Where on the AT is gforce?

“My first day out from Springer I ran into an AT old timer by the name of Texas Jack. He told me that getting to Damascus was like getting to the "promised land." Well, I'm not sure it's the promised land, but I'm here in Virginia . . . 460 miles from Springer Mtn. in Georgia. Guess I'm too early for the big party, huh? I'm going to zero tomorrow, and then head back into the woods on Friday morning. The weather here is fantastic today . . . hope it's this nice for the big party next weekend.

Since my last post from Miss Janet's Hostel in Erwin, TN we had 4 straight days of rain followed by three of the most beautiful days of hiking one could hope for. It's been great for some of ridges we have been following over that time.

Just to give an idea about what kind of daily mileages I've been doing since leaving Erwin . . . 17.4 - 15.2 - 15.2 - 17.7 - 6.1 (Kincora Hostel for the night) - 17.5 - 22.7 - 10.0 (today into Damascus). Not real fast, but hopefully fast enough to keep within my time frame of 5 - 5.5 months to complete the trip . . . if I'm lucky enough to make it that far.”

“Good going, Gary!”

“Thanks for the update G-force. Keep us posted.”

“holy crap youre already at the unofficial one-quarter mark. you are freaking flying”

“"Not real fast...."


Those numbers are kilometers then?!”

“Gforce,
Keep it up and I have to write a song about ya!!
Oh yeah!! I ain't going on the Adventure Trail!!! So Mind your own business, lol
I am happy to be a sissy if it means regular bowel movements!!!
See ya later and good luck Gary!!
Randall”

“Randall, you will never crap so freely as when on a thru hike. It runs through ya like #&%!$ through a tin horn.”

“holy crap. i just counted the days. gforce made it to damascus in 34 1/2 days. thats 8 1/2 days ahead of my pace in 04”

“I had the other gforce thread saved. I'm glad I stumbled onto this one.

5 to 5.5 months???? Where you headed? Newfoundland???

Keep Flyin' Gary.”

“Excellent, gforce! Keep on truckin'.

Chin, that's what I thought when I read that. lol

If you pick up some speed ;) you'll likely catch up with Green Hornet, who should be in Pearisburg, VA on Saturday, 5/12 (give or take a day). He's now averaging about 17-18 mile days.

I'll continue to keep an eye out for your updates. Enjoy your zero. :)”

“Oh, you'll make it. We are all living vicariously through your adventure.

Keep up the good work!”

“Thanks for checking in gforce!”

“I'm so jealous Gary! 12 years from now I hope to be on the AT. Thanks for taking the time to share your adventure with us.”

“Good going gforce. Keep it up!”

“LOL, gary's in the middle of nowhere, on the AT and still giving Randall chit...keep flyin gary but don't forget to stop and smell the flowers from time to time”

“Hike on, Gary! I'm definitely jealous.”

“keep flyin gary but don't forget to stop and smell the flowers from time to time

Funny you should mention that thrifty because I think over half of the pictures I've taken so far are of wildflowers. I'll be cruising along the trail when all of a sudden one will stop me and say "take my picture." Seriously, the wildflowers along the trail have been outstanding so far.”

“awwwww gary likes flowers”

“Hope you continue to have a great trip, we're all jealous.”

“Crash, you didn't know I was a flower child?”

“where are you staying, dude? the place? the campground? a hostel?”

“Thanks for the update! I agree with others here - we're all jealous and that includes time to see the flowers! :)”

“Way to go, Gary!”

“Great to get some news from you, Gary...I'm glad your taking your time and enjoying the wildflowers and views...hikes are to be savored like fine wine...I would think coming off the trail into Damascus during Trail Days would present more of a contrast than I would enjoy...keep well! hugs...”

“Hey kiddies, how's everything going in the land of TT? Right now I'm in Pearisburg, VA
with 622 miles behind me.

The past couple of weeks have been a little rough for me because I got sick and had to take a couple of days off in Atkins. It started out as a stomach ache in the middle of the night followed by hurling everthing I had eaten the following day. Couple that with hiking 19 miles that day means I was pretty sick and weak. So I took the time off in Atkins to regain some strength. My appetite has kicked up another notch this past week. Two nights ago I ate a pizza for dinner and was hungry again in 2 hours. I don't think I can carry enough food to feed myself! Other than that things are still going well.

For the most part, the grade of the trail has been gentler here in Virginia with a few steep sections thrown in to keep you honest. The Mt. Rogers/Grayson Highlands area was spectacular. That is one area I want to come back to and spend more time. It's definitely been my favorite part of the trip so far.

Thanks for the well wishes from everyone . . . I hope everyone of you have the opportunity to experience this one day . . . and, BugBite, why didn't you sign in as BugBite? :)”

“Hey Gary,

Good to hear from you. I've heard the Grayson Highlands are very nice. Want to hike there one day soon.”

“Mt. Rogers/Grayson Highlands area was spectacular. That is one area I want to come back to and spend more time. It's definitely been my favorite part of the trip so far.

i concur. did you ride the ponies?

how do you like the dairy queen in atkins? i spent alot of time in that restaurant”

“Whoa!! I'm actually gonna be near where you are next week - I have to go to DC for work. Too bad I don't have extra time to do some hiking. B-Son and I always tell each other at the beginning of a bike ride (could just as well be for hiking): Stay vertical!”

“Hey Gary!!!!
So did you drink any strange water???? You know what I mean!!! Glad to hear your feeling better. Good days to you on the trail and I hope to hear from you soon.
See ya later.
Randall”

“Is he in Maine yet?”

“Nope, already done. Started on the PCT 2 weeks ago.”

“Hi Gforce,

Hope you are well and still enjoying the trail! I look forward to your updates.

BugBite”

“No, I have not completed and moved on to the PCT. I'm at 848 miles spending the day in Waynesboro, VA at a church hostel. I have not had access to the internet since Pearisburg, so I haven't been able to give any updates since then. Here is a thumbnail of the highlights since that time:

I hiked over McAfee Knob and Tinker Cliffs, both of which have outstanding views. I'd highly recommend those locations to anyone since they are realtively close and could be completed in a weekend.

I finally had my first all day soaker thanks to TS Barry. I did manage to hike 18.5 miles that day, but was very wet by the time I reached the shelter for the night. Fortunately, I had the shelter to myself, because it leaked in 5 spots. I had the only dry spot in the shleter.

I haiked over the Priest and Three Ridges on Thursday. Payton of the Sierra Club said that is the toughest stretch in VA. I believe him because the climb over Three Ridges was definitely my hardest of the trip so far . . . a little over 3000' collectively and picking your way through the rocks much of the way.

I hiked 25.3, 20.5, and 20.8 miles the last three days. That's not indicative of what I want to do, but what I needed to do to make it to the post office this morning.

I don't know who created the myth that the AT in VA is mostly flat. It's far from that! There have been very many long climbs with travel acros dry ridges. So you have to plan your water supply accordingly. Next up is Shenendoah National Park . . . which is supposed to be "easy." We shall see , , ,”

“Scott - that Dairy Queen is closed. When I got into Atkins that is the first place I went to because the sign is still there. Unfortunately, no banana split . . . :(”

“"flat" is a relative term. i dont know that shenandoah is any more or less difficult than the rest of virginia, but its certainly among the most scenic

avoid the AYH in harpers ferry. their hospitality leaves a lot to be desired, and there is a fairly new (less than 3 years old) hostels that is more hiker friendly in the area”

“actually, dont quote me about the other hostel. ask around about a place called "bus stop hostel" it may or may not be near harpers ferry”

“Good to know you're still OK and on the trail, gforce...glad you find someway to keep us in the loop...hugs, Mata”

“One other highlight I forgot to mention was climbing Humpback Mtn. It's a long gradual hike, but has outstanding views on some cliffs and one short and interesting rock climb.

Thanks for the advice crash . . . I'll keep my eye out for those hostels. Back to the trail early tomorrow morning . . . .”

“did you see the longhorns at hump mt in nc?/tn?”

““did you see the longhorns at hump mt in nc?/tn?”

Yes, they were huge. I think they are some african breed. Hump and Little Hump were great.”

“yes they are watusi cattle

how did you like dragons tooth? did you climb to the top? did you have good views?

after you finish shenandoah, i have two words for you: terrapin station. that place rocks. so many cool amenities, and the guy is really great”

“WOW! Sounds like you are kick'in a$$ Gary. Keep it up. We are all following this I think. Well done.”

“updates???”

“last i heard, he was between springer and katahdin”

“That kimchi sure has made you cranky.....”

“no man, i had gelbi today. life is good”

“GEEZ, nothing from Gary in almost a MONTH”

“Um, he's hikin'!

The further north he goes, the less services he'll find. I believe it's NH that the towns are pretty far off trail.

Lesse... he was in Waynesboro, VA on 6/9? He might be in NJ by now? :)”

“i dont think a persons ever more than a week away from internet access on the AT. all you need is a town big enough to have a library. the longest i ever went without a re-supply was 6 days, so theres towns a plenty”

“Yes, but the question is truely, how much time does he really want to spend in town? If it were me, not very much. But, that's just me...”