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Note: I was replying to Patrickjd's thru hiker story, but it would apply to the cub scout, too. Once you get to the point where you trekking poles are relevant to dealing with a bear, you're in a...

Wow. That must have been terrifying. It's one of the things I most fear when backpacking (especially when doing so alone). The usual bear safety practices have always worked for me more or less when...

No they're not. They suck mightily. But fun hiking can nonetheless be had.

Awful. It's especially discouraging that it was another hiker.

The crotchety animus against young people in some of these posts is unbecoming. HYOH.

How much IS a shuttle from Hot Springs to Wesser? I'm contemplating something like that this summer.

I wish I could be more specific than this, but I distinctly remember seeing a boy scout troop setting up shop in that vicinity one time. It was a year or two ago, but I believe it was by Table Rock,...

I was just there on a dayhike but didn't check the spring. I can tell you that the parking on rt. 850 shown on the maps (just north of Darlington shelter) is all wrong. Instead of trying to go down...

People were on the whole thing, from the trail to the top and in the clearing on the other side of the trail, away from the top too, a vast, vast area. The peak was packed but the rest was just busy...

I stayed on the Siler Bald, on the little plateau halfway up the hill. First news, I got a new backpacking partner from the trip--although I had to tell him frequently that what we went through was...

I was there too! That was one of the most amazing, powerful experiences of my life. Everything about that place at that time was pure perfection.

I'll definitely steer clear of the fire towers. I expect the crowds will be there. Hopefully we can find a spot to camp just below the balds, based on what folks are saying about the winds. Sounds...

That's what I get for typing at 2:30am...

Thank you. I might save my "bald camping" for Roan and do something more traditional while I'm in NC, though I'll probably check out Cheoah while I'm down there. (Might as well.) I appreciate the...

Hi, I was thinking of camping around Siler Bald shelter this weekend and then thought, why not just camp on the bald itself? I'm not familiar with this area, so I don't know if this is possible or...

Of course I now notice this question was asked 6 years ago...

The West Rim Trail is nice. Its name is descriptive, too: it sidles right along the rim, sometimes uncomfortably so. It's a very nice spot in an all round beautiful area. NW Pennsylvania is...

I would prioritize the eclipse, personally. It sucks you are forced to choose, but the skipped portions of the PCT will still be there in future years. The eclipse won't.

Some good suggestions. The closer I look, the more I see lots of options. The way the trail bends to the NE heading up to Fontana really adds a lot of available miles of trail. Very fortuitous. I...

I was planning on driving down to the vicinity of Franklin a couple of days before and hiking someplace on the trail and waiting for it. Is this feasible? I was kind of hoping there wouldn't be...

You can count me in that category!

Just note there is no water on the trail between the David Lesser shelter and HF. At a road crossing, you can detour a mile or so each way to get water from a store (I forget which road), but there...

This is the last I'll weigh in on this. I happen to agree with both of the previous two posts, even though they were each critical of what I'm saying. I had two main points; the first is that...

I wasn't judging your hike. I was just commenting on the fact that there is a lot of history in that section, more than was implied in some other posts. I was also defending the Maryland section of...

I'd like to offer a slightly different take on the question. The most important inquiry concerned your experience and fitness. I think most folks on this site are very experienced hikers, many of...