View Full Version : Hiking Sept 11, 2001
berkshirebirder
08-13-2010, 09:23
Not sure if there's interest in this topic or if it has been covered before...
I've talked with someone who was in the woods on Sept 11, 2001 and have been wondering how the events of that day affected those on the Trail--how they heard about it, whether hikers lost interest in their hike/went home, what was written in trail journals, etc.
It's still a painful subject for some people, I know; but otherwise, does anyone have memories they'd like to share?
the goat
08-13-2010, 09:37
i was on a sobo thru and was hiking through NJ on sept. 11, 2001. it was definitely weird not hearing any planes, as we had gotten accustomed to them being so close to NYC. i found out about it the morning of the 11th, a felllow sobo had a radio and filled me in.
i met some locals up at catfish fire tower later that night who had been up there watching the smoke from the city; and they gave me all the details.
i never lost interest in my hike, instead i felt more blessed to be out there. i did know of some section hikers who ended their hikes though.
i will say that it felt bizzare being so detatched from everything that was going on in our country. i remember hiking into palmerton and seeing candles in all the windows & US flags on everyone's cars; i didn't know what to think. i never even saw the 9/11 footage until many weeks later, but it was at that point that everything i had seen in trail towns made sense.
go back and read the TrailJournals entries from back then. very evocative.
Wrangler88
08-13-2010, 11:12
i was on a sobo thru and was hiking through NJ on sept. 11, 2001. it was definitely weird not hearing any planes, as we had gotten accustomed to them being so close to NYC. i found out about it the morning of the 11th, a felllow sobo had a radio and filled me in.
i met some locals up at catfish fire tower later that night who had been up there watching the smoke from the city; and they gave me all the details.
i never lost interest in my hike, instead i felt more blessed to be out there. i did know of some section hikers who ended their hikes though.
i will say that it felt bizzare being so detatched from everything that was going on in our country. i remember hiking into palmerton and seeing candles in all the windows & US flags on everyone's cars; i didn't know what to think. i never even saw the 9/11 footage until many weeks later, but it was at that point that everything i had seen in trail towns made sense.
Great post. And good thread. I got chills reading this and trying to imagine.
ChinMusic
08-13-2010, 11:26
Flyin' Brian Robinson was somewhere in Colorado on his Triple Crown year. He wrote that something just wasn't right. He was by himself but wasn't using his radio as he was saving the batteries for weather reports. It wasn't until the next day that he understood what was "different", when he walked into town for a resupply.
In a different vein, I was in Thailand when the Challenger disaster happened in 1986. I suddenly felt a LONG way from home.
Bare Bear
08-13-2010, 12:17
Hold on to your flags and Bibles folks. I was at a Law Enforcement Security Conference and after 9/11 was assigned to assess my cities vulnerabilities and plan for defense. Ten years later nothing much has been done. I counted over 600 targets of opportunity that a single terrorist could strike and most likely get away with it, at little or no costs.
daylaandjasper
08-13-2010, 15:36
I was on a nobo hike- hiked into Monson ME that day. At a shelter at lunchtime I read where someone I knew and trusted had wrote what happened- something in my brain refused to believe it. I asked a couple other hikers there if they had read it- they said yeah but kinda blew it off, so I did too. During the sunny afternoon hike along the Piscatatwis River the thought of what I had read popped back into my mind- but it just seemed too far fetched- walking out here in the Maine Woods- how could something like that happen.
We got to the road into Monson and the first car that passed pulled over. My friends got in the back of the pickup and I got in the front. The driver had turned off the radio and asked me if I had heard what happened.
I hadn't planned to zero in Monson, but I did on Sept 12. My mom was flying out to Boston on Sept 18- we weren't sure when I left Monson on Sept 13 if the planes would start flying again by then. She did take the late night flight tho she was very anxious- the plan had been for her to get a hotel somewhere and drive up to Maine the next day- but she ended up driving all night and was waiting for me at Daicey Pond on Sept 19.
My friend Rabbit summited that day
"
9/11/01
Only 7.6 miles were left to hike to Katahdin's mighty summit this morning as we awoke early to begin the 4,200' climb. I was an emotional wreck as I packed my wet tent into my otherwise dry pack, then joined the other members of the Fab 5 and our special buddy, Greenlight, at the picnic table for breakfast. After breakfast, just minutes apart, we all began the 2.3 mile hike to the Katahdin Stream campground where we would empty our packs of everything but essentials for the climb to the summit. A roller coaster of emotions ran through my mind as Priceless and I covered the beautiful 2.3 mile stretch past ponds with beaver dams and short stretches through the northern Maine forest. At the Katahdin Stream campground we left our gear behind and waited until all six of us were ready to hike together. At 8:45 a.m. we began the climb. I was filled with a profound sense of joy, satisfaction, and sorrow as we climbed to the Katahdin Stream Falls where we stopped to filter water one last time. Then the climb became progressively more difficult as we hiked north. Soon my poles became useless as we worked our way over boulders and rocks that were nearly vertical in places. The hand and foot rock scramble continued above tree line for hundreds of feet. All morning the summit of Katahdin was enshrouded in clouds leftover from last night's frontal passage. As we climbed higher we were buffeted by strong winds which became colder as our elevation gained. Finally we reached the Gateway at 4,500' where the angle of the climb became more gentle for the next mile. The clouds were whistling by and there were occasional brief glimpses of the summit as we continued north.
We all reached Thoreau Spring, only a mile from the now visible Baxter Peak, when we met Grasshopper, who was quickly hiking toward us. Our joy and anticipation of this great day were immediately shattered as the visibly shaken fellow thru-hiker shared with us the incredulous news of the World Trade Center attacks while we stared at each other in disbelief. Grasshopper lives in Greenwich Village in NYC and he was fearful that his family might be injured or killed. What an unforgettable moment was etched in time forever in my mind. I tried to refocus on the end of the journey and the stunningly beautiful mountain, yet the next and final mile seemed to go on forever as my mind vacillated between horrific and confusing news to the joy and sense of accomplishment as I reached the summit with cherished friends. Greenlight, Phantom, Finn and Redneck all reached the sign at the top before Priceless and me. We both stopped and used our cell phones to call home so that Paula and Priceless's family could participate in our final steps. Unfortunately, or fortunately, depending on how you view the day, Paula wasn't at her desk, so I continued on to the summit while Priceless talked with his family. Creeper waited for us at the top. Once there, we somehow all managed to celebrate the successful end of the journey, though the celebration was certainly dampened. We shared Cuban cigars together, thanks to Priceless. Priceless waved his Cuban and American flags in the sunshine as the clouds around us lifted and we were able to see thousands of feet down to the wilderness valley below. Finn erected a huge Finland flag and displayed it proudly in the strong cold wind that was incessant and relentless. We took turns snapping photos of each other by the Katahdin summit sign. Then I took the little white piece of quartz that had traveled with me from Georgia and laid it on the rock pile at the peak. I spontaneously made the decision to give the rock to Creeper so that it can make the journey again in 2005 from Georgia to Maine.
After an hour and a half at the top of Baxter Peak on Mt. Katahdin, it was time to escape the cold winds and begin the difficult descent back to Katahdin Stream campground at the base of the mountain. The day was now filled with bright afternoon sunshine, and the mountain stood in brilliant beauty. What a contrast to the horror of the day! As we descended I thought of a country changed forever by the events of the day. As much as I wanted to go home, I would have rather walked in the woods back to Georgia than to see and hear the news on television that I inevitably had to face. We were all anxious to get down to retrieve our gear and read the final trail register. Creeper took his time getting down while we celebrated in the parking lot with Greenlight's parents and Cy's parents. Both families had brought plenty of food and libations for us to enjoy, and the entire crew (Leslie, Bad moon, Smitty, Cy, Long Shanks, Blur, Smile and Fiddlehead) arrived in the parking lot to share our time of joy. We partied until late afternoon and I was thankful to have so many close friends around to comfort and alleviate the shock as we learned more about the terrorist attacks in Washington and PA as well as NYC. Finally the Fab 5 and Greenlight piled into Creeper and Greenlight's parents' vehicles and drove the hour long ride to Millinocket, ME for the night. The rest of the evening was subdued, with dinner in a local diner, accompanied by television reports showing time and again the unthinkable acts of evil against innocent Americans and others from around the world. There was no late night celebration as we returned to our rooms at the Appalachian Lodge for the night. Today's stats: low 57, high 70. Cloudy to bright sunshine. Today's mileage: 7.6; final AT mileage: 2,168.1."
In the hiking DVD Trek, they were out there on Sep 11th and there is a short discussion in the movie about what they were feeling and thinking. Emotional for sure.
Gray Blazer
08-13-2010, 16:02
Went hiking in the Smokies and Max Patch shortly after that. It really enhanced the wilderness experience not hearing constant jet sounds overhead. :cool:
I spent the night of Sept. 9 in the ski patrol building on top of Stratton Mt. Vermont. I` was on my thru and had flipped and was going SOBO. The building had electricity and a TV set. There were two section hikers and a NOBO thru-hiker that night.
We woke to rain on Sept. 10. No one was in any hurry to leave the dry building. One of the section hikers put on the TV. The reception was bad and the NOBO hiker asked him to shut it off and he did. I walked down the mountain with the section hikers who had a car parked at the bottom. They gave me extra food they had and we parted ways.
I had a small radio that I would sometimes listen to when I was hiking. This day I tryed to listen to it. I was looking for music and could only receive voice. I don't remember what was said, but the thought went through my mind that an atomic bomb had been dropped on NY city. I than listened as to how the planes had crashed into the World Trade Center. I was alone, no one was in sight. My thought was to get to a phone and call home. I decided to go into Bennington. As I was making tracks down the trail, two couples of day hikers approached me. I asked them if they had heard what had happened in NY. They said they had not so I explained what I had heard on the radio. Their comment was: What the F--- have you been smokeing." They laughed and continued on their way.
I had to hike to Doncannon, PA to finish my hike. I didn't know if I should continue or go home. When I got to town I called home. My wife assured me that no one we knew was involved in NY. I got a motel and stayed glued to the TV. I had told my wife that I would have to give my hike some thought before I decided what I should do. I called home in the morning and talked it over with my wife. She incouraged me to continue on. I live in Connecticut so if anything else happened it would be easy for me to get home.
I continued on. I was ancious to find some other hikers that I could hike with. The trail was deserted. I finally met a group of three SOBO hikers. I had others to share my thoughts with.
One thing about hiking; while you walk you have so much time to think. You can't imagine all the different thoughts that entered my mind.
I finished my thru-hike on Oct. 13, 2001 at the Doyle Hotel.
Jack Tarlin
08-13-2010, 17:13
What an interesting thread.
I was thru-hiking that year, and spent the night of 11 Sept. 2001 in Full Goose Shelter, planning to go through Mahoosuc Notch the next day.
This was a very different time. Neither myself or my two friends carried either a radio or a cell phone, so we had no idea whatsoever what had transpired that day.
We arrived at the shelter like it was a regular day, settled in, cooked dinner, and retired early, knowing we had a big hike in the morning.
Sometime after nine, some folks came in and filled us in on what had happened that day (they had a radio). We were probably some of the last people in America that were so informed.
We were at something of a quandry: We were pretty much in the middle of nowhere, but short of hiking out of there in the dark to the nearest untravelled road, there wasn't much we could do. We all knew people (friends, family members, etc.) who were in Manhattan or Washington or the military and this compounded things.
Eventually, we decided there was really nothing we could do, and we decided to go to bed and to get up really early. We left in the dark, flew, and I mean flew thru Mahoosuc Notch, ran up Mahoosuc Arm, over Old Speck, and down to Grafton Notch.
When we got there, we discovered (and I'll be eternally grateful to our friends Mala who drove, and Honety and Bear who took us in) that our friends who ran a hostel at the time in nearby East Andover had sent a car out to retrieve us, knowing we'd be coming in to that road crossing sometime that day.
We spend the next few days at their hostel, making phone calls, talking to family members, and watching TV.
A few days later we continued.
Another memory of that year: A few days out of Andover, we were on a bare rock overlook, and we saw jet contrails in the sky. We knew that civilian and non-essential aviation had been cancelled, tho nobody knew for how long. When we saw the jet marks in the sky we knew planes were flying again in America and it seemed, somehow, a return to normalcy. All of us (and I assure you we all had different different backgrounds and different politics) cheered and waved at the jet as it sailed away.
When we got to Katahdin a few weeks later, there was a small American flag taped to the summit sign, and it was a very good thing to see.
Berkshire: What an interesting idea for a thread. Thank you for introducing it. It is important that things like this be both remembered and discussed.
berkshirebirder
08-14-2010, 22:28
Thanks very much for sharing your stories about hiking on September 11, 2001. The thoughts and experiences of Goat, Daylandjasper, Rabbit, Grampie, and Jack Tarlin echo those reported by about ten other hikers in their trail journals. Whether these are a random sample and generally represent the section- and thru-hikers on the Trail that day, I can't say.
But these hikers as a whole learned about the events later that day from others--from register notes or other hikers at shelters, from other hikers along the trail, and from people providing shuttles--particularly from those who had access to radios. Without the jarring TV images, most couldn't believe it was true. These hikers got to phones as soon as they could to contact family, and they gathered with their trail friends to talk and unload their sadness. Some zeroed for a day or two, but most completed and celebrated their hike. They mention appreciating the beauty and serenity of the mountains while their minds were searching for ways to understand how life had changed in the world they would be returning to.
Among these fifteen reports were two from hikers who did not complete their hike. TWAIN had broken his foot, gone home to recuperate, and--as fate would have it--was in New York City on September 11. He talks about the day and its impact in relation to his hike here:
http://www.trailjournals.com/entry.cfm?id=9106
From TWAIN'S journal entry: "The most important journeys are circles, ones where you can see where you come from and how you've changed."
The other hiker, Duct Tape, realized he would not be able to complete his hike on time, left the Trail on Sep 16, and went to help the relief effort at the World Trade Center. He returned to the Trail the following year to complete his hike.
I hiked Manhattan that day.
I hiked Manhattan that day.
Me, too. I felt like I was in a tide of refugees. The strangest part was walking through the Bowery and all the missions had chairs outside for people to rest. At one place, they were trying to give everyone bowls of spaghetti. Quintessential comfort food.
Unlike the people who had to get off trail, even briefly, to come to grips with what had happened, I had to GO to the woods, to someplace familiar, to process what I had experienced. Glap and I drove up to our place in MA and hiked up to the ledges above Benedict Pond. We sat on the rocks, dangled our feet and talked for hours. I was grateful that there was no air traffic. The sound of planes made me jumpy for a long time thereafter.