to the trail. I think that would be great. So many times when you talk to people the trail begins to become the thing that separates town stops.

I would love to do something like this as well when I can get out for a bigger chunk of time than a week or two at a time. For now life requires this be about the max till later.

Tipi Walter
04-12-2008, 09:30
It's possible to live out permanently and backpack not only on or around the AT but in the woods or where there's a green place on the topo map. I spent many years doing this in such places as Pisgah forest, on the AT around Hot Springs and Mt Rogers, up in the Shenandoah, south of Fontana around Cheoah, in a park in Damascus, right outside Front Royal, in the woods of Watauga County, in Shining Rock, below Mt Mitchell in the Black Mountains, at a tipi in Sugar Grove, in the Sierra Nevada, on the rolling plains of South Dakota, thruout much of North Carolina and Virginia(Yogaville comes to mind), along the old Greentown Trail and Upper Creek, in Lost Valley, in the Conehead Preserve, behind a variety of churches at night, in a patch of trees near Interstates, even in a yard in Chapel Hill and around the Duke forest near Raleigh.

The main consideration is giving up the apartment/house and stop paying rent. When this happens, and with the right gear(good sleeping bag and shelter and pack), a person can literally camp anywhere there's a treeline or a bush. Knowing what to avoid, like a wife and children or a full time job, keeps the dream alive.

To really do it right and to become a nylon hobo, a little income is needed but very little. My problem was that I never had enough cash to explore vast wilderness areas for long periods, so I had to stay around small towns to both dumpster dive and work very short-term menial jobs, or play street music for money. But at least I was out worshipping in the church of Nature.

fiddlehead
04-12-2008, 10:15
What do you mean not hiking? I met Tom Horn and although he may not hike for 6 months, he hikes several hundred miles of the southern AT every winter.

I first met Tom Horn in '89 at Shaw's. (he went by the trailname "desperado" back then) Then again a few times in between but spent considerable time with him on our SOBO winter hike in 2001/2002.

I don't know if i ever met anyone that loves hiking as much as he does.

He also loves farming and that is the main reason he's not on the trail all the time. He does his hiking in his off-season (winter/early spring) and farms when most of us are crowding the trails.

When asked how many miles, he doesn't know but thinks it's somewhere around 25,000!

In our video we made on that hike, we have a scene where we are talking about when we will finish at Springer and he says: "you'll get there when you get there"

Lone Wolf
04-12-2008, 12:59
his dog misty had about 12,000 miles under her

Sleepy the Arab
04-12-2008, 13:10
Everyone seems to talk about thru-hiking but does anyone eles go on the trail to live for 6 months out of the year. I do not mean staying in one spot. I mean enjoying the time and not the miles. Nothing wrong with thru-hiking, just wondering if anybody eles hikes the A.T. this way.

Yes. This pretty much sums up 2006. Surprised the hell outta me when I found myself on Katahdin.

wakapak
04-12-2008, 13:13
Yes. This pretty much sums up 2006. Surprised the hell outta me when I found myself on Katahdin.

Sleepy, just outta curiousity, how would you describe the difference of 06 to the other times you were out??

KirkMcquest
04-12-2008, 16:10
Everyone seems to talk about thru-hiking but does anyone eles go on the trail to live for 6 months out of the year. I do not mean staying in one spot. I mean enjoying the time and not the miles. Nothing wrong with thru-hiking, just wondering if anybody eles hikes the A.T. this way.

Sounds like just a really slow thru-hike. I've heard about a couple that was doing like an avg of 4 miles per day ( they never finished but stood out along time).
I think somebody took 8 months to do it. Hike your own hike, I guess.

Terry7
04-12-2008, 16:30
Since this thread was pulled up again I thought I would say that I am hitting the trail on May 5. I am going North until July/Aug then I am going to Greyhound to Katahdin and go sobo. I want to do the mountains in Maine when the weather is nice. I will then hike south until it gets to cold. I like doing the trail this way because it gives me alot more freedom and thats the main reason why I hike, to live free. I will see you out there on the trail. I hope everybody finds what they are seeking.
terry7

wakapak
04-12-2008, 16:33
Since this thread was pulled up again I thought I would say that I am hitting the trail on May 5. I am going North until July/Aug then I am going to Greyhound to Katahdin and go sobo. I want to do the mountains in Maine when the weather is nice. I will then hike south until it gets to cold. I like doing the trail this way because it gives me alot more freedom and thats the main reason why I hike, to live free. I will see you out there on the trail. I hope everybody finds what they are seeking.
terry7

Thats awesome!!! Have a wonderful trip, hope to see ya out there somewhere!! :)

sasquatch2014
04-12-2008, 21:46
Fell free to give me a shout when your down near Pawling (really anywhere from Kent to Fahnstock Park) if you need help with a resupply or anything. Would be glad to lend a hand.

Tinker
04-12-2008, 23:32
No problemo I think I wrote " I do not mean staying in one spot".

That's problema. Darned Bart Simpson!:mad:

Tennessee Viking
04-13-2008, 01:09
I have some across a couple hikers that you can describe as living on trail.

Meet one guy from NYC that sold everything he owned, living on his pention, and was hiking until he found the perfect mountain town next to the trail to live.

Got to respect that.

Sleepy the Arab
04-13-2008, 01:25
Sleepy, just outta curiousity, how would you describe the difference of 06 to the other times you were out??

2006 I went out to walk in the woods and clear my head. There was never any intent to finish. I never took the 'Thru-Hiking' particularly seriously, a fact that had me feel a little bad for finishing. I was just happy to be back out there and didn't give a rat f*** about finishing. I could also retain the luxury of asking myself every so often, "Do I feel like quitting this thing today?" After a sip of coffee, the answer was invariably "nah."

Less philosophical differences include:

I found I spent a lot less time in towns, particularly down south where I skipped NOC completely and spent only one night in Damascus.
The weather was the best I had on any AT trip. Yes, this includes the 6 inches of rain coming out of Duncannon.
I happened across coolers that actually had stuff in them, instead of countless empty ones.
I actually arrived in Delaware Water Gap the night of a cookout instead of leaving.
I rode a bus down to Georgia.

wakapak
04-13-2008, 01:31
2006 I went out to walk in the woods and clear my head. There was never any intent to finish. I never took the 'Thru-Hiking' particularly seriously, a fact that had me feel a little bad for finishing. I was just happy to be back out there and didn't give a rat f*** about finishing. I could also retain the luxury of asking myself every so often, "Do I feel like quitting this thing today?" After a sip of coffee, the answer was invariably "nah."

Less philosophical differences include:

I found I spent a lot less time in towns, particularly down south where I skipped NOC completely and spent only one night in Damascus.
The weather was the best I had on any AT trip. Yes, this includes the 6 inches of rain coming out of Duncannon.
I happened across coolers that actually had stuff in them, instead of countless empty ones.
I actually arrived in Delaware Water Gap the night of a cookout instead of leaving.
I rode a bus down to Georgia.

Awesome...thanks for sharing!!! my intentions for this trip is to just clear my head too...hence the reason i dont even care that i'm not starting in GA. was planning on going to TD's anyway, and when i decided to get back out there again, i figured it was a good spot to get back on at. i say i'm going to Maine, but i really dont care if i get all the way there, or how long i'm out, as long as i feel right again whenever i do come off, and who knows, maybe i'll get to maine and feel the need to keep on walkin!! I'd also like to spend less time in towns on this trip too.....i already like the fact that it's just me this time and i dont have to worry about the partnership dynamics! i'm sure i'll hike with others out there, but it'll be different for me having all my own gear this time!
I'm just so excited!!!

TOW
04-13-2008, 05:40
That's the way to do it, just go take a walk in the woods..........

wakapak
04-13-2008, 08:56
That's the way to do it, just go take a walk in the woods..........

Exactly...a nice long walk in the woods to see the beauty it beholds in all forms, and to meet new friends along the way....

Lion King
04-13-2008, 09:29
most times I am out that is my way of doing it.

Hike where I want, how I want, not worrying about time, the herd (Although I enjoy meeting the different groups that form and hanging with them from time to time) or anything else.

Do a 7 mile day, do a 30, do every blue blaze I can get my feet on or zero in the tent on a sweet ridge somewhere and enjoy answering the "How far did you come today?" with a "ohh..about a foot and a half."

God love those who are out to do the hike in record time or just really fast, but the one thing I hear the following year everytime I talk to people who zipped through is, "I wish I had taken a little more time."

Sleepy the Arab
04-13-2008, 13:11
It's important to listen to what's inside. If the voice in the back of your head says "stop" 7 or 8 or 9 miles into a 12 or 15 mile day, pay attention to it. I've never regretted not listening to it, but I have regretted ignoring it. I camped in Bly Gap for the first time in 2006 that way (which begat a great night in Beech Gap), tented on Max Patch, did back to back 24 milers near Bland, and a 20 miler in Maine just to see if I still had it in me.

Terry7
04-13-2008, 13:27
Fell free to give me a shout when your down near Pawling (really anywhere from Kent to Fahnstock Park) if you need help with a resupply or anything. Would be glad to lend a hand.

Thanks, I will be thru there sometime in Sept/Oct.

sloopjonboswell
04-13-2008, 13:53
what a kick ass thread

Sleepy the Arab
04-13-2008, 17:23
what a kick ass thread

Well, I am a kick ass kind of guy.


Wak and King ain't slouches either.

Bulldawg
04-13-2008, 17:27
I am going to do a section in Georgia in a few weeks here. Unicoi to Dicks Creek. Possibly done in one day by a few big miles guys. Definitely doable in two days by most decent hikers. I'm giving myself three days so I can take my time and enjoy all there is to see out there. No need in getting in a rush IMO.

And all this depends on me not being hard headed and continuing to push my leg injury by trying to hike every weekend.

Montego
04-13-2008, 17:27
I expect that there are a lot more people living on or near the AT than will admit and if the recession gets 'deep', this number may increase.

Bulldawg
04-13-2008, 17:28
Recession?? Are we in a recession?? Take it to the political forum please?

Montego
04-13-2008, 17:32
Recession?? Are we in a recession?? Take it to the political forum please?

Sorry, wasn't talking politics here.

Bulldawg
04-13-2008, 17:33
No apology necessary.

Wags
04-13-2008, 22:51
i could see maybe going out and wandering aimlessly for a week or 2. but when you start talking months :o

i'd call that person a bum, in the literal sense

sloopjonboswell
04-14-2008, 00:03
theres a real fine line somewhere here. something about dumpster diving.

wakapak
04-14-2008, 00:06
Well, I am a kick ass kind of guy.


Wak and King ain't slouches either.

LOL!! thanks Sleepy! :)

Wise Old Owl
04-14-2008, 00:21
Everyone seems to talk about thru-hiking but does anyone eles go on the trail to live for 6 months out of the year. I do not mean staying in one spot. I mean enjoying the time and not the miles. Nothing wrong with thru-hiking, just wondering if anybody eles hikes the A.T. this way.

I live in the north, hike your own hike, one of the most thoughtful posts I have ever read. - Wish I could do what you do.


Mark

TOW
04-14-2008, 04:38
theres a real fine line somewhere here. something about dumpster diving.
What's wrong with dumpster diving if you are hungry? But truly Terry7 won't need to worry about doing this, that is unless he just plain wants too.

Tipi Walter
04-14-2008, 08:33
My post must be too far back for anyone to remember, but I did mention dumpster diving as part of a long-term backpacking hobo lifestyle. Call it bum-manship, whatever, but "wandering aimlessly" as hikingPA said could apply to couch potatoes as well as certain types of backpackers. Who's to make the judgment whether our lives are on target or if we're not all just wandering aimlessly?

aficion
04-14-2008, 13:35
Trick is wandering aimlessly shamelessly. A worthy goal in my humble estimation. Some here have clearly achieved it, and my hat is off to you.

Bare Bear
04-14-2008, 13:49
Terry7, thanks for the input.
Shufflefoot and Bare Bear will be going NOBO from Harpers Ferry after all. It seemed like it would be really hot in the south by the time we wandered back to Ga :)

GGS2
04-14-2008, 13:51
That's a good one, fiddle. Shameless is a state few actually achieve, and it is truly a worthy goal. Doesn't mean license or debauchery. Doesn't mean being unconcerned for the feelings and views of others. Just taking your own path without following the arbitrary and unconsidered opinions of others instead of your own clear sight. Many people seem to feel that we must all march down the same broad road, and to do otherwise is somehow suspect and reproachable. To be shameless is to be beyond reproach of that sort.

twosticks
04-14-2008, 16:12
I've read it here a few times, and I think it hits home on this thread.

"not all who wander are lost"

We should add "or bums"

Are those hikers any different from the people that travel the country with their RV's or on motorcycles looking for the next best view?

We should all be so lucky.

envirodiver
04-14-2008, 16:29
My post must be too far back for anyone to remember, but I did mention dumpster diving as part of a long-term backpacking hobo lifestyle. Call it bum-manship, whatever, but "wandering aimlessly" as hikingPA said could apply to couch potatoes as well as certain types of backpackers. Who's to make the judgment whether our lives are on target or if we're not all just wandering aimlessly?

There have been numerous times where I have wandered aimlessly through life. Not much enjoyment in that. I sure have enjoyed the times that I wandered aimlessly in the woods though.

Tipi Walter
04-14-2008, 17:01
There have been numerous times where I have wandered aimlessly through life. Not much enjoyment in that. I sure have enjoyed the times that I wandered aimlessly in the woods though.

This reminds me of a quote from Buddha: "Don't just do something, stand there."

Lion King
04-14-2008, 17:18
Well, I am a kick ass kind of guy.


Wak and King ain't slouches either.

"Oh, dont sell youself short Judge, youre a tremendous slouch."
Tye (Chevy Chase CADDYSHACK)

high fives the Arab:D

Wags
04-15-2008, 00:48
anyone who pulls out a random caddyshack line (or any chevy chase quote) is a friend of mine!

Sleepy the Arab
04-17-2008, 14:04
"Oh, dont sell youself short Judge, youre a tremendous slouch."
Tye (Chevy Chase CADDYSHACK)

high fives the Arab:D

Up high!

Down low!

Thanks, bro!

jhick
04-17-2008, 14:20
http://i271.photobucket.com/albums/jj132/l8tr_dude/caddy.jpg

Lion King
04-17-2008, 16:40
http://i271.photobucket.com/albums/jj132/l8tr_dude/caddy.jpg


Thats fantastic!~

notice how much I look like my avatar...

Sleepy the Arab
04-19-2008, 12:08
http://home.earthlink.net/~mbowlersta/super/graphics/caddy1.jpg

wakapak
04-19-2008, 14:13
http://home.earthlink.net/~mbowlersta/super/graphics/caddy1.jpg

Nice!!! :D