Ben there
My friend ‘Ben There’ joined me in Damascus, Virginia for a week on the road. I had over 500 miles on the books and to balance ‘Ben There’s’ fresh legs acclimating to the trail and me putting in the miles, we got creative. ‘Ben There’, an experienced backpacker, with whom I had hiked before in Colorado and California, had driven his car from Ohio and we were able to do a series of baggy backpacks, north-south hikes and hotel stays. We distracted ourselves on the big climbs by talking about an infinite number of topics.
The result: ‘Ben There’ and I were able to cover about 75 miles in a week and I really appreciated his company along the way.
Schedules permitting, ‘Ben There’ will join me again in Nee Hampshire and help me get through ‘The Presidentials’.
Knowing a legend
The highlight of the week for ‘Ben There’ and I came after we unsuccessfully contacted some ferry drivers in the Damascus area. Then we saw his name in the AT guide: the legendary Warren Doyle. We called his number and Warren picked up the phone. We didn’t realize it at the time, but he’s a busy guy and we were very lucky to get in touch with him let alone book a shuttle on a day when he was available.
Getting a bus ride from Warren Doyle is like getting a ride from Tom Brady to your high school football game. The guy’s been down the trail 18 fucking times. Brady has only won 7 Super Bowls. Sorry Tom, but it’s not even close: Doyle marker!
Some advice from Warren…
- Don’t fight the path, flow with it.
- Don’t expect any favors along the way… everything has to be earned.
- It is better to learn to be a smart hiker than a strong hiker.
- Bear the blows and learn to laugh in the shadow of diversity.
Warren is an incredible AT ambassador, a wise backpacker, and his love for AT is limitless. It was an honor to know you.
Hostels
A couple of hostels I’ve visited recently and loved:
- Burke Garden was one of the best hostels I have ever used. In my opinion, the location is unbeatable: in a quiet valley surrounded by mountains. The hostel is spacious, clean and well laid out. Replenishment has many options.
- Four Pines in Catawba, Virginia is run by two great people. Donna is a very compassionate and kind owner, who will take you where you need to go. Quest is a great guy who makes a great breakfast, is an excellent shuttle driver and former hiker with great advice.
Body maintenance
My body feels great! My feet are broken. My ankles feel better than they have in 30 years. And my legs feel stronger every day.
I’m starting to feel comfortable doing 16-20 miles a day.
Weight-wise, I’ve lost about 10-12 pounds since I started on March 13th. I’m trying to eat as much as possible to maintain my weight when I’m in trail towns. For example, the other night while I was in town, I had a 1/2 pound cheeseburger topped with bacon, an egg, lettuce, tomato, ketchup, mayonnaise, and mustard along with 2 sides: fried onion rings and fried mushrooms, and 2 beers and 2 Pepsis to go with it. I went back to the hostel and had a big bag of chips and a package of donuts. Hiker hunger is a real thing.
One area of focus I am trying to improve is electrolyte intake. Many thanks to my daughter for solving a problem I had with electrolyte tablets. The tablets kept turning to powder in the ziplock bags I packed them in. Found packets to add to ziplock bags that keep them whole.
Progress
I’ve already been on more than 700 miles of adventure. To put that in perspective, I grew up in Northeast Ohio and could have walked from my hometown to Cincinnati and back with many miles to spare. That’s something I never would have dreamed of as a kid.
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