67 miles in 3 days

“First of all, I want to give BPbaby a huge appalause (CLAP CLAP CLAP) for helping me with the shuttle.
I got back yesterday (Saturday) from my LBL thru hike of the North South Trail.
First day I did 23 miles.
Second day was 27.
Last day was 19.
Pack weighed 24 pounds when I started.
It was a great trip. The North half is Beautiful. But the South half is nothing but Horse Trails & Jeep roads. I refer to the South part as 28 miles of sh!t.
My calves are pretty tight now but I'll be fine.
If anybody wants me to I'll post more detailed stuff later.”

“-Correction-
Last day was 17 miles”

“If I ever do it, I will skip the lower 28 then.

:)”

“And you aren't dead from NOT taking a 65lb pack?

*smirk*”

“LOL!!!”

“My pack could have been lighter too.
I didn't get to eat part of my food. I didn't really need a tarp either.”

“walkingdude where is the North South Trail?”

“Land between the Lakes
It runs from Kentucky and into Tennessee. It's the strip of land between Barkley & Kentucky Lake.”

“The actual North South Trail is 60 miles but I started at the Canal which tacked on the additional 7 miles.”

“"67 miles in 2 1/2 days.. awesome.

You are the man."

TownDawg
08:15:26 AM
01/27/02

heh.. that was kewl.”

“by the way, give yourself credit. You will out by 2pm Saturday.. that's not '67 miles in 3 days' -- heh.. that's '67 miles in 2 1/2 days'.”

“gEez.,. I can't type. you WERE, not you WILL.”

“The first night I camped at Sugar Bay and the second night I stayed right on the Tennessee/Kentucky state line. Both nights I got to enjoy the yips & howls of coyotes. I saw a bald Eagle on the Canal loop part. I also saw Harrons, an owl, Deer, squirrels, and only 2 other hikers.
The temp ranged from 65 for the high down to 26 one night. It rained for about an hour the first day but just lightly.
My boots stayed wet & muddy the whole trip. Friday morning they were frozen solid and I almost never got my foot in them.
During my walk thruogh the North end the bottom land areas were pretty soggy. One section while crossing a field the creek was about 8 feet accross and probably 2 feet deep. Iwas only wearing ankle gaitors and didn't want to get above them so I found a place down stream where it was deeper but less wide (about 5 feet). I took about 3 steps and jumped accross. The bank on the other side was about 4 feet high so I slammed the other side and stuck to it like Spider-Man and then clawed my way up. Faught through some sticker bushes and continued on.
FUN TIMES!
Anybody wanna go backpacking with me?”

“I shot 3 rolls of film but I gotta get another Photo site before yall can see them.”

“I'm looking forward to the photos.

Webshots is free.”

“What do you want a brownie?

I amazed you actually had time to shot 3 rolls of film! Its a good thing you shot that much because now you can sit back and take in the all the beauty of the wilderness from the comfort of your chair.

I just don't get it, to each their own I guess.”

“I've been thinking about you and your hike Mr.dude for the past few days. Good thing you took some pics, cause as much terrain as you covered per day I'll bet the scenery is just a blur in your mind.

I did a 3+ hour dayhike yesterday and the last 15 minutes of it was on a trail...a muddy mucky trail. I can truely feel for you as 15 minutes of muck-weighted boots for me was enough...but 28 miles of it, ugh!

OK now...what kind of shelter, boots, gear, etc. Inquireing minds want to know?”

“Way to go Dude!”

“Boots I used Vasque Vistas. Gore-Tex of course & OR gaitors.
Pack was a 2900 ci Kelty Tempest.
Esbit Stove & 1/2 liter cook pot (stainless)
Slumberjack bag rated for 35 degrees. (Got a bit cold the first night).
Full length Z-Rest pad
I used a 10x10 Nylon tarp for a shelter the first night but just slept under the stars the 2nd night.
2 trash bags as a ground sheet
Poly Pro base layer.
Nylon pants
Hooded polyester pullover shirt for night.
Polypro gloove liners.
1 extra pair of socks and 2 pair of sock liners.
Marmot rain jacket
50 oz. camelbac hydration system & a 16 oz Nalgene bottle
Pur Hiker water filter

Anything else?

Any thing else”

“Minister of Truth
Yeah I'm take a Brownie!!”

“You'll prolly have to change your name to walking machine :)”

“I was using Energiser Batteries.”

“My hats goes off to you. That is totally awesome. It is very pretty on the Kentucky side (north)but slushy in the south. Good Job.”

“sounds cool. don't reckon i'd a been able to keep that pace with you. was it flat, rolling or hilly?”

“Rolling
You might be on a ridge for a while then drop down to Bottom Land and then back up again. No major inclines. 200 ft gains at the most.”

“A tip o' the topper to ya, WD! And thanks for the clue-in on the trail sections. I'm thinking about LBL for late March.

BTW, I think what some may be missing is that with a 24-lb.pack, it makes covering that much trail much more feasible, w/o detracting from the aesthetic experience. Not that I expect to do it myself.

Is that Slumberjack bag a mummy? I have a Slumberjack semi-rectangular (no hood) Quallofil bag, 2 lbs or so and rated to 35+, that I used this summer in N.D. to lighten the load. I supplemented with a very light Marmot down vest that stuffs into its own pocket when temp got a bit chilly. The combo worked well.”

“what a dude!”

“Yeah, it was a mummy bag. The last forcast I saw beforeI left the low was only supposed to be 31 degrees. I substituted my 0 deg. Down bag for a Synthetic. Bad choice but I lived through it OK.”

“I tip my hat to ya....Good job..:)”

“I can't wait to see the pictures!! I hope you used that timer. I'd like to see a picture of you in there. ;o)”

“The only pictures that will be of me is the 2 that BPbaby took when she dropped me off.”

“Well done WD!”

“Dude -

Great job! You know, I think you are ready to thru hike the AT and break the record as a REAL thru hiker! I will supply you with all the Snicker bars you can eat in your drop boxes.

I bet each of us TT-ers could sponser you for something in that drop box!

You make me tired! We covered 7 hilly miles in one day in the Buffalo River and I felt it. Bravo!

Tex”

“Thanks yall!
I'd love to do an AT thruHike but I'll have to wait till I retire to do the whole thing.
I'll keep you in mind about the Candy bars though!

Sounds like yall had a fun time in Arkansas. Couldn't be 2 places at once. I'd already had to put off this LBL hike once already and this was my only other time slot to do it in.”

“Suddenly I feel so insignificant.”

“Dude's miles don't count unless they're all straight uphill.”

“Congrats Dude sounds like you had a good time and very impressive milage.”

“HAHAHA @ Steve & Nigal!

Thanks .hiker dude”

“Very cool, Walkindude! Looking forward to some pictures.

Webshots has been good so far”

“I'll check them out when I get home from work.
Thanks.”