[at-l] Squeaky's progress on AT-- Calendar Triple Crown

[jsmith at wate.com (Jim Smith)]

On Saturday, Dec. 24, 2005, James asked, 
>>   "Does anyone know Squeaky's progress?  He's the British Calendar Year Triple Crown attempter."

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I'm wondering if I saw Squeaky Friday afternoon. A lanky guy with a British accent passed me at about 1:00 p.m. at the junction of the AT and The Boulevard Trail in Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

I was stopped there to eat my lunch and he rushed by me, only saying "hello" as he headed southbound.

He was carrying a pack big enough for me to know he wasn't just day-hiking like I was. He also had crampons strapped to the back of his pack. 

Based on his description at http://trailjournals.com/entry.cfm?id=121681 I wonder now if it was him. 

The interview in the Trail Journals post of Dec. 10 indicates he was attempting to reach Springer by Christmas. Obviously, if it was Squeaky I saw Friday he was going to make that goal. But considering how much snow has fallen at higher elevations this year, it isn't surprising.

When I saw this guy, I had just returned to the AT from a side trip to Mt. Kephart, also known as the Jump Off. To get there, I had to go a short ways through knee-high snow. Fortunately, there's been enough traffic on the AT that travel on that was fairly easy.

jns