Fireweed - Appalachian Trail Journal - 2015
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Mary "Fireweed" Kwart
City: Ashland
State: Oregon
Country: USA
Begins: Mar 18, 2015
Direction: Northbound
Daily Summary
Date: Wed, Mar 11th, 2015
Start: Ashland
End: Ashland
Daily Distance: 0
Journal Stats
Entry Visits: 575
Journal Visits: 7,054
Guestbook Views: 332
Guestbook Entrys: 0
Is Everything Done to Prepare?
I will be flying to Atlanta to start the AT. I'm only doing the first 200 miles as a warm up for the Hayduke Trail in Utah in April. There are 327 journals active for the AT on Trail journals--many tales of woe informed by extreme cold, snow and ice. I have modified my equipment accordingly--adding an extra pair of long underwear and yak trax for walking on ice. It may be too windy to use the umbrella. This weather is to the AT what 2011 was to the PCT Sierra hikers. Oh well--another spring hike aka winter camping trip. Utah will be warmer in April--I can look forward to that. I am interested in my reaction to spending the night with the cast of thousands in the huts on the AT. I have my tent, but keeping it dry in the rain is a good idea, so I will use the huts whenever possible. I have a friend in the Atlanta area who I hope will join me for some hikes. The AT crosses so many roads--some hikers are slackpacking between roads in their quest to thru hike. I have to carry full weight to keep in shape for the Hayduke in April. The journals tell many stories of trail angel meals where the trail crosses the roads, such as banana pancakes provided by a church group. The AT seems like much more of a community project than the PCT or CDT.
