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View Full Version : Let's remember summer...together...



Serial 07
01-16-2009, 15:28
i'm freezing...weather.com says it's negative one here...i'm planning a boycott of the outdoors in protest today...

so, to fill my mind with warm thoughts, i want to hear about your hottest days on the trail...

for me, one day that comes to mind first is leaving palmerton in the middle of july...on my way out of town, i glanced at the bank clock and it read:

12:57 and 97*

as many will know, the hike outta there is nothing but rocks and an exposed walk...i did 15-18 (actually, i did more like 20 into the night, now that i think about it) miles that day on 3 liters of water...the spring up by the zinc mine was dry and they frown upon trail magic in that area...water was scarce...man, i even dropped my sandals (which were recovered in MA from pike county)...anyway, that was one of the hottest moments for me...

:sun

Blissful
01-16-2009, 15:34
Finally it feels like winter here in VA. We've had several warm winters. Hope it kills some ticks in SNP - it's bad up there.

JERMM
01-16-2009, 16:16
Finally it feels like winter here in VA. We've had several warm winters. Hope it kills some ticks in SNP - it's bad up there.

I have always heard how bad the ticks are in SNP. I hiked SOBO this fall thru SNP without seeing a single tick. Lucky I guess cause I wasn't wearing any type of repellant.

But, I do welcome the warmer temps back, +10*F at my house this morning, just outside of Atl.

leeki pole
01-16-2009, 16:25
It wasn't on the AT, but back in 2000 I hiked Camelback Mountain in AZ and Squaw Peak on the same day...it was 107 on the summit of Camelback and 104 at Squaw Peak. Sweet.

Smile
01-16-2009, 16:38
Man, you guys are making me wish for summer baaaaaad.! :)

peakbagger
01-16-2009, 16:43
A bit off topic, but I spent most of yesterday morning thinking summer at Baxter State Park headquarters in Maine. I was there for the annual opening day reservations and was standing out in the -10 F temps waiting in line for the doors to open while talking about the perfect reservations for that perfect summer trip. There were 10 folks who had camped overnight out side the door (probably a couple of whiteblazers) and at least one person who camped out for two nights.

Once they let us inside, we all spent a couple of hours sitting around and talking about where we were going to try to stake a claim for the coveted spot and all things Baxter. Even the new park director stopped by and brought us donuts. It was all over in a 4 hours and I drove home 240 miles to the coldest night of the year so far (-39 F one town over in Berlin NH). Neverheless the thoughts of a cabin on a pond with katadin reflecting in it the first week in September will carry me through a bit of cold.

Nicksaari
01-16-2009, 18:25
ive got the warm weather blues, too! im doing some miles in spring, and working all summer so that i can take about a month (oct 12-nov 10th) before i go into the fire academy in january. dreaming of warm weather in virginia

A-Train
01-16-2009, 18:30
Cool idea (no pun intended). Hottest day? It was 127 degrees on someones thermometer IN THE SHADE underneath the Cottonwood Creek bridge in the LA Aquaduct section of the Mojave desert on the PCT. I'll see if I can find a pic from someone who has the thermometer and 20 hikers hiding from the sun. Echk

wcgornto
01-16-2009, 18:37
I am in Buenos Aires at the moment. It is 95 degrees right now and forecasted to be 99 tomorrow.

traildust
01-16-2009, 19:05
-5 this morning in the bluegrass. tonight just as cold. maybe the florida trail is the place to start.

Lellers
01-16-2009, 19:18
My hottest day wasn't on the AT. I was on my honeymoon. (No jokes. This is serious.) We were in Cancun and decided to rent a Jeep and drive up the Yucatan peninsula to see Chichen Itza. It was January, and it was 104. I also had the flu, which I picked up from some germy wedding guest, no doubt. I was so sick, I even found a Mexican doctor and allowed him to give me an injection. To this day, I have no idea what that was. I do remember that my translated fever was 101. Oh, yeah, that was fun. Driving 100 or so miles in an open Jeep on a dusty dirt road, fever, heat. Federales who looked like banditos and banditos who looked like Federales, all of whom carried guns. Got to the ruins, and my new hubby ran up and down having the time of his life, and I sat in the shade hoping for death to descend upon me.

By the way, our 24th wedding anniversary is next week. Won't we have fun remembering those days.

TrippinBTM
01-16-2009, 20:55
Yeah, it's friggin cold here in Detroit. But it could be worse, I could be in North Dakota or something. ::shudder::

Hottest day on the trail? Not really sure. But the worst stretch was from around Three Ridges through the Shennies. It was consistently in the nineties and very very humid. I remember one of those days I was completely sopping wet with sweat; might as well have just jumped in a lake. Literally the most I've ever sweat. Those were some days, man. Made full use of the siesta, for sure.

And yeah, I never saw a tick in the Shennies either; and I walked through a lot of tall grass where it grew arching over the trail so you had to wade through it. Never wore repellent either. Was weird, but I wasn't complaining.

Serial 07
01-16-2009, 21:14
siestas in the shennies...those were the days...

Lellers
01-16-2009, 21:28
About those SNP ticks.... Did a SOBO through there with some boy scouts this past summer, and we had a good amount of ticks on us. One of the kids ended up with Lyme disease, but we can't be sure he picked up down there, or closer to home here in PA.

Caveman of Ohio
01-16-2009, 21:39
We ended up ditching for a day at a water park in Vernon Nj. It was blazing hot and it sure felt great.

DavidNH
01-16-2009, 21:56
I have always heard how bad the ticks are in SNP. I hiked SOBO this fall thru SNP without seeing a single tick. Lucky I guess cause I wasn't wearing any type of repellant.

But, I do welcome the warmer temps back, +10*F at my house this morning, just outside of Atl.

Funny. When I went thru the Shenandohahs including SNP in June of 2006 I didn't see any ticks. No bugs at all in fact. It was cool and gorgeous each day. I loved it there!

DavidNH

fiddlehead
01-16-2009, 23:52
It's even cold here in northern Thailand today.
Must be 60. That's cold here.

mudcap
01-17-2009, 00:51
20 below here as I speak....thinking back to an august hike.90 and humid,I hated it then...I would love it now.

Chenango
01-17-2009, 07:47
-10F here at the airport in Binghamton. Heading to Florida in a few mintues!! Will spend a day Orange blazing it while down there!! 65 is better than sub-zero, but rough on my snowshoes. lol