Average People; Extraordinary Trail, Volume I - The Appalachian Trail , livre ebook

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Average People, Extraordinary Trail is written for anyone that has an interest in the Appalachian Trail (A.T.), or hiking in general. You don't have to be an experienced hiker, or professional outdoorsman, to enjoy a day, or a year, on the A.T.

Enjoy a "desk hike" while reading the author's daily journal entries from his 2009 A.T. thru-hike. Prepare for your own hike, or just learn a little about the Appalachian Trail. Each chapter has a planning section and an equipment section. Over 100 photographs are included.

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Publié par	eBookIt.com
Date de parution	21 février 2013
Nombre de lectures	0
EAN13	9781456603489
Langue	English
Poids de l'ouvrage	2 Mo

Informations légales : prix de location à la page 0,0500€. Cette information est donnée uniquement à titre indicatif conformément à la législation en vigueur.

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Average People; Extraordinary Trail
Volume I - The Appalachian Trail

by
Mark Allen

Copyright 2011 Mark Allen,
All rights reserved.

Published in eBook format by eBookIt.com
http://www.eBookIt.com

ISBN-13: 978-1-4566-0348-9

No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means including information storage and retrieval systems, without permission in writing from the author. The only exception is by a reviewer, who may quote short excerpts in a review.

About the Author

I was born in a typical 1960’s Pennsylvania “steel-town” called Franklin. I changed college majors a hundred times before simply ending up with enough credits to earn an Electrical Engineering degree from Wright State University in Dayton, Ohio. I earned a Military Operational Arts and Science graduate degree from Air University in Montgomery, Alabama. I also have a United States Air Force Aeronautical Rating of Navigator.

Because I couldn’t figure out what I wanted to do with my life, I enlisted in the military. Illustrating again that I had no direction, I served as an Administration Specialist, a Communications Engineer, a B-52 Instructor Navigator, and in various other positions. I retired from the US Air Force in 2007, after more than 24 years of service. I am now employed by MacAulay-Brown, Inc. as an Information Technology Analyst.

I’m an average guy! I’m of average height, average weight, average good-looks, etc. I had an average GPA through all levels of schooling. I had an average career in the Air Force. I drive an average car, and have average tastes. You get the idea.

I did do one thing that was extraordinary. I thru-hiked the Appalachian Trail (A.T.). But I’m still average. It’s the Appalachian Trail that made the trip extraordinary. A purpose for writing this book was to make sure that all those average people out there know that they too can hike the Appalachian Trail; and have this amazing experience. You don’t have to be an experienced hiker or professional outdoorsman. However, a strong desire to do it, and sense of adventure is required!

What qualifies me to be able to write a book on hiking without being an experienced hiker? I’m still asking myself this question! Sure, I did thru-hike the A.T. in 2009. But more importantly, I was an instructor in the Air Force for over 15 years, teaching young 20-somethings how to navigate in the B-52 Bomber. I understand how to take a subject and break it down, making it easy to comprehend. I totally understand that not everyone learns the same way; that not everyone navigates the same way; and, likewise, not everyone hikes the same way. I won’t tell you how to hike the Appalachian Trail, or what specific piece of equipment to use. I will make sure you ask the right questions and make the right considerations when contemplating your hiking plan or equipment selection, so that you can hike your own hike, and have a successful hike based on who you are!

Don’t worry if you are not an experienced backpacker, or professional outdoorsman. Average people hike the extraordinary A.T. every year. With a bit of careful planning and the proper equipment considerations, you can too. You will be challenged, but you’ll also be rewarded in so many ways. Are you ready? Let’s go hike the Appalachian Trail!

Introduction

Average People; Extraordinary Trail, Volume I - The Appalachian Trail is written for anyone that has an interest in the Appalachian Trail (A.T.), and long-distance trail hiking in general. The Appalachian Trail is an extraordinary trail, over 2000 miles long, that really can be enjoyed by anyone; even all of us average people! You don’t have to be an experienced hiker, or a professional outdoorsman, to enjoy a day, or a year, on the A.T.

Average People; Extraordinary Trail will take you on a “desk hike”; or prepare you for your own hike; or just teach you a little bit about the Appalachian Trail (A.T.)

If you work for a living, like most of us, and don’t have the time to get out on the Trail, the daily journal entries will take you on an A.T. hike from your desk. Don’t let your boss catch you! You’ll hike the Trail through the unedited words of Bison (Mark’s trail name), who hiked the entire Trail in 2009. You’ll experience the joy, pain, and wonderment found during his journey by reading what he actually wrote at the end of each day.

Every chapter includes a “Ramblings” section which will include some Appalachian Trail trivia, or maybe pass the mantra of another hiker, or simply relay some entertaining philosophical ramblings. These are included to educate, provoke thought, or simply put a smile on your face.

Each chapter presents a planning section. Even if you don’t actually plan on hiking the Trail, you can “pretend plan” your own hike and use your own self-knowledge to contemplate how you would design your Appalachian Trail thru-hike adventure. Approximately 1500 people attempt to thru-hike the A.T. each year. Only about 1 in 4 will actually succeed. What approach would you take for planning to spend six months straight in the wonderful wilderness of the eastern United States? “Plan” to complete your thru-hike!

Each chapter also presents an equipment section. These sections aren’t technical in nature, but more thought provoking. You’ll be asked to analyze questions and considerations concerning the gear that you would choose based on your personality and self-knowledge. Would you take a tent, or would you opt to carry a hammock? What type of stove would you use?

Take a break and get out on the A.T. Walk several days in a row in steady rain. Enjoy a week of mountain hiking under sunny skies through the White Mountains. Find ever-changing wilderness around each corner, while running into bears, snakes, and various other creatures; even a pair of moose. An A.T. thru-hike will give you time to really reflect on life and bring you peace and freedom known by few.

How to Use this Book

It is designed as a daily reader with each Chapter containing a segment of Bison’s 2009 A.T. thru-hike, from one supply point to the next. This format made for logical, natural breaks for the reader. Each chapter has a “Ramblings”, “Planning”, “Equipment”, and “Journal Entries” section. Obviously, you can read straight through the book while getting a feel for all aspects of an A.T. thru-hike.

If you are interested in only reading Bison’s Journal Entries, there is a link to the next section of Journal Entries immediately after the current section allowing you to “skip” directly to the next Journal Entry. Forgive the grammatical structure and punctuation of the Journal Entries. They were not edited; on purpose. They are simply a typed version of what is in Bison’s paper journals. Punctuation and grammar were maintained to help preserve the emotion of the writings.

So you’ve read the Journal Entries and now you would like to plan your own hike. You can skip from one Planning Section to the Next Planning Section using the links provided directly after each section. You can also skip from one Equipment Section to the next in the same manner.

Here’s how each chapter will be presented:

Chapter (#) - Chapter Title

Starting-location to finishing-location for current section of hiking.
Number of miles for this section; number of hiking days for current section.

Ramblings Section:

Planning Section:

Equipment Section:

Journal Entries for that section of hiking:

Website links were kept to a minimum since old websites are discontinued and new websites are established frequently. However, they are offered for organizations and sites that have been well established and are likely to continue for the foreseeable future.

Specific equipment makes and models were not mentioned in the text of this book (there are exceptions) as there is no single right piece of equipment that will suit every hiker. Instead, each hiker should seek that make and model of each piece of equipment that suits them perfectly and uniquely.
Chapter 1 – First Steps

Amicalola Falls State Park, GA to Neel’s Gap
30.7 mile segment (30.7 A.T. miles + Approach Trail (8.8) miles) – 5 days

Ramblings: Step Out

“A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.” Confucius

Set a date and get on the Trail. North, as it does with a compass needle, will guide you forward. One of the difficulties is just getting out there!

Planning: Finding the Time

Where does one start when trying to plan a six-month, 2200 mile hike from Georgia to Maine? A time honored approach to handling any major project is to break that project down into manageable parts. That’s the approach we’ll take together, getting ready for our hike of the Appalachian Trail (A.T.)

First, how much time do you have? Hiking the entire Appalachian Trail continuously (or in one season) is called a thru-hike. The average hiker plans on taking four to six months to complete the journey. However, don’t despair if you don’t have that much time. According to figures from the Appalachian Trail Conservancy (ATC), 20% of the people that have hiked the entire length of the Trail have completed their hike in sections. These hikers are called “section hikers.” By the way, people who have completed the entire Trail, whether in sections or during a thru-hike, are categorized as “2000-milers.”

If teaching is your profession, and you have your summers free, you could theoretically hike the entire Trail in 4 years. Simply plan to hike for approximately 45 days each summer. Some have taken many years to complete their section hikes of the entire Appalachian Trail. One could take an annual one-week trip to the Appalachian Trail and complete the entire Trail in approximately 30 years. Several hikers have actually taken over 30 years to hike the entire Appalachian Trail.