April 23, 1999 - Hot Springs North Carolina
Folks,
Lots of questions :-)
I am moving somewhat faster than I expected.
The original numbers were taken from a hiking guide
as averages.
First 100 miles April 10
First 200 miles April 18 th
first 10% 216/2160 April 19 th
What's the trail like ???
This is like asking what are Washington's Trails like.
There is a lot of variety.
Best hiking - downhill on former logging roads 6% grade
uphill on former logging roads 6% grade
Worst Hiking.
lots of rocky steep wet downhill which requires
a lot of stepping down, and fearing for your life.
There are a lot of wild Rhodies out here. I have seen more
rhodies in a day than I have seen in my whole hiking career on
the Olympic Peninsula.
For those of you who don't know, there are three types of
overnight accomadations.
Shelters - 4-20 people sleeping on a platform, or bunk
platforms - lots of snoring, lots of mice.
worst mouse story. Mouse licking the lips of
a sleeping hiker, who didn't do a good job of
wiping his/her mpouth off.
Tenting at or near shelters. meet people, don't have the
snoring or mouse worries
Tenting remotely. usually near water sources. don't usually
have a lot of company.
Towns/motels Taking a quick night off or a planned layover
and staying in a motel. rates vary between $20 and
40$. Quick night off means that you are on the trail
the next day. usually means hitchhiking to the towns
Mileage off the trail is between 0 and 4 miles so far.
I am always tenting. Sometimes at the shelters and sometimes along
the trail in established campsites. The rules do vary. In the Great
Smoky Mountain National Park, you had to sleep or camp at the shelters
and store your food in the shelters overnight. This is because of the
bear problem.
I still have my loss of appetite, but the visits to town make up
for some of my eating disorder. I have lost some weight, but I don't
know how much. For those who want more people pictures, I have
included a picture of myself on the last roll of slides that I am
sending in today for development.
I will try to get to the more specific questions in my next
message.
Mike Aken
"hiking the AT"
" No Pain No Rain No Maine "