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View Full Version : It Is Good to Live in the South



OnlyJohn
02-28-2011, 09:38
I had a few hours Saturday afternoon to kill so I decided to walk about for a while. I got on the trail at Woody Gap and walked the 3.5 miles west to Gooch Gap and then back to Woody Gap. Friends, it was a great day to be alive and in the woods. The sun was out, the air was warm and spring is just around the corner here in Georgia. I am setting up my vacation plans this morning.

Only John

JaxHiker
02-28-2011, 10:28
You suck. :)

Sure was a nice weekend. Glad you got to get on the trail to enjoy it.

Helios
02-28-2011, 10:29
Always a good day when you can get on the trail, even for a bit. Glad you got to enjoy it!

V Eight
02-28-2011, 10:48
I’m in total agreement! :banana

I spent Sunday at Morrow Mtn SP in NC. It’s about 50 mile southeast of Charlotte.
Got in about 15 miles carrying my full pack (28lbs). That park makes a great place to
do tune up’s and shakedowns and it helps me gat in shape for my section hikes. I live about 4 hours from the AT so, this is much more covenant I would highly recommend that place for anyone that lives in the area & want a decent weekender or day hike. The trails are not very long, but there are some very steep assents. With a little imagination, I can walk for 6 or 7 hours a day and not see the same thing twice.

I do feel for our friends north of the Mason Dixon.;)

CrumbSnatcher
02-28-2011, 10:57
I had a few hours Saturday afternoon to kill so I decided to walk about for a while. I got on the trail at Woody Gap and walked the 3.5 miles west to Gooch Gap and then back to Woody Gap. Friends, it was a great day to be alive and in the woods. The sun was out, the air was warm and spring is just around the corner here in Georgia. I am setting up my vacation plans this morning.

Only John
keep that s*** to yourself!
just kiddin' wish i lived close to the trail:(
might just have to pack up and do something about it:cool:

DavidNH
02-28-2011, 10:58
good to live in the south huh?

Just wait till summer hits. It's 95 degrees with 90 percent humidity. Meanwhile, up here in New England we'll be enjoying a nice breezy 70 something degrees with blue skies. Then there's our brilliant fall colors.

I rest my case.

sbhikes
02-28-2011, 11:15
It's good to live in the southwest, too. I went for a nice hike in the very rare snow. Hiked down from the summit and out of the snow. Found mushrooms to take home for dinner. Spent some time basking in the warm spring sun in a meadow. Hiked back up to the summit, still in snow, but much had melted. Had a great dinner of lobster ravioli with fresh mushrooms and goat cheese cream sauce.

Lone Wolf
02-28-2011, 11:17
it's good to live no matter where it is. 2 years ago today i almost bought the farm so i'm just happy to be breathing :)

sherrill
02-28-2011, 11:38
Don't take being able to walk for granted either.

Red Hat
02-28-2011, 11:46
it's good to live no matter where it is. 2 years ago today i almost bought the farm so i'm just happy to be breathing :)

we're glad to LW.... but I sure wish I was in GA right now.... gotta wait 2 more weeks though, promised Mom I wouldn't miss her birthday this year

Rain Man
02-28-2011, 11:49
Just wait till summer hits. It's 95 degrees with 90 percent humidity.

And what's wrong with THAT?!!! Our skin is nice and moist and supple all summer long. LOTS of people pay big bucks on moisturizers to get skin like we get for free! ;) You ever try to play tennis in Colorado on a summer afternoon? You skin dries out, gets a salty crust, and starts to CRACK. Right before the lightning strikes and kills you, but that's something else. :eek:

Plus, we don't have to join gyms and health clubs to go to saunas like Yankees do! :-?

Yes, it's great to live in the South! :D

Rain:sunMan

.

Lone Wolf
02-28-2011, 11:51
we're glad to LW.... but I sure wish I was in GA right now.... gotta wait 2 more weeks though, promised Mom I wouldn't miss her birthday this year

i'm goin' to georgia in 3 weeks. gonna join circuit rider and sherlock for a little walkin'

walkin' wally
02-28-2011, 12:26
it's good to live no matter where it is. 2 years ago today i almost bought the farm so i'm just happy to be breathing :)

Good post. You are so right:sun

Thatguy
02-28-2011, 12:33
I do like the north in the fall.
I prefer the south, deep south in the winter.
Heat & humidity are dealt with by ways of air conditioning.
The extreme cold is dealt with by a furnance.

Actually ,I think the weather of San Diego has it all beat. That place is really beautiful much of the year. If I hike the PCT I may get to the southern terminus and say "I'm not going anywhere, this place is too nice, I'm staying right here." I wouldn't be surprised if it's happened before.:rolleyes:

Ladytrekker
02-28-2011, 12:49
I hiked 16 miles this weekend along the Suwannee River the weather was absolutely perfect. Woke up to dew falling off the trees landing on my tent just enough to make it soothing. It was a great weekend in the south.

earplug94
02-28-2011, 13:36
You can't beat the ability to hike in the South in winter.

The Snowman
02-28-2011, 13:40
spent the day watching bald eagels down by the river great to be in the north this time of the year. maybe today I will go out to see if any seals happen by the beach

OnlyJohn
02-28-2011, 13:42
[QUOTE=DavidNH;1121413]good to live in the south huh?

Just wait till summer hits. It's 95 degrees with 90 percent humidity. Meanwhile, up here in New England we'll be enjoying a nice breezy 70 something degrees with blue skies. Then there's our brilliant fall colors

Yeah, that weather will be good for the two weeks when it is there. As for the 95 degree days, that is why the Lord invented air conditioning and cold spring water coming out of a mountain.

I think it is good to LIVE wherever you might happen to stay.

Only John

will1972
02-28-2011, 13:43
good to live in the south huh?

Just wait till summer hits. It's 95 degrees with 90 percent humidity. Meanwhile, up here in New England we'll be enjoying a nice breezy 70 something degrees with blue skies. Then there's our brilliant fall colors.

I rest my case.
HMMMM, If I remember correctly, it was hotter in New England last summer than in the southern states. Besides I'll take the heat. Longer spring and summer weather. What the heck, I was still hanging out by the pool at the first of October.:)

Blissful
02-28-2011, 13:49
Yeah I took a 15 mile wander on Saturday in SNP. The only time my allergies didn't act up. Today they are awful.

10-K
02-28-2011, 14:03
When it's cold I wish it was hot and when it's hot I wish it was cold.

Toli
02-28-2011, 14:08
We think alike Only John... Saturday I got on at Neel and went to Jarrard Gap and back... Leavin' 2mrow from Woody to Slaughter then doin' the Duncan Ridge Trail then back to Neel Gap...

hikerboy57
02-28-2011, 14:33
its good to live.

double d
02-28-2011, 14:52
I had a few hours Saturday afternoon to kill so I decided to walk about for a while. I got on the trail at Woody Gap and walked the 3.5 miles west to Gooch Gap and then back to Woody Gap. Friends, it was a great day to be alive and in the woods. The sun was out, the air was warm and spring is just around the corner here in Georgia. I am setting up my vacation plans this morning.

Only John

Ahhhh the good life, congrats on a great day of enjoying yourself and your hike!

double d
02-28-2011, 14:54
it's good to live no matter where it is. 2 years ago today i almost bought the farm so i'm just happy to be breathing :)

And were happy you made it through LW:)!!!

scope
02-28-2011, 14:54
When it's cold I wish it was hot and when it's hot I wish it was cold.

Ain't it the truth...


You suck. :)

Agreed, in kind of a Primus sort of way...


good to live in the south huh?

Just wait till summer hits. It's 95 degrees with 90 percent humidity. Meanwhile, up here in New England we'll be enjoying a nice breezy 70 something degrees with blue skies. Then there's our brilliant fall colors.

I rest my case.

Yeah, I was thinking about that as I was chugging my Becks on Cowrock with my shirt off this weekend - um, yes, that would be FEBRUARY.

Seriously, I was thinking of that, so I guess you suck, too!

Blissful
02-28-2011, 15:38
i'm goin' to georgia in 3 weeks. gonna join circuit rider and sherlock for a little walkin'


They are fantastic guys. I saw them in the Whites this past summer, and on my '07 hike in MA. When you see them, tell them Blissful says HI.

Sickmont
02-28-2011, 16:12
.....Then there's our brilliant fall colors.

I rest my case.

Yep, and in the fall you know what i get to look at? Lots and lots of women in BIKINIS. The colder it gets up there, the more they come down here and strip down to their skivvies :banana

Migrating Bird
02-28-2011, 16:59
Spent a nice Sunday afternoon with the wife and daughter snowshoeing around Tyringham Cobble, MA. Just had a 4" dusting of snow, lots of turkey sign, saw 18 on the road in. We have 2-3' of snow pack. I hate snowshoes!:)

Delta-Dawn
02-28-2011, 19:18
It isn't so great to live in the south right this very moment. We've got tornado warnings already around Metro Atlanta today. Serious storms going on right now, the sirens going crazy. :/

But after it passes, it will be good again. We've got blooming bushes, warmer temps and best of all....NO SNOW. ;)

wvgrinder
02-28-2011, 19:37
i'm goin' to georgia in 3 weeks. gonna join circuit rider and sherlock for a little walkin'

We've never met LW-but I'm glad you're still around. Have fun on yer little walk. And remember-it's just hikin'. ;)

Freedom Walker
02-28-2011, 19:38
Madison County in North Alabama is the best kept secret of the country. Yeah we have a couple of months of hot weather July/August, and some severe weather like todays. We had a little more snow this winter than usual but I have lived here for 56 years and I wouldn’t want to go anywhere else. There is hiking and camping areas in every direction. The Smokies are 4 hours away, the beaches 6 hours away. Nashville is 2 hours to the north, while Atlanta is 4 hours to the east, and Birmingham 2 hours to the south. And Huntsville is a great town. And the southern part of the AT is only 4 hours away too. Yes I am happy to be alive and live here.

weary
02-28-2011, 19:58
You can't beat the ability to hike in the South in winter.
Nor the ability to hike in the north in winter. On mild days I just strap on my snowshoes and wander about, enjoying those nice incline planes that snow and winter bring -- no bugs, no roots, no ruts, no leaves to block the view to the rivers, ponds and streams.

This year I've been a bit handicapped. I finally pulled off the tape of the incision the docs made to remove my spleen only this morning. But my kids and grandkids have been enjoying winter -- and I've got an appointment in a couple of days to examine bog bridging on a trail around a beaver flowage. The trail leads uphill a quarter miles to a beautiful wild pond.

My wife and I, and a friend, donated the northern 46 acres of the land surrounding the pond to the town land trust. The land trust, which I helped found 40+ years ago, a couple of years ago bought the southern 64 acres.

I like the variety the four seasons offer. But I also love late winter and spring in North Carolina, where I visited with my my inlaws every spring, until their deaths a decade ago.

All natural places are good. Even cities are good. But I prefer to live near wild places, whether north or south.

BarFight
02-28-2011, 20:22
You can't beat the northeast in winter-I went snowshoeing yesterday, if you fell off the packed trail you went in up to your waist! And just wait till it melts-mud season, anyone? Don't you wish you lived up here? We didn't even do the planned hike up Camel's Hump because the weather has been refusing to cooperate.

hikerboy57
02-28-2011, 20:39
150 yards to the ocean, an hours drive to Harriman state park and the AT, 5 hrs to the adirondacks, 7 to the Whites. You cant beat the surrealness of a blizzard on the beach! I get my fill of bikinis ,and with the mountains only an hour away.I'll take the North(with a rebel yell)

TallShark
02-28-2011, 22:05
I love it down here, I've been all over the place and I still love the South. Oh Charleston and Asheville how I love you so. California was nice but I'll stay here thanks. Oh and the golf's good too... and the food, the people, etc... etc...

TallShark
02-28-2011, 22:07
^oh and I happen to favor our ladies as well.

Tinker
02-28-2011, 22:19
We've never met LW-but I'm glad you're still around. Have fun on yer little walk. And remember-it's just hikin'. ;)

Nope. It's just walking. :)

Erin
02-28-2011, 23:37
I love the South. Everything about it, the humidity, the mosquitoes, the wonderful people. When I go back, it is like pulling on the most comfortable soft sweatshirt. Ahhhh! I now live in the southern midwest. Very different from the south.
As said above, enjoy where ever you live and make the best of what it has to offer. Way better than the alternative.

Ladytrekker
03-01-2011, 00:14
Yea I hiked 16 miles on the Suwannee and what did I get other than a spectacular wander by my favorite river red bugs. Yea I have chiggers. Now after a bottle of red wine and listening to you tube video songs all the sanity is returning. I am downloading a video I took of the FT trip and it is taking way to long. Ok I still have a little more wine I will get this done.

I know this is not the AT and the mountains but the hike from White Springs, Fl to Ellaville is spectacular. Alot of ravines, creeks, some of the largest oak trees I have ever seen. One of the trees took 5 women with outstretched arms to encircle it.

I have a real passion for the Suwannee River I have hiked about 60 miles of it and I have kayaked over 100 miles of it. You never know that when kayaking the river that all that is happening in the woods. But I know because I have done both.

Ladytrekker
03-01-2011, 00:31
http://www.youtube.com/user/FloridaTrekkers?feature=mhum#p/a/u/0/J2HOli3kWK4

Hiking along the Suwannee River

jesse
03-01-2011, 01:14
Southern by the grace of God.

garlic08
03-01-2011, 09:09
The locals around here say, "You don't have to shovel heat."

Gonna bicycle 26 miles RT down to South Mountain Park in Phoenix this morning for an 8 mile loop hike with some AZT friends. I spent over 50 years in the Northern winters and I gotta admit this is pretty nice.

fredmugs
03-01-2011, 15:13
Completely jealous. In the 8 years until retirement I hope to hike somewhere that I will want to retire to. Nowhere on the AT though - has to be west of the Mississippi.

TallShark
03-01-2011, 15:14
^ Hater...

Tilly
03-01-2011, 17:08
The locals around here say, "You don't have to shovel heat."



I always think: "You can put it on, but you can't take it off."

I loathe hot weather. I'll keep to the northern platitudes. Actually, where I live now is way too hot.

Speakeasy TN
03-01-2011, 21:07
I spent Sunday afternoon laying around outside Mtn Crossings, hoping to meet some early starters. Nice to be worrying about sunburn at the end of February!

WingedMonkey
03-01-2011, 21:24
I spent Sunday afternoon laying around outside Mtn Crossings, hoping to meet some early starters. Nice to be worrying about sunburn at the end of February!

You're gonna be northbound this year and are already hanging around the trail to meet hikers?? Damn, you got it bad. :sun

Sierra Echo
03-01-2011, 21:26
I spent Sunday afternoon laying around outside Mtn Crossings, hoping to meet some early starters. Nice to be worrying about sunburn at the end of February!

I was there Friday, it would have been great to see you again!

Skidsteer
03-01-2011, 21:26
You're gonna be northbound this year and are already hanging around the trail to meet hikers?? Damn, you got it bad. :sun

Right? :D ...

will1972
03-01-2011, 21:51
There is something about living so close to the AT in the south. There is never anytime that you can't get some miles in. I don't even know when the first time that I took a walk on the trail was. But I do believe that some sort of blessing was bestowed upon me at birth.

Papa D
03-01-2011, 21:56
it's really too hot for the first day of March - it sort of weirds me out - but I guess I'm pretty weird anyway - looking forward to hiking from NY to MA in a few weeks - stoked to hike with Driver 8 - -70 miles or so - he says there is still plenty of snow and ice in CT - hell yeah!!

Bare Bear
03-03-2011, 17:24
None of us sit at a computer for our health. Happy trails wherever you are.

theoilman
03-13-2011, 16:31
it's good to live no matter where it is. 2 years ago today i almost bought the farm so i'm just happy to be breathing :)

AMEN. I had a bypass heart surgery just over a year ago. Cardiologist has cleared me to go on the AT. Planning a 5 day section hike early summer.

weary
03-13-2011, 19:13
AMEN. I had a bypass heart surgery just over a year ago. Cardiologist has cleared me to go on the AT. Planning a 5 day section hike early summer.
My cardiologist told me last spring that trying to climb Katahdin with my heart, "ordinarily I would say is an act of insanity." But he added that since I was 81 and would like to try, "why not?" I got most of the way up, but decided that I didn't want my last attempt to be a rescue, I turned back.

Since then I've had major surgery (the removal of my spleen) but I expect to ask the same question when I see him again in a few weeks. I expect the same answer, but whatever, I'm in training. Today I walked a mile in ice and snow to inspect the bog bridging around a beaver flowage. As usual in late winter, sections had washed out of place. I have to add replacements to my training regimen.

Weary