Thursday, May 28, 2009
A trail name at last.....
For those who have been inquiring...we have finally been given a trail name! For a while we were simply being called "The Canadians" but our new good friends Mike and Jarrod, who we met along the trail (there is a picture of them in one of our earlier posts) decided that "The 'eh' Team" was a better fit! Now all we need to do is choose which one of us is going to be Mr. T (I pity the foo)!
Tormented By a Mouse
One of our fellow hikers has been famously tormented by a mouse. First - at a shelter he discovered mouse feces on his SPOON in his dishes bag.
At the next shelter, the sound of a mouse chewing on something above his head drove him from the shelter in the darkness, only to have the sky open up above him and have him, his cell phone, his ipod, and everything in his tent get soaked.
In a picture below you will see a wanted poster that he produced for the mouse.
GOOD HUNTING MR. DAISY!
At the next shelter, the sound of a mouse chewing on something above his head drove him from the shelter in the darkness, only to have the sky open up above him and have him, his cell phone, his ipod, and everything in his tent get soaked.
In a picture below you will see a wanted poster that he produced for the mouse.
GOOD HUNTING MR. DAISY!
Rain, Rain, Rain...
Signing back in, now in the town of Franklin - just 10 miles off the trail. We've now passed the 100 mile mark (maybe 107?.... something like that).
The last four days have had more than their fair share of the bad weather part of hiking.
Saturday - Heavy rain. Tent and packs ended up in a puddle and had to be dragged to higher ground.
Sunday - Rain all day. Slept in the shelter. HARD rain throughout the night.
Monday - Rain for much of the day. Slept in the shelter. Good idea because we had two HARD downpours and one particularly loud thunderclap in the night.
Tuesday - Rain most of the day. Hard rain before coming in to camp. Shelter was too small to accomodate everyone there so we tented and it rained HARD all night.
I'm trying not to sound too sour, but four days of being wet will put most people in a slightly "damp" mood so we felt due for a day to dry out.
The great part about the last few days, though, has been the company. We've fallen in with a very fun group of people with a few coming and going all the time. Everyone experiencing the same joys and wet-ships, helping each other along, and laughing together at the end of the day.
Mostly we've hiked with a young couple and a good friend of theirs who are out for several months, like us, and (like us) taking their time and enjoying the hike. They have two dogs along with them which has brightened up camp life - especially for Em. Another couple out for two weeks with their dog has also joined our motley crew of sopping adventurers. As we've hiked we've run into many people going slower than us and many more going faster than us. One couple, a group of "Ultra Lighters" passed through camp one morning trying to AVERAGE 24 miles per day. A ridiculous number, but made easier by their ultra light packs (ultra light means wearing only tights, running shorts, and a T-Shirt and carrying a 15 pound pack!).
Yesterday we decided to take one of the "Cheater's Trails" - a side trail that cuts out some of the AT - and were treated to a wonderful walk down a cascading river. One of the hightlights so far (and made 'more cascading' by all of the recent rain).
Dry now, we are taking a day to rest and then hit the trail again. The weather reports are calling for thunderstorms every day for the next week but we have confidence that weather reporting is a tricky business!
Lots of Love,
-Matt + Em
The last four days have had more than their fair share of the bad weather part of hiking.
Saturday - Heavy rain. Tent and packs ended up in a puddle and had to be dragged to higher ground.
Sunday - Rain all day. Slept in the shelter. HARD rain throughout the night.
Monday - Rain for much of the day. Slept in the shelter. Good idea because we had two HARD downpours and one particularly loud thunderclap in the night.
Tuesday - Rain most of the day. Hard rain before coming in to camp. Shelter was too small to accomodate everyone there so we tented and it rained HARD all night.
I'm trying not to sound too sour, but four days of being wet will put most people in a slightly "damp" mood so we felt due for a day to dry out.
The great part about the last few days, though, has been the company. We've fallen in with a very fun group of people with a few coming and going all the time. Everyone experiencing the same joys and wet-ships, helping each other along, and laughing together at the end of the day.
Mostly we've hiked with a young couple and a good friend of theirs who are out for several months, like us, and (like us) taking their time and enjoying the hike. They have two dogs along with them which has brightened up camp life - especially for Em. Another couple out for two weeks with their dog has also joined our motley crew of sopping adventurers. As we've hiked we've run into many people going slower than us and many more going faster than us. One couple, a group of "Ultra Lighters" passed through camp one morning trying to AVERAGE 24 miles per day. A ridiculous number, but made easier by their ultra light packs (ultra light means wearing only tights, running shorts, and a T-Shirt and carrying a 15 pound pack!).
Yesterday we decided to take one of the "Cheater's Trails" - a side trail that cuts out some of the AT - and were treated to a wonderful walk down a cascading river. One of the hightlights so far (and made 'more cascading' by all of the recent rain).
Dry now, we are taking a day to rest and then hit the trail again. The weather reports are calling for thunderstorms every day for the next week but we have confidence that weather reporting is a tricky business!
Lots of Love,
-Matt + Em
Friday, May 22, 2009
The Shelter Setup
The AT is an incredibly well maintained trail. Spaced along the trail, all about a days hike apart, are shelters built and maintained by trail volunteers.
We haven't been sleeping in the shelters but it is always nice to camp nearby because of the excellent bear bagging system. A long steel cable is strung between two trees with four bag hooks on pulleys along the cable. Bears can't reach it (I try every night to jump and touch our food... while doing my best bear roar of course) and can't bite or tear through the cables attached to the tree. Very clever indeed!
Mouldering toilets are another great feature. The waste is kept above ground and is composted.
We haven't been sleeping in the shelters but it is always nice to camp nearby because of the excellent bear bagging system. A long steel cable is strung between two trees with four bag hooks on pulleys along the cable. Bears can't reach it (I try every night to jump and touch our food... while doing my best bear roar of course) and can't bite or tear through the cables attached to the tree. Very clever indeed!
Mouldering toilets are another great feature. The waste is kept above ground and is composted.
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