Appalachain Trail Blog

That’s the message I sent to some friends upon my family’s arrival to the Volunteer State. I already have an affinity for the mountains that was birthed in me when I grew up in Oregon, and as November began, with the leaves turned a beautiful golden yellow color, the air carried a crisp - almost cedar tasting - feel to it – and I was loving life. Add to that, the fact that it was my 31^st birthday and we were in town for a wedding – and it’s clear to me that the galaxy had offered me a most radical weekend adventure.

"Holy Smokies...Tennessee is Rad" »

Explaining the functionality of my internal framed Gregory Z-Series (Jade Series for the ladies) backpack is like trying to explain the resourcefulness of a pocketknife on the trail - it's essential. The versatility is broad, no matter where you find your destination.

An Exposition on the Gregory Z55 Backpack »

I began this journey wanting to take a walk on the Appalachian Trail. In fact, this was not the initial trail I wanted to walk. I had several other long distance trails in mind. One by one, family matters and logistics, made those trails impossible to walk. Then, the AT came into my head. I often wondered if I had the chance to hike the AT again how would I do it.

Krispy Kritter Completes The Appalachian Trail »

Our own Krispy Kritter is getting close to completing his AT journey, only 477.9 miles to go!

Appalachian Trail Day 126 »

It was Krispy Kritter's birthday today, happy birthday man!

Appalachian Trail Day 55 »

"Fall seven times, stand up eight."    ~Japanese proverb

Appalachian Trail Day 54 »

"You can only do what you can do." ~ King Lui, Glastonbury Castle

Appalachian Trail Day 50 »

"Everything is blooming most recklessly; if it were voices instead of colors, there would be an unbelievable shrieking into the heart of the night."
~Rainer Maria Rilke

Appalachian Trail Day 43 »

May 14, 2010 - Day 39 - Friday

The first thing I did when I got into Damascus was walk up to tent city where the majority of the hikers were staying. Tent City was laid out differently this year because part of the land was under construction for new baseball/soccer fields. Volunteers for the last three days had been cutting and constructing trails and campsites in the posion ivy infested woods running along a stream. The trails ran a 1/2 of a mile in one direction and a 1/4 of a mile in the other. Premium tent sites were being taken quickly. Several communities were springing up with names like Billville, Miss Janets, Riff Raff, Alcatraz, Trail Talk, Dog Bone Fire to name a few. I decided to head over to the Gear repair site to meet old friends. Granite Gear, big Agnes, Osprey, Mountain Hardwear and others were present repairing for free broken or torn gear brought over by thru hikers. Due to the new configuration, the crowds did not enter through this section to get to tent city this year so the numbers of visitors were down this year. Met up with my friend, Fix It Man and he set me up for the weekend. I decided I wasn't going to do anything but relax, eat and have a few beers.

Appalachain Trail Day 39 »

May 4, 2010 – Day 29 - Tuesday

"Forget about time...concentrate on timing."   ~Jonathan Passel

Appalachain Trail Day 29 »