'05 AT Thru Hike

“wonder if we will be reading about him getting rescued in the Smokies”

“He has 2-3 weeks before he makes it to the Smokies, so hopefully not.”

“Percious & Bit - I have the stove. Looks pretty high tech for an old fart like me, but I'll likely master it before I figure out which way is up with my digital camera.

Hiked Woody Gap to Neals Gap (Blood Mountain) today, 11.3 miles. Except for the ankle it wasn't that big a deal...just taking it literally a step at a time. I'm staying at the Hiker Hostel again tonight (just so I could pick up the stove) and am thinking of making a career of it. I just might slack pack the rest of Georgia...except I'll still have a full pack with me. Something about a beer, good dinner, shower and a bed. It sort of grows on you. Adios and thanks for your support.”

“How was the view from Blood? Any good?”

“Good to hear from ya!

MMMM beer!”

“keep your pack with you when hitching. gets u a ride faster”

“Mammmmeriiiieeeesss...no, wait, wrong song!
Memmmmoorrriiiieeeesss......”

“The view from Blood was great, but there was no register in the shelter (and what an abomination of a shelter!) I thought Blood Mt was more impressive looking up at it rather than down from it. Biggest thing I've seen on the AT...so far. I had heard a lot about what a buttkicker it is in the past few days. It was work, but emminently doable. Just a matter of not getting overwhelmed and taking it a step at a time. It's also about not getting too cocky, and maintaining balance between the two.

Right now I need a beer in order to maintain just that balance.

I must find a beer...”

“blood is easier since they re-routed it. albert will make you think blood was a piece of cake. roan is no delight, either. i did roan in the rain. one of my least favorite days. i cant wait to hear your impression of hump mt. it kicks some majorly serious ass. was my favorite part of all points south of damascus”

“It sounds to me like Nimblefoot has met a woman. Since you are backtracking, did you even carry your backpack todsy?”

“I'm planing to hit the Fontana Hilton Shelter on the 23^rd and Icewater Springs Shelter on the 29^th. Maybe we'll meet, maybe not.
last edited: 3/10/05 6:16:01 PM”

“Glad to hear that you are back on the trail!”

“I plan on carrying a full pack everyday just in case something happens with my ankle. However, with respect to weight, I carry only a 6 pack rather than the 12.

Oh, I've heard that 25% drop out before Neel's Gap; I guess it's improved my chances a little.”

“LOL.”

“Today I did 6.4 miles south from Hogspen to Neels Gap. I went this direction so I'd have a place to hang out while waiting for the shuttle. Nice folks in that Walasai Yi...they even talk to Yankee's (if they have wallets).

More than 1% of the trail is now complete. Look out Maine!”

“How's the ankle?”

“Nimble, you best be eatin' all the biscuits and gravy you possibly can, cause halfway thru VA, it's aaallllll but a memory!”

“The ankle is fine. I'm still slow as hell, but never was fast.

By the way I've been doing an impromtu survey because I wanted to prove or disprove a distasteful slogan I heard early in my posting on trail talk. I've been asking every hiker I encounter about their criminal record. So far I've come across 10,000 felons and not a single Prosecutor. Go figure.”

“seen any "fireflies"?”

“hey nowslimmer, where you going to be the 26th - 31st?

nimblefoot, where do you reckon you'll be then.

i have some time off and may hit the trail for 5 days or so. not sure if to base camp and day hike or thru the smokies. reckon i should check permits first, eh.”

“Hey, it would be great to see you again, baume 66. I'll probably still be in Melbourne, FLorida, seeing as how I'm two days past my departure date.

I have a reservation at Ice Water Springs Shelter on the 29^th in hope of seeing Nimblefoot, but the date is still just a guess. I may cancel if it appears that he will not be there. Assuming that I get moving, I could be almost anywhere. I will be starting on easy hikes, like CS# 40, 39, 50, 65, 60, 1 and 20. After the first few days I could continue further on any of those trails, except in the Cataloochee area. I could do dayhikes from a base camp. The six mile loop at Elkmont over Cucumber Gap is a good hike. Years ago I found myself doing that hike three times a day. The 25th could be a good time to look for treebait, humanpackmule and the scouts at Elkmont. Near the end of the month I have to get some pills at a Walgreens(Pigeon Forge or Maryville). I'm planning to contact Smokygirl for a possible get-together.

So give me a week or so to get started. We should be able to work out something. A breakfast at the Pancake Pantry or supper at the Front Porch. Oops! I'm getting away from my objectives___to lose weight and to strengthen my legs to hold me up, since my knees cannot do it.

As far as hiking together, I will still be doing relatively easy hikes, and I'll always be going slow. So it might be better, if you plan your own hikes. I could easily go along with that base camp idea. I'll know more in 7-10 days. Keep in touch.
last edited: 3/12/05 6:58:41 PM”

“Did 14 miles from Hogspen Gap to Unicoi (sp?) at a pretty good clip. Pretty gradual slope for the most part. Ankle feels great. Tomorrow is a rough day. Things are looking up. I have no idea at this point where I'll be on what day. I haven't gotten enought of a feel for anything to make a prediction. I should be at that point soon.”

“Nimblefoot - the good news is that for the next six months you dont have to know where your gonna be or what your gonna do! I simply don't matter.

If someone asks where you'll be sayyyyyyy, next week on Thursday, just tell them "somewhere a few miles north of here".”

“I'm still in Melbourne, but the car is almost fully packed. Now I have to decide what to leave behind at home. My ISP service is off. Saves me a little cash.”

“Go, Go, Nimblefoot!”

“I haven't heard from Nimblefoot in a few days. I take that as a good sign.

I await snail mail from him with journal entries...”

“Thanks for keeping us up to date!”

“god i so badly want to be back out there”

“so go =)”

“but i want to do the whole thing again! i dont have enough money to”

“crash... money... it's interesting.. this January I decided to go for my summer.. at least 2+ month out there... + 2 months will be spendind in meditation retrat center in MA..
..I'll be quiting job, leaving apartment (leave some stuff by my brother), working overtime to save money for gear and summer, I'll keep only car insurance and car by my brother...

... speaking money... I'm not that demanding... even planning to avoid campsites with fees... planning to spend just for simple food and other resupplies..
not planning hotels, steakhouses....

how is your experience... with spending money around the trail?”

“i spent way too much.

but if one has self-control, they could do the AT cheaply, for about 2-3thousand dollars”

“crash..
that's a price I had in my mind”

“but youre talking no eating out, no bed for six months, and lots of ramen”

“lots of ascetism lol”

“i take back the broken english comment. how can i rag on you when your vocabulary is bigger than mine?”

“asceticism... God leeeee...”

“i'm saving on my letters and words.”

“you dont speak in broken english, youre just a babbling eediott.....youll fit right in here”

“Hi,

I'm sitting in a hotel in Franklin, getting off the trail this morning for resupply. Ankle is about as good as it will be for the duration of the hike, good for the miles but easy to turn. It slows me down because I'm constantly having to watch where I put each step. Too tired for journal entries so nothing has been mailed to Bit. I'm trying to make notes, but with fingers too cold and the sleeping bag so inviting nothing much has happened. I'd say everything is going well and I'm still out there. Sorry I can't make any predictions about when I'll be where, but until this ankle gives me some stability it's just not possible.”

“So you've passed Albert Mtn and Standing Indian?

Good to hear from you!”

“Go Nimble! Go Nimble!”

“I stayed an extra day in town to hand write all my delinquent journal entries...mailed to Bitpusher in the a.m. The weather yesterday and today has been incredibly nice which means it will be rain or snow on the trail tomorrow. I see what folks say about the money evaporating while in town. Damn!...and this is a dry county.”

“good job, NimblefootSwollenAnkle. LOL!

Get some hiking boots. OR... get an ankle brace. I used to have this lace-up thing which had a slim strip of metal on each side. It helped, but still the best thing to present sprained ankles is boots.

You can just mail me your thanks, Bro. ;-P”

“Woohooooo! Glad things are going well for you. You have mail.”

“Sounds like you're doing good. I'm off to a slow start. Ruined two almost new tires just before Cataloochee. Hmmm, the guy who sold me the car told me to keep it between the ditches, but I goofed. So far I've hiked two miles. But I plan to be at Ice Water Springs Shelter on the 29th(weather permitting), just in case it matches your progress.”

“I've just posted Nimblefoot's journal entries for 3/12-3/19. You can read them starting with the 12th at this link.”

“bump”

“I read them all last night. He's a pretty funny guy.”

“Where is he now? Somewhere in the Smokies?”