the benton mackaye trail is very different than the appalachian trail.overall, i would rate it somewhat more difficult to both walk and navigate.as it was still early spring, some of the trail, particularly in the more remote wilderness areas, were full of brush and blowdown, making walking very tedious at times.the georgia section had steeper ups and downs than the same section of the at, but still easier than most trails ive hiked here in the northeast.i found sgt rocks, bmt guide a must, as well as the national geo maps. although the trail is usually easy enough to follow, the trail intersections can be confusing at times, as well as reentry into the woods off roadwalks, which are not always clearly marked. this lack of blazing is pronounced in the wilderness areas, where there are no blazes at all.it just means paying close attention at the trail intersections to make sure you're on the right trail.if you hop on the wrong trail, you could travel miles without knowing you're on the… [Read More]

i started from springer mountain on my 57th birthday, april 10th. The night before i had stayed at hiker hostel in dahlonega. everyone there was doing the appalachian trail. they mostly had that wide eyed "what am i getting myself into ?"look, but most were equipped fairly decently. i helped one guy lose some pack weight as his pack was close to 60 lbs with food and water. he had an arctryx mountaineering pack that weighed 7lbs alone!his sleeping pad weighed over 3 lbs and he was carrying 3 sets of clothes,plus raingear.i told him he should consider replacing his pack and pad at neels gap, helped him eliminate some other stuff he didnt need.
i also met shea,who was wearing a ny mets cap, and lives just a few towns away from me in ny. i would run into shea again several times during the course of my hike. he's still on the trail, making miles.
the benton mackaye trail starts just a few hundred yards from the at terminus.it intersects the at 4 times before turning westward. about 4… [Read More]

Website—tarptent.com/double-rainbow.html
Listed Weight—40 Ounces
Listed Capacity—2 Person
Two door, two person single wall tent made from silicon coated nylon. Suitable for 3+ season use.



Henry Shires makes a fantastic tent and the Double Rainbow is a functional and well-made tent. At 41 ounces the tent is very light for a two person tent without the expense of cuben fiber. With two it has just enough space, but it’s a palace when going solo. I seam sealed the tent which took about 45 minutes and the tent has kept me very dry every time it has rained so far. Just like any other tent there will be condensation on the ceiling when the conditions are right.

Pros— Weight, Space, simple setup, well made
Cons— Not freestanding unless you have trekking pole extenders, stuff sack isn't durable

… [Read More]

after successfully completing my thru hike of the benton mackaye trail, i met up with homebrew at standing bear and hiked north on the at till trail days in damascus.i started out from trail days early monday morning, but found myself hiking within a huge bubble with anywhere between 15 and 30 people at the campsites and shelters.i pushed hard to get ahead, and as a result i tweaked my knee on a downhill that saturday.
meantime,mountain mike had been trying to figure out how we could hook up,we had kept missing each other , and i was close to laurel creek at mile 580.3. he sent me a text to stay at fort bastian, gave me the number to call trubrit, which i did , let him know i would be there the following day.i walked down the hill from laurel creek, and eventually met mountain mike coming up to meet me.he took my pack and i followed him up the hill to the campsites, in a beautiful pine forest with plenty of great tenting and hammocking sites available. there was a log cabin under… [Read More]

Quick and Easy Article Creation

Steps
1) Type or Paste your written article in the text box
2) Number (rename) your pictures with the order you want them to appear in the article
3) Add each picture as an attachment


4) Insert a table in each location where pictures are needed. The table can be adjusted to match the number of pictures you want in a spot in your article. You will insert one picture into each cell of the table.


5) Place you mouse cursor in the cell you intend to insert a picture in and left-click your mouse. Then left-click your mouse on the "Insert into message" button on the attached picture.


6) You can also insert pictures from your gallery pictures. There are five sizes to… [Read More]

This is a simple project for beginners. You will need a piece of silnylon or cuben, some small cord, a small toggle, and a small safety pin. Directions are the same, in this example I am using some .51 cuben. Like most sewing projects you will make this inside out.

Step 1
Decide what size sack you want to make. Then add 2" to the height(add 2-1/2 for silnylon) and double the width and add 1/2" for cuben and 1" for silnylon. Cut out the material with a hot knife if you have one to minimize unraveling.

Step 2
Make the draw cord tunnel. Fold the two corners of the top inward 1-1/2" to make two triangles. Sew down the vertical edge. Then fold the top edge down 1/4". Then fold down again until the top is even with the bottom of the stitched triangles. Now stitch all the way across thru the 1/4" fold.

Step 3
Fold the two side together and sew 1/4" inside for cuben and about an 1" for silnylon. Next flatten the bag out and for cuben sew another row of stitching next to the first. For sil… [Read More]

Things you will need: (1) piece of silnylon between 24" and 30" square. 25" of 7/8" or wider grossgrain, 19" of 5/8" grossgrain, scissors, sewing machine, and 100% polyester thread- I like Gutterman.

Step 1:
Mark an "X" in the center of your material Next measure out and mark points equidistant from your center point. I like around 27" for a diameter, so I have marked points out at 13-1/2" all the way around. Fill in between the dots until you have a circle. Cut around the circle with scissors or a hot knife.



Step 2
Mark 1/8, 1/4, 3/8, 1/2, 5/8, 3/4, 7/8, 1 points around the circle. Mark off 1" on the wider piece (7/8") of webbing- this is how much the webbing will overlap itself. Then mark off the webbing into 1/8's like you did the circle.

… [Read More]

April 21st through May 1st

Day 1 – Mile 110 to 119.9 (Reliance, TN to Coker Creek)

I left the House at 1 am to make the drive to Reliance, Tennessee. Hikerboy had been on the trail around 10 days at that point and was taking a zero at Reliance waiting on me. We planned to hike a short day on Monday and I was glad we did. With 3 hours of sleep and 9 hours of driving anything more than the 10 miles we did would have killed me. Day one always sucks when you don’t train on hills. The first couple of miles were flat with great views of the Hiwassee River then the trail goes up with some really nice river views. We made camp at Coker creek. Hikerboy managed to find the one marshmallow to step in within 10 miles. He’s such a good manager he managed to step in it twice.



Day 2 – Mile 119.9 to 137… [Read More]