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!