I read accounts of people who did the trail before me. All indicated that the trail was a life changing experience. Although, I don't think any were able to fully explain how the trail changed them.
I did the trail as a spiritual quest. I was hesitant to do the trail without a hiking partner for fear of being alone on the trail. I was concerned about the uncertainty of trail life. I had no idea if I would even make it out of Georgia. The physical demands of the trail were intense. I wanted to know what it was like to do a long journey by foot. Others were more interested in making this an extended camping trip, and, therefore, did the trail at a much slower pace. There was something about walking and hard traveling that I wanted to experience. By the end of the trail, I was very comfortable walking alone for days not knowing what was around the next bend.
I no longer worry much about the future. The trail taught me how little I really need to be happy. Little pleasures like listening to the rain on the roof is so much more intense now that I know what it’s like to walk hundreds of miles in the rain in ankle deep muck. I still often have very intense dreams about the trail. I suspect that even now three months after leaving the trail that I still do not fully understand all of the ways the trail has changed me.
Monday, November 24, 2008
Trail Friends
I recently heard from Sherpa who was with Sonic and I the first few days of the trail. She wanted to retire this year, but her employer made her a three year offer she could not refuse. She only had a month on the trail before she had to go back to work. That was enough to really make her look forward to the trail in 2010 when she can finally retire. She hiked the trail with Low Impact (later Low). Low is a young man who I think just graduated college this year. Sherpa stayed in contact with several people Sonic and I knew at the start.
Low finished the trail in mid September after developing Lyme disease.
Shamrock left the trail in Vermont. I had heard that he was struggling mentally with staying on the trail. I would have expected him to have done the entire trail.
Sherpa said she shared a room with Stranger in Gattlinburg. Stranger's girl friend called to break up with him a short time later, and he did not have the heart to continue much longer after that.
Stanger was on the shuttle to Springer with Sonic and I.
Danger Mouse who was Sherpa's original hiking partner left the trail in Neels Gap with bad blisters. I remember eating lunch with them while Danger Mouse was trying to tape her blisters. Sherpa said that Danger Mouse was not intending to hike the entire trail. Leaving in Neels Gap just prevented additional pain.
Unicorn and Pegasus left the trail about midway when Pegasus developed a leg injury. They picked up a dog along the way. Many people found dogs along the way. Dogs seem to find their way to hostels.
Starts Slow and Taper Off were another couple that Sonic and I first met at the Marta station in Atlanta, and who was on the shuttle with Sonic and I to Springer Mountain. Starts Slow had gall bladder surgery a few weeks before leaving for the trail. She kept getting sick on the trail, and then got off to do support for Taper Off. No one knows if they made it or not.
Bundy, Caboose, and Van Sherpa all dropped out before Damascus. They were providing support for Zero Zero who is blind. Zero made it to Damascus with someone else he met on the trail, which is an incredible accomplishment. I can not imagine being blind on the trail. I struggled with staying on the trail at dusk. No one knows what happened to Zero after Damascus.
I did not know Toe Socks or Chaco. Sherpa said that Toe Socks broke her leg in PA or NJ. They will be finishing the trail next year.
Tiger Balm and Katahdin Kid both left the trail due to injuries. They are a retired couple that Sonic and I shared a trailer with at the Cloud Nine hostel, and who were on the shuttle with us to Springer Mountain. I met them in Monson, ME just before the Hundred Mile Wilderness. They had both done between 800 and a 1,000 miles before injuries took them off the trail.
No one has heard anything about Red Eyes. I've tried to find him by doing searches for his name on Trail Journals. We know that he was arrested in the Shanadoahs for making threats at a shelter. He was found to have drugs on him, so an extra charge was added to his arrest. Thought Foot told me that he heard Red Eyes returned to the trail using a different name, but he did not know anything else. I'm not sure if he was even sure that the rumor of Red Eyes' return was reliable.
No one has heard anything about Road Rash or Hobo Joe. The last news about Road Rash was that his money was out by Front Royal in VA, and he had to leave the trail to make more money. I heard that he was not hiking with Hobo Joe by that time, and that Hobo Joe made it to Happers Ferry where all news of his whereabouts end. I found Road Rash's phone number, and will try calling him this week.
No one has heard anything about Doc after Harpers Ferry. Thought Foot told me that Doc got sick on the trail, and was found walking in the wrong direction. Someone helped him get to Harpers Ferry where news about him ends.
What surprises me the most was the number of trail injuries. More people than I would have expected slipped and broke or tore something. If I remember correctly, Kathrine was the name of the woman who broke her arm the first or second day out. Stranger found her and helped her get to a road where she called her husband. I think Kathrine was on the shuttle with Sonic and I to Springer Mountain, but I don't remember her. I know that Stranger was on that shuttle. I wonder if she is the red haired woman in the photo with Sonic and I on Springer Mountain.
I think nearly everyone was sick at least once. I got sick twice. I knew many with Lyme disease or giardia. I also knew many who never treated water, and did not get sick with anything serious.
I read that people in really good shape have a lower chance of finishing the trail than people less physically fit. My theory is that no one's tendons, ligaments, and joints are conditioned for the trail. Muscles respond quickly to exercise. These other things do not. I remember several youngsters like the Professor who wanted to do really big mileage early on the trail. The last I saw or heard of the Professor was when he was zeroing indefinitely at Uncle Johnny's in Erwin, TN with an ankle injury. I think anyone can push hard for a few days or even a few weeks. Few can sustain that pace from the start without injuries. The physical difficulties of the trail can not be over stated.
Low finished the trail in mid September after developing Lyme disease.
Shamrock left the trail in Vermont. I had heard that he was struggling mentally with staying on the trail. I would have expected him to have done the entire trail.
Sherpa said she shared a room with Stranger in Gattlinburg. Stranger's girl friend called to break up with him a short time later, and he did not have the heart to continue much longer after that.
Stanger was on the shuttle to Springer with Sonic and I.
Danger Mouse who was Sherpa's original hiking partner left the trail in Neels Gap with bad blisters. I remember eating lunch with them while Danger Mouse was trying to tape her blisters. Sherpa said that Danger Mouse was not intending to hike the entire trail. Leaving in Neels Gap just prevented additional pain.
Unicorn and Pegasus left the trail about midway when Pegasus developed a leg injury. They picked up a dog along the way. Many people found dogs along the way. Dogs seem to find their way to hostels.
Starts Slow and Taper Off were another couple that Sonic and I first met at the Marta station in Atlanta, and who was on the shuttle with Sonic and I to Springer Mountain. Starts Slow had gall bladder surgery a few weeks before leaving for the trail. She kept getting sick on the trail, and then got off to do support for Taper Off. No one knows if they made it or not.
Bundy, Caboose, and Van Sherpa all dropped out before Damascus. They were providing support for Zero Zero who is blind. Zero made it to Damascus with someone else he met on the trail, which is an incredible accomplishment. I can not imagine being blind on the trail. I struggled with staying on the trail at dusk. No one knows what happened to Zero after Damascus.
I did not know Toe Socks or Chaco. Sherpa said that Toe Socks broke her leg in PA or NJ. They will be finishing the trail next year.
Tiger Balm and Katahdin Kid both left the trail due to injuries. They are a retired couple that Sonic and I shared a trailer with at the Cloud Nine hostel, and who were on the shuttle with us to Springer Mountain. I met them in Monson, ME just before the Hundred Mile Wilderness. They had both done between 800 and a 1,000 miles before injuries took them off the trail.
No one has heard anything about Red Eyes. I've tried to find him by doing searches for his name on Trail Journals. We know that he was arrested in the Shanadoahs for making threats at a shelter. He was found to have drugs on him, so an extra charge was added to his arrest. Thought Foot told me that he heard Red Eyes returned to the trail using a different name, but he did not know anything else. I'm not sure if he was even sure that the rumor of Red Eyes' return was reliable.
No one has heard anything about Road Rash or Hobo Joe. The last news about Road Rash was that his money was out by Front Royal in VA, and he had to leave the trail to make more money. I heard that he was not hiking with Hobo Joe by that time, and that Hobo Joe made it to Happers Ferry where all news of his whereabouts end. I found Road Rash's phone number, and will try calling him this week.
No one has heard anything about Doc after Harpers Ferry. Thought Foot told me that Doc got sick on the trail, and was found walking in the wrong direction. Someone helped him get to Harpers Ferry where news about him ends.
What surprises me the most was the number of trail injuries. More people than I would have expected slipped and broke or tore something. If I remember correctly, Kathrine was the name of the woman who broke her arm the first or second day out. Stranger found her and helped her get to a road where she called her husband. I think Kathrine was on the shuttle with Sonic and I to Springer Mountain, but I don't remember her. I know that Stranger was on that shuttle. I wonder if she is the red haired woman in the photo with Sonic and I on Springer Mountain.
I think nearly everyone was sick at least once. I got sick twice. I knew many with Lyme disease or giardia. I also knew many who never treated water, and did not get sick with anything serious.
I read that people in really good shape have a lower chance of finishing the trail than people less physically fit. My theory is that no one's tendons, ligaments, and joints are conditioned for the trail. Muscles respond quickly to exercise. These other things do not. I remember several youngsters like the Professor who wanted to do really big mileage early on the trail. The last I saw or heard of the Professor was when he was zeroing indefinitely at Uncle Johnny's in Erwin, TN with an ankle injury. I think anyone can push hard for a few days or even a few weeks. Few can sustain that pace from the start without injuries. The physical difficulties of the trail can not be over stated.
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