Afternoon Break at Dismal Falls

Sunday afternoon Brandon and a new hiking buddy, Mike "MANKS" Long, could not resist the temptation of taking a break at beautiful Dismal Falls. Here's a video of them having fun! Brandon informed me later that he is determined to find a higher water fall to jump from! I, in turn, informed him that he didn't have to share that with me! Before you view the video, make sure you turn off the music on the web site.

True Grit

El Perro Noche phoned me yesterday. Since I dropped him back on the AT outside Damascus, VA, a week ago, it rained everyday (insert Forrest Gump quote about rain). Until finally, yesterday, the rain shut off. Brandon was talking on the phone while hiking, no you don't get a ticket for that. It felt like I was on the trail myself. He was in great spirits. Rain on the trail is like a free shower. So think about that next time you find yourself running to your car from the store in a summer thunderstorm. As the weather heats up, rain becomes welcome. And its not like you just throw a jacket on in the rain while you're hiking up and down mountains, not on the Appalachian Trail. The heat your body generates will just soak your jacket from the inside in a rain storm. So, you just keep it in your pack, and will have something dry to put on when you get to camp.

You might be thinking, how in the world do you just deal with it raining for a week straight? Everything is wet, dirty and uncomfortable. You have to "embrace the beautality". Attitude is everything out there. You can be in the best shape of your life and still not be able to do it. But you can also be in the worst shape of your life and be able to do it. There is a lot to think about out there, but the great part is, you don't have to think about anything. Other than where will I sleep, where will I get water next, there's not a lot of big decisions you have to make every day. Well, unless the choice between should I eat a Little Debbie Cosmic Brownie or a Payday is a big choice. Worst case scenario, eat both, and you can't go wrong.

Brandon is heading towards Pearisburg, VA for his next resupply. A decent town, it does have a tough decent and ascent in and out of town. Hopefully the weather will hold out for a while so he can enjoy some of the great views that Virginia is home to. On his fourth state of the trail, the overall trail maintenance, and physical difficulty of the trail in Virginia is right at average. There are some difficult parts, but the hard climbs are more rewarding than any of the other states he has been through, (weather pending of course). By the time he gets to Pearisburg, VA he will have travelled 627 miles. The specific stretch of trail he is on will his longest stretch between resupply points thus far. He told me on the phone that he wants to complete the trail "now more than ever". Its just like anything else. The more time and devotion you put towards one single thing, the more you want to see it through. There is little that can stop him now.

Warpzilla Out

Pictures from the Trail

Okay so I have not done a better job of keeping eveyone updated on Brandon's progress as I said I would in my last post. Thank goodness for Spencer!

Brandon asked me to share some of the pictures he has taken on the trail. Combined with them are some photos Michelle took while she was hiking with Brandon that she was kind enough to send to me. There are some great shots of the two of them together along with picturesque mountain views, beautiful wildflowers, some occasional wildlife (no bears yet! thank goodness!), and other points along the trail that Brandon found interesting.

As you're enjoying the pictures be sure to notice the ones of all the fallen trees. As Spencer mentioned in his last post, Brandon has endured many storms passing through the area this spring. (I think I heard the weather man report that this spring the eastern US has seen the worst, tornado-ladened storms of the last 40 years!) Each day after one of these ferocious inconveniences from Mother Nature had passed through, Brandon would get out his camera and take pictures of all the "rearranging" she had done to the landscape. Thank goodness all the hikers have remained safe even though there have been some close mishaps with small measurements of distance between fallen trees and tents where they were bedded down for the night. We continue to keep them all in our prayers for a safe journey! I guess it is easy to sit here in the comfort of our home while a storm is raging and tell Brandon to be appreciative of the wonderful adventure he is on! That young man has more courage than I could have ever imagined and I am so proud of him!

Some of my favorite photos are the ones of Fontana Lake -- absolutely breath-taking! And of course I love all the mountian views! Who could ever get tired of looking at those?

Enjoy! Pictures from the Trail

Damascus, VA and Trail Days

Brandon as he entered Damascus, VA on 5/12

I just returned from Damascus, VA. The friendliest town on the Appalachian Trail. Our hiker arrived there on Thursday before the madness of Trail Days had truly set in. Thousands every year attempt to hike the AT; most of them making it to Damascus, VA. The past twenty five years there has been a thru-hiker festival held in Damascus known as Trail Days. It engulfs the otherwise small, quiet mountain town. At the 464 mile mark of the trail, it sits just under a quarter of the way complete. Trail Days has vendors such as Osprey and Leki who make backpacking gear along with tons of others, inlcluding past hikers selling books that they have written about their experience of the trail, and Long Distance hiking clubs to name a few. The hundreds upon hundreds of hikers spend their nights in Tent City. A giant, Woodstockesque setting of tents and giant campfires accompanied by some party animals and small bands playing music. It is absolutely something to behold.

My dad, Jim McKay, and I arrived in Damascus late Friday night to pick up Brandon and take him to a cabin we had rented for the weekend just a few miles out of town and away from the madness. With AT&T service lacking heavily in the area, we had arranged a general area where we would pick him up, but with so many people around we were not sure exactly how we would find him. After making one pass of the town block where we thought he might be, we were unable to locate him. Then, we went by for a second pass to find a bum-like figure sitting on the corner of the sidewalk. The glow of an iphone screen lit up the face of Brandon as he simultaneously recognized me hanging out of the window of the passenger side of the car. Brandon was borrowing some free wifi to try and communicate with the outside world.

He was in good spirits and happy to see us. We drove him by tent city to grab his things and we made our way to our cabin for the weekend. He filled us in on the wet past few days he had. With somewhat good success of dodging major storms on his trip thus far, earlier this week his luck ran a bit short. Camping at Vandeventer Shelter on Tuesday night, a dangerous storm rolled in from the North. The shelter, which sits right on a ridge overlooking Tennessee, has very little room for tents and with everyone trying to make it to Damascus for Trail Days it was very crowded. A shelter that typically sleeps about 6-8 people held about 15-20 that night as Brandon snagged the last spot in the shelter that night. An unfortunate characteristic of this shelter is that its orientation to the elements was poorly executed. The open side of the 3 sided structure faced the north, the direction the storm was coming from. According to Brandon the wind was blowing rain straight into the shelter all night. Even with a wall constructed of thru-hikers sleeping pads, the rain still reached the far wall of the shelter. The violent storm even blew down trees that landed between a few tents. Everyone was very fortunate to have no big injuries to their bodies or their gear.

Vandeventer Shelter: Photo From User SmokyMtn Hiker on Whiteblaze.net

Needless to say, Brandon was happy to get out the bad weather and the chaotic tent city. Saturday, we walked amongst the vendors of Trail Days and watched the thru-hiker parade where all the classes of thru-hikers old and current walk down main street whilst a bombardment of water balloons and super soakers are being thrown/sprayed at anyone and everyone. Having been a past thru-hiker, I thoroughly enjoyed the festivities. Because I started my hike in mid-May, I started after Trail Days had already happened and had not made it to Damascus to check it out until this weekend. We made sure Brandon was getting plenty of good food and anything else he might have needed.

I noticed this past week while emailing with Brandon to see where we were going to meet up in Damascus that he wrote El Perro Noche where someone would normally type their name at the end of an email. I curiously brought up the issue of not having a trail name yet shortly after we met him Friday night. When I met him in, GA a few weeks ago; he was telling me about how the little stuffed Dalmatian puppy he had been carrying, given to him by his sister, was making a good pillow on the chilly nights where he was wearing all of his clothes. Immediately I chuckled and chimed in, "Pillow Pup". Waterbug (Kevin) and Russ (now, Special Delivery) erupted in laughter, claiming that had to be Brandon's Trail Name. Brandon immediately refused to answer to that somewhat embarrassing name. Since that night in Hiawassee, Brandon has struggled to gain a different trail name. After talking with another hiker who heard the story about "pillow pup"; he suggested the name Night Dog. A much more masculine take on the name. Brandon was sold on that either though, thinking people would assume he was some kind of Harley Davidson Bike rider. Then, Brandon added a little hispanic twist to night dog, and so it was. Brandon is now, El Perro Noche; Perro or El Perro for short. Well done El Perro Noche.

It was an on and off rainy weekend with a big thunderstorm Saturday night. Thankfully, we were under the safety of the tin roof of our cabin as we fell asleep to that relaxing sound. After a big breakfast this morning, and one more shower, we finally got El Perro back to the trail right before lunch time. I'm very proud of El Perro, as everyone should be. He has faced some tough weather during this crazy Southeast Spring. Perro is now in his fourth state of the trail; and will be for a while, because Virginia is about 525 miles long, taking him near the unofficial halfway point in Haper's Ferry, WV. Virginia offers a much larger amount of good views and overall better trail conditions. He's looking forward to the bittersweet town of Daleville, VA where he plans to take advantage of the last Bojangles' he will have access to while on the trail. Before that he will have a beautiful stretch in the Grayson Highlands area of Southern Virginia (home to a large population of wild horses), breathtaking Mcafee Knob, Tinker Cliffs, and the challenging Dragons Tooth. With a hard hike ahead of him over the next couple of days, climbing up to Mt. Rogers, El Perro Noche ascended from the road leaving Damascus and into the woods right about lunch time today.

Snakin' through Tennessee

Making Miles

Brandon is cruising. It could be that his pack is significantly lighter. Or maybe he has found his "trail legs". The delicate diet of cheesy bacon pasta sides and snickers on the trail accompanied by large pizzas and burgers in town could be giving him the boost he's been needing. Perhaps its the fact that his girlfriend, Michelle, came out and showed him how its done!

Brandon and Michelle atop Charlie's Bunion in the Smokey Mountains

Whatever the reason; better yet, combination of reasons, there's no denying that Brandon is doing well.

I talked with our hiker today, as he was resting and resupplying in Irwin, Tennessee. He reported a chilly night last night, with temperatures dipping down into the mid to low twenties. That, combined with getting a little wet the night before and during the day, he didn't get the best nights sleep he's ever had. It won't be too long before he's wishing the cold back as things heat up for summer. At least he's got a little bit of natural insulation left, although its quickly diminishing. Knocking out twenty to twenty-five mile days is an incredible workout. And there's no doubt that he's burning more calories than he's taking in. The thru-hiker diet plan blows the atkins, south beach, caveman and any other diet plan out of the water. It's the eat whatever you want, and still burn more calories than you could possibly take in plan. Oh, and by the way, you also get to walk from Georgia to Maine. Pretty awesome.

Panoramic View atop Max's Patch

On the phone with Brandon, I got a few "I told you so's" in. For example, Brandon was initially carrying some sandals for after hiking while he was at camp called chaco's. Although very comfortable, they weigh in at a whopping 2lbs. Brandon has since switched to a pair of Croc like shoes called Waldies, weighing just 12oz. You can tell a thru-hiker anything, but until they actually get out there and experience it, some things you just have to learn for yourself. This begins to fall under the principle rule of thru-hiking. H.Y.O.H. Standing for "Hike Your Own Hike". Anybody can question what you do, or why you do something. But no one is going to tell you you're doing something wrong. People will put in their two cents, and you can do with it what you want. In a media driven world, with so many opinions flying around, everybody wanting you to believe in a certain thing; what a nice lifestyle change. Then again, that's just my two cents.

Brandon is planning on being in Damascus, VA next week. The weekend of the 14th is a huge thru-hiker festival in Damascus called Trail Days. This is where all the hikers get together in the "friendliest town on the trail", Damascus. Damascus, VA is approximately a quarter of the way to Maine. Every year, the entire town revolves around this festival for the weekend. If you have never been to Damascus, it is a great place to visit. Take the entire family. You can hike part of the AT or take a 17 mile downhill bike ride down the Virginia Creeper Trail (an old railroad bed). The two actually overlap for a few miles. Reaching nearly the quarter complete mark, its hard to believe. However, the next section is over 500 miles, all in the state of Virginia. As Brandon becomes more comfortable with the physical aspect of the challenge, the mental challenge will begin to set in. I believe Brandon has the right attitude and skill set to overcome whatever he may encounter. Afterall, he's just walking, right?

All for now,

Spencer "Warpzilla" McKay