Welcome to the AppalachianTrailCafe.net!
Take a moment and register and then join the conversation

Hiking Plans 2023

    This site uses cookies. By continuing to browse this site, you are agreeing to our Cookie Policy.

    • I finalized this summer's trip.

      Isle Royale NP, Aug 3-7, via the Isle Royale Queen IV from Copper Harbor MI.
      Planned Itinerary:
      Day 1: Dock to the lodge (lunch/beer) to Daisy Farm (7.1 miles)

      Daisy Farm to McCargoe Cove (8.2 miles)
      McCargoe Cove to Moskey Basin (8.4 miles)
      Moskey Basin to Three Mile (via Mt Franklin) or maybe to Lane Cove - see how I'm feeling (10.0/10.8 miles)
      Three Mile/Lane Cove to Lodge (lunch/beer/beer) to dock (6.9/2.7 miles). I could also add a day hike to Scoville point, time and beer permitting (4.2 miles)
      I had to scale back by a couple of days. Too much stuff happening at home.

      If anyone wants to join in, let me know.
    • StalkingTortoise wrote:

      StalkingTortoise wrote:

      My motorcycle club is holding a rally in Stecoah at the end of April so I'm going to head down there and knock off the 15 miles between Stecoah Gap and Fontana Dam. Then I plan on making a slight detour on the way to my son's September wedding in Charlotte and hike the 10 miles from Winding Stair Gap to Wayah Bald. Might end up being a 25-mile year. ;(
      I love it when a plan comes together. Drove down Friday afternoon, enjoyed dinner and a few drinks with my moto buddies, and then hiked the Stecoah Gap to Fontana Dam section Saturday. Around 700 miles of driving for 16 trail miles. :S


      Still looking to visit my son in Franklin over July 4th weekend to knock off the last 10-mile orphan.
      Trudgin' along the AT since 2003. Completed Sections: Springer Mountain to Clingmans Dome and Max Patch NC to Gorham NH

      "The days I keep my gratitude higher than my expectations...those are pretty good days." Ray Wylie Hubbard
    • I'll be hiking from DWG up to Greenwood Lake starting tomorrow. I had debated using my time off to go to trail days, but decided I'd rather hike. The weather forecast is perfect for the next week, with a couple of mornings dipping into the mid 30s. At the same time, I'll be able to update my section of ALDHA's Thru Hiker's Companion. I'm the field editor for the NJ section.The entire section is 72 miles, but I'll be starting at AMC Mohican Center. I'm leaving my car near Greenwood Lake and getting a shuttle to the AMC camp.
      Yesterday I soaked my clothes in permethrin for the ticks, and I'm bringing along a head net just in case the black flies are out. I day hiked in Harriman last Tuesday, and the flies were pretty annoying.
      its all good

      The post was edited 1 time, last by hikerboy ().

    • A couple of years ago Kathy and I hiked from the Delaware River to the Hudson River. It's surprising how nice the trail is in New Jersey. Up until that hike we had done NJ as day or weekend hikes. Like so many others when I think of NJ I think of oil refineries and the turnpike. There's so much more to the state than that.
    • I'm not going to say anything crazy like NJ was one of my favorite states, but I will say it was among the biggest nicest surprises I had on the trail. My image of NJ was based on years of SNL skits :) and it was much nicer that that. It's actually a nice place for a walk. But I still wonder what lies on the other side of the corridor. :)
      2,000 miler

      The post was edited 2 times, last by max.patch ().

    • LIhikers wrote:

      A couple of years ago Kathy and I hiked from the Delaware River to the Hudson River. It's surprising how nice the trail is in New Jersey. Up until that hike we had done NJ as day or weekend hikes. Like so many others when I think of NJ I think of oil refineries and the turnpike. There's so much more to the state than that.
      Including lots of bears.
      The road to glory cannot be followed with much baggage.
      Richard Ewell, CSA General
    • hikerboy wrote:

      Me and Lou did a little trail magic for Astro when he came through NY.
      Donuts, 2 days of slack packing, and gorilla tape for my shoes to get me to the motel between the zoo and Hudson Bridge! It was a great treat! :thumbup:
      I had hard time wanting to get out of that chair.
      The road to glory cannot be followed with much baggage.
      Richard Ewell, CSA General
    • I was at a house concert last night talking to some old friends. We were discussing summer plans. I mentioned my plans for backpacking Isle Royale. Stephanie say Tom (her husband) has dreamed of doing that for years and I should invite him. So Tom ( who was standing right there) asked if that was possible to change my permits. I said at IR, you don't need permits as long as there is room on the ferry. I checked on line and there was one ticket left so he booked it.

      Tom admitted it has been many years since he has backpacked. The last time I had a hiking buddy, he also had antique gear. We decided that between bowworing from his kids and my back up gear, we can get him a bit updated.
    • Finished my orphan hike between Winding Stair Gap and Wayah Bald. Nothing like a July hike in Western NC.

      Trudgin' along the AT since 2003. Completed Sections: Springer Mountain to Clingmans Dome and Max Patch NC to Gorham NH

      "The days I keep my gratitude higher than my expectations...those are pretty good days." Ray Wylie Hubbard
    • Post-hike touristing in Franklin ain't bad.

      Images
      • 20230702_152427.jpg

        78.67 kB, 600×450, viewed 49 times
      Trudgin' along the AT since 2003. Completed Sections: Springer Mountain to Clingmans Dome and Max Patch NC to Gorham NH

      "The days I keep my gratitude higher than my expectations...those are pretty good days." Ray Wylie Hubbard
    • I've got most of my gear in order for my upcoming Isle Royale trip. The last thing to do is do an overnight in the backyard to make sure the sleep system (tent, stakes, pad, poles, quilt, pillow) are all in order after gathering dust since my last trip. Speaking of dust, there are still a few Grand-Canyon-colored stains on some of the gear.

      I'm always tweaking my gear. I'm going to trial a hack I read about recently. I heard that stuffing a fleece or puffy in a Buff makes a great pillow. I'll try that tonight. If it works I can leave my inflatable pillow at home. Isle Royale is cold enough to warrant packing a fleece, even in august.

      I set up the tent in the shade under some trees next to my deck, so I got an unusual overhead view of the pitch. You can see how the Xmid has radial, not bilateral, syAugust. Xmid owners are obsessed with posting pitch pics.

    • follow up. The fleece in a Buff wasn't a bad pillow, but a little hard. It was thicker than my inflatable Sea to Summit which is good as i am a round shouldered side sleeper who needs a thick pilliw. A down puffy would be softer, but this trip isn't cold enough to require a puffy so no sense to bring it just for a pillow. I'll probably have both and switch back and forth as I toss and turn in the middle of the night.

      I did find the the ground seems to be getting harder and one-person tents seem to be getting smaller. Not sure why. OK, maybe I do know. ;)
    • Kathy and I are planning our first post retirement hike. Kathy's never been on the C+O Canal Trail so we are thinking we'll hike the C+O and GAP (Great Allegheny Passage) . That'll come out to about 335 miles. We won't be able to start until mid October so we may be in for some cold weather. The question is which way to go,
      D.C. to Pittsburgh or the other way around. I'm leaning toward starting in D.C. and walking west as the camping spots are much closer together on the C+O than on the GAP, where we'll have to do a combination of camping, stealth camping, and staying in various facilities in towns. It might be a great Leaf Peeping hike that time of year.
    • In Copper Harbor. Our boat leaves at 8 AM
      The Keweenaw Peninsula is spectacularly beautiful. On the sunset pic from the top of the mountain you can see the island as a thin dark line on the horizon 50 miles away.
      Images
      • 20230802_203630.jpg

        226.83 kB, 800×600, viewed 35 times
      • 20230802_195226.jpg

        213.08 kB, 800×600, viewed 33 times
      • 20230802_201656.jpg

        142.11 kB, 600×450, viewed 31 times
      • 20230802_192911.jpg

        232.53 kB, 800×600, viewed 36 times
    • Many, many years ago I drove up the Keweenaw Peninsular on my way to climb walk to the Michigan High Point. The High Point was not very memorable.

      What I remember most was stopping on the way to buy a large hunk of native copper off a young boy. Roadside copper stands seemed to be the equivalent of a kids lemonade stand in the upper peninsula back then.
      “Of all sad words of tongue or pen,
      the saddest are these, 'It might have been.”


      John Greenleaf Whittier