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Sorry to shift the conversation back to travel outside the U.S.... My boss recommended signing up for the Global Entry program through the TSA. I filled out the on-line application, paid $100, and got a preliminary approval e-mail a couple of weeks later. Come to think of it, I got the e-mail while I was passing through Damascus on my last hike. The next step was scheduling an interview at an airport Customs office. Got lucky and scored an interview in Pittsburgh the same day I was driving there…

Quote from TrafficJam: “Tortoise, what was your cycling experience/fitness before going to RAGBRAI? ” Good question. I've participated in a bunch of MS 150 rides so a full day in the saddle didn't scare me. My uncle and his riding buddies were all looking to have at least 1000 miles in the saddle before the event. I was hoping for 300 - 500 miles and a bunch of 25-mile days. It didn't happen. Still, my area of Central PA is nothing but hills, so my 15-mile rides were a good workout. And I rode a…

The only part I didn't like was when I got an early start and there were riders from (road) shoulder to shoulder, riding shoulder-to-shoulder. There were a lot of folks that weren't used to riding in tight formations and I saw more than a few broken collarbones. The solution? Start late, spend extra time in the first town for breakfast and hit the first beer tent. That thins out the crowd significantly. I didn't take any pictures of the 2x20 pace lines doing 25+ mph as I was focused on the surro…

Lets talk RAGBRAI! I made the trek to Iowa last July for my first RAGBRAI. If you've ever had an interest in doing a 7-day ride where food and beverages are available every 10 - 15 miles, RAGBRAI is for you. Here's a summary of the week to give y'all a taste. We did a self-supported trip with three of us taking turns driving the sag wagon so I did not ride the full route. But having our own vehicle meant that we could drive 30 miles from the finish town to find a room with A/C, showers and porce…

This year was the first time that my hiking partner Smoking Sox and I were in the thick of the thru-hiker crowd on our spring section hike. The thrus all referred to each other by their trail names so it seemed pretty natural to introduce myself as 'Stalking Tortoise'. Getting back to the original question in the first post (and to tie things together), I recognized a thru hiker 30 minutes into my first section hike. First guy in my group said hi as he passed, Sox was second and said hello, then…

Jumping in the car and driving north gave us an opportunity to re-live our 500+ miles of hiking in Virginia. 10 miles up I-81 was Atkins and the Relax Inn, where we rode out the ice storm. Passing I-77 North reminded us of that long 22-mile day from the Chestnut Knob Shelter to Route 52 and a ride into Bland for food and showers. And I always love passing Exit 150, where the AT comes off the high ridge to the west, crosses Route 220 near Daleville, then passes under I-81 to parallel the Blue Rid…

Day 7 - Friday April 8th There's something about the last day of a section hike that gets me extra motivated to get moving in the morning. Take your pick - an empty food bag, the promise of a shower, a celebratory restaurant meal... I hit the trail by 07:30 with Sox just a few minutes ahead. We didn't know exactly when the weather front was scheduled to hit so getting an early start was a safe option. Upon descending from the ridge and exiting the woods, I got my best view of the day. RIMG0427-L…

Day 6 - Thursday April 7th Forgot to mention that I got passed (again) by Quick yesterday - a thru that I last saw at the Iron Mountain Shelter on the morning of Day 3. He caught us even though we jumped 25 miles up the trail from Damascus. Wonder how he got his Trail Name... As I approached the Old Orchard Shelter last evening, I could see gaps between the wall logs and figured it would be a cold and windy night. I was right. It also rained pretty good overnight. There were five of us squeezed …

Day 5 - Wednesday April 6th In my first post, I mentioned that we had hiked out of Damascus in 2014 and got as far as Elk Garden before leaving the trail. I arranged for a shuttler to pick us up at the Mt. Rogers NRA Visitors Center and bring us back down to Elk Garden this morning. To give us the maximum amount of daylight for today's hike, we got out of the Lodge before 07:00 and were standing outside the doors of Mojo's Cafe as they opened for business. The plan was to be in the Mt. Rogers Vi…

Day 4 - Tuesday April 5th RIMG0376-M.jpg Sox was up and packed when I finally pulled my head out of my bag. I rushed through my morning chores knowing that a restaurant lunch was in my immediate future. The 10.3 miles flew by quickly and I only took a short pack-off break at the state line marker. Normally, crossing a state line would be a big deal but I only just started Tennessee and I still had 40+ miles of Virginia remaining. RIMG0379-M.jpg Passing through the Damascus arch was cool, althoug…

Day 3 - Monday April 4th No need to be quiet this morning. Everyone was up and packing to make as many miles as possible. It looked like Sox and I were the only ones looking to have a 15.9-mile day to the Abingdon Gap Shelter. Everyone else was either pushing for the full 26 miles into Damascus or a campsite two miles outside of town. Today didn't have any of the large climbs of the previous two days but I was still working on getting full strength in my hiking legs. The first two miles passed q…

Day 2 - Sunday April 3rd Normally, a shelter full of thru's would be a beehive of activity in the morning. Not today. A family was putting on a lunch feed at the Wilbur Lake Road crossing a mere 2.5 miles to the north, so all of the thru hikers were sleeping in and taking their time. Sox and I had intentions of covering 15 miles to the Iron Mountain Shelter so we reluctantly extracted ourselves from the depths of our sleeping bags and completed our morning chores. It was after 8 before I finally…

Pre-Trip Sox lives near Boston and I'm south of Harrisburg PA. It's always a logistical challenge to get us both to a trailhead and then back home after the hike. For all of our VA Sections, Sox flies into Dulles on Friday evening and I pick him up before heading south. Friday, April 1st Sox was at the Arrivals curb at 20:00 with his pack as I pulled up. We made one quick stop for a late dinner and made it as far as Christiansburg VA by midnight. Going straight from a desk to the trail is one ch…

I've been posting my previous section hike trip reports on Trailplace, but having the site go dark last year doesn't give me much motivation to keep up the effort. Might as well post my new ones here. Background My high school buddy (and best man) Smoking Sox and I have been section hiking the AT since 2003. We usually get a full week away from family and work every other year, so it's been a combination of 2 - 3 day trips mixed in with the occasional week-long outings. In March of 2014, we set …

Quote from Rasty: “The site is up. The question is, will a moderator approve any new posts. ” I just did. Sheesh. I just got rid of my job and now I'm back to slaving away.

My uncle lives in Davenport IA and he kept badgering me to join him. This year, the ride ends in Davenport so it will be one helluva party after we dip a wheel in the Mississippi. Plus, it gives me a reason to get off the couch each day and complete my training rides. I really want to look back at this late-career sabbatical and be able to say that I made the most of it. Completing VA and another chunk of NH will help.

Quote from LIhikers: “Well it looks like our 2 nighter, in April, is out. I spent yesterday in the emergency room and saw my doctor today. He feel the searing pains I've been having yesterday and today are due to a strained, pulled, or maybe torn hip flexure muscle. He says to take it easy and I'm gonna do that because the pain is too bad to ignore. I've told Kathy that she should go by herself but she hasn't decided yet. ” Wow... that sucks. Listen to the doctor's advice and follow the physical…

I thought that I would have to skip a spring section hike because I took two weeks off of work in March to visit Australia and New Zealand. Then I got a call on the day I returned that my job had been eliminated. No worries (as they say in Oz), I have over 40 weeks of severance pay and a newfound freedom to hike and jump on the motorcycle. My hiking partner and I will be knocking off the 40 miles left in VA in early May right after a cycle trip to Tellico Plains TN. Then we'll work on the Whites…

Back on track... A buddy suggested I try Eagle Rare 10-year aged bourbon. It's distilled by the Buffalo Trace Distillery and is 90 proof, so I didn't expect it to be harsh or rough on the palate. It wasn't - I thoroughly enjoyed it. And for $28 / bottle in Pennsylvania, it has a place in my liquor cabinet for mixing Manhattans or when I don't have time to run down to Maryland for higher-end options.

Quote from TrafficJam: “ (We need a coffee smilie.)” How about this one? sip.gif