Winter hike

Nothing is so rewarding as hiking in the snow. Deep snow make it more challenging to hike on the Appalachian Trail near Rockfish Gap Virginia. I recently began a hike but could not reach my destination because the snow reached a depth of 2 feet. We didn't have snow shoes and walking became very exhausting. My pack weight was around 20 pounds but my friends pack weight was around 50 + pounds. With every step he took he sank the full depth of the snow. After going half the distance we had to turn around and thrace our steps back to the car. We learned that snow shoes are a must in conditions like that. But I could think of a scripture that carried me through the hard hike.

Psalm 119:133

Direct my footsteps according to your word; let no sin rule over me.

alcohol stoves

My friend and I have been making an assortment of alcohol stoves. Coke can, cat food and penny alcohol stoves. I have fpound out that they all work very well especially for solo hiking to revitilize dehydrated foods. The light weight of the stove far over comes the weight of carrying the alcohol. A very good ultra light stove.

I hiked on the AT near Three Ridges in Virginia a couple of weeks ago. I slept in the Clark's Jungle hammock and it was terrific. I also used the peapod under quilt to keep me warm in sub freezing temperatures and never got cold. Falling ice from the trees never gave me a problem. I used spring clip-ons to walk on the ice and never fell.

I went hiking this past weekend on the Appalachian Trail. The area was having an ice storm. My friend and I had to put ice clips on the borrom of our shoes to hike up the mountain. There was so much ice that my friend had to set his tent up inside the shelter so that the large chunks of ice would not damage his tent. I set up my Clarks Jungle hammock with speer peapod to weather the storm. The trail became a 4 inch ice path. The return trip was hard, at one point I had to slide on my backside for a long distance to get down the mountain. The ice chunks falling from the trees were the size of large ice cubes a hard on the head.

Stories to tell

Whike hiking I explore trails finding unusual facts about the plants, animal, geology and folk lore along the way. I work as an environmental engineer ( a Hydrogeomorphologist). I redesign streams so they mimic their original natural state. I spent some time as a marine biologist and studied plants and animals around estuarine streams. I have collected a million stories about the people I have met and the places I have been. One person I met was a man hiking the AT from Hawaii near Waynesboro Virginia. He had a very unique story. Do you have a story to tell ?

Winter hiking

Hiking solo in the snow in winter can be a very rewarding experience. While walking in the snow animals get wet fur and each animal gives off a different odor. Coyotes, deer and bear all have odors specific to them. A coyote has a musty smell while a deer has a sharp simi sweet odor. Bears have a ransid ketone odor from the metabolism of the yellow fat in winter. When you hike solo you can move quietly enough to be within the smell of wild animals. If you hike in groups the animals see and hear you long before you see them. But if you hike in winter youmust take every possible safety precaution. I leave a detailed map of my route and carry a locator beacon, a GPS as well as a SAT phone. I also carry a pack with extra winter supplies (dry clother, etc).

Bear stories

I was hiking the Appalachian Trail in the fall and had heard that there had been a lot of black bear activity along the AT. I had been hiking for about 24 miles and got to a shelter late. By the time I had fixed dinner, pitched my tent and hung my bear bag it was dark. I had read that if you sang songs it would scare bears away. It was late fall and there were no other hikers around. I had heard a lot of noises around the shelter and was expecting to see bears any minute. So I made up a song and sang it as load as I could. I made up my own words to Old MacDonald had a farm. It went bit like this "Old MacDonald had a woods and in the woods he had a bear and the bear said gerrrr hear and a gerrrr there and gerrrr all around." I sang it clear and load many times. I didn't hear any bears but I did hear someone off in the distance say, "Hey mister if you don't mind we are trying to get some sleep and would you please shut up." My voice had carried to a bunch of turkey hunters camping several miles away. I felt really embarrassed.