Pine Mountain Trail safe!

Fantastic news from Kentucky!  Senator Jones has withdrawn the bill that would have destroyed the Pine Mountain Trail, which hosts the GET.

Read all about it here.

From the article: With the loss of jobs in eastern Kentucky in recent years, "(w)e have to find ways to create economic activity, help local businesses and one way is to grow adventure tourism,"  he added.

I can't think of a single hiker who wouldn't agree. Now the question is: how do we help communities and congressmen understand that hiking is viable adventure tourism?

This trail is awesome.  Go hike it.  And when you spend money in town, make sure people know you're a hiker.

Help the Pine Mountain Trail TODAY!

Here are steps YOU can take to help save the Pine Mountain Trail:

1.  Sign the Petition!
2.  Contact Governor Bevin
3.  Contact Committee Chair Senator Alice Kerr
4.  Contact Senator Jones
5.  Contact the Lexington Herald Leader
6.  Contact WKYT and ask them to cover this story
7. Join the Pine Mountain Trail Conference!

Pine Mountain Trail in trouble

Legislation has been introduced to allow ATVs access to Kentucky's only State Scenic Trail -- The Pine Mountain Trail.

From the link: "SB 102 has catastrophic consequences for the Pine Mountain Trail and its use as a hiking trail. There is zero compatibility between hiking and ATV usage. They cannot coexist. The viability of the Pine Mountain State Scenic Trail as an attraction to bring hikers and tourists into our area has no future if ATV's are allowed continuing use of the Trail. "

The Pine Mountain Trail is glorious - an incredible trail that I recommend to absolutely any backpacker. If this legislation allows ATVs access to this fragile environment, all the work done BY hikers FOR hikers will be destroyed.

Do you care?  Even a little?  PLEASE SIGN THIS PETITION. It will take you 1 minute.

If you care even more, send the senator a kind note. 

 

What is the GET season?

One question I get asked a lot by prospective GET thru-hikers is, "What time of the year should I start a GET thru-hike?"

My answer: Great question.

There are dozens of considerations when choosing between a northbound and southbound hike, but the biggest consideration of all, the weather window, is still untested.

Northbound:
Bart and I began the hike on January 10th, 2013. We had no idea how lucky we were.  We had three or four snowstorms for a couple weeks total of snow-hiking.  We had only five days of what I would consider dangerous weather conditions.  We also had five zero days (at least) due to snow/dangerous conditions.  All in all, that wasn't too bad -- but only because 2013's winter wasn't like 2015's.  If 2013's winter had been like 2015's, I don't think we would have made it.  Despite our dedication, I really think we would have had to bail.

Stuart and Taylor started February 1, 2014 and still ran into rough conditions - Kentucky in particular.  Kentucky seems to be the Smokies of the GET - with high elevations and being relatively far north, you can't hit Kentucky too early or it will be miserable.  (Will this assessment hold true, or was it just the four of us who ran into extreme weather in Kentucky?  Time will tell.)  Their start date was way smarter than ours, but still might be too early for most hikers.

The danger of waiting too long to start a northbound hike is that you're in the south for a longer time than, for example, on the AT, so it might become hard to out-hike the heat and stay in spring.

Southbound:

I was not amused with 102 degrees.
Mainly because it wasn't using Celsius.

There has been no southbound attempt so far, but this should be the year.  It will be interesting to see how the weather is!

When Bart and I hiked the western route of the GET (PA - MD) in June-July 2014, it was ridiculously hot, so an early summer southbound attempt is not for those skittish of heat.

I'd recommend a fall southbound attempt.  Assuming a four-month thruhike (your mileage may vary), it likely means an August start.  August in New York and Pennsylvania might be pretty hot.  So what's the magic date?  What date strikes a good balance?

Great question.

Loop Hikes, Part 2: The Big Southeastern Appalachian Loop

For hikers who enjoy a true challenge, the Big Southeastern Appalachian Loop (please, internet, find a better name) would be by far the most challenging of the "small" loops.

This is a tough loop because it has the most incomplete trails, meaning there are some significant roadwalks.  On the plus side, resupply is overall fairly easy.  With so many miles, it might be hard to find the perfect time of year to hike this loop. 

The map here shows the majority of the loop with the exception of the Benton MacKaye Trail (pictured below) and the Georgia Pinhoti (which I can't find a decent map of -- anyone??)


This loop incorporates the following trails: 

• Georgia Pinhoti Trail
• Benton MacKaye Trail
• Appalachian Trail
  

And the following Great Eastern Trail components:

• Southern West Virginia (Mary Draper Ingalls, TuGuNu)
• Kentucky's Pine Mountain Trail
• Tennessee's Cumberland Trail
• Lookout Mountain Section of the GET

The miles breakdown is something like this:

• From the GET/Georgia Pinhoti Trail divergence near Taliaferro Creek, a counterclockwise hiker would stay on the Georgia Pinhoti, following it roughly 120 miles to its intersection with the Benton MacKaye Trail (pictured on right).  
• The hiker would turn south along the BMT for 70 miles to Springer Mountain.  (You could also head north on the BMT and intersect with the AT at the southern or northern end of the Smokies.  Choose your own adventure!)
• At Springer, the loop would follow the Appalachian Trail north to Pearisburg, Virginia.  This portion of trail is about 630 miles long.
  
  (At Pearisburg, the loop becomes trickier and mileages become fuzzy - the numbers I quote below may easily be off by 10-20% depending upon certain routes chosen, particularly in regards to roadwalk links.)
  
• From Pearisburg, the hiker then navigates the most challenging section of Great Eastern Trail: southern West Virginia's roughly 150 miles.
• Kentucky's Pine Mountain Trail and connecting roadwalks on either end add up to about 170 miles.
• The Cumberland Trail will be roughly 260 miles, depending on roadwalks and trail closures. It may be slightly more or less than that, but 260 is a good estimate.
• Lookout Mountain Section is about 100 miles (if following newer route through Little River Canyon) to meet up with the Georgia Pinhoti/GET divergence at Taliaferro Creek.

That equals a whopping 1,500-mile loop.

Why should I hike this?: No other GET loop will give hikers such a wide variety of trail experiences.  From the popular, perhaps over-loved Appalachian Trail to the wilderness Benton MacKaye Trail to the unfinished choose-your-own-adventure style of the GET in West Virginia, this loop has everything.

Highlights of this loop include:

• Experiencing a wilderness trail (Benton MacKaye)
• Summitting Springer Mountain
• Neels Gap and potential AT thru-hiker culture
• Southern balds and firetowers
• The Smokies
• Hot Springs, NC
• Roan and Grayson Highlands
• Damascus, VA
• Bluestone Turnpike Trail
• Pipestem State Park
• An adventurous route through West Virginia requiring map and compass skills
• The whole Pine Mountain Trail feels like a highlight
• Cumberland Gap National Historic Park
• Waterfalls and wildlife of the Cumberland Trail
• Chattanooga, the GET's largest trail town
• Cloudland Canyon State Park
• Little River Canyon
  Where should I begin?: Because this is the most challenging section of the GET, I'd recommend starting anywhere else: The Georgia Pinhoti would be a great place or Springer Mountain/Pearisburg would be ideal depending upon direction hiked.

What guides are needed?: Hikers will need an AT guide, the BMT guide, a GA Pinhoti guide, and all the GET resources for WV, KY, TN, and GA listed under our Guides Page.

PMT

Thanks Pine Mountain Trail for the membership. I will carry my card proudly the remainder of my trip. Now identify everything in the picture and win a free calendar and an autographed Mac and Cheese box by me and Someday!

Goodbye to Kentucky

Same bridge. We are looking across the Tug River from Kentucky into West Virginia near Historic Matewan.

Walking into WV

Tim McGraw and Paul Kenney joined us today as we walked into West Virginia.  Here is Tim and Jo.

Hiking in winter

Everything I owned froze solid...

We chose to hike in winter.

We knew ahead of time that things were not always gonna be super easy.  On a long hike, there is always something going wrong: a blister, a wet boot, running out of chocolate . . . it's part of the experience.  When you hike in winter, all those other considerations take a back seat in your mind, and the driving question is, "How is the weather and am I going to freeze to death today?"

We have seen snow in every state, though we got through Georgia and Tennessee without much accumulation.  In Alabama, we had only one snow day, but it was dramatic and dangerous.  In Kentucky, we dealt with snow constantly, but were better prepared for the weather, both in terms of gear and mental preparation.

Hiking in winter can be incredibly rewarding.  The views go on forever.  Although the greens of spring and summer and the fall foliage create wonderful scenic views, the winter and its absence of colors expose itself in a different light.  We haven't had a single mosquito bite or had any problem finding water sources.  We have only been uncomfortably hot a handful of times; you can always add layers on, but you can only take so much off.  We also get a chance to wear our stylish blaze-orange toboggans.  And there's no one else dumb enough to be out there on the trails, so we are isolated and alone.  Also, people feel sorrier for Bart when they see his beard is frosted and are quicker to lend a hand. ;)

We'll miss this someday.

We would definitely not recommend that the next thru-hikers of the Great Eastern Trail begin in January when we did.  Weather has definitely slowed us down: hiking through snow with a 30-pound pack makes a 2MPH pace very difficult and often impossible.  Longer days with fewer miles are taxing on our bodies and our sanity.  However, while we can't recommend beginning in January, we are very happy that we did so.  We are over 700 miles into the hike, with spring (theoretically) around the corner.  We are looking forward to spring wildflowers in West Virginia, the return of colors to a dramatically white world, longer days, more miles, easier hiking, and getting to sleep without wearing every single layer we own. What will that even be like?  I hardly remember what hiking is like when it's not freezing.

It's been a wonderful winter hike with lots of character-building and help from newfound friends.  We feel much richer for these friendships and the experiences we've had have been more meaningful due to often inclement weather.



Tomorrow we walk into West Virginia, our 5th of 9 states.  The halfway mark is just down the trail.  Many more adventures await us, and hopefully some sunshine.

In like a lion, out like a lion!

Hensley Settlement, Kentucky - there's been near-constant snow since then.  Good times.

It is so nice to sleep inside so we can avoid this.  As fun as this looks . . . 
We are waiting out this latest snow storm in Mullens while we plan Mingo County and jump Jo's car, and we will be heading back to the Matewan area on Wednesday.  

photo album

Click below to visit the photo album.  More photos coming soon:

Elkhorn City, KY

I love this part of the world!

In all the busy relaxation of the last week (yes - busy relaxation), I haven't had the time to write about the delightful time we had in Elkhorn City a week ago.


Elkhorn City, KY has a special place in my heart. I went to a workshop there in 2011 with my friend Peggy.  The town has so much good stuff going for it - Breaks Interstate Park, water adventure opportunities, the Pine Mountain Trail, and a theater (not a cinema - a theater!).  Elkhorn City is the first place we've come to where I felt close to Mullens, WV (our mental and emotional halfway point, and Bart's home).  So when we came to the overlook of town, I did a little dance which thankfully no one witnessed.  I was ahead of Bart for once, so not even he saw it.

The rain held off up until the last two miles, when it began sprinkling juuust enough to threaten to actually get us wet.  We made it to the picnic shelter at the trailhead before it started to really rain.  Great timing!

Soon James came to rescue us and whisked us away to Castle James, where we were utterly spoiled and had a grand time telling stories, looking at maps, and NOT being in the rain (again, seriously fantastic timing).  James, thank you so much for your hospitality and letting us pick your brain!  We both really hope to return to the area to explore it further and hopefully we'll see you soon!

Jo, Wooly Nelson, and James at the PMT trailhead in Elkhorn City

Love KY views!

Thanks Pine Mountain Outfitters!

Sporting our generous gifts from Pine Mountain Outfitters in Whitesburg KY! One more reason to love KY and the Pine Mountain Trail! This store has anything you need to get hiking.

Found

 

My Dad and Kodak on a covert mission to get us back into WV. Success!!

Kentucky experiences part 1

It is easier to update from a real computer.  A keyboard feels so strange!

We have had an amazing experience in Kentucky.  Every state so far has exceeded our expectations, provided new friends for us, and given us stories that keep us up at night laughing.

We can see forever from the overlooks on the Pine Mountain Trail!

We want to give a huge shout-out to the Pine Mountain Trail guru Shad and his family for putting us up and putting up with us for a couple of nights while we waited for the weather to improve. The views we were treated to from the Pine Mountain Trail were well worth waiting for, and we really enjoyed hanging out and learning more about the area: we got to check out AppalShop, watch (& taste!) the maple syruping process, and visit the fantastic Pine Mountain Outfitters.  Thanks for having exactly what we needed when we needed it!

Thank you for everything, Letcher County!

Bart and Shad

On the night before we headed out, Shad got a phone call about a group of college kids who were lost and stuck on top of the mountain.  You can read about the incident here.  The following day when Bart and I headed out, we saw the aftermath of the rescue: 37 wet, icy towels on the trail, remnants of fires, discarded clothes, and trampled snow.  The dozens of footprints made our hike actually much easier in the snow.  Thanks to the search and rescue crew who got them all out!  Nice to know that there are folks like you to help out when needed.

We spent the night at Adena Shelter after walking and occasionally crawling through snow.  We were exhausted, but having a shelter to call home for a night made the day feel a lot easier.

Today marked two months since we embarked on this quest. We have hiked 662.3 miles and well into our 4th state.

We appreciate everyone's interest and enthusiasm as it really helps us get motivated those cold and wet mornings.

Many more miles and states to travel so stay in touch and hope to meet along the journey.
HillBillyBart & Someday!!!

Ice face

Pine Mountain Trail rocks!

 

Pine Mountain Trail offered some spectacular rock formations along our way!
HillBillyBart

Skyview

A cave with a sun roof provided us shelter last night!
HillBillyBart