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Re: [at-l] southbounding
Hello Stephanie -
You asked:
>...I'm doing a southbound (hoping to enter Baxter on 5/18/97 - if it's open).
>So given that I am doing this - (the 100 mile wilderness sounds like
>heaven) - I would appreciate any sage advice from those who've been before
>me...you know things like - hints on detering the black fly population,
>changes in the listed water sources because of the difference in the times
>you'll be at specific points on the trail, trail town services not
>available because of the alternate times, etc....
Get ready for a nice hike!
My son and I started south on 3 Jun '93. He could only hike for the summer
(back to college), but I dropped my itty-bitty rock on Springer in mid Dec.
I left the trail for three weeks to do some "Leave No Trace" training at
the '93 Boy Scout Jamboree (VA) and for one week to attend the ALDHA
gathering (WV), so my southbound hike wound up taking a little less than
six months trail/town-stop time over about six and a half months away from
home.
Looking back, a couple of things immediately stand out in my mind about
doing a southbound thru hike...black flies and isolation <g>.
First, about your specific questions ("sage" NOT guaranteed):
Black flies - Yup, they were there for us...LOTS of them. I didn't have
any idea what a black fly was (I live in Alabama <g>), so I called one of
the well-known maintainers in ME and sought his advice (my journal is
packed in storage...I don't remember his name, but he was a major help!).
He said that the flies will be an annoyance, but that he would never let
them get in the way of doing a hike. Sonofagun...he was right! Turns out
that black flies are like big gnats that chew holes in your hide and then
stay around to lap up whatever oozes out...they especially seemed to like
the clothing/meat boundary.
We carried a bottle of Ben's 100% Deet and slathered it on when the flies
swarmed as we hiked (it worked fine when the rain didn't wash it off <g>).
When we stopped for more than a short rest I would slip into my "poor-man's
wind suit" (an old K-Mart lite-weight rain suit made out of polyurethane
coated nylon...the polyurethane had long since flaked off). The black
flies didn't seem able to bite through the thin nylon and the suit was
comfortable in all but the hottest weather. I picked up a cheap pair of
cotton gloves and a headnet...all skin was covered during my non-hiking
daylight hours. I understand that there are net suits made for black fly
country, I would probably take a look at one if I were interested in doing
another southbound hike.
Some stretches of trail (usually well away from running water) had no flies
at all...some did. I only recall the flies being a real annoyance during
the (almost) month that we hiked thru Maine, but the last black fly I
remember seeing was up on the ridge above Franconia Notch in NH. You can
fairly easily learn to live with the black flies. In fact, one-upping each
other with black fly stories was a favorite activity during the rare times
that southbounders met on the trail <g>.
Water availability - Maine was squishy off and on all the way down (bless
those bog bridges!). '93 was a drought year (National Guard hauling water
to some towns) as we came down thru VT, MA, CT, and NY. In fact, Harriman
State Park was on fire and a number of the north-bounders had to road-walk
around it to avoid heavy fines. It was smouldering for us southbounders
and there was little to no surface water anywhere. Maintainers brought
water in to some of the shelters and nobody ever refused us as we passed
the occasional house. We often dropped off the trail to get town water
from VT thru NY...but we also got to do pizza and Ben & Jerries, so it was
always worth the hitch/walk <g>. In general, I would guess that water
availability is more dependent on climate variations from year to year than
it is on northbound/southbound choice. The registers usually have plenty
of chatter on where the water is/isn't, even in the 100 Mile Wilderness.
Who knows, El Nino might bring Perrier to all your shelters!
Trail town services not available - Yup! It was obvious to us in '93 that
the various organized services are set up for northbounders. Some of the
popular hostels were closed by the time we passed by. The good news is
that you will be hitting the northern hiker-haunts before the hordes of
northbounders show up. Some places tend to burn out on thru-hikers as the
season wears on...you won't have to worry too much about that <g>. We
loved hiking the huts in the Whites and found ourselves to be in demand as
overnight guests. I understand that many of the northbounders didn't see
the same open treatment at the huts or at Camp Dodge. We didn't look for
the slack-packing or the shuttle-for-$ services, so the only comment I can
offer is that they weren't obvious if they were around.
One downer for me was Rusty's...he was in the process of asking Wingfoot to
show the Hard Time Hollow as closed to southbounders (he thought that we
were a bunch of gloomy party-poopers...I sorta like loud James Brown, but I
drew the line at dancing on the roof of his pickup when I had all that
trail left to hike <g>).
In general, I would have to admit that I didn't miss the various services
mentioned in Wingfoot's book that southbounders never see. In fact, doing
the PCT taught me that too much help can sometimes truly get in the way of
a wonderful trail experience.
Etc. - The biggest "etc" for my southbound thru-hike was the pronounced
isolation I found on the trail after Labor Day. My son went back to school
when we hit CT (late Aug) and I mostly hiked solo from then on. I quickly
discovered that I am NOT a born-again solo hiker! I had the good fortune
to share the trail off and on with Annasaurus Rex and Blueberry Charlie,
but most of my hike from NY to GA was me and Bambi hiding out from the
hunters (wear LOTS of orange!). The isolation affected me MUCH more than I
would have ever dreamed it could. I know that I understand a lot more
about myself for having had that solo experience, but I also have decided
that I have absolutely no interest in doing a truly solo thru-hike again.
My son hiked with me for the entire PCT and I probably saw a tenth of one
percent of the number of hikers I saw on the AT...and I truly loved that
markedly greater wilderness isolation. I had a partner.
The weather was dandy in ME and NH, warm from VT thru NY, nice from NJ thru
upper VA, mixed cool/rain/cold/sleet/snow from lower VA to Springer.
Deepest snow was about 18 inches north of Parisburg (VA) and on Clingman's
Dome (GSMNP). Coldest was in the single digits in the fire warden's cabin
on Roan Mt. Shelters were NEVER full after Labor Day except on the few
holiday weekends...in fact, most of the time you will have them to yourself
(and Mickey <g>). You will have to hunt the managing agency folks if you
need them...I saw no uniforms on or near the trail after Labor Day...even
in the Smokies.
Speaking of hunting, there will be lots of hunters above, below, and on the
trail as the hunting seasons open. A few will be shooting across the
trail, up/down the trail, and from the trail. Most are super folks who
cook up and share mouth-watering pinto beans w/deer meat (yes!)...some take
their six-packs with them when they hunt. Wear LOTS of hunter-orange
during the various hunting seasons you will be passing through! The ATC
sells a neat reversible pack cover that is orange on one side...you might
want to consider it if you choose to use a pack cover. I picked up a
couple of orange neckerchiefs and pinned them over the top of my pack
(could be seen from all sides). Blueberry Charlie tried to make do with
the el-cheapo plastic orange vests and they shredded on him as he hiked (he
looked like a refuge from either a bon-voyage party or a ticker-tape parade
<g>). Take the hunters seriously...they don't want to shoot you
(thru-hikers are notoriously lean - they don't dress out worth a hoot!),
but you could very easily get between them and that bush that looks just
like a 10 pointer.
All in all, I have to admit that my southbound hike might have been a
perfect thru-hike for me if my son had been able to stay with me for the
entire time. One of these days I will probably try a northbound hike to
see how it goes with the teeming crowds <g>. After doing the PCT, I doubt
that I will ever be comfortable in a shelter again (we ate lunch in the
only AT-style shelter we saw on the PCT...the smell and ankle-deep ashes
brought back a LOT of shelter memories from my AT hike <g>). In
retrospect, I think that I could have made better time and been more
comfortable if I had used my trail tarp on the AT as much as I did on the
PCT (I truly came to love stealth camping up on top instead of down in the
gaps!).
Thanks for asking the questions...thinking back has been a hoot!
- Charlie II
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