First solo section hike

moose717 · Dec 28th 2013, 6:44pm

I copied and pasted this from an article I wrote for the hiking club I belong to ... it's a little long :cheer: I'm going to try to insert a picture, but I don't know if it's going to work ...

My First Solo Backpack Trip – on the AT – Millbrook/Blairstown Road to Route 23 @ Highpoint
-- Posted 10/2/2013 --

Well, I finally got up the nerve to do it … a 3-day, 2-night backpack on the AT … by myself! I love to car camp and backpack, but it’s not always easy finding someone to go with me. My kids are older now and while I can still get my younger one to car camp with me a couple of times a year (if there are showers & flush toilets), no one in my family wants to backpack. My husband would go, but only if he could somehow manage to bring a cooler full of Pepsi with him. I’m not carrying it, so he ain’t goin’!

It was a beautiful weekend for the trip. Sunny skies, 70 degree days & 40 degree nights. Perfect! One thing I did forget – the rocks. Even with all the rocks I still managed to do about 12 miles the first day. I started at 8:30 and was in camp by 3:30. The trail in this section of NJ is beautiful. The first sight I had was the swamp right after Millsbrook/Blairstown Road. I don’t know the history of this area, but the swamp looks manmade to me. The next sight I had was walking up the trail to the ridge on Rattlesnake Mountain. What did I see? A Rattlesnake! This sucker was huge. He was as round as a can of corn. I couldn’t tell his length because he was coiled up and about to strike my hiking pole! Thank goodness I looked down at the right moment. I let out a little yelp and stepped back about 3 feet. Then I thought … photo op! I got a little closer to him and snapped a few pictures. When I was done with this little close-up, I tossed a few pebbles and sticks at him and he wouldn’t move. I had to go off trail to go around him. Once on top of the ridge, the view was beautiful and I had some lunch. I finished hiking for the day at the Brink Road shelter. This was truly the test … I was completely alone, not a single person and I was going to sleep out here by myself. I was nervous. I set up my tent and explored the area; after all, it was only 3:30! After exploring, I fixed dinner and sat at the edge of the shelter enjoying the solitude. When it was time to go in my tent – at 7:30 – I grabbed my knife & pepper spray, laid down to read and the next thing I knew it was morning. What a wonderful feeling when I woke up … it was empowering! I did it … slept by myself without a soul in sight.

Day 2 was another beautiful day. I managed another day over 12 miles. This is a dry section of the AT and I knew I would have to “camel up” at the Gren Anderson shelter. The shelter area is lovely. If I were hiking a shorter day, I would have liked to have stayed in this area. There were beautiful vistas during almost the entire day. I was really looking forward to getting to the fire tower. Although I am afraid of heights, I was going to challenge myself to climb it if it wasn’t locked to get more views. Fortunately … or rather unfortunately, there was some kind of surveying going on and I couldn’t get near the tower. It was super windy anyway, so knowing my luck I would have been blown off the top. I ended the day at the Mashipicong shelter. It is another nice shelter; unfortunately it is about 2/10 of a mile from a road. Again I got to the shelter area about 3:30. I was debating whether I should continue on to Rutherford or stay the night here when a very nice young couple happened along. They were going to be staying in the shelter. After hiking over all the rocks again I really didn’t want to push on for another 4 miles, so I decided to stay. It was good and bad. The noise from the road kept me up most of the night, but I felt “safer” with other people there. In retrospect, I could have hiked another mile and camped in the woods. Next time, that’s what I’ll do.

Day 3 was chilly! I had two cups of instant coffee – yuck -- and had a light breakfast and was on my way. Jackie from AFW was going to hike out to meet me! After stopping for a quick snack near the Rutherford shelter, I pushed on and met Jackie within 10 minutes. While I enjoyed the solitude of the last two days, it was the perfect ending to a great trip having Jackie hike out with me. The last 3 miles of the trip went by quickly and before I knew it, we were back out at Rt. 23.

Total trip miles: 28.8 miles
Gear: Golite Trekker backpack, Lightheart gear Solo tent, home sewn quilt, Exped Downmat 7 sleeping pad, Katadyn pro water filter
Highlights: waking up empowered, rattlesnake, meeting a friend at the end

hikerboy · Dec 28th 2013, 7:31pm

sounds like a really nice way to break in to backpacking.the empowerment you felt only grows with time and becoming completely at home in the woods, knowing you dont need more than what's on your back to be happy. one of the cool things i saw on my trip was watching a lot of newbies, who started out at springer, tentative and unsure of what they were getting into, and watching them grow more confident with every storm they hiked through, knowing theyd be able to do it again and again.hiking liberates your spirit.

TrainWreck · Dec 28th 2013, 8:00pm

Great report. You get extra points for sticking around long enough to take photos of the rattlesnake. gif.004
I can especially identify with the fact that it was your first time hiking and camping alone. I did the solo thing for my first time last year. It felt like a really huge step to me the because it was the first time I ever hiked and camped by myself. Up to that point, my husband and I had always backpacked together. That year, I had the time off and he didn't, so I decided to give it a try. I remember how nervous but excited I was. But I survived! and actually had a great time. I don't know if men can fully appreciate how significant this feels in quite the same way women do. Some of us have been conditioned by our culture to be more fearful of being alone and to think that we shouldn't attempt to do certain things because they're not safe. As you said, it's very empowering. I hope you get to continue on through to New York.
P.S. New York is rockier and harder than people expect

CoachLou · Dec 28th 2013, 10:14pm

Very Pleasant section. Thank You.

BirdBrain · Dec 28th 2013, 10:51pm

Great report. I may be doing NH by myself this year. I am planning 16 days for it. I do not like to hike any distance alone. Not for fear, but for safety. I like to eliminate as many variables as possible. Hiking with a partner put redundancies in place that offer security. Your snake story illustrates variables that give me pause. The further I venture south, the more I will face the unknown. I need more of these types of reports to remove those unknowns. Thank you.

TrainWreck · Dec 28th 2013, 11:03pm

BirdBrain wrote:

Great report. I may be doing NH by myself this year. I am planning 16 days for it. I do not like to hike any distance alone. Not for fear, but for safety. I like to eliminate as many variables as possible. Hiking with a partner put redundancies in place that offer security. Your snake story illustrates variables that give me pause. The further I venture south, the more I will face the unknown. I need more of these types of reports to remove those unknowns. Thank you.

I saw more snakes in PA, NJ, NY and CT than all the southern states combined. All of them rattlers, too. You guys can keep them all up north as far as I'm concerned.

BirdBrain · Dec 28th 2013, 11:05pm

TrainWreck wrote:

BirdBrain wrote:

Great report. I may be doing NH by myself this year. I am planning 16 days for it. I do not like to hike any distance alone. Not for fear, but for safety. I like to eliminate as many variables as possible. Hiking with a partner put redundancies in place that offer security. Your snake story illustrates variables that give me pause. The further I venture south, the more I will face the unknown. I need more of these types of reports to remove those unknowns. Thank you.

I saw more snakes in PA, NJ, NY and CT than all the southern states combined. All of them rattlers, too. You guys can keep them all up north as far as I'm concerned.

We have plenty in Maine, but none that can hurt you. Hopefully this is true in NH too.

CoachLou · Dec 29th 2013, 9:42am

TrainWreck wrote:

BirdBrain wrote:

Great report. I may be doing NH by myself this year. I am planning 16 days for it. I do not like to hike any distance alone. Not for fear, but for safety. I like to eliminate as many variables as possible. Hiking with a partner put redundancies in place that offer security. Your snake story illustrates variables that give me pause. The further I venture south, the more I will face the unknown. I need more of these types of reports to remove those unknowns. Thank you.

I saw more snakes in PA, NJ, NY and CT than all the southern states combined. All of them rattlers, too. You guys can keep them all up north as far as I'm concerned.

I have never seen one.....copperheads, many....no rattlers! gif.002

moose717 · Dec 29th 2013, 5:45pm

BirdBrain wrote:

Great report. I may be doing NH by myself this year. I am planning 16 days for it. I do not like to hike any distance alone. Not for fear, but for safety. I like to eliminate as many variables as possible. Hiking with a partner put redundancies in place that offer security. Your snake story illustrates variables that give me pause. The further I venture south, the more I will face the unknown. I need more of these types of reports to remove those unknowns. Thank you.

To be perfectly honest, it's the "2 legged wild life" I am more wary of than the 4 legged or slithery ones. But I can't allow that to stop me from trying new things ... for example ... I am afraid of heights (actually of falling) but I plan on going skydiving with my oldest son on his next birthday in September ... ha -- we'll see

I do worry about injuring myself when I'm by myself so I am very, very careful to watch where I'm walking.

moose717 · Dec 29th 2013, 5:49pm

TrainWreck wrote:

Great report. You get extra points for sticking around long enough to take photos of the rattlesnake. gif.004
I can especially identify with the fact that it was your first time hiking and camping alone. I did the solo thing for my first time last year. It felt like a really huge step to me the because it was the first time I ever hiked and camped by myself. Up to that point, my husband and I had always backpacked together. That year, I had the time off and he didn't, so I decided to give it a try. I remember how nervous but excited I was. But I survived! and actually had a great time. I don't know if men can fully appreciate how significant this feels in quite the same way women do. Some of us have been conditioned by our culture to be more fearful of being alone and to think that we shouldn't attempt to do certain things because they're not safe. As you said, it's very empowering. I hope you get to continue on through to New York.
P.S. New York is rockier and harder than people expect

Thanks!! I'm not sure they can appreciate it. My husband did not want me to go, but I would send him a text every morning and every night to let him know I was ok. He was jealous I saw a rattler ... he said "if I knew you were going to see a rattler, I would have went with you!" I can't wait for his reaction when I see my first bear gif.013

BirdBrain · Dec 29th 2013, 5:50pm

moose717 wrote:

BirdBrain wrote:

Great report. I may be doing NH by myself this year. I am planning 16 days for it. I do not like to hike any distance alone. Not for fear, but for safety. I like to eliminate as many variables as possible. Hiking with a partner put redundancies in place that offer security. Your snake story illustrates variables that give me pause. The further I venture south, the more I will face the unknown. I need more of these types of reports to remove those unknowns. Thank you.

To be perfectly honest, it's the "2 legged wild life" I am more wary of than the 4 legged or slithery ones. But I can't allow that to stop me from trying new things ... for example ... I am afraid of heights (actually of falling) but I plan on going skydiving with my oldest son on his next birthday in September ... ha -- we'll see

I do worry about injuring myself when I'm by myself so I am very, very careful to watch where I'm walking.

Your assessment is correct. People are more apt to do the unpredictable than wildlife.

moose717 · Dec 29th 2013, 5:54pm

hikerboy wrote:

sounds like a really nice way to break in to backpacking.the empowerment you felt only grows with time and becoming completely at home in the woods, knowing you dont need more than what's on your back to be happy. one of the cool things i saw on my trip was watching a lot of newbies, who started out at springer, tentative and unsure of what they were getting into, and watching them grow more confident with every storm they hiked through, knowing theyd be able to do it again and again.hiking liberates your spirit.

I've been backpacking a few times, but always with a group of 3 or more women. At the end of my story, the woman I met is actually one of the women I normally hike with (and one of the hike leaders of the group I belong to. As a matter of fact, I went on my first winter backpack with her last winter. She gave me a lot of great advice ... especially about being alone with your thoughts :). Hiking liberates your spirit and is good for the soul.

TrainWreck · Dec 30th 2013, 2:39am

CoachLou wrote:

TrainWreck wrote:

BirdBrain wrote:

Great report. I may be doing NH by myself this year. I am planning 16 days for it. I do not like to hike any distance alone. Not for fear, but for safety. I like to eliminate as many variables as possible. Hiking with a partner put redundancies in place that offer security. Your snake story illustrates variables that give me pause. The further I venture south, the more I will face the unknown. I need more of these types of reports to remove those unknowns. Thank you.

I saw more snakes in PA, NJ, NY and CT than all the southern states combined. All of them rattlers, too. You guys can keep them all up north as far as I'm concerned.

I have never seen one.....copperheads, many....no rattlers! gif.002

Go hiking in the area around the Mohican Center and Sunfish Pond in NJ if you want rattlers. They have a snake refuge across the lake there.
I saw a huge rattler in that section of CT just before Salisbury. Fat and noisy!
Oh, yeah, they love to hang out in the rocks of northern PA also.
Don't get me wrong, I'm ok with snakes as long as I see them first. But do I buddy up to them? Noooo.

Mountain-Mike · Dec 30th 2013, 9:50am

Snakes don't want to bite you! Why waste venom on something they can't eat. I have witness numerous times where people have walked right by rattlers & were unaware they did so, myself included. In So CA I was hiking at a brisk pace to make a water source. I saw some movement in a bush beside the trail & figured it was anothr lizard. Taro who was close behind asked me if I saw the Green Mojave Rattler. One of the few poisonous snakes in the US that will kill you without a dose of anti-venom. He said he got a great pic of it streatched across the trial.

Another time Taro was in the lead within sight of me. With numero ORV & bike trails in the area it was hard to be sure if we were on the PCT. When I spotted some power lines I decided to stop & try to get a location fix on my map. As I pulled it out I heard a buzzing. Looking down was a rattler not more than a foot & a half away from me. I just slowly side stepped away & he never attempted to strike. Taro had walked by unaware less than a minute before. There are several more incidents like this that happened along the trail.

TrainWreck · Dec 30th 2013, 12:11pm

Mountain-Mike wrote:

Snakes don't want to bite you! Why waste venom on something they can't eat. I have witness numerous times where people have walked right by rattlers & were unaware they did so, myself included. In So CA I was hiking at a brisk pace to make a water source. I saw some movement in a bush beside the trail & figured it was anothr lizard. Taro who was close behind asked me if I saw the Green Mojave Rattler. One of the few poisonous snakes in the US that will kill you without a dose of anti-venom. He said he got a great pic of it streatched across the trial.

Another time Taro was in the lead within sight of me. With numero ORV & bike trails in the area it was hard to be sure if we were on the PCT. When I spotted some power lines I decided to stop & try to get a location fix on my map. As I pulled it out I heard a buzzing. Looking down was a rattler not more than a foot & a half away from me. I just slowly side stepped away & he never attempted to strike. Taro had walked by unaware less than a minute before. There are several more incidents like this that happened along the trail.

I totally understand the rattlesnakes don't want to bite you, and they use their rattles to give fair warning. I still can't say I enjoy having a rattler singing out and seeing he is only a foot away from my boot, which happened in CT. Copperheads and moccasins aren't as polite, and just as poisonous. In the woods down south, you stick your hand or foot somewhere without looking, you will get bit before you know it. Now that I think about it I guess I do like rattlers a little better than I thought.

BirdBrain · Dec 30th 2013, 12:13pm

TrainWreck wrote:

Mountain-Mike wrote:

Snakes don't want to bite you! Why waste venom on something they can't eat. I have witness numerous times where people have walked right by rattlers & were unaware they did so, myself included. In So CA I was hiking at a brisk pace to make a water source. I saw some movement in a bush beside the trail & figured it was anothr lizard. Taro who was close behind asked me if I saw the Green Mojave Rattler. One of the few poisonous snakes in the US that will kill you without a dose of anti-venom. He said he got a great pic of it streatched across the trial.

Another time Taro was in the lead within sight of me. With numero ORV & bike trails in the area it was hard to be sure if we were on the PCT. When I spotted some power lines I decided to stop & try to get a location fix on my map. As I pulled it out I heard a buzzing. Looking down was a rattler not more than a foot & a half away from me. I just slowly side stepped away & he never attempted to strike. Taro had walked by unaware less than a minute before. There are several more incidents like this that happened along the trail.

I totally understand the rattlesnakes don't want to bite you, and they use their rattles to give fair warning. I still can't say I enjoy having a rattler singing out and seeing he is only a foot away from my boot, which happened in CT. Copperheads and moccasins aren't as polite, and just as poisonous. In the woods down south, you stick your hand or foot somewhere without looking, you will get bit before you know it. Now that I think about it I guess I do like rattlers a little better than I thought.

My biggest concern would be them crawling inside my sleeping bag to get warm. Of course my risk is much less than those who prefer 3 sided homes to sleep in. I zip my tent up at night.

hikerboy · Dec 30th 2013, 12:15pm

the biggest danger of getting bitten by an eastern timber rattler is not seeing it and stepping on it.eastern rattlers are not aggressive.
even if bitten, good chance it was a venomless bite. problem is you wouldnt know until you had it check out(or died)

BirdBrain · Dec 30th 2013, 12:19pm

hikerboy wrote:

the biggest danger of getting bitten by an eastern timber rattler is not seeing it and stepping on it.eastern rattlers are not aggressive.
even if bitten, good chance it was a venomless bite. problem is you wouldnt know until you had it check out(or died)

Where do they first appear on the trail heading south?

hikerboy · Dec 30th 2013, 12:24pm

BirdBrain wrote:

hikerboy wrote:

the biggest danger of getting bitten by an eastern timber rattler is not seeing it and stepping on it.eastern rattlers are not aggressive.
even if bitten, good chance it was a venomless bite. problem is you wouldnt know until you had it check out(or died)

Where do they first appear on the trail heading south?

never seen them north of mass.

Drybones · Dec 30th 2013, 12:27pm

hikerboy wrote:

the biggest danger of getting bitten by an eastern timber rattler is not seeing it and stepping on it.eastern rattlers are not aggressive.
even if bitten, good chance it was a venomless bite. problem is you wouldnt know until you had it check out(or died)

I've seen only one while hiking and it was on the Pinhoti, the wife was in front and was 6" from putting her foot on a 4'er, 12 rattles and a button, she hopped over it and said snake and pointed to it in the middle of the trail but it took me some time to find it, it blended in with the leaves so well and was partially covered by leaves, unbelievable she saw it, she said she saw it in her mind before she saw it with her eyes, in her opinion divine help.

TrainWreck · Dec 30th 2013, 12:31pm

BirdBrain wrote:

hikerboy wrote:

the biggest danger of getting bitten by an eastern timber rattler is not seeing it and stepping on it.eastern rattlers are not aggressive.
even if bitten, good chance it was a venomless bite. problem is you wouldnt know until you had it check out(or died)

Where do they first appear on the trail heading south?

In sleeping bags of Mainers

milkman · Dec 30th 2013, 12:34pm

TrainWreck wrote:

BirdBrain wrote:

hikerboy wrote:

the biggest danger of getting bitten by an eastern timber rattler is not seeing it and stepping on it.eastern rattlers are not aggressive.
even if bitten, good chance it was a venomless bite. problem is you wouldnt know until you had it check out(or died)

Where do they first appear on the trail heading south?

In sleeping bags of Mainers

gif.004 Looks like you got some good sleep.

BirdBrain · Dec 30th 2013, 12:38pm

TrainWreck wrote:

BirdBrain wrote:

hikerboy wrote:

the biggest danger of getting bitten by an eastern timber rattler is not seeing it and stepping on it.eastern rattlers are not aggressive.
even if bitten, good chance it was a venomless bite. problem is you wouldnt know until you had it check out(or died)

Where do they first appear on the trail heading south?

In sleeping bags of Mainers

Call it black fly revenge. Those things only eat people from away. It was side splitting fun watching southerners deal with those critters.

LoboSolo · Dec 30th 2013, 2:00pm

Mountain-Mike wrote:

Snakes don't want to bite you! Why waste venom on something they can't eat. I have witness numerous times where people have walked right by rattlers & were unaware they did so, myself included. In So CA I was hiking at a brisk pace to make a water source. I saw some movement in a bush beside the trail & figured it was anothr lizard. Taro who was close behind asked me if I saw the Green Mojave Rattler. One of the few poisonous snakes in the US that will kill you without a dose of anti-venom. He said he got a great pic of it streatched across the trial.

Another time Taro was in the lead within sight of me. With numero ORV & bike trails in the area it was hard to be sure if we were on the PCT. When I spotted some power lines I decided to stop & try to get a location fix on my map. As I pulled it out I heard a buzzing. Looking down was a rattler not more than a foot & a half away from me. I just slowly side stepped away & he never attempted to strike. Taro had walked by unaware less than a minute before. There are several more incidents like this that happened along the trail.

Taro Narahashi aka Ruthless Cur? haven't seen him in years

Mountain-Mike · Dec 30th 2013, 2:17pm

LoboSolo wrote:

Mountain-Mike wrote:

Snakes don't want to bite you! Why waste venom on something they can't eat. I have witness numerous times where people have walked right by rattlers & were unaware they did so, myself included. In So CA I was hiking at a brisk pace to make a water source. I saw some movement in a bush beside the trail & figured it was anothr lizard. Taro who was close behind asked me if I saw the Green Mojave Rattler. One of the few poisonous snakes in the US that will kill you without a dose of anti-venom. He said he got a great pic of it streatched across the trial.

Another time Taro was in the lead within sight of me. With numero ORV & bike trails in the area it was hard to be sure if we were on the PCT. When I spotted some power lines I decided to stop & try to get a location fix on my map. As I pulled it out I heard a buzzing. Looking down was a rattler not more than a foot & a half away from me. I just slowly side stepped away & he never attempted to strike. Taro had walked by unaware less than a minute before. There are several more incidents like this that happened along the trail.

Taro Narahashi aka Ruthless Cur? haven't seen him in years

I hiked with him on PCT up to Kennedy Meadows when he pushed through the Sierra despite a record high snowfall year. I think he was one of only six that did it. Saw him again in winter of 96 & new years Y2K at Rusty's was last time I saw him.

Drybones · Dec 30th 2013, 3:02pm

BirdBrain wrote:

TrainWreck wrote:

BirdBrain wrote:

hikerboy wrote:

the biggest danger of getting bitten by an eastern timber rattler is not seeing it and stepping on it.eastern rattlers are not aggressive.
even if bitten, good chance it was a venomless bite. problem is you wouldnt know until you had it check out(or died)

Where do they first appear on the trail heading south?

In sleeping bags of Mainers

Call it black fly revenge. Those things only eat people from away. It was side splitting fun watching southerners deal with those critters.

The next time you're out with someone and the black flies are swarming you, ease up behind the other person and slowly squat down, all the flies will stay around the other person's head, took me a while to understand why the flies were all over me and not my wife....finally caught her in the act.

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