[at-l] Best Blue Blazes

[sloetoe@yahoo.com (Sloetoe)]

--- Slyatpct@aol.com/Skeeter wrote:
Gulf Hagus
the view down to Lake of the Clouds from Monroe, 

> > And, no, not all blue blazing is easier trail...

### GSMNP: I think it's at/near TriCorner Knob Shelter in the
GSMNP that another trail heads more easterly toward 6,000' Mt.
Sterling, versus the AT route more northerly toward 5,000' Mt.
Cammerer. The Mt. Sterling route gives you three OUTSTANDING
ways to descend to the Big Creek/Little Pigeon River/I40 valley
that beat the bejesus (IMO) out of the Cammerer route.
Definitely not a short-cut, though, and IMO, not easier.

### 20 miles north of I81/Roanoke,VA is a split between the AT
(modern) and the Blue Ridge Parkway (Old AT), where the old AT
followed up/over/through Peaks of Otter. Actually a yellow-blaze
for a good part, it was a pretty neat/scary experience to get
off the comfort of the AT and climb the Peaks of Otter, but way
cool. As this would be 3/4s yellow blaze, this would have to be
easier, unless you did the road walk, in which case this would
be harder on your feet.

### Old Connecticut AT: 90% of the AT in CT is quite new, and my
understanding is that the older, more rugged, TREMENDOUSLY
SCENIC AT remains as a Blue Blaze. Although I would love to hike
the current AT for curiousity's sake, I know where my loyalties
lie, and for my own purposes, I would probably hike the old AT
through CT. Definitely longer *and* harder.

### Long Trail: *Definitely* harder.... except that it's an
out-n-back..... but were I to do an AT hike right now, in
*either* direction, it would be *really* hard for me to pick a
direction, when standing at Maine Junction/Sherburne Pass. 185
miles....

### Elephant Mtn Leanto(??), Maine: Old AT was cut off as a blue
blaze in '79. Leanto register said new AT was complete waste of
time in muddy P.U.D.S. in/out of the next valley, whereas old AT
was primordial bog walk, thence down beautious stream to road.
Seemed an easy choice to me: I took old AT (came within 15' of a
cow moose) and when I hit the bottom, figured the AT followed
the other finger of a wyed ridge that I could meet by following
the near one up. Turned into one of the better bushwhacks, with
me standing completely caught in the middle of a ferocious,
wide-open raspberry tangle, in the pouring rain, bleeding from
both legs, both arms, and stomach like a stuck pig, and laughing
my ass off because, no matter how much the situation begged for
me to say "Whaaaah! I'm having a bad timeeeeee!", all I could do
was laugh out loud, and at one point, lean back fisted-arms held
wide all Richard Harris/Man Called 'Horse'-like and howllll with
delight. <thinking><thinking> God, but that was powerful.

(Yes: nowadays, I would simply sit down and weep. Don't tell,
though.) So, this blue-blaze would be 1/2 easier, 1/2 perhaps
harder.

### I.A.T. -- Hmmmmmm, which wayyyyy, which wayyyyyy?
(That's a lie: if I wuz faced with that question after having
walked there, *I* know which wayyyyyyy.)

=====
Spatior! Nitor! Nitor! Tempero!
   Pro Pondera Et Meliora.

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