March

March 5, 2003- I can hardly believe that after decades of dreaming and a year of serious planning, that in a little more than a week I will be leaving for Springer Mountain. Planning an expedition of this nature is an enormous task that is compounded because there is so many unknowns.

The first step in the planning process is getting information. This involved getting trail maps from the Appalachian Trail Conference and the Thru-Hikers Handbook a guidebook published by the Center for Appalachian Trail Studies. The guidebook is updated every year and lists in sequence the mile points, shelters, potential campsites, landmarks, points of interest, possible water sources, and nearby towns where re supplying may be possible; some towns are just too small to support a grocery store. While knowing where re supply points are important knowing where there aren't any are even more important. There are a few sections of more than 100 miles where repurchasing supplies is not really feasible. I have to anticipate what I will need, buy it in advance, and arrange to have it mailed to me along the way.

I also studied weather and climate. It is important to know the type of weather conditions that may occur so that I can be reasonable sure I have the right clothing for the conditions. Who would have thought that I would be needing winter clothing during March, April, and half of May. I would be having severe problems had I just brought my early summer clothing.

Communications, finance, and transportation were other issues that needed to be worked out. Just because I plan to be gone for about 6 months doesn't mean that my life in Louisville is over. I and my family will still need to communicate, cell phones are not an option because they are extremely unreliable considering climate and mountain conditions. I will need to have money to pay for food, laundry, fuel, and other small items and many places in the area I am going through will not accept checks or credit cards so I will be paying cash most of the time. I did not feel comfortable starting a hike with $3,000 cash in my pocket so I had to find a way that I could start with a smaller amount of cash and replenish it as I traveled. I had to figure out how to get to Springer Mountain in Georgia and how to get home from Mt. Katahdin in Maine. I still haven't figured out that last part yet. Mt. Katahdin is in a remote part of Maine. There is no bus service, or anything else for that matter and very few roads in the area. All I know at this time is that other people have figured out how to get home and I guess I will be able to do so as well.

March 6, 2003- I've purchased the last of the supplies that will have to be mailed to me and have organized them into boxes and put mailing labels on the boxes. My son has agreed to be my quartermaster and will be mailing the packages to the appropriate post office for me to pick up. Many towns have a post office even if they have little else. He will be mailing the boxes about 2 weeks prior to my departure. If I either get ahead or fall behind my schedule by more than 2 or 3 days, I will have to notify him so that he can adjust the mailing schedule.

March 8, 2003- With little more than a week before I leave, I am still mulling the problem of who should I inform that I am leaving and what I am trying to do. Immediate family members are an obvious choice but beyond that it gets more than a little complicated.

The trip is long and difficult enough without carrying the additional weight of the expectations of others. It will make it very difficult to stop and come home after 2 or 3 days even if I decide that it is in my best interest to do so. On the other hand, the support and encouragement of friends back home may bolster the motivation to continue on when things get a little difficult as I'm sure they will. The matter of other's feelings come into play. I wouldn't want to hurt someone's feelings by inadvertently forgetting to tell him or her what I was up to.

I mulled these things over and decided not to try to keep my plans a closely guarded secret. Rather than call or write to people and risk forgetting someone, I've decided to generally broadcast my general intentions. I figure, if I decide to come back in 2 or 3 days the worst that will happen is that everyone would have a good laugh and then we would all get on with the rest of life.

March 9, 2003- I guess it's time to explain how I became known as gray ghost. Basically, I can make myself invisible. No, I haven't lost touch with reality but I have noticed that I have the ability to be in a room full of people and have no one realize that I was there. I frequently enter a room and watch everyone jump when I make a noise or do something to attract attention to myself. Other people can do this as well but they don't see it as a gift or talent they just get frustrated or upset that no one noticed them.

At any rate, this talent has come in handy many times. Scout leaders will generally recognize that their Scouts are basically good guys but that they are still boys. As boys, they will sometimes plan to engage in an unauthorized activity. They are quite amazed, that when they show up at the designated place and time, they find me standing there causing them to abort their planned activity. They soon became convinced that they had a traitor in their midst. In order to prevent in inquisition, I confessed to having overheard their plans because they discussed it while standing around the picnic table at which I was sitting. They did not believe me. I then started adding my comments to their planning sessions just so that they would be aware that I was there listening.

Eventually, they started calling me Ghost.The name appealed to me. When I became involved in hiker circles I became aware that there were a lot of Ghosts already so I appended Gray onto it in order to differentiate myself from the others.

March 11, 2003- I've spent most of the past 2 days getting caught up at home. Just because I'm leaving for a while doesn't mean that I get to neglect the other part of my life that will remain in Louisville. I went to my last Scout meeting last night. The kids have formed a pool with me as the subject. They were giving their estimates on how long I will last. The estimates ranged from 1 and a half hours to 4 months.

March 13, 2003- Only 4 days left to go and it seems like I still have a million things to do at home before I leave. It's probably just as well that I am so busy because I have little time to think. When I start to think, doubts start creeping in. I start feeling between anxious and terror stricken. After all I've never done this before. I've hiked, camped, and backpacked for as long as a week at a time before and enjoyed doing so. However, I am leaving my home and family for up to 6 months. I haven't done that since I came to Louisville from New York over 30 years ago. Back then, I was too young and immature to realize or understand what I was leaving and saw only the opportunity to to see and experience something new. Now the emotional costs of leaving loved ones is a lot higher.

March 16, 2003- I am still scheduled to leave tomorrow as the countdown continues. I finally seem to have a handle on the things that I had to catch up on before I go. I don't know whether that's a good thing or not because with little to keep me occupied I feel the tension rising. By the way, I made a mistake and checked the long rang weather forecast for north Georgia. It said, Monday night- chance of Thunderstorms, Tuesday- chance of thunderstorms; Wednesday- chance of thunderstorms, Thursday- chance of Thunderstorms. I guess I had better get used to it. It's a good thing I have my trusty umbrella though.

March 17, 2003- This will be the last entry for a while as I am leaving Louisville today. Technically speaking I'm not leaving till tomorrow as there is only 1 bus going my way and it leaves at 12:40am. This should put me in Georgia by noon tomorrow. At that point I will have to make a decision. After having ridden a bus all night should I start out and try to get a few miles in before dark or should I find a hotel/motel/campground, get a good nights sleep, and start early the next day. I guess I'll have to wait till the time comes and see how I feel.

At any rate any apprehension has abated and I am feeling very calm. The undertaking no longer seems so huge as I realize that I really don't have to be gone 5 to 6 months. Each day, I will be able to decide whether or not I should come back home. Perhaps that's the secret, taking each day as it comes with the knowledge that I am capable of handling whatever comes along that day.

March 18, 2003- Being warm and dry does a lot for one's attitude. A very short while ago I would have started this ."Hello muddah, hello faddah". In short I was cold, wet, hungry, and out of water. I am still out of water, but 1 out of 4
I can handle.
I am camping atop Frosty Mtn after having climbed more than 2,000 ft over 4 miles to get here.
I originally didn't plan to hike any today since I was up all night on the Greyhound but I couldn't sleep & decided to cover a little ground. It was overcast, but not raining. Conditions soon changed as the skies opened up. I found a level spot to camp and called it quits for the day.
Stopping location Frosty Mountain, 4.5 miles from start of trail

March 19, 2003- Woke up at 7:15 wondering if I was still in Kansas. Had a terrific wind storm and then thunderstorm last night. The wind was so severe it pulled the tent stakes from the ground, causing the tent to fall in. Every thing I own is now soaked and it is still raining. Decided to stay put until it stopped, which it did around 11:00. Rain turning to sleet started again, continuing to drench me.
Finally, made it to Springer Mtn Shelter at around 4:00 and I decided to stop for the night, having hiked 4.2 miles and covering .2 miles of the Appalachian Trail

Note: I subsequently learned that wind speeds were between 40 and 50 mph.

March 20, 2003- The trail moderated today. In fact there were a few miles that were actually easy, although there were a couple of long uphill climbs at the end of the day. The threat of rain never materialized.
I am at Hawk Mtn Shelter tonight, having covered 7.5 miles today for a total of 7.7 miles of the Appalachian Trail

March 21, 2003- I'm settled in on the bank of Justus Creek, a nice quiet, peaceful spot. It was worth the effort to get here.
I'm about 15 miles up the trail now. It was 15 tough miles, with the last 5 miles being the most difficult miles I ever walked.
I climbed down off Black Mtn where I spent last night, up and over Sassafras Mtn, & then up and over Justus Mtn. I had been hearing about Sassafras Mountain for 2 days. It is the first single continuous climb of more than 1,000 feet. I did not find Sassafras to be that bad but the relatively small, anonymous climb right before it really got to me. Right now I am really tired.
Today's miles covered, about 7.5, making a total of 15.2 miles of the Appalachian Trail

March 22, 2003- Hated to leave Justus Creek this morning, but forced myself away by 10:00 or so. I just can't seem to get away any earlier. A beautiful, clear day, I could see for miles. Cloudy, foggy days have one advantage; you can't see how high you have to go. I am starting to impress myself, though.
At any rate, I hiked another 7 miles or so to Big Cedar Mtn an accumulated total of 22 miles.

March 23, 2003- A day of milestones. I woke up to another beautiful day and got an early start at 7:00am. I walked all day going up and down. Toward the end of the day I went over Blood Mtn, the highest pt of the AT in GA.
It seems that I don't have to stop as often to catch my breath; I only had to stop once on the 1,000 foot climb to the top of Blood Mtn.
I did have a little trouble navigating a huge boulder field on the way down.
I am staying at the Walasi-Y hostel in Neels Gap after covering a little more than 8 miles today. There are 5 of us here and we were offered a ride into town for an all-you-can-eat buffet, a bargain at 7.99.
I made it to the 10th percentile as 10 percent drop away before reaching this point. I was reading the small print on my map that says the miles I covered were perhaps the most rugged 30 miles on the trail. I can't say for sure yet, but I was told that the next 15-20 miles are definitely easier.
So far I've completed 30.7 miles

March 24, 2003- Left the Walisi-y hostel at 1:00. After a rather long climb out of the gap walking was on relatively level ground. Basically it was ridge walking for a mile or so, then a descent, a climb, and another ridge walk.
I lost the trail once. I came to the top of Cowrock Mtn and apparently picked up a deer trail and came down the wrong side. I had to re climb it or face a long walk around the base.
Hiked about 6.5 miles this afternoon.
Camping atop Wildcat Mtn.I didn't get here until after dark.This is my second thirsty night( the first being on Frosty Mountain during my first night out) as the water I expected to reach is about a mile away, down in a gap and I didn't feel comfortable making the descent in the dark.
36.9 cumulative miles completed

March 25, 2003-
Started early at 7:00 as I had a long day planned. Hiked all the way to Blue Mountain Shelter, a distance of 11.6 miles. Might not sound like much, but it is a long way for me, especially in these mountains.
The grade was moderate for the most part, although there was 1 short stretch where I had to cross a hillside that was covered with rocks ranging in size from a grapefruit to a breadbox . It was only about a quarter mile long but took about an hour to cross.
Got to the shelter at 7:30. Sharing shelter with Ranger Rick, Red, and Soynut.
Now completed 48.5 miles

March 26, 2003- Started late this morning because I planned a short day. My feet are kind of sore so I promised them a break. I've developed a few small blisters on my feet but with the exception of one, a large blood blister on the back of my right foot they are of litle concern. In the blister department I am not nearly as bad off as some other people. I am currently at Tray Mtn Shelter, a little more than 7.5 miles along.
The happy news is that in that distance I descended 1,000 ft, climbed 1,000 ft, descended 800 ft, and then climbed 1,500 ft. I was on level ground for less than a mile all day. Even so, I was finished for the day by 4:30, even though I had the time and energy to go further.I feel that I am getting much stronger.
In the shelter with me tonight is Red, Soynut, Coyote, and Xanadu. I've now completed 56.2 miles.

March 27, 2003- Writing from the Blueberry Patch Hostel located somewhere between Dicks Creek Gap and Hiawasse, GA.
Started hiking at 8:30 finished at 4:30. Total distance covered today is 10.6 miles. I could have gone further but I needed to get into town for supplies. I am currently at milepoint 66.8
Snow is in the weather forecast

Decided not to stay at the Blueberry Patch as it was 8 miles from town and I needed to be in town to resupply. Talked to a couple, Jason & Sarah, and we decided to split the cost of a room in town. Called the Hiawassee Inn and they sent a shuttle up for us.
The motel looked like a MASH Unit for hikers. Met many people that I hadn't seen in many days. Some completed the first 66 miles in 3 or 4 days but have been sitting here with infected feet from untended blisters, inflamed tendons, or injured knees. Many plan to be here a few more days.
In a perverse way, I feel a little gratified that my slow but steady pace has not caused me to fall behind the younger, more conditioned, more powerful people

March 28, 2003- Left Hiawasee a little after 11:00 and started hiking by noon. By about 2:45 I was at Plum Orchard Gap Shelter at mile pt 71.1
Stopped because I didn't think I would make it to the next shelter and I really wanted to be in a shelter with the threat of bad weather.
A fortunate stop because as I was unloading my pack one of my council (Note: Boy Scout Lincoln Heritage Council in Ky. and southern Ind).strips fell out and was immediately recognized. I had caught up with Graham Prather and his dog Harley from Crescent Hill. Graham is another injured hiker. He was told to take 4 days off and rest. He is doing this at the shelter rather than paying the associated costs of resting in town.

March 29, 2003- First for the exciting news. I am at mile pt. 78.4 which means, I am in North Carolina. It is raining. Now let's see, I started Georgia in the rain and now North Carolina. Sounds like the start of a trend. Hey, it's better than snow.
Didn't hike too far today, only 7.3 miles but they were tough miles. North Carolina greeted me with a steep 500 ft climb over a half mile, followed by a second 500 ft climb over a mile and a half. I'm also at a higher elevation. In GA the elevation range was 2,000-4,000 ft. From now on it looks like it will be 4,000-5,500 ft.
Need to stop now, getting cold. It is already below 40 and it is only 6:30. Overnight snow is still a possibility.

March 30, 2003- OK class. Today's word for the day is "snow." Woke up this morning and thought my tent was smaller and darker than usual. I looked out and found that an over night snowstorm left 4-5 inches of snow and it is still snowing. Survival, not miles will be the issue for today.
Things have taken a turn for the worse. Slipped on icy rocks while climbing down Yellow Mtn into Deep Gap and sprained my left knee. This will slow me up more.
Finally made it into Standing Indian Shelter. Only 4.9 miles made today, larglely because of ice, snow, and a sore knee.
83.3 total miles completed

March 31, 2003- Today's key words are "cold" and "pain". Woke up to a 10 degree morning and a throbbing left knee.I took 3 Ibuprofin and started trying to loosen up the knee. Couldn't get moving till about noon. It's a shame because the hiking was over the easiest terrain yet. Hiked 7.6 miles to Carter Gap Shelter. I've now completed 90.9 miles