Hiking the Appalachian Trail in 1996

Sickness update: I'm getting better slowly. My sinus infection is holding on with a vengeance, but the antibiotics and steroids are helping. I'm also supplementing with "Kick-ass Immune Booster" and lots of airborne. The hard part for me is to be disciplined and take it easy, not repeating the pattern of running myself down now once I feel a little better and then getting sick again. The Ear, Nose, and Throat Doctor offered to nick holes in my ear drums, saying that the small holes would allow my ears to clear, but I'm going to hold off on that for know. Just the though gives me goose bumps.

Hiking the Appalachian Trail in 1996

In addition to hours trying to tune the previously mentioned RC Helicopter I've also kept my "sick-self" busy by scanning old pictures. I came across these from a backpacking trip I put together on the Appalachian Trail (AT) when I was 19 in April of 1996.

At the time I had backpacked before, but never far or with the right equipment. On previous trips, I used a wicker pack-basket my Dad lent me from the 1920's, which needless to say, didn't get me very far. By this trip I had a proper pack, boots, food containment, tent, and sleeping bag. I'd spent most of the winter doing solo trips to local camp spots on the AT, but never went very far. For this trip Adam, Mike, Chris, and I made up the crew. The goal would be to hike all 40 miles of the AT through the state of Maryland. 40 miles is a walk in the park for me now as a seasoned (although injured) endurance athlete, but back then I was an long haired, out of shape smoker who was still just beginning to find his rugged-individualist side. Everyone else was about the same fitness and experience level.

Mistake Number 1: Excessive water. Even though I had a water filtration system I was bent on making sure everyone carried enough water for the entire duration of the trip. It was early April and the temperature hovered around freezing the entire time. Why I thought we needed gallons of water in addition to my water filter along the route through the lush, far-from-arid climate of the Maryland woods is a hilarious mystery to me now. It did mean starting out on our 5 day trip with 80lb packs, already a handicap for fitness challenged hikers.

Mistake Number 2: Poor planning. We stared in Harper's Ferry, VW and planned to hike the AT north to the Pennsylvania state line. To get into Maryland the trail went across a railroad bridge spanning the Potomac River. We didn't find out that this bridge was closed due to flooding until we got the giant gate across the trail at the bridge entry. That meant an additional 8 mile backtrack and detour along a busy, shoulderless, two lane highway through Virginia. To get across the river we had to squeeze our bulging packs along the shoulder of two narrow road bridges. This was probably the most hazardous part of the trip.

Mistake Number 3: Quiting smoking. Adam and I decided to quit smoking the day before we left. Mike didn't smoke, but Chris did and had brought a carton of cigarettes. Adam and I lasted about 24 hours before it got ugly and we gave in. At first Chris wasn't keen on sharing his cigarettes which made for a few tense hours staring at each other across the fire! Eventually on the 4th day, the trail crossed a road and Mike and I spent all morning hiking down to the nearest town so I could buy cigarettes and he could buy junk food. It was a pathetic addiction that was hell to quit!

After spending most of day one trudging along side the highway and narrow bridges for hours we finally got to the AT. It climbed from the river bank up a steep grade out of the Potomac River Valley onto the South Mountain Range. We were so exhausted at the end of the climb that we gave up on trying to make it to the first campsite. We pitched our tents on the side of the trail as it got dark, it started to snow.

Alex, Chris, and Adam on the Road Bridge

Potomac River Valley

Alex and Chris Looking Down at the River

Adam Peeking out of the Tent at the End of Day 1

The next day we hiked mostly in snow to the next campsite where we met an old man. He was an experienced through-hiker who had an odd trail name which, for the life of me, I just can't remember. Something like Rabbit, or Map Man... He gave us some tips and told us about a 5 star restaurant up further up the trail that had a special room in the back just for hikers. We camped for the night and feasted when we discovered a trove of junk food Mike had hidden in his pack. Twizzlers, Star Crunches, and Twinkies, Yum! It was a high fructose corn syrup delight that made the cold and snow a little easier to deal with. I'll just say, at 19 my diet wasn't quite as healthy as it is today!

Hiking Day 2

Chris, Old Man ????, Alex

Day 3 was a mission to get the 5 Star Restaurant, I think it was called The Old South Mountain Inn. The 80lb packs, cigarettes, and previous night's twizzlers and star crunches took a heavy toll on our progress. It was cold and snowy, as we entered the woods outside of Middletown, Maryland. Even though it wasn't filmed there, Middletown was supposed to be the location of the movie The Blair Witch Project. The gloomy day did give the woods an erry feeling. We made it to the Old South Mountain Inn just in time to get the last table of the night. You could see our collective stench overcome the other patrons as we were escorted to the back room. Nothing compliments junk food, cigarettes, and hiking like a heavy dinner of steak and potatoes. Ugh... The tent was a symphony of methane and sulfur smells that night.

Adam, Alex, Chris in the "Blair Witch Woods"

The Old South Mountain Inn

Morning of Day 4

I spent the first half of day 4 hiking down the highway with Mike to guy more cigarettes and junk food. Adam and I had ravaged Chris's carton and the situation was going to get critical if I didn't re-stock the supply. Three smokers alone in the woods without cigarettes would not have been a good thing for anyone. We probably would have killed Mike first! By the time I made it back up the mountain the morning was shot. Everyone was loosing their motivation which wasn't helped by a severe snow storm forecasted to move in the next evening. We had hiked a gaping 30 miles, although the cigarette detour added about 8 for Mike and me. We decided to finish the trip by hiking to and camping at the most popular spot on the AT in Maryland, Annapolis Rocks.

Losing Motivation

Annapolis Rocks and Girls

We got there just in time for sunset and were greeted with the presence of females, Yes! They were out for a day hike. I don't remember their names, but I do remember the feeling of mutual adolescent fear and joy that overcame me whenever I saw an attractive girl at the age of 19. I was still struggling to learn how to talk to girls as an adult and outside of the social structures of high school and junior college. I don't think I was very successful, but at least the sunset was nice! We spent the night reminiscing about our 4 days on the AT. Although we had failed our mission of hiking the state of Maryland on the AT, we did relish in the accomplishment of making it 30 miles. We spent that night in the Annapolis Rocks trail Shelter and got picked up by my Mom the next morning.

Sunset

Morning Day 5, Annapolis Rocks AT Shelter

I eventually did conquer all of Maryland's 40 miles and once I quit smoking was able to pull off a couple long-haul solo backpacking trips. I think my longest was just over 180 miles before I ran out of time off of work. Over the years, my fitness increased and I learned many basic outdoor skills which would later benefit me in Adventure Racing. In my last Adventure Race (before the knee injury) we managed to cover 30 miles in just over 13 hours as opposed to the 120 hours it took us back in 1996!