The A.T.

Always been a dream of mine to do a thru hike on the A.T. I'm thinking right when I transition from a real job to consulting, I'll do it.. Some time in 20 years..

Here's a cool stop motion vid of it..

http://vimeo.com/20218520

So you're saying you want to be miniaturized ( a la "Fantastic Voyage") and injected into an automatic transmission so that you can perceive its inner workings from a fluid molecule's perspective?

You're even stranger than I first suspected. Maybe I'd better check out that video.

the A.T.

The video is a cool 6 minute stop motion journey on the A.T.

Oh, that A.T.

Yeah, it was a cool video.

Sorry, I seem to have contracted a bad case of smartass.

1988RedT2 wrote: Sorry, I seem to have contracted a bad case of smartass.

Didn't know the disease I had was contagious...

In reply to huge-O-chavez:

I have a friend who hiked it a few years ago by himself.

Last year he and his fiance paddled around Lake Superior.

next year he and his wife are paddling around lake Baikal

When my father hit his mid 50's he decided to section hike the trail. He goes for 3-7 day treks a few times a year. From his reports the first 2 days are the hardest as your legs get acclimated. This is from a guy who uses the treadmill at a 15 degree incline with a pack to prepare. There just aren't enough hours in the week to train to actually be ready. A thru-hike sounds like a blast, I just can't imagine any time in the next 18 years where I will have the free time. I hope you can make it happen. BTW-hope you don't mind mice.

Thru-hike- A dream of mine also.

With my knees beginning to cry out to Momma when I do nothing more than get out of the recliner, I may have to admit soon that the dream is a fleeting fantasy.

In high school, I spent one week doing all of Georgia, from Springer to the NC border. The next summer I went to the north end of great smokey national park and hiked south to the same place, taking about 2.5 weeks and a lot of NC and TN. At some point, I'd like to keep section hiking like that. I have a buddy who has about 500 miles left after doing sections over the years. Right now, any vacation time I have gets eaten by racing, but I'm gonna have to re-prioritize at some point.

Also a dream of mine.

I know I'll do it someday.

SVreX wrote: With my knees beginning to cry out to Momma when I do nothing more than get out of the recliner, I may have to admit soon that the dream is a fleeting fantasy.

Never say never. I thought my knees where trashed at the age of 30, but with the right ortho (he said no surgery) and some good PT work, I can do some jogging now without dying.

Believe it or not, there have been older 2,000-milers than Grandma Gatewood. Ernie Morris started section hiking the A.T. when he was 82 years old and finished in 1975 at age 86, becoming the oldest man to have hiked the trail. The oldest thru hiker is Lee Barry, who completed his fifth hike (three were section and two were thru hikes) in 2004 at the age of 81. Nancy Gowler, the oldest female thru-hiker, completed her second in 2007, at age 71. Read more: http://www.smithsonianmag.com/history-archaeology/Tales-From-the-Appalachian-Trail.html#ixzz1GwXkGsBf

My nephew is taking a year off between HS and college to hike it. Starting in Main and going south. That's some beautiful country. I couldn't hike it if my life depended on it though I would like to do the Palmetto trail here in SC.

It would be cool to do. Its been way too long since I have been backpacking.

This is a really good book about hiking the A.T. http://www.amazon.com/Walk-Woods-Rediscovering-Appalachian-Official/dp/0767902521

Bryson's "A Walk in the Woods" is a lot of fun. I just finished "End To Ending" by Tanner Critz, a somewhat more charming look at the AT. I don't read many books twice. PM me if you'd like it.

huge-O-chavez wrote:

SVreX wrote: With my knees beginning to cry out to Momma when I do nothing more than get out of the recliner, I may have to admit soon that the dream is a fleeting fantasy.

Never say never. I thought my knees where trashed at the age of 30, but with the right ortho (he said no surgery) and some good PT work, I can do some jogging now without dying.

Thank you for the vote of confidence. However, I've got a lot more than 30 years in my knees, and the lack of any kind of of health insurance (coupled with a fairly modest income) make it pretty unlikely I'll be having any ortho or PT work done.

But a feller can dream...

huge-O-chavez wrote:

1988RedT2 wrote: Sorry, I seem to have contracted a bad case of smartass.

Didn't know the disease I had was contagious...

Be careful. It can leave you open to opportunistic infections and you can get case of dumbass really easily.

I have a dream that people will stop using abbreviations that no one understands...

SVreX wrote: Thank you for the vote of confidence. However, I've got a lot more than 30 years in my knees, and the lack of any kind of of health insurance (coupled with a fairly modest income) make it pretty unlikely I'll be having any ortho or PT work done. But a feller can dream...

Yeah I kinda hurt my legs with all the powerlifting I used to do... 400lb squats and deadlifts put a toll on your body.

http://runningtimes.com/Article.aspx?ArticleID=9911 <-- Try a foam roller. It'll hurt; bad. But if you stick with it, I'll bet your old knees will feel better. That sucker worked wonders for me. My Farther in Law had a great deal of knee pain recently. His knee was fine, just a tight IT band and really tight quads(just like me).. The fancy in house PT/Trainer they used brought out 2 things to help them out. The foam roller and a stretch out strap. You can use an Old dog leash for a stretch out strap.. Google the exercises. http://www.amazon.com/Stretch-Out-Strap-with-Booklet/dp/B000QM625E/ref=pd_sbs_sg_1

stuart in mn wrote: I have a dream that people will stop using abbreviations that no one understands...

I second that.

stuart in mn wrote: I have a dream that people will stop using abbreviations that no one understands...

I have a dream that others will be more informed...

Is this code for you want a south american mistress ?

Stop by my house on the Vermont leg for a warm meal.