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I got a certificate that I keep in a folder on a shelf in my study with my hiking books and mementos. Big whoop. Like Jacko, it's the photos and memories I treasure. Plus, journals of most all my AT sections. I got one of those 2000-miler "rockers" but could never decide which pack to put on, so it's in the folder on the shelf with all the other crap.

Bernie shoots hoops youtu.be/4OK82c5y2jE

I've never thru-hiked, just some really long section hikes. I've observed numerous married couples on the trail, and some father-son and father-daughter couples. The famous Barefoot Sisters journals may also be enlightening. (Dynamics between two adult sisters on the trail.) Anyway -- one thing I've noticed is that they often don't walk together. They meet on breaks and at camp, but they're often separated on the trail by a good chunk of a mile, and definitely out of view and out of earshot. My …

I wear a pair of Sorel "Conquest" for all my winter trekking. They're about eight years old now. They're stiff enough to wear with traction devices -- microspikes or Hillsound trail crampons. I've never had cold feet wearing them, though (lately) sometimes damp feet. Last trek I used a pair of flimsy plastic supermarket bags as liners, that worked pretty well.

Good way to learn is to hang out with the thru-hikers for a bit and just observe -- what gear they're using, how they use it, their camp routines, etc. Ask questions, politely. Most of them will be happy to explain every detail. You'll find thru-hikers throughout Georgia and TN/NC between March and mid-April. By June they're in Virginia, by August most are in New England and the herd has been thinned out greatly. It is by no means a "survival" thing unless you're doing it very wrong.

First action item: Do some reading. The most basic questions have been answered many times over in the standard AT guide books. Visit the ATC store and get a copy. Most of the guide books have an introductory chapter or two that will point you in the right direction -- the sort of gear you need, getting to the trail, basic trail etiquette, and so on. ATC's website: appalachiantrail.org/ ALDHA website: aldha.org/ Read trail journals online to get a feel for what it's about -- for example, at trai…

Was there a football game? Oh, I musta missed it. Went hiking instead. Posted some pix, hardly anyone seems to have noticed.

Tody's walk. Welch-Dickey loop, White Mountains. about 20 miles south of Franconia ridge. Boston was sunny, but the mountains had their own cloud system. Nice hike. Not much snow on the ground but plenty of ice. Microspikes definitely needed. Julie switched to crampons for a while. Of course, the clouds vanished just as we finished up our hike. Figures.

One of my all time favorite trail names, or one that made laugh the hardest, was RoboJesus. One of several who arrived in the rain and the dark at Logan Brook shelter one night in 2010. This posse was amazing. They stopped, gathered water, ate, wrung out their socks, mumbled and joked around, and then continued on in the dark, together, to the next shelter four miles up the trail. They were all in a serious hurry to get to Katahdin... just a few days away at that point.

Quote from OzJacko: “No Coffee I found in the USA was worthy of the title. Spain. THEY know how to make coffee. ” Well, that was certainly true when I was young. Less so today. Lots of places to get espresso or capuccino or a latte. But my first taste of proper espresso and capuccino was Italy. Back in the early 1970s. Back then American coffee was truly awful.

Quote from Trebor: “This has bad idea written all over it..... ” Now let me ask you, if there were a g*d, would he make humans this stupid?

No big deal, just sayin, algebra isn't college level. Calculus, maybe. Kids should be actively using algebra through the last couple years of high school, if they're going into STEM. Graduating after 11th grade was an option I either never had, or didn't know I had. Ancient history though.

Quote from Rasty: “There are plenty of really stupid older folks. Just look at any government building to find them. There are also plenty of really smart kids these days also. My 9th grader is in AP Algebra 2. I don't remember anyone in AP Algebra 2 when I was in the 9th grade. The braniacs we're taking Geometry when I was in 9th grade. I was taking Algebra 1. ” I don't get it. AP means advanced placement. AP courses are supposed to be college level. Passing a proper AP exam typically allows yo…

Quote from max.patch: “at least he died doing something he loved. dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3…=website&utm_content=link ” Do you dumpster dive for this crap, or what?

States renamed by country, according to educational levels.

Quote from Rasty: “Quote from rafe: “Quote from OzJacko: “I saw a young bloke yesterday with two studs pierced into the back of his neck. Luckily I didn't have a 9 volt battery as I had an overpowering urge...... ” I believe it's the natural role of young people to act outrageous and try to flip off their elders. I understand that, but I don't understand extreme tatooing or piercing. So yeah, I'm a bit of an old phart in that regard. ” I don't think age has anything to do with it. I thought tatt…

Quote from OzJacko: “I saw a young bloke yesterday with two studs pierced into the back of his neck. Luckily I didn't have a 9 volt battery as I had an overpowering urge...... ” I believe it's the natural role of young people to act outrageous and try to flip off their elders. I understand that, but I don't understand extreme tatooing or piercing. So yeah, I'm a bit of an old phart in that regard.

A little slow to watch all the way through. Traveling through northern Italy is enlightening. Sienna and Florence are an hours' drive apart, but for ages they were separate kingdoms and fought fiercely. Borders are pretty arbitrary, eh? I never understood nationalism, the notion that you're better than X Y or Z because of which country you were born in.

Quote from Dan76: “Quote from rafe: “Yesterday Merry and I were skiing at Wachusett Mtn. about 45 minutes west of Boston. This morning I took a 19.5 mile bike ride -- my usual summertime loop. It's 53F outside as I write this. ” I like these kinds of days. I've never been able to do so, but friends living in CA write of snow skiing in the AM and water skiing later in the day. ” Yep, when I lived in Oregon one year, you could sail one day and ski the next (on Mt. Hood). The most sunburned I ever …

Quote from max.patch: “woman gets "420" tattooed on her forehead; starts gofundme account to get it off. clickorlando.com/news/weird-ne…=website&utm_content=link ” There was a thread just a day or two back on TOS about a dude all excited about his thru-hike permit for 4/20. That I can relate to. Tatoo on forehead, not so much.