Monday, October 1, 2012

AT #1

i have often contemplated the appalachian trail

the neverending barrage of soccer events gave us a reprieve last weekend and so I siezed the opportunity to do some joint planning with my son, Jackson.  we considered overnight camping on the C&O canal, the cross race in Winchester along with some other options.  Given the choice, Jackson wanted to go hiking on the AT.  So on Saturday morning we laid out all of the stuff that we'd need in preparation for the brief adventure.  We laid out lighting, backpacks, sleeping bags, camp stove, etc... threw it all together and tossed the pack in the back of the car and off we went. 

The plan was simple.  a brief stop at the local grocerie, then off to the AT.  We planned to just go to the trail, hike in a direction until we found a place to camp.  camp.  wake up and hike back to the car.

which is exactly what we did.

on the way back, we came upon Richard Gwozd, a thru hiker from Quebec who had been on the trail since mid June, southward bound.  his trail name was "nail".  We offered him a reprieve for a day and so he spent the night at our place, we fed him, he showered and shaved and ate A LOT.  Then I took him back to the trail in the morning.

My wife, bless her soul, was tremendously supportive of our guest and took him shopping while I went off to a soccer game and plan the wrestling season later in the evening.

Here are some pictures from the short adventure