Tag: planning

The Countdown is On!

img_7146

I can’t believe it.  Am I dreaming?  Is this real life?

joyce snow

In 33 days I will embark on a life long dream to thru-hike the Appalachian Trail.  My palms are sweaty, my stomach is doing flips, and my brain is swirling with last-minute details.  I am in control of my nerves.  My nerves do not control me.  It’s been an incredible journey just getting this far.

There have been a million little things in the last few months that I’ve done to prepare.  I’ve been watching some really informative videos created by successful thru-hikers.  They have given me ideas on the type of gear to bring, how to put up my new tent, what food to bring, how to hang a bear bag, how to stretch your muscles after a long day, the best hostels to stay in and views not to miss on the trail.  I especially appreciate the videos on where to find the best hamburger and beer on the trail.  You know, the important stuff.

I took a minute or two (okay about an hour) to review some of my past articles.  Just to remind myself just how far I’ve come.  Sometimes I feel like a completely different person wrote those articles from way back in the beginning.  That girl had no idea what she was doing and I’m afraid I don’t know much more than that now!  One thing I know now is that I can ASK QUESTIONS.  Find someone who looks friendly and ask for help.  The hiking community is filled with generous, kind people who are eager to help and teach.  Thank goodness!

One of my most fond memories was my very first overnight backpacking trip with my friend Shelly.  I felt so bad for Shelly re-reading this.  I really was a whiner!  My article all about it is here: No Choice, Joyce.  Definitely one of my favorite articles.  Another favorite is my very, very first article.  Somewhere. Sometime.  That girl that wrote that was so excited to start this journey and I am so glad she’s coming with me!

In the last few weeks at home, I will continue to pack and unpack and pack my backpack again and again.  Layout all my items and fine-tune every last one.  How many band-aids do I need?  Should I take two buffs or one?  Do I really need a pillow? (YES!)  I’m making all the decisions with the knowledge that if a piece of my gear isn’t performing the way I’d hoped it would I can always replace or upgrade it at the next outfitter on the trail.  Or better yet, I’ll find what I need in a hiker box.  A hiker box is found in hostels and some shelters.  The box is filled with FREE gear that other hikers have abandoned.  Maybe it was a pair of heavy microspikes or a water filter plunger, or a pair of socks.  You just never know what might appear in a hiker box.  I once left a book in a hiker box.  It was way too heavy to continue carrying, so I left it.  I still don’t know how it ends.

Also in the last few weeks at home, I am going to EAT.   I need to have Bocces pizza and BarBill chicken wings before I go for sure!  And, in the last month or so, I’ve developed a little tendonitis in my ankle so I am going to physical therapy to strengthen my joints and increase my flexibility.

As much as I will enjoy every minute of the good, bad and ugly on the trail, I am going to miss a lot about home.  My bed, my electric blanket, my iPad, my running water, my TOILET!  Above all, I will miss my family and friends. There is decent cell service all along the trail so I plan to keep in touch when I can.  I wish I could squish everyone down and stuff them into my backpack and bring them along!  I created an Instagram account that I am going to try to update every day with a photo. Come with me!  Follow me at @Trailchaser2020.

Happy Trails!

 

R

What have you been doing?

There’s a question I love to answer!  The answer is – anything and everything to prepare for my adventure in the Spring!  I definitely have some kind of Appalachian Trail Fever.  I’ve been busy reading and researching the trail, gear, backpacking food, etc.  The most important thing I have been doing is – Hiking!

Over the past month, I have completed six more trails of the Allegany 18 Challenge.  For those of you keeping track, I have one more trail left.  I promised Dave that he could hike that last trail with me so we can celebrate together.

I spent the night in Allegany State Park at the Ridge Run Trail lean-to.  This is where I learned that my sleeping bag is not warm enough, that I can start a fire if needed and always remember to pack a little booze!

Typically, I hike solo, but two of the trails I completed were hiked with my good friend, Denise.  She makes me laugh as you can see from the video below.

She really thought she would fit in that tree!

My best friend, Linda also went hiking with me.  Well, I call it hiking, she calls it geocaching.  We celebrated her 5000th cache found by hiking to a cache that was clothing optional.  She was crazy enough to hike naked, so I did too.  Unfortunately, it was rainy and chilly so the naked didn’t last long!  Here are a couple of edited pictures.

The fun doesn’t stop there!

Of course, I am utilizing all the resources available to me to learn about thru-hiking the Appalachian Trail.  One thing I did was to join a group on Facebook specifically for people planning to hike the trail in 2020.  Since it’s such a small world, I met another hiker that actually lives in a town over from me.  Jim is starting the trail just before me and his brother will be hiking the first month with him.  Jim invited me to join him on a shakedown hike in the Allegheny National Forest.  A shakedown hike is where a hiker packs all their gear and sees what gear they used, what worked, what needs to be replaced or upgraded, and what gear they can live without, etc. My pack weighed in at 31 pounds fully loaded with food and water.  Jim’s was 23 pounds.  I would prefer to carry Jim’s pack, so I’m working on lightening my pack weight.  We hiked out to the Tracy Ridge Campground on Friday evening and I faced my first night-hike.  It was tiring and sometimes confusing because it was so dark, but we made it to the campsite and quickly set up our tents.

When I woke up on Saturday morning and finally saw my surroundings – All I can say is WOW!

img_4747

We hiked a little on Saturday and Jim also gave me a fire building lesson. He showed me how a water bladder makes filtering water easier (it’s on my Amazon wish list) and more little bits of backpacker tips and tricks.  It was so helpful!  We spent another night and hiked out to the car on Sunday morning.  Every mountain I climb makes the next mountain I climb a little easier!

Now, I’m looking forward to hiking in Letchworth soon and getting out for some fall hikes.  And biting my nails waiting for Spring!

 

Happy Trails!

 

Learning Lessons

In my last article I wrote about being afraid while hiking alone.  The article was lighthearted and some called it cute and funny.  I tried to make light of being afraid while hiking alone.  Like my fears were not real.

Trust me. 

THEY ARE REAL. 

And those fears became even more real when Army Veteran Ron Sanchez was brutally murdered on the Appalachian Trail a few weeks ago.  I do not want to put the incident in my own words; you can google it.

I have read that Ron Sanchez was thru hiking the AT to seek healing from post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).  He had served three tours in Iraq.  People set out to thru hike the AT for different reasons.  Therefore, on the trail I expect to encounter people like Ron, who are hiking the trail to find inner peace.  On the trail I also predict I will encounter happy people, sad people, grumpy people, friendly people and yes, scary people.

Scary things can happen to you, me, and those we love – anywhere and at anytime.  Recently I was speaking with my nephew, Matthew, about scary things and what does he do to come to peace with it.  He said – when really bad things happen and I can’t do anything about it, I try to learn a lesson from it.

The lesson I learned is that I will be the friendly, cheerful, happy, kind person that others encounter on the trail.  I will be the person that others can trust.  I will “trust my gut” when I encounter suspicious people.  However, I will continue to solo hike.  I will also carry a Personal Locator Beacon in case of an emergency.

Most of all, I will not live in fear of the unknown.  I will not let scary things control me or discourage me from my thru hike in 2020.

Ron Sanchez
Ron Sanchez Trail Name “Stonghold” Rest in Peace

 

 

 

Distractions, Challenges and Gettin’ it DONE!

wedding CAThere was a major distraction in my life this past year.  My handsome son was married in September 2018!  My dining room became wedding central.  Two tables were full of centerpieces and every kind of wedding paraphernalia.  The wedding was beautiful!  Anyone who has planned a wedding knows that after the big day it takes a few weeks to recover.  Well, I took a few months.  Now I can get back to my agenda of training for the AT!

Last summer, before the big day, I took a couple of hiking trips to Kinzua Sky Walk, Kiasutha Recreation Area and Allegany State Park – among many other day hikes locally.

Click here for information on Kinzua Bridge State Park and the Sky Walk.

Kinzua Sky Walk is an old railroad bridge that was knocked down by a tornado.  They bolstered the remaining trestle and made a really, really cool walk way out of it.  I highly recommend walking the trail to view the bridge from below!  There is also a brand new education building with extremely interesting history of the bridge, the tornado and how the sky walk was built.

Click here for the visitor guide.

Kinzua State Park - Mount Jewett, PA Kinzua looking up

kiasutha tent

Kiasutha Recreation Area was about 40 minutes from the Sky Walk but worth the ride.  I had the most peaceful campsite with a beautiful view (Tent site number 12) right next to the lake and just a minute walk to the sandy beach.  I highly recommend it!  It was a peaceful and beautiful place to camp out overnight.

Last year I also camped out at Allegany State Park.  I rented a cabin though because the campground was closed.  The cabin did not have heat or electricity.  I wasn’t there for the cabin though!

I’ve been to this park over a hundred times and I was able to see five new things that I never saw before!

Bear Caves, Thunder Rocks, Stone Tower, Quaker Lake, and Science Lake.

 

Skinned my knee scrambling up here before my camera timer went off!
This rock is falling on me! Help!
Did not see bears. Disappointed. Not!
Stone Tower. I love the history of this park!
Sitting in the lifeguard chair at Quaker Lake. No one drowned.

The park has a program called Allegany 18.  It is a challenge to hike all 18 original trails of Allegany State Park.  It totals about 70 miles.

Most trails average 5 miles or so.  You pay $20.00 for your packet which includes separate maps of each trail and a neon pencil.  As you walk each trail you come across yellow markers with the trail number, which you etch onto your map for proof you actually hiked the trail.  After hiking all 18 trails you can claim your neat water bottle and sticker!

Currently I’ve only hiked one trail, but I plan to complete them all by August.

My thru hike is only a year away now, so it’s time to get to business.  I hope to be writing about my challenges and adventures more often.  I’ll be headed back to the gym (!!!!) to get some muscle built.  Gyms are intimidating to me, so send positive thoughts that I get my big girl panties on and just DO IT!

hiking partner shadow

My faithful hiking partner is never far away, although sometimes she fades into the shadows.

 

 

My goal is still 2020!

I announced my intention to thru hike the Appalachian Trail in 2020 WAY back in July of 2015.  Some people seem to be assuming that I have given up on it.  What???  No.  I still intend on starting my hike in April of 2020.  Ready or not here I come.  This summer I will be buckling my pack and staking my tent even more; going to places I have never been and gaining some valuable experience.  And I’ll even write about a few of those adventures.  Plans are in the works for a trip to the Maryland section of the Appalachian Trail, and a possible trip to Maine.  I’ll, of course, also keep hiking around Western New York.

Right now though, Mother Nature has not yet received the message that Spring is about to be here and has been unleashing some serious snow and cold around here.

I’m not letting that stop me though.  I revisited an old favorite place to hike, Tillman Nature Preserve.  The last time I visited there was a monsoon!  (Read about it here.) I was up past my ankles in water while hiking in my work boots and a skirt! (This was back when I didn’t prepare very well.) It was a little different this time.  The weather was cool, but it had just been raining so the trails were mushy and muddy in places and downright ponds to walk through.  The boardwalks and waterproofed boots were sure handy!

Of course, I always say – It isn’t a truly good hike unless there’s a little mud!

Before and after of my boots.

Tillman Nature Preserve has a great loop trail that is just over 2 miles.  It crosses and recrosses a road and is completely and utterly FLAT.   There were a few interesting photo ops though.

Some kind of fungus, a neat little bridge and it seems as if someone built a couple “shelters”.  Only one seemed to be big enough for me to get in, so I did.

IMG_20180227_164320

As you can see by the sunshine over my shoulder the shelter is not very weatherproof, but it’s still fun.  I cleaned up some litter around the shelters and on the trail.

IMG_20180227_174407

There must be at least a six pack of Bud Light and a couple Gatorade bottles.  What a shame.  I’m glad I brought a bag to collect it all in.  I actually washed and kept the orange shaker bottle.  It looked brand new!  I’m guessing it fell off a fat-tire bike rider.

A week later, my big green pack was looking sad, so I packed it lightly and buckled it up to revisit Hunters Creek Park.  I was worried about the snow in the parking lot, but I didn’t need to be.  So many people love this park it must have been plowed.  I put on my micro spikes for a short hike around the most used trails.  The trails with no human tracks made me nervous.  I didn’t want to blaze my own trail yet and I had left my snow shoes in my car.

It was not even 30 degrees, but I was plenty warm with my layers.  I was confident hiking on the icy paths with my micro spikes.  I had my taped together, well-used map, so I didn’t get lost.  Although at one point I thought a blue dashed line was the creek when it was actually a trail.  Oops.  So much for having a map.  I am seriously considering taking an orienteering class this summer.

I love this picture below of the brilliant sunset (my AT dream) behind poles (work, life) with a directional sign (chose left or right).  I don’t want to go left or right; I want to go straight into that brilliant dream!!!  Those poles can just get out of my way!  When I’m on the AT, I will take many photos of the sunset I am sure; and NONE of them will have poles in the way!

IMG_20180302_180800

See you on the trails!

%d bloggers like this: