Lamest part of trail
I don't mean the hardest, but the part of the trail that you feel doesn't belong as part of the AT or is not as breath-taking or beautiful as the rest.
Of the AT that I've done, I'd have to say the bottom of Pearis Mt coming into Pearisburg Va.
There's nothing like walking thru people's back yards 10 feet from their house.
Now if they were having a BBQ and invited me to join in, I might have a change of heart......
This is one of the parts in Va that they are trying to relocate.
ZOO
Thats an easy question, there is only one place. The disqusting zoo just before the Bear Mountain Bridge that crosses the Hudson. The owners should be in those cages. You go from walking with the animals to their living hell.
Bear Mountain Park
For me, I think the least desirable section of the trail was the section through Bear Mountain Park in New York. I understand that this was the first section of AT completed. However, now the section appears to be very over used and poorly maintained. Shelters are dingy, water is scarce, etc. Maybe if there was some work done there, it wouldn't look or feel as bad.
One word...Maryland!
Blue Jay--
You have a point about the Zoo....the cages are small, and many of the animals don't look all that happy, but in fairness, it should be remembered that the vast majority of the animals there are either elderly, injured, or have lived in captivity all of their lives, and therefore would not survive in the wild. Whenever possible, the Zoo attempts to release its animals to the wild, but in most cases, this is simply not possible, and the animals remain there, under care, for the rest of their lives.
baxter state parkOriginally Posted by Easyhiker
northern Virginia's roller coaster
I like variety. Gives perspective.
CT, all of it. May as well throw in NJ and NY. Maybe even Mass.
Bake Oven Knob and the Bake Oven Knob shelter Area in PA. It was too close to a road and was littered with bottles and cans and graffitti. I don't mind folks having a good time but ... it almost felt like the locals were intenionally thrashing the area to way beyond just littering. The hike to the area on the knife edge rocks was beautiful until I got to that area where access was to easy for the party crowd. They thrashed it ... really sad.
You can never appreciate the shade of a tree unless you sweat in the sun.-- Author Unknown
PA may leave you a bit lame with all the rocks, but I would never say it was a "lame" section.
No section struck me as lame. NJ, IMO, is actually the nicest of the sections in the "middle states" (WV, MD, PA, NJ, NY). I was amazed to find less civilization and better views in Jersey than any where else in this whole stretch. I would even be willing to section NJ again just because I really enjoyed it!
If people spent less time being offended and more time actually living, we'd all be a whole lot happier!
I enjoyed NJ quite a bit. A rural feel, lots of mountain laurel in bloom, nice views off the ridges. It was an unexpected gem of the trail. Seriously.
Paul "Mags" Magnanti
http://pmags.com
Twitter: @pmagsco
Facebook: pmagsblog
The true harvest of my life is intangible...a little stardust caught,a portion of the rainbow I have clutched -Thoreau
Shenandoah
The trail ain't lame, the locals are.(I'm one.)
I'd say the Rt. 80 highway walk over the Delaware sucks pretty bad. Why not make it a ford? Or post a tethered canoe?
The Cumberland Valley re-route is lame. I like the old road walk. The Ice Cream lady, the strawberry farm, Gina's sub shop, the truck stop...
Any place where road noise or other loud noises intrude. Eg. the trail just north of RPH Shelter in NY, where you hear highway noises from the Taconic and I-84. Or that *&%^# race track near Falls Village, CT. (Or the one near Ed Garvey Shelter in MD.) Not to mention the incessant motorcyles on Skyline Drive in SNP over Labor Day weekend...
loud pipes save lives, hippy hiker
Jersey Pics
For those who think Jersey is lame, I included a few pics from NJ during my '99 thru-hike.
Sunfish Pond..... gorgeous
Ridgelines with great views showing surprisingly little civilization.......
And yes, there were 3 or 4 miles of road walk south of Vernon, but these offered very little traffic on a Saturday afternoon.
To quote the movie classic Dogma, "Don't underestimate the drawing power of the Garden State".
If people spent less time being offended and more time actually living, we'd all be a whole lot happier!
How's that?
Posting Permissions
Reply With Quote
