Flip Flop Class of 2015 Unite!

[dangerdave]

Treehugger, thank you for the update at the scene. I make wine, so we will be having some both nights. You (and everyone else) are welcome to visit either (or both) nights. It's at 52 Jefferson Street. I like the chance for us to get together casually.

On the hiking front, I've finished cutting down my pack weight. I can't currently force myself to remove anything else, so this is it (below), minus food. Still need a final weigh in, but it is less than my shakedown hikes, so I am pleased.

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[Dwill1000]

Danger - 52 Jefferson Street is literally right around the corner from the Teahorse Hostel, where I (and I assume other FFers) will stay Friday and Saturday nights. It looks like it might be 1/3 to 1/2-mile to the ATC - easy walking distance for those of us planning to walk over 2,000-miles! Downtown HF is very compact.

I've been futzing around with trying to reduce a little weight, too. Every time I go, "AHA" and take something out I remember something else that I need to put in the pack. The last one was spare fuel canister out and multi-vitamins in. It looks like no matter what I do I end up at 32-33 lbs out of HF. I'm happy with that weight (that's easy to say NOW! Wait until I'm looking at a steep climb and see if I say that again).

[Dwill1000]

Been watching the weather for Harper's Ferry and on into Maryland and Pennsylvania. WOW! The gods are smiling on us flip-floppers! It's going to be around 80-degrees by Monday, with lows in the 50s - and no rain in the 2-week forecast. We are SO LUCKY! What a great way to begin this adventure.

[squeezebox]

I bought a nice digital thermometer, it saves daily high and low temp, and current temp. I misplaced it, after a month I replaced it. And sure enough I got home with the replacement and the 1st one was sitting in plain view on my desk. go figure!!! With the carabiner it's 1.4 oz. Cost $10. I'll bring it Sat if you want it.

[BrandtCantWatch]

Hope all you flip floppers are getting excited. I leave tonight to head to harpers ferry. I'll be in town around noon. I plan to hit the trail right away when I arrive. My pack feels great at 30.7 pounds including 4 days food 2l of water and my hiking poles. Can't wait til you guys catch up. Good luck everyone and be safe

[Humminbard]

quick update from this member of the family: I'll be staying at West Ridge Hollow B&B Friday and Saturday nights. It's only three-tenths of a mile from Tea Horse, so we're all nearby. Anybody want to meet up late afternoon Friday and/or grab some dinner someplace? I'm on the Eastern Shore until Tuesday night, and then home to pack and repack and pace and twiddle my thumbs until I walk out the door Friday morning. Still wondering how I can pack my hairdryer and flat iron!

[joshuasdad]

Been watching the weather for Harper's Ferry and on into Maryland and Pennsylvania. WOW! The gods are smiling on us flip-floppers! It's going to be around 80-degrees by Monday, with lows in the 50s - and no rain in the 2-week forecast. We are SO LUCKY! What a great way to begin this adventure.

That is great weather if you keep the miles down. You will probably find 80 F on that section to be a bit warm...I definitely will if I decide to section hike then.

[T-Rx]

We will arrive in HF on Friday pm. Turning in rental car in Charlestown, WV and getting a shuttle back to HF. Looking forward to meeting folks!

[Dwill1000]

quick update from this member of the family: I'll be staying at West Ridge Hollow B&B Friday and Saturday nights. It's only three-tenths of a mile from Tea Horse, so we're all nearby. Anybody want to meet up late afternoon Friday and/or grab some dinner someplace? I'm on the Eastern Shore until Tuesday night, and then home to pack and repack and pace and twiddle my thumbs until I walk out the door Friday morning. Still wondering how I can pack my hairdryer and flat iron!

I get to HF on Amtrack (from Chicago) about noon. Would definitely like to get together with you other FFers Friday afternoon or evening or dinner. Meet up at Teahorse? Let's set a time. I know Squeezebox and few others are coming in from Washington on the train Friday and get in late afternoon. Since I will arrive earlier, why don't you late afternooners set the time.

I am in major league thumb-twiddling mode - just counting down the hours now. If I could I'd just leave NOW and get on with this whole thing, but alas time creeps by instead.

[Treehugger]

FYI! Lots of stuff planned and unplanned (thanks Danger!) for us Flippers during the weekend. More info coming very soon!!

[kushtakaa]

Harpers Ferry rocks! :-) As Treehugger mentioned, my wife (Jess) & I arrived yesterday (15th hiking day from start of flip @ US33/Swift Run Gap - SNP/VA). Got to meet Laurie, TH & all the other great people that make the ATC click. Thanks so much for the warm greeting & for all the hard work y'all put in there! Staying tonight @ Town Inn (quite nice & reasonable if you can score a hiker bunk on the top floor). Heading north tomorrow, so will miss all of you (should be well north of Penn-Mar by next weekend) that are attending the festivities here, but many of you will probably catch us before PA is past. Happy trails & hope to see y'all soon!
Steve (the nuttier 1/2 of "Those Flippin' Milanders")

[Sling Shot]

Squeezebox, I'll purchase that digital thermometer from you this weekend if you still have it.

[squeezebox]

It's nice to know How hot did it get this afternoon? or How cold did it get last night?

[Sling Shot]

Yes, and I'm kind of a weather nut too.

[Sling Shot]

Trail journal question. Ive been looking at the different trail journals and would like some feedback if anyone has used them. I'm looking for ease of use and maybe even an app to upload with a picture option. Your thoughts on the following or a better one.
Trail Journal: I like the format, but it doesn't seem easy with a computer, which I'm not carrying.
Wordpress: it does have an app and it looks like you create your webpage.
Postholer.com: does have a mobile app.
Whiteblaze:
Thanks again for the input.

[Charliehorse]

Harpers Ferry rocks! :-) As Treehugger mentioned, my wife (Jess) & I arrived yesterday (15th hiking day from start of flip @ US33/Swift Run Gap - SNP/VA). Got to meet Laurie, TH & all the other great people that make the ATC click. Thanks so much for the warm greeting & for all the hard work y'all put in there! Staying tonight @ Town Inn (quite nice & reasonable if you can score a hiker bunk on the top floor). Heading north tomorrow, so will miss all of you (should be well north of Penn-Mar by next weekend) that are attending the festivities here, but many of you will probably catch us before PA is past. Happy trails & hope to see y'all soon!
Steve (the nuttier 1/2 of "Those Flippin' Milanders")

Kush et al,
Sorry i missed you yesterday. Falconer and I pulled into ATC Center around 1130; met Laurie, Lynn, and others. What a dedicated bunch of folks. They really are working hard to make this a great event. I look forward to seeing you down the trail. I'll be in HF next Friday for the FFKO serving as volunteer and observing as well. Falconer and I are going off-trail for a week to sort out gear and let me try to heal a nasty blister. Other than a hypoglycemic event i'll describe below, the blister has been the only medical event.

A few words and observations about the warm-up hike this last week - 17th to 26th.

We started at Thornton Gap and for the most part things meshed quite well. This was intended to be our 3 shakedown/warm-up with AT "miles that count" as opposed to previous non-countable warmup wanderings. We hiked into Pass Mountain Shelter - only a mile or so from the drop off at the Panorama Parking Lot - and managed to get lost within an hour. We hiked right pass the blue blaze to Pass Mountain Shelter, and if we hadn't run into a SOBO we'd still be walking. Anyway we got squared away eventually and into PM with a gregarious bunch of old high school classmates out on a reunion hike. It's great to see buddies hanging together after 30 years and many miles. Great Fun!

Our first full day was last Saturday, and we managed to limp into Elk Wallow where we literally collapsed on the green. I'll NEVER start without breakfast. I repeat, I solemnly swear to never start without something in my stomach. About 3 hours into the hike, i hit a hypoglycemic wall. The last hour into EW was very tough, but we made it and recovered on cheeseburgers and blackberry milkshakes. Lesson learned. Stealth camped at Mathews Arm that night. We were so tired I think I would have bribed any NPS ranger to just lay on the ground. Should have stayed just off trail, instead of hiking an extra mile off trail to Mathews Arm to camp. Another Lesson.

The rest of the week was pretty standard wrt camping routine, but some areas for improvement quickly surfaced as did some things we did quite right. Falconer's 6 liter Katahdin filter bag was a real blessing. We filter and treated 6 liters every night and we ready to roll with water through the night and into the next days hike. The Jetboil Mighty Mo was great as expected; I never one could boil a liter of water so quickly - truly fast.

We had a couple of cold and rainy nights with temps in the high 30s and low 40s. The dampness amplifies the misery. What else can you say. You call into your bag at 1900 and hope to fall asleep. The BA 15 deg bag was great, but it is heavier than I'd desire. The two person Marmot 2p is gone; definitely swapping for a 1P - that'll save a pound at least. Too much medical stuff for me; blister control items and treatments are my only requirements. I loaned my knee braces to "Faith" as she was having a rough time with knee pain. I had made it through the week except one 3 hour afternoon segment without the braces so I didn't see any point in carrying the extra weight. She's a real trooper; out from HF on an out and back through the "rollercoaster"; once was enough for me. Seemed to me she had a lot of grit.

Another revelation was how little in the way of clothes I needed. My packed clothing I think I compressed into a size slightly larger than a softball. This was sufficient for the 35-45 degree nights and early mornings, but i don't think i could go any lower.

All-in-all a good hike. We met some great people and uncovered some weaknesses that'll require addressing before we head north from HF. Hope to see and meet you all in HF. Falconer and I will be at the Teahorse Hostel and probably at the Anvil...great Reuben's by the way.

CH

[jimmyjam]

Trail journal question. Ive been looking at the different trail journals and would like some feedback if anyone has used them. I'm looking for ease of use and maybe even an app to upload with a picture option. Your thoughts on the following or a better one.
Trail Journal: I like the format, but it doesn't seem easy with a computer, which I'm not carrying.
Wordpress: it does have an app and it looks like you create your webpage.
Postholer.com: does have a mobile app.
Whiteblaze:
Thanks again for the input.

I like postholer, it's easy to do on your phone. updating and uploading pictures are a snap.

[WillPoe]

2015 Harpers Ferry Flip-Flopper Dinner

I’m Will Poe and a 2015 Flip-Flopper. I live in Harpers Ferry and am an ATC volunteer. In consultation with DangerDave, we’ve agreed I attempt to coordinate a Saturday evening, pay-your-own-way dinner for the estimated 20 Flip-Floppers and family members (no one knows the exact number) within walking distance of the ATC Headquarters, Hostels, and Hotel.

As this is a first-ever event where transportation may be limited for many, and car-pooling may be difficult to arrange, I will have other dinner suggestions for smaller groups with transportation on the morning of Saturday, May 2^nd. But for now, the choices within walking distance are (in no particular order):

The Anvil, http://anvilrestaurant.com/dinner.htm, is a traditional restaurant with meals from $10 - $28 and full bar service. The Canal House, http://www.canalhousecafe.com/menu, features locally sourced ingredients with daily specials from $9 - $24. At The Canal House you can bring in your own wine or beer (available close by) with a $5 corkage fee. Both have dinner service from 5-9pm.Reservations for a Saturday night are recommended, but can be made Saturday.

I do invite you to join me and my wife, Stephanie, and enjoy your favorite beverage at The Anvil at 6 pm.

In closing, I anticipate a Kick-Off Dinner becoming a staple of a Harpers Ferry Flip-Flop; I hope you’ll join in for this first-ever event.

[dangerdave]

I decided to go with a closed group Facebook page. The interface is easy to use, and I like the flow of conversation that it allows.

If anyone wants to join the page, go to "Danger on the Appalachian Trail" and click on Join to send me a request. After I ok you, then you'll be able to follow my updates.


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[TwoSpirits]

Wishing you all safe and happy travels. My attempt at a SOBO was crushed rather early last year, and although it may be a couple more years before I make it back to the trail, I know that Flipping from Harper's Ferry is going to be my plan. (I had been thinking that I would be a bit of an odd duck, so I was happy to see this thread started and the enthusiasm others have for this itinerary!)

I hope you will be willing and able to keep us updated on your journey. Good luck and happy hiking!

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