Welcome, please, introduce yourself

#41

Hi everyone! My name is John, and I am from Canton, Ohio, home of the Pro Football Hall of Fame for you football lovers. I am a Firefighter/Paramedic by trade, and I am returning to my love of the outdoors and hiking and many, many years off. I have a plan to thru-hike the AT in 2020, and have set up my trail journal at www.trailjournals.com/buckeyebif. I’m in the infancy of acquiring my gear, and am looking for any and all suggestions/recommendations. Thanks in advance, and I look forward to reading everyone’s posts!

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#42

Semper Fi hizzizle!!

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#43

The Appalachian Trail thru hike has been a distant dream of mine since first viewing the white blaze, etched into a tree on a section of the trail in the Smokies, while hiking with my wife, some 15 years ago.

We both retired in early 2013, spent two and a half years cruising The Great Loop, and the last year and a half RV-ing from Connecticut to Washington and the Canadian Rockies.

Family and friends kept asking us “what’s next?”. Why, the Appalachian Trail just seemed to be within the natural progression of our retirement adventures. Although my wife will not be hiking with me, she, willingly, will be my hike ground support crew, without whom I’m certain, I would have difficulty navigating all the backstage dynamics to have a successful endeavor.

We’re currently home in the panhandle of Florida through the Holidays, with the children and grandchildren. Backpacking gear is being collected and training has commensed. Very little elevation changes here, as expected, compared to our day hikes in the Rockies, Glacier NP, Canadian Rockies and northern Cascades.

I’ve chosen an April first start date, not too early, and hopefully, not too late. Our plan is for me to hike to Harper’s Ferry, NOBO, then drive RV north to Maine and hike south from the northern Trail terminus, Mt. Katahdin. Several family and friends have voiced desires to join me for a day/s on the Trail. I hope everyone is flexible, as I envision timeline logistics and planning, more than a week or two in advance, will be unrealistic.

I have never had much discipline to contribute to a personal journal of any kind, short of a ship’s log, so this first entry is just a start of a beginning a new adventure, backpack hiking the AT.
I look forward to gleening as much information from past and present hikers as I can.

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#44

Hi all! My trail name is Froot Loop. I completed a NOBO hike of the AT in 2012 starting March 7th and finishing August 12th. I kept a journal for the first month or so of my hike but it became hard to keep up. I did keep a physical journal for most of the hike and hopefully will go back and add the entries I missed.

Froot Loop AT 2012

I also made a photo montage of my hike here:

Froot Loop AT Hike video

I worked selling outdoor gear for three years after I hiked and am now a Firefighter/EMT and volunteer SAR in Virginia. I am still an avid hiker and have now started hiking with my two dogs.

If anyone has any questions about gear, hiking, or anything else I am happy to give my help. But the best advice is always to hike your own hike :wink:

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#45

Hi. My Trail Name is The Georgia Peach. I started hiking the Appalachian Trail in 2016. I’ve hiked 1,032 miles from Amicalola State Park and Falls in Georgia to Harper’s Ferry, West Virginia. I plan to continue my hike northward to MT. Katahdin in 2018.

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#46

I am Mountaineer and enjoying my section hikes on the AT.

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#47

Welcome Mountaineer! My section hikes have all been in/near the Shenandoah National Park in the past year. Might I have passed you at some point?

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#48

I’m retired Air Force, currently residing in Paris, Texas. I’ve hiked sections of the PCT (1000 miles), the AT, the Colorado Trail, the Ouachita Trail, and the Florida Trail. I’m currently gearing up for a winter hike of the Florida Panhandle and planning on hiking the AT next year.

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#49

Is your hike going to be in 2018?

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#50

Yes, April first, from Springer Mountain NOBO to Harper’s Ferry, flip flop to Mt. Katahdin, SOBO.

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#51

Oh! OK, I was just wondering, I didn’t see a year date listed. I’m planning a 2019 April 1st start of a Thru-Hike. Tried doing a Thru in 2015, injuries forced me off the trail, so I’m giving it another try.
Hoping to do a “Sheltowee Trace/Benton MacKaye Trail” hike in 2018.
Good luck on your hike.

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#52

Paul Geyer, AKA Chessman, Tallahassee Florida.

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#53

Welcome, Chessman. Good Luck on your upcoming hike.

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#54

Hello, I am Goat, or Joe if you prefer. I have been hiking and backpacking for a little more than a decade. I prefer long distance treks, but my other commitments will keep me on the weekender side of things for the next decade. As such I have joined up here and I am posting my journals from past hikes as I slowly transcribe my handwriting.


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#55

We started the kids off on short walks, overnight. At first they would carry just a little day pack with nothing but their snacks & Stuffed animal. Each year we added a bit more, Lunch, then their clothes, their sleeping bag… etc. They loved camping out. My son carried a full pack (minus group food) through the Maine wilderness when he was 10, started when he was 4,

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#56

Trail name is Stumpknocker. I’m fairly new to backpacking compared to a lot of the hikers I know. Stepped foot on the Appalachian Trail for the first time in 2001. I try to hike some of that trail each year.

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#57

Hi everyone! My name is Jessica, I don’t have a trail name just yet. I am doing a 2.5 month section hike of the AT this spring/summer!

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#58

Recently retired federal law enforcement game warden…I’m also a retired Navy officer. Now entering my 4th childhood! I hope to thru-hike the AT thru-kike in 2018.

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#59

Hi y’all,
Stuck in Ohio reminiscing about my backpacking days! My backpack is mostly reserved for international travel these days, but looking to find some trail time again next spring. Logged about 3500 miles between 2000 and 2009, including an AT thru-hike in 03’, haven’t done to much since then. Hope to get back out and meet you all under the stars!

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#60

Hello everyone,

Feel free to call me Hyacinth. It isn’t my real name but I never learned of trail names before until I became an adult and haven’t built up…whatever it is you do to get a trail name. I hiked a bit when I was a child but once I became a teenager didn’t do much hiking anymore. I have at least two specific trails in mind, both centered in my state, but need to work up the muscle mass and energy to do said hikes. Anyway, I got the invite to join the forums and figured I’d come by and say hello.

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