Day 0: Driving to Crabtree Falls Campground August 15, 2014 – Friday So what is it with this Day 0 stuff anyway? Some of my trips have a Day 0 and others do not. Here’s the deal – Day 0 is used for trips that have a “staging day” that doesn’t involve any hiking. In this case, […]
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Shakedown Trip #3 – Coming Soon
Now you see why I was finally forced to write up a summary for the last trip. Because Shakedown #3 is happening soon. As in, TODAY. There is not much time before departure, so here’s the quick low-down for our itinerary. (Yes! Danny returns!) Day 0 – Friday, August 15, 2014 – Drive out to […]
Shakedown Trip #2 – Complete
Complete? Really??? After 8 weeks – I certainly hope so! Shakedown Trip #2 was a complete success and I am here to finally give you a summary of the trip (And pictures, of course). Before that, I have to say that I feel super good about this trip. Considering how Shakedown #1 turned out, almost […]
Shakedown Trip #2
Greetings everyone! It has been nearly a month since my last post, and I have been slow to get back into planning mode. Why? I’m sure I could come up with some creative reason(s), but the honest truth of the matter is that I have been lazy. Over the past month, nearly three weeks were […]
Day 3: Encore
First, I want to thank everyone for their thoughtful comments on the Day 1 and Day 2 posts. The response here has been almost overwhelming – in a good way! The primary purpose of this blog was always to serve as a journal of my efforts towards, and including, hiking the A.T. next year . […]
Day 2: Calf Mountain Shelter to Some Realizations
Well, from the title you can probably guess that things did not go as planned today. This is a very difficult post to write, but I intend this blog to be fully transparent. I will tell it like it is. First I will describe the day’s events. Second I will discuss what the implications are […]
Day 1: Rockfish Gap to Calf Mountain Shelter
It is now noon and I’ve just dropped off my car at Bear fence Mountain parking lot. Jim and Danny are driving me to my start point at Rockfish Gap. So, my total pack weight at this point is a considerable 32 pounds! Yikes. I was aiming for no more than 25 pounds. Already I […]
Day 0: Arrival at Base Camp
So here I am at “base camp” which is the Schairer Trail Center in the Shenandoah National Park. We just had dinner a couple hours ago which was cooked by this writer. The dinner closely resembled a beef fajita dish and was yummie! Presently, I am writing this entry (duh!) And then am off to […]
T Minus 1 Day: Final Preparation
So, this entry was supposed to occur on Saturday May 10th in the evening. It is now Sunday May 11th at 3:12am in the morning. In only 12 hours from now, I will be on the road heading to the Schairer Cabin in the Shenandoah National Park. Then on Monday May 12th, I will start […]
T Minus 3 Days: Crunch Time!
As the title says… I leave for my shakedown trip in only 3 days. I have to say that I’m super excited about it but am really feeling the crunch. Let me illustrate: See all of that? That is my gear and food for this 5 day trip – sans a couple of items. I […]