The Sisyphus Comments

Finally – Just Doing It! – Day 1

After a Friday meeting delayed my departure, I had to make a small adjustment to my backpacking plans so I decided to jump on the Appalachian Trail near Glasgow, VA, where the trail crosses Virginia Route 130. I mean it looked easy enough. The Virginia Scenic Highways map that I have had in the car since George Allen was Governor made it look like all I had to do was go north on the Blue Ridge Parkway and jump off where it intersected with 130. Unfortunately, they apparently made no attempt to accurately depict distances on the map so we spent 40 minutes hunting for the entrance to the AT before I finally broke the “Man Code” and asked for directions at a local campground.

After locating my starting point on the north side of a foot bridge across the James River, having my son take the obligatory start pictures and hoisting my 32 pound pack, I was off on another one of my masochistic journeys. Fortunately, I only had about 2.2 relatively flat miles to cover before reaching my first campsite. It had been quite some time since my last trip so the internal pack frame will take time to mold itself to my back. It also takes a lot of fiddling around with the straps to get the pack to ride in just the right position. Unfortunately, when I got into camp, I adjusted my waist belt in the opposite direction that I should have in order to ease the pressure on my shoulders. I did finally figure out my error late the next day – after a painful morning of hiking.

The best thing about the AT is the people that you meet. They are always an eclectic group from diverse locations with lots interesting stories to tell. AT hikers use “trail names” which are similar to the “handles” used by CB radio operators. It is not unusual for a group of hikers to spend days, weeks or months hiking together without ever knowing each other’s actual names. I usually go by “Cobbler”, which of course is synonymous with shoemaker.

When I arrived at the Matt Creek Shelter, my campsite for the night, I was greeted by three other hikers who were already enjoying their evening meal. I did a quick site reconnaissance and found a relatively level tent site on the other side of the creek. I set up my little two person North Face Tadpole freestanding tent, rolled out my self-inflating sleeping pad and spread out my sleeping bag. It is always tough to decide whether to bring along my tent since it weighs in at 4.5 poinds – roughly the same weight as two liters of water. This time of year the bugs can be terrible and the tent provides luxurious protection against those little nasties but that extra weight exacts a toll on my old legs as I hump those mountains. In addition, I opted for a fleece sleeping bag as opposed to my normal goose down bag. I prefer the $9.00 Walmart fleece during warm weather since it whisks away and absorbs moisture. I also have to admit that I brought along one “total” luxury item – a Thermarest pillow that I got for Christmas – and I loved it! A few years ago, I would have made fun of anyone who humped a pillow on the AT. However, time and older muscles have sure changed my attitude about such things.

After I finished getting my living quarter set up, it was time to replenish my water supply. Drinking water directly out of a spring or creek is a risky proposition so I filter my drinking water with a Sweetwater (now owned by MSR) hand pump filter. After about 8 – 10 minutes of pumping, I had three liters of potable water. The term “potable” actually comes from the Latin term pōtāre which means “to drink.” That is the extent of my Latin knowledge but I like to use “potable” since it is a neat word and it makes me sound like a backpacking veteran.

Next I had to fire up my MSR Whisperlite, white gas backpacking stove to heat up some water to make some instant coffee. Personally, I am addicted to Mill Mountain coffee and, outside of the woods, I firmly believe that “instant coffee” is an oxymoron but you take what you can get. Since I had already eaten supper before I started the hike, a Nutri-Grain bar and a cup of coffee was all I needed for the first night.

As I was enjoying my evening snack, I introduced myself to my camp mates. First there was “Meatwad’, an astro-physicist that is in the process of moving from a job with a university in Wisconsin to a position with an observatory in Tuscon, AZ. He was just stopping in for a meal but he did leave me with his philosophy on government intervention into our personal lives. He categorizes such things as mandatory helmet and seatbelt laws, abortion rights and drug use as areas where the government intervenes in “things that don’t hurt anyone.” I just let him vent but it never ceases to amaze me how people can have so much education and still be ignorant. He eventually packed up his gear and headed out to the next shelter.

My other two camp mates, Pundit and Rich (he hadn’t come up with a good trail name yet) were middle age section hikers from Pennsylvania. Section hikers are guys like me who just do sections of the AT when they have an opportunity. We are a little lower on the backpacking food chain than the hikers who are “thru-hikers” or “GAME.” In other words, they started at Springer Mountain, Georgia and are in the process of walking to Mount Katahdin, Maine – over 2,000 miles. Pundit is a newspaper journalist in Allentown, PA and Rich works in a Dixie Cup Factory in the same town. They were just good guys and we just sat and talked for over an hour until the mosquitoes became unbearable and I retreated to my tent. They did mention that I had a tough day of mountain climbing ahead of me the next day. Of course, almost every day on the AT includes a lot of mountain climbing so I wasn’t surprised. Check back tomorrow for an overview of “Finally – Just Doing It! – Day 2” and don’t forget to click on the “Comments” link below to leave a comment.