Loner's bday & Appalchian Trail blogs & videos

Tomorrow is Jeff aka Loner's birthday anbd unfortunately his sister, Beth, nieces, Kendall and Deven and I won't get to celebrate it with him this year.  I can'ty remember a year we didn't get to see him around his birthday.  But he is having his great adventure and a birthday he will never forget and we'll make up for it when he comes home, that's for sure.  We'll do a belated month of birthday celebrations.  So as Loner rests his feet, kick back, as family and friends do on birthdays, gather round meet the people we now count as out AT family!

And don't be surprised, as he months go on, the 2012 AT family gets larger as we communicate through rough e-mails, facebook, White Blaze and You Tube.
I complied this list months ago but never got around to posting it - so it's about time. Enjoy!  This is a list of  blogs, video blogs and websites which hold the AT family together, as they pass along important info and adventure stories, jokes and gear suggestions, but most of all camaraderie.  After all the AT thru-hiker class is a moving city of 2,000 folks and their support teamns, followers and future 2013 and 2014 thur-hikers.

 Fatherman, is ahead of my son,  and  Loner's been watching his videos since Fatherman took off from Springer a month before Jeff.  Over the course of Fatherman's You Tube video blog, Jeff learned a lot about the start of the trail and is now hiking two days behind him.  Loner hopes to meet him (and I've asked him to get me his autograph) because Fatherman has become somewhat of a father figure to hikers  who follow behind him.  Fatherman is very much a people person and his videos are populated with all kinds of folks, hikers, family me4mbers, college students our for a weekend. He lets know what's ahead to both hikers and families and keeps a great spirit as he hikes along with some of the same folks and then an ever changing cast of interesting characters, Medicine Man in his kilt.  Fatherman takes time to see the areas around and takes zero days too. He's proving to be somewhat of a celebrity this year.  He introduces the viewers to lots of other AT 2012 thur-hikers, section hikers and ridge runners, as well as showing lots of the trail, what the shelters are like in each state

BioptherBiopthera - is my second favorite - this is the video blog of Apache, a young guy from Boiling Springs, North Carolina. Loner found him and both he and I have been following him ever since before he left on his journey, as he he showed a number of instructional videos on how he made almost all of his gear DYI style.  He has a great approach to the trail, short of laid back and always enjoying the experience and has featured some interesting side tripos, including spelunking in a very narrow but deep cave.  Loner got to meet him a few states ago.

Another front runner is RedWhiteBlueist:  He's another front runner and while his videos are short he gives a hint of what's to come from those who are behind in the hiker bubble.  At the moment he's in Massachusettes and should be finishing in three or four weeks.

BLOG COMMUNITIES - where many AT hikers blog /journal on the same site

Trail Journals - blog forum for people hiking and preparing to hike the AT trail - bloggers can add photos, videos, dateline, postal drop list, etc.  Great site for AT hikers to keep up with your friends or family hiking the trail.

 White Blaze Forum -  for AT enthusiasts - has date based blogs by members and you can go to their profile from their most recent blogs. Folks who have hiked the AT or are currently doing so and family and friends - I guess, since they accepted me.

INDIVIDUAL AT HIKERS WEBSITES AND BLOGS

AT Class of  2012 text/photo blogs

 Journey North - Great writing, good pics, about his 2012 At thru-hike by Frenchy aka Matt French, funny writing, photos and videos:

Following Blazes, good writing, photos, stats of 2012 AT thru-hiker Rayo

Blog of Writer, scientist, P.J. Wetzel, 2012 AT thru-hiker : Wetzel is one of the early starters and frontrunners to Katadhin this year


http://blog.appalachiantrials.com/meet-your-2012-appalachian-trail-bloggers/



AT Class of 2012 thru-hiker video blogs

Biophthera - You Tube blog of Apache

Fatherman - You Tube blog of Fatherman


Red White Blueist - You Tube blog

Patrick - You Tube blog of Patrick from England

 Other AT Blogs and Websites


http://www.fivemillionfootprints.blogspot.com/

blog of Zach Davis/aka The Good Badger, AT thru hiker 2011, author of Appalachian Trials, funny, irreverent, profound, psychological, with video clips, posts, trail stories of him and his buddy Whoop, insights.  Also tech advice form a computer geek.  My Guru.

"My Walk on the Appalachian Trail, section hiker of the AT, Mike

http://blog.appalachiantrials.com/meet-your-2012-appalachian-trail-bloggers/

http://appalachianjake.wordpress.com/

A Trail Runner's Blog, Scott Dunlop, a tri-athelte and trail runner: http://www.atrailrunnersblog.com/

Blog of SOBO's, Jess and Andy:   http://appalachiansouthbound.blogspot.com/

Blissful Hiking:  Lauralee Bliss:  hiker's advice

On the Appalachian Trail - 2010 AT hike of Julie:

Life Behind Handle Bars, blog of cyclist Craig Ashely who may be planning a 2013 thru-hike:

Chris Miller's 2011 AT thru-hike

Loner at Tinker Cliffs

This series of photos is form a video Jeff aka Loner made by placing his camera somewhere on the mountainside and letting it film as he walked into view.  I'm so glad he did.  While I enjoy the hiker cam as he walks along so we can feel and see what he is, I really like to watch him as he tackles various parts of the trail.

Tinker Cliffs, like McAfee Knob and Angel's Rest is another iconic natural landmark along the Appalachian Trail. I don't think it's one of the most difficult, but I think hikers find it fun to challenge their bodies in different ways from hiking straight up a mountain or climbing up using the metal grab bars.

While Jeff has been a hiker for many years, he hasn't been a rock climber.  I know he has probably navigated rock faces in the Piedtmont foothills and Blue Ridge mountains where he hikes locacly on the border between Wetern South Carolina and North Carolina, but I'm sure each encounter is very different.  It appears that some of the rock climbing is one place where the hiking poles seem to be a hindrance rather than an aid.  On the flats and going down hill on paths they help ortect the knees by talking some of the weight off of them, but here they're just a nuisance hikers have to carry and climbing up rock faces they're just a hassle to the point where hikers throw the poles ahead of them, hoping they don't tumble down the mountainside so that the hikers can have their hands free to grab handholds in the rock.

Loner at Front Royal over 900 miles!

Loner took a zero day in Front Royal, over 900 miles now and has posted nine more videos at this you tube AT page of the Blue Ridge and Shenandoah Mtns.  Lots of critters in these mountains, deer almost every day, a number of bears, more snakes and his first turtle, bunnies and strange birds.
Town and museum stops in Waynesboro and Front Royal and running across shops and snack bars along the Shenandoahs at Skyland, Mountain View and Elkwallow, where he enjoyed the famous blackberry milkshake and a massive salty pretzel. The Virginia Trail Angels, not to be outdone by those in Georgia, Tennesee and North Carolina picked Loner and BI from Hampton, NH  up and drove them to the Dutch Haus in Montebello for a free lunch topped with their peanut butter chocolate chip pie. The scenery is beautiful, green and peaceful with many overlooks such as Spy Rock and the gorgeous valley below He walked through horse farms and hammocked on hilltops. Jeff crossed lots of cool bridges over over of mountains and thru the hills.

The views are gorgeous and Loner says the walking is easier and can do 20 to 22 mile days here - a big upgrade from 8 on those first newbie days on Spring Mtn.
 There a few AT traditions here such as on Priest Mtn. where at the shelter after Priest, thur-hikers are supposed to write a confessions in the shlter register.  Makes for good reading, I'm sure.  Someone should publish those volumes.  Jeff confessed to his fondness for the famous Virginia blackberry shakes. Further on, Jeff got to see a large collection of Native American artifacts.  Arrowhead hunting is one of his passions and before this trip he went kayaking three or so days a week to hunt local artifacts and has quite a collection. He has a number of videos on this hobby too, which can be viewed at CarolinaArrowheads. 
For the gear gurus out there, one of the video does a review of a beer can  camp stove.  Pretty impressive for such a small thing and a fave with the ultralight hikers. So far it looks like all of his gear has been perfect for him, I'm not counting shoes, because all hikers end up wearing more than one pair, Jeff just took it a bit further than most! He'll probably kill the third pair in Rocksylvania. 
But don't take my word for any of this.  It's more fun to watch the videos!

Mail Drop FROM Loner

A package of goodies from Loner arrived in my mailbox today - lots of pamphlets from Virginia, some great small books for his collection, one on Virginia Native Americans and another on Virginia History, business cards for me to include in his scrapbook with email addresses from other thru-hikers, and a flash drive with videos and photos.  Most of them are from the beginning of his trip so I'm only able to guess where he is now. 
He shipped the package from Waynesboro, so I imagine he is somewhere in the Shenadoah's, heading for the halfway mark. He mentioned in a comment on one of his videos that he left a book I sent him to read, Appalachian Trials by Zach Davis at the Dutch Hause in Virginia. I'm planning on buying a new one to keep in my library.
 I checked out the website and it looks like a great bed and breakfast who also cater to thru-hikers so I hope he was able to stay there one night.  I told him to leave the book behind somewhere as a tiny bit of Trail Magic so he didn't have to carry the extra weight since he's a gram weenie and tries to keep his pack weight down to 15 lbs. with water.
So once again  I'm getting to enjoy to beauty of his journey long distance and am busy planning spots we can stay when we drive up to Trail Days next year.
He'll probably have a fit I'm making all these plans, but he can go up in his camper and Beth and I and the girls can go separately so we can plan separate trips and meet there.  I already have a list of cabins and B&B's I want to visit.
And while I'm on the subject of mail drops - I'm learning they don't always work out.  Jeff arrived in Damascus, VA too late on a Saturday to food drops up, so decided to move on.   He left a note asking if they could be forwarded to Marion, which unfortunately did not happen, (maybe it disappeared), However, the lady at the Marion P.O. was so nice that she called the Damascus office and asked them to forward them to Pearisburg, which they did.  Unfortunately this ended up with loner receiving seven boxes in one drop!  Two I'd sent already to Pearisburg,  The bounce box and computer box Jeff sends ahead every two hundred miles and three my daughter and I sent to Damascus.  This is not such a good situation - you can have too much of a good thing when you have to carry seven boxes a mile to the hostel or hotel or figure out which ones to forward ahead. Luckily Jeff got a ride to the hotel.
 But at least he got almost everything (except for the 2nd half of his guide book, which if it was in an envelope ended up in a whole different room.)
So there you have it - the post offices in trail towns will do everything they can to get mail to our hikers, but coordinate with your hikers ahead of time, if possible, to avoid goodie overload!

Loner at 720 miles

Jeff aka Loner has now reached 720 miles and posted eleven new video's up on his you tube site, Loner AT 2012. He found an outfitter in Daleville so finally has good new shoes.  His first pair of New Balance lasted 630 miles and then he had to make do with a pair of wanna be Keds from the General Dollar for the next 90 miles because there was no outfitter in the town before Daleville.  He hiked one of the rockier more cliff side areas in those wanna be sneakers.
The lost mail drop boxes showed up - so Jeff ended up with 7 resupply boxes at one time. Not cool to carry a couple of miles to a hotel.  He had some trail angels give him a lift so that worked out and he bounced some of the food boxes forward. 
He finally got the copy of Appalachian Trials I sent him.  A great book by Zak Davis.  And he was able to buy another AT Companion since the second half of his did get lost in the mail, but the one he has now is last year's.  Hopefully it won't steer him too far off the current AT, but better than none.  He was walking the wrong way towards Pearisburg, but luckily he was pulled over at the side of the highway and the police officer was nice enough to tell him which way to go.
Check out the videos - some awesome scenery and some of the most celebrated spots on the trail such as Dragon's Tooth, Angels Rest, Tinker Cliffs and McAfee Knob, as well as a cooking lesson and a toga run to the laundry.
My computer at home isn't working right now so posts and photos will be few abnd far between.  But Jeff's videos more than make up for my silence.

The Flip Side

After my last post, I received a very important comment from Patty, mother of an AT hiker, named Rayo, who is a few weeks ahead of Jeff.
Patty reminded me of some very important points about being a family member of an AT hiker - the good things!
As we participate in their journey from afar, we are being introduced to a whole different side of life.  She reminded me of how much fun it is to talk about our sons wherever we go.  How satisfied we are when we find new kinds of trial mixes or good healthy dried fruit - especially at bargain prices; how we make lists of items to spice up a mail drop box or add to their calorie intake - very important right now since they're burning 6,000 calories a day.
I need to keep these good things in mind more often than my worries.  Because of Jeff's (Loner's) decision to walk the AT, I'm learning so much more about America, taking pride in it's people and character, as well as being newly awed by its grandeur and diversity.  I'm learning about the ecology of our country and how we have done harm, but also how many men and women have, and are working hard to find ways to preserve it, from the guy who picks up trash and packs it out, to our legislatures who pass laws to keep our natural beauty intact. Over the past fifty years we have protected thousaands of acres by creating our system of State and National parks and preserves.
 I'm learning the flora, fauna and animals which live only a half a day's drive away and I'm able to see America through new eyes - all because sometime last year my son made the decision to hike the AT.
I'm meeting new and interesting people who are learning these things as well from our soggy, tired but ultimately enchanted ambassadors for our nation: the hikers of the AT who take the time to blog, take photos, and post videos so those of us who can't, or won't ever have such an experience can at least get a taste from the comfort of our couch or safety of our computer chair.
I'm fortunate my son chose to hike now, close to his 40th birthday in July, when technology allows me to share it with him, instead of 20 years ago the wait for a rare letter could last weeks.
Because I forget to write these things, it doesn't mean they don't matter to me or I take them for granted.  Instead they are part of my everyday life now.  It's as if I'm learning a new language, culture, geography, history, science and psychology of our country and the warmth and concern within each American all at once. 
The Trip of Loner and every brave soul who has stepped foot on the trail has made me take more pride in America than any speech I've ever heard.
Hikers, nature lovers, wanderers throughout our public lands on foot are the true chroniclers of our nation. Without the rhetoric of politicians, the agendas of corporations, the petty worries and squabbles of a consumer-driven society, they see the purity behind the facade, the majesty of our mountains, the strength of the individual who meets nature as a follower or cooperator on an elemental level.
There is only the fog of fear to divert a hiker from the path, or the inability to trust his own unique instinct. Those who keep going despite four days of rain, falling apart shoes, eating cold food every day due to the ability to find fuel for their tiny stove will prove something to themselves about man and the stunning beauty of fourteen states over 5 million steps.
They are the true story tellers as they wind their way through the natural beauty of the mountains through the small towns of south, mid-America and New England - all encompassing different characters and cultures, but who as one united front prove over and over how people want to naturally help, give and care. We just have to be reminded to stop our everyday rush and the constant chatter in our brains to hear an old story told in many new and personal ways.

OCD mom: From Frantic Valley to Augmented Reality

As you might have noticed, if you've been anywhere on this blog, I suffer from  obsessive compulsive disorder, not in the way that people think of, such as hand-washing or meticulously cleaning your house all the time (my daughter claims that one) but in the way when I get into something, a new hobby for example or a new subject or interest, I am obsessed.
As evidenced by the fact that I've posted a good many blog entries on CarolinaATMom  since I started this blog about five weeks ago. It's was one of the methods I employed to  deal with my anxiety regarding my son, Jeff's aka Loner's Trek on the Appalachian Trail.
And there's about 5 more posts already written, waiting to be edited or linked with links or peppered with photos and flotsam and jetsam of AT facts or stats.  Even I think it's too gauche to post this many.
But I can't stop myself.

And the blog posts are just the tip of my AT obsession iceberg attempting to rival altitude of Mt. Kathadin. Behind the scenes there's hours of book reading (some books twice!), hours of You Tube videos, blogs and video documentaries including 2,000 Miles to Maine, a funny and sometimes irreverently honest film interviewing a cast of quirky hikers and one angry dog and  I just watched Trek - a vibrant, emotional and telling chronicle of four young men who take to the trail as the Four Horsemen and both the wonderful and the trying experiences they encounter. Beautifully photographed with stunning panoramic views which can't be caught in photos, this will be one I'll watch over and over, just like I do Loner's You Tube Videos.
I also can't resist stalking the Internet sites White Blaze  where AT hikers post journal entries, post questions, comments, help each other, sometimes argue about all topics related to the AT and Trail Journals a website of journals kept by thru-hikers over the years and updated as hikers can with smart phones, etc.
 I also find myself reading the crime reports and unfortunately forwarding them to my son as warnings about what to look out for.  While I believe the AT is as safe as any other part of the USA, the trail is almost a mini moving town and in any town things such as deaths happen. On the AT the dangers range can arise from hypothermia, heat exhaustion, falls, heart attacks. And yes, even violent crimes and murders do happen (such as a recent, May 10, 2012, attempted armed robbery on Beauty Spot Lookout on Unaka Mtn. in Tenn. to be addressed in another post). Loner had been there about a week before. It's just good be aware.
If I could find wild animal reports going over those for every 5 million steps my son will take on the 2,000 whatever it is, the mile count keeps changing miles, especially since my son as already dispatched one rattle snake to the side of the trail with the lure of the snake's supper and three bears, who thankfully ran away from him. .

So, am I the only family member, friend or, I admit sometimes overly involved mom out there?  (Peeking through the Internet telescope) Are there any other AT support teams who sometimes feel close to falling  over the cliff edge to Frantic Valley? Am I the only Mom who drops her life to peek in on her son's?  I read about these Augmented Reality Glasses Google is proposing to release later this year - it's a computer in a strange glasses/around the forehead headbandy thing, all futuristic which offers GPS, displays weather, has the ability to take photos, send emails, make phone calls etc. all in one tidy headset smart phone.  I told my son about them and asked if he'd wear them if he ever undertakes another adventure like the AT in the future so I could follow him every step of the way.  He was smart and refused.  I should have known better since the only technology he has on the trail is his camera. Am I alone? Am I crazy?
It would really be nice to know I'm not the only family member who's gone around the proverbial crook in the trail in this situation. 
My son would think so, hence up until recently I wrote this blog in absolute secrecy from my son. It was easy since he doesn't carry a cell phone or smart phone and has limited access to computers at hostels.
But now I finally feel I can mentally balance the idea of the valuable life transformation he's gifting himself against the worry I feel about the what ifs.

New Loner AT videos #'s 22-29

I just heard from my son Jeff, aka Loner who posted 7 new videos of his 2012 Appalachian Trail thru-hike up at his You Tube site Loner AT 2012
There's footage from Roan, TN to Marion, VA.  So he passed 400, mile, then 500 miles and crossed into Virginia within the past two weeks.  He'll be in Virginia about a month since it's the state with the most miles on the AT, 550 miles!  But it has a lot fewer high mountains, more farms and valleys and the beautiful Shenandoah so hikers make a lot of time and manage high mile averages while going through Virgina.  Loner decided not to stay in Damascus and wait on his mail drop - it would have been an extra 2 or 3 days in town and that can eat up a lot of a hiker's money.  He also wanted to get to his computer so he could download his videos so he headed north, met a lot of SOBO hikers and cyclists heading to Damascus but he saw bears, cows and ponies and visited or stayed in some cool hostels.  Black Bear Resort looks killer - we may have to stay there if we go to Damascus for Trail Days next year - which he says he wants to do.  He would have liked to have stayed but not that many days.  Bummer the P.O. closed at 11:30 pm and he missed three boxes of his food mail drop.  Hopefully they've bounced them ahead. He's glad to have run into some of the folks he's already hiked with on the trail!  Some days he hikes 25 miles and has lost 30 lbs so far.
Hope you enjoy the videos!

Appalachian Trials by Zach Davis review

It’s not often we see a Good Badger execute somersaults. But one, who chose to share his antics on the Appalachian Trail, did.  In the recently published,  Appalachian Trials: a psychological & emotional guide to successfully hike the Appalachian Trail, Zach Davis, the owner of the trail name, Good Badger, rolls from funny and glib to serious and profound, proving to be a complex person, as many are who attempt the AT and make it. Hikers and their families are lucky he chose to write such a book, an honest and astute take on the Appalachia Trail, and a must read for those who are currently, or will in the future, find themselves walking the 2,000 odd miles form Georgia to Maine. 

Zach’s not talking off the cuff but from cataloging both the inner and outer experience. His personal stories back up his psychological insights and mental hygiene. As Zach slogged the miles in the rain, climbed the rocky outposts, endured the Green Tunnel he took note of the AT’s effects on hikers both physically and mentally. He endured his own set of unusual trials while hiking, from being rejected for an important job he hoped to start after his hike, to contracting a debilitating illness while on the trail, which was not diagnosed until he was off the trail. 

Published on the heels of a number of memoirs and some incredible guide books, this is may very well become one of the most important books in the hikers prep box, simple because it addresses what Zach believes, to be the main reason hikers make it all the way.  Mental attitude. Appalachian Trials may prove even more important than choice of equipment or how many maps a hiker carries, because it prepares the long distance backpacker for what the mind goes through while pushing the body to such limits and how important the right frame of mind can be when confronting the obstacles of the self, including the interaction with society before and after the journey and most importantly each individual’s purpose and motivations for such a challenge.

Zach’s approach, reminds me of how crucial Carl Jung and Joseph Campbell viewed the role of quests, initiations and challenges in the invocation and development of the “hero” or the authentic individual, as Jung called it.

On those mountains, 100s of them, one must come to know himself inside and out without the trappings of society to protect them, and therefore must learn to rely on their own inner resources and strengths.  Sure there’s times each hiker curses the trail, but more times than most, it’s the opportunity to discover an inner ally. Out on the trail everyone is reduced to their absolute center – there’s no way to be fake to impress or best someone. Personas and habits we adopt to comply with society’s expectations slip away with the miles until every hiker comes to know their true self better than ever imagined. 

So far this review may make Appalachian Trials sound like a complicated book.  Quite the opposite. Throughout his book, Zach employs user friendly analogies anyone can relate to and offers solutions, methods, and techniques to better prepare both the hiker and the worried family back home as to what may, can and should happen while going through such an extreme experience for four to six months.

It’s practical, readable and most of all insightful, without being preachy or pretentious.  Zach’s humor, off beat, quirky and often self-deprecating proves this is a guy who can take himself seriously when he has to, but more often than not, will just as soon laugh at his foibles. He’s taught himself to be intuitively aware when of when it’s time to find a way around a mental mountain with the potential to come crashing down and therefore avoids or survives each setback. 

But Zach doesn’t stop there, he goes on to warn and suggest measures to deal with the post-trail let down, the adjustment back into society and how to use the new awareness gained from this pivotal life journey to found a meaningful and enriched lifestyle.

 My son Jeff or Loner, as he’s known on the trail, started his thru-hike on April 7, 2012 on the approach trial at Amicalola Falls. As a family member of an AT thru-hiker, I couldn’t wait to get my hands on this book. Once Jeff left, I found Zach’s Good Badger blog and read every word, hungry for more. Appalachian Trials delivered even more than I’d hoped.

Throughout Appalachian Trials, Zach makes user friendly analogies anyone can relate to and offers solutions, methods, techniques to better prepare both the hiker and the worried family back home as to what may, can and should happen while going through such an extreme experience for four to six months. It helps us understand why our family member or friends is taking on such a feat and what they go through en route, in addition to offering us ways we can offer them some advice without becoming obsessively worried.

While reading Appalachian Trials, I felt like I was sitting in a room with Zach, a large window to our sides, offering a panoramic view of the woods on a beautiful day, that’s how the conversational style of this book engages the reader.  I felt like I came to know Zach, as well a man, who while often exhibiting his off-kilter sense of humor, also, at the same time offered a thoughtful, insightful view not just of the AT but also of our society’s culture and how easy it is to forget one’s true self trying to measure up to outer standards.  On the AT, it’s just the hiker and nature, bottom line.  More than just a hiker’s backpack is pared down to the core necessities.   

I think this book is also a valuable resource and comfort to family and friends of long distance hikers since it offers concrete steps to take at all stages of such a life-altering journey. Of which there are more than the hiker expects: from the prep through the early trail anxieties to the endorphin highs spurned on by exercise and small successes, through the periods of boredom and possible depression during Virginia’s 550 mile Green Tunnel, where as Zach explains, the honeymoon stage is over.  Zach offers ways the thru-hiker can deal -   all the way to the exhausting, emotional and exhilarating summit of Mt. Katadhin.
 The writing in Appalachian Trials appears to be an effortless task on Zach’s part, so easily do we read it and understand his observations and advice. But, as an editor, I know differently. Pay attention to a normal conversation and you’ll hear how to rambles, is tangential, wanders off course, sometimes to never veer back, stops and starts, and sometimes ends abruptly without flow. Zach put more time and effort in completing this book than is evident on the surface, like taking a bad day on the trail with its missteps and lost footing, and using the time in the shelter of an evening to recall it with all its wonders and remarkable lessons intact.   

That’s the landscape of this book, the path Zach leads you on, not only on the Appalachian Trail but also in life.

Hammock Hanging Bears

Time for a little levity - if you've been reading this blog, you may recall that my son, Loner, is what they call along the Appalachian Trail, a "hammock hanger."  that means that instead of camping in a tent, he camps overnight in a hammock. 
I thought it quite interesting to discover that humans aren't the only ones who've mastered the rather (or at least for moments) have mastered the rather tricky art of hammock hanging.  AS any one whose tried it, it takes a bit of practice, balance and dexterity to position yourself just right - but once you do - heaven!
In addition to this photo, you can watch a brief video of a couple of hammock hanging bears - and it's not unusual to find entire families hanging around the hammock waiting for their turn.
So Loner, I hope you've figured out a strategy to evict these intruders if you find them squatting in your At living quarters!

Loner Vids from Gatlinburg to Erwin, TN

My son, Jeff, known as Loner on the Appalachian Trail, has added Videos #13 through #20 of his trip on his You Tube website now that he's in about 400 miles.
 It sounds like he's had all sorts of adventures from the hail storms to having to put his shoes back together with duct tape!  He's got videos and photos of everything from Cooter's Dukes of Hazzard Museum and skateboarding in Cherokee to some big time Trail Magic, bits on the Standing Bear Hostel and a new hostel,The Laughing Heart Lodge, 360 views from Max Patch bald, snow, hail, old plane wreckage, Hot Springs,  rattlesnakes (!), town life and more.

Jeff has happened upon a number of places and events which tie in with some of the many interests he's had in his life.  In his younger days he built a race car to look just like the General Lee so the trip to the Dukes of Hazzard Museum must have been fun for him.  And he's an indie film maker (previously of skateboarding and arrowhead hunting video)s so the indie AT film showing in Erwin by Miss Janet was a  serendipitous event, as was the vintage car show. Especially since, one time, he was restoring both a '55 Chevy car and truck.  It's almost as events along the trail were staged due to his perfect timing.  I've heard all kinds of stories about Trail Magic and how serendipitous things happen for AT hikers, as well as the odd rattlesnake encounter, and Jeff is certainly experiencing it all first hand. 

It's great to see him after two weeks and hear him laughing on one of the videos. I can tell he's already lost a lot of weight, just from his face.A diet of Pop Tarts and  Ramen Noodles will do that to you, but he fills up in town, that's for sure.
It's good to know he's having a great time, even though he's having to rest his ankle. He's a bit disappointed a number of the hikers he's been leap-frogging with are getting off the trail. 
Maybe he'll even post a few more videos before he gets back on the trail.
Oh and by the way, if you do view his videos, please take a moment and leave a brief comment.  They mean a lot to him and keep him inspired to continue his journey - especially on the tough days!

e-mail from the Good Badger

A while back I posted a letter on my blog which I had e-mailed to Zach Davis, 2011 thru-hiker and author of the book, Appalachian Trials: A Psychological and Emotional Guide To Thru-Hike the Appalachian Trail (Volume 1).
My request asked him to include my blog in his list of thru-hiker blogs - an unlikely request, I considered, since I'm not a thru hiker just the mom of one, Loner.   And he did indeed include my blog on his list which has garnered a number of readers - hopefully other family members too (I've heard from a number of mothers of AT hikers since starting this blog even from outside the United States.  In addition, in my email to Zach, I whined a bit about my worries - that was early in Loner's trip and I was a panicky mom, knowing Zach's mother had worried too and he'd dealt with it. 
On the same day I sent my email, shortly afterwards Zach wrote me back. I didn't want to publish his letter on my blog until after I had his permission, which he was gracious to give.

"Hi Gail:
Thank you so much for the thoughtful and poetically crafted e-mail.  It's safe to say that yours is the e-mail of the month. 

First off, don't stress your son being on the trail right now.  I understand how it can be terrifying, but I promise you, your son is safer and happier than he would be in the daily rigors of what is often referred to as the grind. 

In addition to adding your blog to the 2012 thru-hikers list (which I will be doing as soon as I hit the "send" button), would you have any interest in writing a review of the book from the perspective of a parent on the Good Badger?  Appalachian Trials was written largely with you, the parent, in mind, but me saying that is less effective than it coming from the perspective of an actual parent.  Assuming you enjoy and find value out of the book, I would be honored for your review on my website, which of course would include a link back to yours.  I guarantee that will drive a lot more interest than a link buried in a lengthy list of others. 

If not, no problem, I just wanted to gauge your interest.I apologize, I'm at a geek conference in San Francisco right now (my new home), for the remainder of the weekend, so won't be able to respond to your e-mail in the depth that I would like to right now.  I'm currently getting yelled at by geeks :\

Happy hiking,ZACH DAVIS"

Now, I've read Appalachian Trials twice and have started the review, not quite finished which I'll send to him soon, as well as post it here, on Amazon, on Goodreads, etc.  

Just once again, I'm discovering what a tight-knit, helpful, friendly and encouraging community revolves around the AT.  I've already seen in my son's videos how surprised he is at the diversity and authenticity of the thru-hikers he's shared the trail with, and now we learn it extends years, miles and further out people wise - even the family members of AT hikers feel like part of the AT family. One of the lessons to take from this whole experience is a renewed faith in humanity which can sometimes be lost in our day to day shuffle.

e-mail from Loner at about 250 miles

 

I rec'd a brief e-mail from the Appalchian Trail from Jeff at about the 250 mile mark,

"Heard it was 9 degrees at Newfound Gap one of the nights I was in Gatlinburg.  I went to Cherokee for a half hour and skated a kids board at the skatepark there.  Still had a inch of snow that night on the trail but my tarp did fine.  A Native American hiker from North Dakota said 'we needed some adventure in our adventure.'  Have some cool pics.  3 hail storms the next day and saw a crashed airplane.

Max Patch was awesome too.  The trail is getting better and the weather for 3 days was perfect.  A lot of hikers have left the trail for weather or injury.  I'm feeling fine but get a little sore sometimes.  Really enjoy this."

He'll be able to post videos hopefully around the 400 mile mark. 

Jeff Loner at Standing Bear Hostel

I heard from Jeff who is at Standing Bear Farm  in Hartford, TN,  a very unique hostel along the Appalachian Trail shortly after it leaves the Great Smokey Mountains and enters The Cherokee National Forest. Standing Bear Farm includes a turn of the century multi-generational farmstead built in the 1900, including the original homestead, barns, outbuildings and farmhouse. He's doing great and hopes to contact me on Sunday when he reaches Hot Springs.  This hostel has a bunkhouse, a cabin over a stream, laundry, internet, tent area, and supply closet with supplies to make it far enough to Hot Springs, about 35 miles, where Jeff as a food box waiting for him. He probably needs it by now since he's been on the trail for five days and while he thought a box would last a week, I have to wonder. He's still sending post cards too, we rec'd the last one from Gatlinburg.

In the meantime, while we wait for more news form Hot Springs, here's a mind-blowing fact for all your thru-hikers and thru-hiker wannabes of the AT: quoted from taken from  Gorp Parks Guide:  The elevation gain and loss over the entire AT is equivalent to hiking from sea level to the summit of Mt. Everest and back to sea level... 16 times.

Jeff aka Loner in Gatlinburg, Snow in the Smokies

I'm learning more about what was going on along the AT while Jeff aka Loner was in Gatlinburg.  he's fortunate that he and Lonestar happened to Gatlinburg on April  22 because up in the Great Smokies and Tennessee is was snowing!  He did a short film there.   Before reaching Gatlinburg, Loner had some close encounters with some very  curious deer but missed a bear sighting.   He also shows some footage of the  shelters in the Smokies, which are made of stone instead of wood.  They have two story bunks, sun roofs, built in stone fireplaces but Jeff didn't see any bear cables at the one he filmed.  In the Smokies At Thru-hikers must stay in a shelter unless its full.
Shortly after Jeff and Lonestar checked in the Grand Prix hotel was filled with At thur-hikers who rushed off the trail once the rain changed to snow as the temps dropped.  The place turned out to be a mecca for hikers and Jeff decided to spend an extra day in Gatlinburg waiting to head further north when the trails were clear and safer to travel.
One family who I follow on Facebook, Rain2o'S 2012 Appalachian Trail Thru-Hike were trapped.  They are the Rainforests, a mother, father and two sons, Forest and River, who is the youngest and looks to be about nine years old.  They were hiking in Tennessee uphill when the rain started, got soaked, and then the temps dropped.  They'd already sent home all their winter gear and clothing because the weather had gotten so warm, so when they reached a shelter, many miles before their goal, at 2:00 pm.  They decided to stop, strip, get in their sleeping backs to avoid hypothermia. Good thing they did, the rain turned to ice, then snow.  Not good for hikers without the write clothing.
All day long, shivering shaking hikers arrived and did the same thing until eleven were crammed into a shelter meant to hold only six people. At night it was only 20 degrees, since most At shlters only have three sides. Among the videos and emails Jeff sent from his two zero days in Gatlinburg, Jeff sent this email.


Hey Mom,

"Right now the peeps around me are EZ Nomad, wrench, Pocahontas, John from Los Angeles, Flatlander, Atlas, Chris from New Hampshire, Glutenpuff, and just caught back up with LoneStar after a week.  He's a marathon runner but had a heavy pack at first. He's cool and collects arrowheads too.  
 I did Clingman's Dome yesterday and was pretty cool but foggy.  Love the Great Smokey Mts. Lots of people and missed a bear and her 3 cubs by 5 minutes but did get super close to some deer.  I'm past 200 miles and hit the first part of TN but it crosses back and forth to NC alot next week.  
 I'm staying the night in Gatlinburg and watching the race.  Crazy town and am at the famous Grand Prix inn just for thru hikers.  Country ghetto but clean.  The table in my room came out of the owners house.  There is a awesome empty swimming pool here and she said I can skate it!  Half way kidding but may check some thrift stores tomorrow when I explore the town and go to Cooter's place the Dukes of Hazzard museum. 
The candy was a tad melted but that's OK.  The salsa was fun but was afraid it would break.  I can always use almonds, dried banana chips, or maybe some more dried fruit.  If possible, please add a few brown rubber bands and extra zip locks.  There's some in the box in the shed.  
 am putting on some videos but the keys and screen are tiny so takes awhile and don't have time to edit videos or add music like I wanted but they should be popping up soon.  Slow WIFI here but trying.

 Thanks again for the support. Oh about trail magic, peoples sometimes leave gallon jugs of water at road crossings where there is little water and one dude left cokes and cookies."

Later, 
Jeff

Jeff aka Loner at Fontana Dam

I rec'd another email from my son, Jeff aka Loner. On the anniversary of the first week, he was able to cross the GA/NC line (video here). During the first week he was able  He was able to pick up the two drop boxes I sent.  One for his pack and one for town food or for his bounce box.  He did bounce some of it forward to Hot Springs.  He's passed the dam after two days of rain, but stayed dry at night.  Only one blister so far - no other problems.
 He was able to get into town at Hiawassee and NOC (The Nantahala Outdoor Center) video here, so within the first two weeks there are plenty of towns to stop in to resupply. Thirty miles into the trail after the descent from Blood Mtn. (video here) there's one outfitter at Neels Gap. Most AT All Thru-hikers stop in at Mountain Crossings store and hostel since the trail runs right through the building! Mountain crossings is only place where the trail runs right through the building and the only place on the  2,178-miles of the AT that passes under a roof.

Here thru-hikers can get a backpack shakedown by the highly knowledgeable outfitter staff. They weigh it there then tell you what you need and what you don't need to get your weight down. Some first-timers carry up to 35 lb packs!  They end up throwing a lot it away.  In many of the outfitters and hostels there are boxes or barrels where AT thru hikers can leave the stuff they don't need or want. Hikers who come after them can dig through it and restock. Each year, an average of  9,000 pounds of unnecessary stuff is sent home or left behind in the Mountain Crossings boxes and barrels.
Jeff let them do his backpack shakedown on his prep hike last October so he knew what was going to work this time to get the weight down to 13.5.

After Jeff left Fontana Dam, NC he entered the Smokey Mountains.  He produced a yout tube video of this section on his You Tube site LonerAT2012. Then climbed Clingman's Dome the highest mountain trail on the AT at  6,643 feet, Clingman's Dome is the highest point in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, the highest point in Tennessee, and the third highest mountain east of the Mississippi. There is a viewing tower at the top with 360 degree views, but I' think it's raining there so Jeff may not get to see this great angle of the Great Smoky Mtns. 
  I think it's around here that AT hikers keep straddling the Eastern Continental Divide circling around and switching back and forth into North Carolina and Tennessee.  And at this point he'd hiked 200 miles.

Mail Drop Boxes for AT Hikers

One of the things I've discovered as the parent of an AT thru-Hiker (Jeff aka Loner) is that packing up supply boxes makes me feel better.  I'm doing something physical with all that nervous energy and doing something worthwhile.
 Many hikers carry one week of food for most of the AT.  They can get off and resupply in nearby towns. Jeff is choosing to ship food parcels ahead to post offices, hostels to towns as well as buy food along the way.

• The A.T. Thru-Hikers’ Companion provides details on Post Offices and businesses that offer resupply and hold packages for hikers close to the A.T.
• Hostels and businesses catering to are often open seven days a week during hiker season.
• Resupply points are further apart and further off the Trail in the South and the far North.

 We're a budget minded family. So Jeff and I took the budget approach to food stuffs. Before Jeff left he packed a box to show me what he liked.  Most AT hikers ship their trail needs in the shoebox size box.  It's the regional rate Box A size Priority Mail box and Jeff had his at a weight which costs about $6.00 to ship.  You can order these boxes in multiple packs on the U.S. Post Office website and they will be shipped to your door.

These are the items Jeff likes in his box and I'll try to include where I find them.
Hikers need protein because they will  lose weight
1. 1 package of Armor pepperoni $1.00 The Dollar Store
2. 1 package Slim Jims
(we tried the dried turkey bacon but Jeff says the bag sweats)

For carbs:
1.Ramen noodles 2 beef, 2 chicken I buy these in packs of 5, for 1.00 a piece from Family Dollar or Dollar General

3. 2 packages of Hungry Jack instant mashed potatoes - $1.00 Dollar Store, Family Dollar


Breakfast
4 packets pop tarts $2.00  Dollar General

 In a zip lock bag we put: 1 To Go container of peanut butter, mints ( a natural stomach aid), band-aids, a box of matches, Q-tips, Slim Jim's, a box of raisins, a couple of rubber bands, two AA batteries for his camera, chap stick, small packets of Taco hot sauce, Mayonnaise, Arby's Sauce, loose aspirin, loose ibuprofen .
1 roll toilet paper w/q-tips inside.  

 I add
1 bag of Knorrs rice medley - $1.00 Dollar General
1 bag of dried cranberries or blueberries -   Dollar General for 1.75 - (a dollar cheaper than grocery stores)

1  pkg of dried apricots (replaces potassium, helps w/dehydration & charlie horses.$1 Dollar General
1 packet oatmeal
1 packet cocoa
 1 pair Bugle Boy black ankle socks from the Dollar Store 6-pack $3.00 Dollar General
a mini packet of wipes - 3-pack $1.00 Dollar General
extra zip lock bags for cooking and storage
1 roll toilet paper stuffed w/Q-tips

If your At hiker doesn't need all this food he can send it forward in what's called a bounce box. So far he's trying to give me a week's notice about the next mail drop location, but he made it a day ahead of time, so now I'm mailing further ahead on the trail so he won't arrive before his box because he won;t stay for it.  Although if this does happen he can call and ask them to forward his box (called a bounce box)
Here's some additional information on mailing supplies from The Appalachian Trail Conservancy's website.

The A.T. Thru-Hikers’ Companion provides details on Post Offices and businesses that offer resupply and hold packages for hikers close to the A.T.

How to use Post Offices along the A.T.

• Anyone can have a package sent addressed to their name, c/o General Delivery, city state, zip code.
• Also provide a return address and add “Hold for A.T. hiker” and the expected arrival date. Writing legibly is important!
• Do not use your “trail name” or initials.
• Your AT Thru-hiker  will need a photo ID to pick up your package.
• Post Offices are only open Monday through Friday and Saturday mornings—hours vary from Post Office to Post Office.
• Priority Mail is recommended for mailing packages—it’s faster, more reliable than parcel post, and you can forward an unopened package at no charge.

Using a “Bounce Box”

A “bounce box” is popular with long-distance hikers. It allows you to continually send ahead items you’ll need periodically but don’t want to carry. Hikers fill them with supplies such as extra batteries, cell phone chargers, “town clothes,” and toiletries. A bounce box also will allow you to send ahead the extra when you have to buy more of something than you need. Also be sure to include mailing tape, labels, and magic markers so you have supplies to send your box ahead.

I also periodically send a second box with town food - bags of snacks, Pringles, candy bars, an extra trash compactor bag to keep his pack dry, batteries, medicines, crackers, cookies, homemade brownies etc.  every so often.  This food is either too heavy or too bulky or too smash-able to carry on the hike.  But he can eat it that day in town and save his money for necessities, showers, laundry, hostels and gear replacement.

Begging to a Good Badger

Okay, time to get real.  Thank the gods, my son, Jeff who is now slogging his way somewhere in North Carolina (2nd state out of 14) close to Tennessee on the AT Trail, won't read this blog. He'd be appalled and embarrassed.  Before and even after I received Jeff's 3 recent sets of emails, I've been taking a subway up from deep within the subconscious, destination:  Panic City.
Parents of AT thru-hikers - I want you to know you are not alone.  When I dropped my son off on April 7th at the start of the AT, I was excited and thrilled for him. I have ultimate confidence in him as a man who knows the outdoors and nature, and one who has gone off for hikes of 80 miles or more.
And then he waved good by.  On the way home, I held myself together and attempted to drive serenely through the countryside while my granddaughter fell happily into a Dramamine doze. For three hours. Finally, I couldn't hold it together anymore. I couldn't maintain serene. Too many thoughts raced through my head quicker than the rapids on the Nantahala River. Thinking. Realizing. My son is gone for four to five months in the American wilderness!
I started wigging out and did so the entire next week. On my solo drives during work to see my clients, volume of cascaded down my cheeks, enough to rival Amicalola Falls.
 Where was he?  Would I ever see him again? Is he hurt? Were his socks wet? His feet cold?  Did he have blisters? Did he bring band aids? Did his knee and ankle hurt?  Did he have enough food in that ridiculously tiny backpack?
I wanted to picture what he was doing. Where did he sleep - hammock or shelter? Who did he meet?  What are their trail names?  Has he met any Trail Angels?  Has he met any crazy people?  Did a herd of wild boars block the path so he couldn't see the first great mountaintop vista on the trail? Did a a momma bear and her two laughing cubs chase him down a rocky slope calculatingly slathered with tree roots by some cruel  act of nature to trip him up and send him rolling down the equivalent of the combined heights of every skyscraper in downtown Greenville, SC x5? Whew! Time to take a breath.

So what did I do?  I went to Zach Davis (Class of 2011 AT Thru-hiker) The Good Badger's  blog and got many hours of free therapy!   Let me tell you, this guy can make you laugh. And then I started writing this blog.
With the manic rush of the thought of Zach's book, Appalachian Trials, winging its way to me from Amazon,  I got bold and begged The Good Badger (Zach Davis) to let me crash his list of AT Thru-Hikers on the blog list on his website so all those frantic parents, brothers, sisters, kids out there could feel they are not alone and maybe even get a little comfort.
My daughter, Beth would call me "Cheeky mom," my granddaughter would applaud and so  I took the risk.
Here's my email to Zach but with the typos fixed because in my nervousness and near panic for aid from someone who had to counsel his own mom over and over, I couldn't type straight.

4/14/12
Hi Zach:

My son, Jeff Gray, aka Loner, started the AT Trail on April 7, 2012 from Georgia. So of course, I've been reading blog after blog to extinguish my angst (you can take the woman out of the goth world- but can't take the angst out of the woman) and lo and behold, by some serendipitous form of synchronicity, I stumbled (as in my technique for hiking up  only 1/8 of a mile up the Amicalola Falls Trail) on your wonderful, funny, irreverent, honest, yet amazingly most reassuring blog on the AT I've read.
 Reading your blog is like watching my son race when he was a dirt track race car driver.  I sit there white-knuckled, my heart beating in panic, my lungs refusing to suck in air - but I keep reading  or watching (as in the case of your videos) because I have to know what happens.  Sure you scare the hell out of me - (your poor, saintly mother! - throwing your poles up rock slopes near the Lehigh River in PA, (how you must have made your mother suffer, not knowing  the outcome when you posted that photo on Rolling Rocks) sleeping with bear breath outside your shelter, watching Whoop nearly buy a water-logged ticket to Nirvana in that river ford that didn't even lead to the Captain's! 
But you made it - you freakin' made it.  And that's what keeps me sane. 
 I've spent the past 20 odds hours with massively huge eye balls reading faster than the ping pong balls on the Chinese Olympic team to take in every word of your adventure, and then glutton that I am, I had to have your book, ASAP and begged Amazon to send it post haste before I succumb to the South Carolina vapors with worry about my eldest child.
  I need your book for my survival, which now may be more at risk than my son's due to mental fragmentation and nightmares.
Yes, sorry, you are now being smothered by yet another frantic mother, as if one wasn't enough, but at least you know the score from the outside in.
What got me was your psychological approach.  Yeah,. I've read stuff on the the facts, the heights, the miles, all the numbers, and while I admit I dumbed out on the expedition gear reports, I am devouring your psych approach. Since I have worked in the psych business 18 out of my 46 year working life and currently work as a rehab support specialist with individuals with traumatic brain injuries, you blog and book are just the prescription for mental health I need. As it will also help my daughter, Beth, Jeff''s 32 year old sister, who works as a nurse on a floor for head and spinal cord injuries and has been having panic attacks.
 I'm a Jungian and interested in the inner psyche so I get your drift, big time. Your post on the sensory deprivation tank brought back memories, as I was once the woman who put people in the tank, at a New Age type psychiatrist's office  who hired me because I was a professional astrologer part time.  Our tank was ivory colored and round so we called it "The Egg" and found it was therapeutic for schizophrenics. Also, thanks so much for your post on Good Badger, "Bears and Bullshit" - luckily Jeff agreed with all of your concepts before he left.  But we need to hear it over and over so as not to be sucked in by the system, the Matrix, whatever you call it.

We, as a family, need this book - as I imagine most families do.  So I will plan to write a review on my blog for other AT families who go through the roller coaster ride (albeit at lower heights and with less vertigo) than their AT progeny.   
I'll keep this brief and leave all the remarks and glowing compliments of Appalachian Trials (brilliant title, by the way - you'll get sales just from folks who mistype trails ) ) for the review. 
http://carolinaatmom.blogspot.com/

And guess what else you've done? In my post dropping off son on AT Trail misery, you've given me the therapeutic answer to all my nightmares, suffering and crying jags - writing!  It is you I have to thank for the idea of writing a blog and thus exorcising or exercising all the demons let loose in my brain by the many photos and stories of BEARs and MURDER and thru and section hikers alike just lying down to DIE on the trial after being incapacitated by heat exhaustion, hypothermia, or that one last horrid little rolling rock which planted them head first on another larger and not rolling rock - thus causing traumatic brain injury - about which I know way too much.
 So I wondered would it be out of place to add an AT blog on your 2012 Appalachian Trail Hiker page from the perspective of the mom?  I will be cataloging a lot of my son's trip as well, since at the moment he has hundreds of photos ad lots videos despite being 6 days into his hike, but he is a minimalist, no phone, no computer, no editing programs (he's an indie film maker).  Here's my blog so far - I'm going to review Bill Bryson's book, "A Walk in the Woods: Rediscovering America on the Appalachian Trail" hopefully this weekend, so that might give you a clue as to my reviewing skills.  Over the years, as an author and photojournalist, I've written hundreds of book reviews, most recently a slew of books about Carl Jung on my personal blog, The Shaman Papers.   http://theshamanpapers.blogspot.com/

By the way, I'm an author, small press publisher and editor as well.  Less now, than before the recession when I had to put my small press on hiatus and get a real world working job. 

Let me know if I can be added to the list without treading on AT thru-hiker and section-hiker toes, which I know are already painfully assaulted by rocks and climbing. And maybe when you're not too slammed there in San Diego with work, I can get to do an interview with you from your author's perspective as well.  
So far, I've limited my hysteria to this single email to you - knowing you can handle it with aplomb and healthy witty sarcasm, but I'm sure suppressed  aspects of hysteria will creep up like that bear in your shelter throughout my blog, or maybe just erupt, like the first time you opened your wonderfully full and downy, snug and warm sleeping bag, only to discover, this capability is OFFERED for a once and only one time trail-side experience.  

I even forgot to sign the e-mail.  How imbecilic is that?  I'll claim Sometimer's disease.  I refuse to admit to Alzheimer's just yet. 

Jeff aka Loner at NOC

Actually my son, Jeff aka Loner (also on White Blaze) answered all my emails today - three in one day!  Yay!
He's making faster time than he thought he would.  He asked me to send his first box to Fontana Dam for Friday April 17 but now he'll be there Wed. April 18, so hopefully the first one will get there in time.  I sent another one today with just town food - stuff too big or heavy for his 13.5 lb. pack, at least that's what it weighed at the weigh in at sign in time at Amicalola Falls. It's just snack food for him to gorge on in town or send forward to another postal drop for future Jeff, as The Good Badger puts it. So that will end up returned.  I need to send boxes further ahead than we thought.

Hey again Mom,

Cool message and liked the Indian info and cool name. ( this is in answer to when I emailed him about the Algonquin Indian in his ancestry-  similar to what I wrote in an earlier post.) Thanks for sending the box.  I'll be in Fontana prob Wed.  The one you send on Friday will get returned so please don't send it if you have not already.  I can't wait on it.  

We heard about the bear can rule and did that whole run in one day and camped on the other side.  I saw a tore up bear bag and some claw marks on some trees. (Photo borrowed  from Shenandoah National Park site. )
I met a dude named James from Greenville but there may be others.  Been doing 17, 18, and 19 mile days.  But taking a slow day today at the NOC (Nantahala Outdoor Center) and do about 12 today.   (photo by Mike of Forget-Me-Not and Filly entering the NOC).

Having a lot of fun but pushing too many miles too soon I think and my feet get tired.  Had great weather and seen some really cool stuff.  Got to visit a Indian Mound in Franklin, NC.

Please don't worry about the FBI thing.  (This was in regards to an AT Hiker AT name, Stonewall, who was murdered in fall of 2011 near Virginia.  I sent Jeff the FBI notice on the White Blaze website, a forum for AT enthusiasts, just so Jeff could be on the look out in that area in case the guy comes back.
Sorry Zach (The Good Badger) , I didn't do too hot about trying not to worry over my son earlier this week - I'm doing better now). 

And I've been taking salt tablets as it's what I purify my water.  Been doing good with water but some others have got sick and one guy quit because of blisters on every toe and another fell at blood mountain.  
 
Love ya,
Got to go, Jeff

By the way, the NOC, Nantahala Outdoor Center is an adventurer's dream - a large compound on the stunning Nantahala River, complete with Outfitter's Shop, Restaurant, Cabin rentals, kayak and canoe rentals, laundries, showers, computer access. It's one of the most elaborate pit stops for any AT thru-hiker and a destination for many day-trippers and overnighters.  After Jeff gets back I'd like to take a trip here with our family to explore the area.
Jeff's a big kayaker but I don't know yet if he interrupted his trek long enough to kayak any of the courses (all levels and many large competitions are held here) or if he just took the opportunity to refit his gear, resupply and eat a hot meal in a gorgeous location.  I'm glad he took the time to access a computer and email me.
Here's a cool blog and a great photo of the restaurant from Whitewater, another 2012 AT thru-hiker who went on trail before Jeff.