Here’s “Autobahn” and a couple I met yesterday on the trail.  I caught up with them at ATC.  And here I am at the ATC. We walked across this bridge over the Shenandoah River to Harpers Ferry.   We ran into “Trail Magic” at Keys Gap. I heard about this and didn’t think I would see it so soon.  They had free food for hungry thru-hikers.  We all are…  Here’s a group of scouts from Cincinnati.  They brought back a lot of memories for me.   All in all it was a great day. I hiked the 12 miles from Harpers Ferry to Blackburn trail center. I met all sorts of people on the trail including lots of thru-hikers.  I definitely will not be alone.

I saw few die of hunger; of eating, a hundred thousand. – Benjamin Franklin

I left the house at about 5 PM on Friday.  Here is my pack in the car on the way to the airport.

  

I bought a paperback to read on the trail. I’m already starting to tear out the pages as I read them. I think I’ll be putting my fire starters in the trash before I hit the trail.  

 Started at Bears Den in the pouring rain.  
The first step on the A.T. :

  

And here’s Jeff and I at Raven Rocks in pea soup fog.  I haven’t been this wet in many years.

 

And now it’s back to the Wingard’s for a hot shower and to dry out after 8 miles, about half on the “Roller Coaster”.

BTW, we met 6 NOBO thru hikers today, including Snoopy, who was resting on the porch at Blackburn.  Perhaps in 2 1/2 months I will be equally mellow.  

A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. – Chinese Proverb 

This is it.  My next post should be after I start hiking on the A.T.  I fly out of town tomorrow and start hiking on Saturday.  To make it really sweet, Jeff Wingard and I will be day hiking the 20 miles between Bear’s Den and Harpers Ferry on Saturday and Sunday.  On Monday I tackle the “Roller Coaster” with a full pack on my back.  Yikes!

My last “training” hike was today at West Tyson Park.  It was warm and humid.  In fact, the weather was more of a challenge than the miles and elevation changes.  My final base weight for my pack was 16.3 lbs, without food or water.  I’ve been aiming to be between 15 and 18 pounds, so I’m there!

Today’s featured “equipment”:  iPhone Apps

I plan to rely heavily on my iPhone for navigation, communication, and reference.  It will serve as my camera and I’ll be blogging from it.  In addition to the standard Apple apps on the phone, I have added these to use on the trip.  The top two are GPS enabled reference and mapping apps.  I’ve been using Gaia GPS on all of my training hikes.  AT Hiker keeps track of everything on the trail and should be my primary method of navigation, although I still have a Silva Analog Compass.

   

The bottom three are my blogging app and camera utilities.  Camera+ essentially gives the iPhone the functionality of most digital cameras and has a great editor.

     

In addition to the above apps, I have several PDF’s loaded into the DropBox on my phone.  These are all viewable in iBooks and the Thru-Hiker’s Companion will be my primary “printed” reference.  Most all of my quotes come from the next book.  The rest are references that I have added.

 

 

 

 

 

It’s a busy day today:  haircut at 8 am, work at 3 pm (last shift until October), and it’s our 37th anniversary today.  Yowzer!

Todays featured equipment: rain gear.

My rain gear includes a SnowPeak Umbrella, Outdoor Research Helium II Jacket, a DIY sil-nylon pack cover, and a DIY sil-nylon rain kilt.  I wore this out in the rain last week and in addition to keeping me reasonably dry, they are light weight, and breathe well.

And here’s what I added today.  Saint Christopher, the patron saint of travelers:

Yesterday, I bought a tripod for my iPhone.  Don’t worry, it’s small and light.  And, it should help me get more pictures from the trail.

 

I’m done buying stuff, well almost.  After talking with a good friend I became convinced it would be worth it to get a lighter “bucket”.  This one weighs a third of the old one; I saved almost 2 ounces (57 grams).  I wouldn’t go backpacking without one of these, they save a ton of trips to get water.

Todays featured equipment: first aid kit.

The kit includes: A sil-nylon bag, safety pins, duct tape, Chap Stick, nail clipper, Breathe-rite strips, Dermabond, assorted Band-Aids / butterflies, and moleskin.  Meds include daily prescription meds in individual packets; supplies of Tylenol, Naprosyn, Immodium-AD, Benadryl, and extra thyroid hormone (if I get separated from my bounce box).  Everything fits in the bag except the duct tape and Rx meds.