Louisiana Hiking Club

Si Louisiana Trail Blazer 2009 Third Quarter

page 1 – 2 President’s

Message

page 3 - 5 Smoky Mountains

page 6 - 12 Grand Canyon

page 13 - 15 2nd Saturday

Hikes

Page 16 Ricketts Glen State Park, Pennsylvania

page 17 - 20 Chiricahua Mtns,

Arizona

page 21 – 24 Appalachian

Trail

The President’s Message Have You Tried This One? I took advantage of the last cool weather in April to check out an area I had never tried before, Hodges Gardens State Park. The park is located north of Leesville and west of Natchitoches, near Zwolie. It is about 10 miles away from South Toledo Bend State Park. I packed up my camping gear and took along my bicycle for a little variety. The first surprise I had was at the entrance gate, which has a view from which you can see Texas. The roads are very steep, which fills the park with great views. The area was originally a private tourist site, but was taken over by the state. The camping fee gives access to everything in the park, including the gardens. There are two camping areas, both very small. I chose the primitive camping area which has pretty, heavily wooded sites, but no water or toilet facilities, similar to the Clear Springs primitive area. There is a trail from it to the developed camping area, but the trail is steep and not short. I drove around to the developed area for toilet and shower. It was mid-week and I was the only person in the campground, so I picked the prettiest site on a promontory overlooking the lake. It was probably not the best choice since the temperature went into the 30’s those nights and the wind was whipping in full force. I spent one day riding my bike through the park. There are about 10 miles of paved roads, which are very steep with plenty of challenge to me both ascending and descending. About halfway around the park, I stopped to tour the gardens, which were spectacular. There are some areas of formal gardens in controlled beds, but most of the garden is composed to look like natural forest terrain. The garden area is in an old rock quarry, so there is opportunity for a variety of topography. There are rock outcroppings, waterfalls, and numerous rocky creeks, all surrounded by beautiful trees and flowers. I was very impressed. The next day I spent hiking the trails. The trails are obviously designed for horse travel with wide openings in the pine forest. There is lots of distance

the two parks for a nice change of pace. Nancy Hall, President

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to walk; though I walked all day, I didn’t cover all of the trails. However,

the trails are

surprisingly boring

considering the beauty of the park. They cover gentle hills through the pine woods, but have almost no views or scenes of special interest. So they will

work for those of us who just like to walk in the woods, but the more discriminating hiker will be disappointed. Since I returned from this trip, I received a message from someone at the park. They are considering adding to the trails and are looking for

advice. I told them we would definitely

be interested in having some input. Hopefully, I will hear more from them.

In all, I was pleased with the park. It is somewhat different from our usual haunts, and it has the added

advantage of being close to the South Toledo Bend Park,

which is very

modern and nice. You could combine

Photos by Nancy Hall

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GREAT SMOKY MOUNTAINS NATIONAL PARK April 18th – 25th, 2009 by John Englesman photos by Caroline Leung The drive up was a hint of things to come, dogwoods by the hundreds, adorned in white, like beautiful brides. Cosby Campground was a pleasant, wooded, uncrowded place in the Northeast corner of the park. The facilities lacked showers, but they were available for $3.00 just outside the park in a private campground managed by a well nourished young man with an abundance of metal affixed to his face. I will summarize the hikes I LOWER MOUNT CAMMERER TRAIL: After stumbling around for a bit, we found the trailhead and took off. The trail climbed, but gently, and wound its way up the mountain. There were wildflowers all about, plenty of trees and we came upon some potential vistas, but conditions were hazy. We lunched at backpack

site 35 and returned in a gentle rain. Nearing the campground, we crossed Cosby Creek, a beautiful stream. All the streamswe encountered during the week wereflowing forcefully, volumes of water. fashion statement w

tent fly skirt. Counting backtracking, we hiked about 10 mile PORTER'S CREEK TRAIL: This trail featured a spectacular display of wildflowers, in all shapes, sizes and colors. There was a fine waterfall on a side creek, some lovely creek crossings on split log bridges and a

took:

with abundant Marilyn made a ith her wraparound

s that day.

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campsite at the end to enjoy our lunch. On the way back, some of us detoured a bit to see a 19th century barn in great shape and a cabin from the 1930's built by a hiking club. We hiked about 8 miles with an elevation gain of around 1,500 feet.

RAMSEY CASCADES TRAIL: The first mile and a half of this trail is relatively easy, but then it gets arduous in a hurry. It hugs a pretty creek almost all the way. There is a grovTrees and several scenic creek crossings. reward for humping this towaterfall with a thunderous at the base warns that 4 peopfrom slips and falls so be camiles with an elevation ga CHARLIE'S BUNION: Newfound Gap in the middle of the parkTroy drove and kept remarking how showed a steady decline from the mid 40s at Cosby to the mid 30s at Newfound Gap. The wind was humming and everyone at the gap was well bundled up. This was one hike where we were looking for more clothes to put on, not take off as we usually did. The trail was icy in places and we saw icicles over a foot long on the rocks and large patches of wintry mix in the woods along the trail. We stopped at the Icewater Spring AT shelter and Nancy and Marilyn exchanged war stories with some thru hikers. Charlie's Bunion was an interesting rock formation with

e of huge Tulip Poplar The

ugh trail is a magnificent sound and flow. A sign le have been killed here

reful. We hiked about 8 in of about 2,000 feet.

The trailhead for this hike along the AT was at with an elevation of 5,000 feet.

the temperature gauge in his car

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magnificent vistas. After finishing the hike, we drove to Clingman's Dome where the wind was so fierce that no one wanted to leave the car. Marilyn and Nancy shared some good stories of their family trips in bygone days on the way back. HEN WALLOW FALLS: This delicate falls is on a side trail off the Gabe's Mountain Trail which we were able to access a short distance from our campsites. The woods were lovely and the falls were pretty. If anyone knows how the falls got their name, let me know. We met a couple at the falls who had seen a large black bear a short time before on the same trail we took. We must have barely missed him. Overall, this was a great week of hiking and camaraderie around the campfire. Those of us who tired of camp food found relief down the road at the Applehouse Restaurant. Many thanks to Nancy Hall for organizing the trip and leading some great hikes. Larry Langlois and Joe Self also led hikes and provided a gathering place for those of us in A loop.

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Hiking Grand Canyon and Zion National Park Story and photos by Troy Crowder

After a great trip to the Smokies with Nancy Hall and others, I decided I needed to do at least one more trip this spring. So on the spur of the moment, I decided to take a week and attempt to hike into and out of the Grand Canyon. Attempt applies in two ways. First, I did not have the required backcountry permit (it usually takes months to get a permit, but there are some last minute permits issued each day) to spend a night in the Canyon. Second, I was not sure I could make it if I had the permit. I then expanded my plans to include a trip to Zion National Park, so as to make a circle and return to Las Vegas seven days later. Despite the lack of a permit, I traded in some SW Credit Card Points for a free flight to and from Las Vegas. The following describes what turned out to be a great “spur of the moment” trip.

Saturday 05/16/09 I flew to Las Vegas and rented a car. It was about a 5 hour drive to Mather Campground on the South Rim of the Grand Canyon. Once there, I set up camp and had dinner by headlight. The weather forecast had been for 30 degrees at the Rim and hot in the bottom of the canyon. However, it was more like 50 degrees and quite comfortable sleeping that evening.

Sunday 05/17/09 I got up about 6 AM, had breakfast, and headed for the backcountry permit office. Even though I arrived early, I was number 15 in line. After a half hour wait, I was surprised to find that I could get a back country permit for Monday and Tuesday nights at Indian Garden campground. I quickly paid the $20 fee and received the permit. The rest of Sunday was spent preparing for Monday’s backpacking trip into the Canyon. I had to buy some backpacking food, as opposed to car camping food. I also loaded my backpack and hiked about four miles of the rim trail to make sure everything was comfortable.

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Monday 05/18/09 I left the Canyon Rim at 7 AM in an attempt to beat the heat. I had planned to leave at 6 AM, but did not make it. It was approximately 5 miles to Indian Garden campground. Indian Garden is located midway down the canyon on the Bright Angel Trail, which is an ideal location! Of course, the trail was all down hill. I arrived at Indian Garden about 10 AM, set up camp, and did some exploring. To my surprise, the camp had

picnic tables under shelters, nice soil (as opposed to gravel) tent pads, running water faucets nearby, and toilets. Most camp sites were shady! It was as close to auto camping as you can get, after hiking 5 miles with a backpack.

The afternoons were hot in the canyon with temperatures approaching 100 degrees. So I took a nap and waited for the shade from the occurs about 3 or 4 PM. Then, I hiked out to Plateau Point for a grthe inner gorge. couple there, so we talkepictures for each other. We watched some rafters pass on On return to Indian Garden, I enjoyed a splash in a pool in a stream that runs through Indian Garden. It was cool and washed off the salt from sweating.

Tuesday 05/19/09 A couple of years ago, I had hiked down the South Kaibab to the Tip Off Point where the inner gorge starts. However, due to time constraints, I had to turn around there and return to the rim.

canyon walls that

eat view of There was a German

d and took

the river far below.

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So this morning, I took the East Tonto trail from Indian Garden to the Tip Off Point and the spot where I had turned around on the last trip. This was a five mile trip following a contour line at about 3800 feet (give or take a hundred feet). There were some beautiful wild

flowers along this trail. Mid-May appears to be the peak season for the wildflowers (blooms). Tonto trail is less used and thus smaller. It is about a foot wide compared to the typical several feet wide for other corridor trails. From the tip off point I completed the descent into the Canyon on the South Kaibab trail. Once at the Canyon bottom, I took pictures, visited Phantom Ranch and the Bright Angel campground (which has similar resources to Indian Garden). I found a rangerwhen would be the best time (temperature wise) tohike back to Indistrongly suggested I wait until 4 PM for the Canyon Wall shadows to provide shade. I tadvice and went fo en took a nap. I left the Canyon bottom at 4 PM and hiked back to Indian Garden along the Bright Angel Trail. The first 2 miles follow the Colorado River and are mostly level. Then the trail turns up and follows a creek back up to Indian Garden. It is a steep climb. I arrived at Indian Garden about 7 PM.

and discussed

make the an Garden. He

ook his r a dip in Bright Angel Creek and th

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It had been a long day with over ten miles of canyon hiking, so I enjoyed the pool in the creek.

Wednesday 05/20/09 I left Indian Garden at 5 AM headed for the South Rim. Since I was hiking up hill, it got warm quickly. However, three hours and one liter of water plus one bottle of gator aide, I was back on the rim. I stopped at Mather Campground, washed clothes and took a shower. While the clothes dried, I bought ice and groceries for the rest of the trip at the nice, well equipped supermarket on the South Rim. The rest of the trip was to be day hikes while auto camping. I drove to Zion National Park via the ______ dam. While observing this dam, it occurred to me that the Colorado was once a much wilder river and carved the canyons much quicker than it does today. The man made dams have greatly tamed the river. I arrived at Zion and camped at the Watchman Campground. I had made reservations for this campground and also for Mather on the internet at http://www.recreation.gov/ before leaving home. If you camp at Zion, I recommend Watchman Campground. It is convenient to the Zion Bus System. You can only get to most trail heads by riding the Zion Bus System. Private autos are not allowed in the Zion Valley.

Thursday 05/21/09 I caught the 7 AM bus up Zion Canyon. After a 40 minute ride, I got off at the Weeping Rock stop. Most of the bus stops have bathrooms and trail heads. From there, I started the 4 mile (one way) hike up to Observation Point on top of the canyon. This trail gains 2148 feet in elevation and is rated strenuous. The trail was almost a sidewalk with concrete filling spaces between natural rocks. It gradually climbed at about a 20 degree angle. At places the trail would turn to sand, then rock, and back to sand. At one point, it went through a very narrow (say 10 to

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15 feet wide) canyon. There were many pretty wild flowers along the trail.

It took about 3 hours to reach the top. The view was great! You could see the entire Zion Valley. There were about a dozen people on top at any given time. As she approached the ledge, one lady heard a

warning rattle from a rattle snake. The snake was almost hidden under a rock at the canyon ledge. That probably became the most photographed rattler in Zion, if not the world. Everyone took his picture for the next half hour. Then he decided to retire entirely under the rock. The hike down took two hours. The wildflowers made the time pass quickly. That evening, I did not have a campsite reserved. So I drove to the Watchman Campground entrance booth to ask where I might find one. The ranger informed me she had a cancellation and a site available. I quickly, and gladly, rented it.

Friday 05/22/09 This morning, I took the 6:45 AM bus to The Grotto bus stop. The trail head for Angels Landing (5 miles round trip with 1488 feet elevation gain) starts at the Grotto. There are signs warning that this trail is not for people who fear heights. This trail is mostly a steep sidewalk trail with amazing closely spaced switchbacks for the first 2 miles. Then the last half mile is mostly non

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technical climbing (bouldering). You are scrambling over large rocks on a narrow (say 15 feet) ridge with shear hundreds of feet drops on both sides. The park service has cut some steps in the rocks. More importantly, they have provided large chains for hand holds in the more difficult parts of the trail. Once at the top (Angels Landing), the view is tremendous. It was about 9 AM and there were about a dozen people on top. This is close to a maximum safe number. I heard that the previous afternoon, the rangers were controlling the number of people on the last half mile of trails so an early start is wise! The hike down took about an hour. More great views and pretty flowers! That afternoon, I drove to the Valley of the Fire State Park in Nevada. This put me within about 1.5 hours of the Las Vegas Airport for my Saturday flight. I was concerned it might be hot at night. However, it was very pleasant with the temperatures in the high 70’s and very low humidity.

Saturday 05/23/09 I drove around and looked at the Valley of the Fire red sandstone formations. There are many square miles of them. There are a few short half-mile to one-mile hiking trails. There were more pretty wildflowers! Then I drove to the airport and flew home. Some additional comments follow:

Temperatures Even thought it was hot, I was very comfortable. The dry heat lacks the wet cling of the New Orleans’s hot humid heat. Following the recommendations to:

Hike early and late (avoid 10 AM to 3 PM hiking). Wetting your clothes, hats, and sweat bands to cool you as the water evaporates from them makes hiking comfortable.

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Wind At all three parks, the wind would blow strong at night. I had to secure the tent stakes well. At Valley of the Fire, I had to use grapefruit size boulders in the corners of my tent. The wind still moved the tent a few inches! Any hat or cap must be well secured, else they might blow over a ledge never to be retrieved!

Bugs None! Well except for a few horse flies (say two a day) at Zion.

Stores onably priced super-

market near coffee and quick meals. There ar de (< 1mile) Zion Nati There ar gns or poorly vi de them. A list is posted on park bulletin boards. Typical price is $5.

The Grand Canyon has a very complete and reas Mather Campground. It also has a deli with

e also stores in Springdale, Utah, which is just outsional Park.

e also showers in Springdale, but there are no “Shower” sisible signs. So take a list of the vendors who provi

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Second Saturday Hikes – April & May 2009 by Greg Englesman April 11-Wild Azalea Trail: The Club's April hike along the Wild Azalea Trail was well attended, drawing about 16 or so folks from Baton Rouge, Morgan City, Bastrop, Lafayette, Hammond and the Alexandria-Pineville area. The group met at the intersection of Twin Bridges Road and Messina Road, and carpooled to Plunge Road. The wild azaleas were still in were seen in a draw along the trail right from the start. rom Hurricane Gustav, in the form of a se dge over Loving Creek. The crossing was handled weleader getting his feet wet. This, could provide some excellent trail After the "dangerous" crossing, we came upon an old tram, used decades ago to haul out the virgin forest via rail. The WAT runs atop the tram for a half mile, then turns north. We lunched in a gorgeous stream bottom, a verdant green with spring leaves. The bridge here was also washed out, but the stream was very small and crossable without problem. The group crossed FS 277 into the second leg of the hike. This portion ran through a large upland bottom, filled with large pine, beech, and magnolia trees, along with a few impressive cypress trees. Oddly, no deer or other game animals were seen, though a very nice speckled king snake was caught and released. The second break was taken along a stream with numerous downed trees; further evidence of Gustav's destruction. At the end of this leg several hikers decided to wrap it up early, finishing at about 5 miles. The last leg went through the Castor Creek Scenic Area, which is a 40-acre tract of old growth forest, with huge longleaf pine trees and various large hardwoods. The trail here winds through several bottoms with clear cool creeks, and the interspersed ridges. It is well marked with yellow blazes and it is difficult to get lost. The group finished up at the parking lot off Twin Bridges, having put in around 8.3 miles, despite the group leader Greg Engelsman's original estimate of 7 miles. The forest service has recently placed

the start on Castorbloom, as a number of trees

Also noted early on was damage fverely damaged bri

ll by the group with only the hike and a subsequent washed out bridge,

work opportunities for the club.

markers along the trail every half mile, so the underestimation was obvious. Most were elated to have finished, so he wasn't tarred and feather at the conclusion. Hike tail gunner John Engelsman pointed out that the extra 1.3 miles could be considered lagniappe, in the cajun tradition of giving everyone a little something extra.

May 9- Backbone Trail: The 2009 Backbone Trail hike was much shorter than the 2008 club outing. Those who came last year remember getting lost twice - once early on at an unmarked 90 degree turn, then again at the intersection of the, then unmarked, Turpentine Trail. Jennifer Phillipe organized this year's event, and camped out along scenic Kisatchie Bayou before and after the hike. Twelve club members came from Baton Rouge, Hammond, Lafayette and Alexandria to participate, and we met at the Caroline Dorman trail parking lot, then carpooled to the beginning of the Backbone. The unseasonably cool weather was enjoyed by all, as were the wild blueberries that provided a nice snack in many spots along the trail. The scenic overlooks, a rarity in our mostly flat state, provided excellent views. Once again, not much wildlife was present, though a black racer slithered away rapidly early in the hike. The early 90 degree turn to the north is still not marked very well, but perhaps the June 6th trail maintenence event will get some Forest Service markers placed in strategic locations. The first part of this hike is along a high ridge with no water. The lunch break was taken at a beautiful camping spot midway along the trail with incredible views of the ridges to the East. This rocky outcropping is the tip of the ridge that ends down along Bayou Cypre. The Bayou was easily crossed on a log with only the hike leader getting his feet wet; on purpose, of course. The

Bayou Cypre for awhile, then went uphill to y unmarked. The recently placed trail

one Trails kept the group from and winding up on the main road a

kbone continues along a tributary of

backbone then wound alonganother 90 degree turn, previouslmarkers for the Turpentine and Backbmaking the same mistake as last yearmile from the parking lot. The Bac

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Bayou Cypre for most of the way, then heads uphill to the parking lot. The second half of the trail was much wetter than the first and crossed several intermittant streams before winding uphill. Since the mileage was not underestimated, and the group stayed on the trail the whole way, no one called for the hike leader's head at the end. While cooler than usual, it was still May in Louisiana, so folks were hot and tired by the end. All in all, a very nice hike for the club, but not as well attended as last year's.

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Ricketts Glen State Park Red Rock, Pennsylvania

Story and photos by Lorene Smith

For all of the waterfall lovers out there, I highly recommend Ricketts Glen State Park near Red Rock, Pennsylvania. The park has 22 named waterfalls and I saw 20 of them. I brought along a

ht tripod for photography. Just by hiking the 4-mile loop

ed by part of the Falls Trail and the Highland Trail, one can see 18

, ranging in height from 11-

feet to 94-feet, as well as numerousunnamed smaller falls.

My mother and I drove to Connecticut to visit my sister in early May and Ricketts Glen State Park was a side trip along the way. We stayed 2 nights at the campground and enjoyed 2 days of hiking there. The brochure for Ricketts

Glen lists 26 miles of trails ranging from easy to difficult. The Falls Trail has earned its difficult

rating. The trailhead kiosk has several newspaperarticles posted about unprepared hikerswith broken bones being carried out. Hiking boots are required, and I recommend at least one hiking staff.

lightweig

form

waterfalls

Chiricahua Mountains, Southeast Arizona The search for the Elegant Trogon in southeast Arizona by four members of the Nature Station staff from Lafayette May 9th to the 18th.

Story and photos by Stacey Scarce

This was my fourth trip to the Chiricahua Mountains in southeast Arizona in search of the Elegant Trogon, but the three 20-something year old girls had never been. On my last trip, I just missed it and on the previous trips, I didn’t have much time to search. So, I was determined to find it on this trip and brought bicycles so that we could cover more ground yet still be quiet enough to hear its call from the road. We camped at Idlewild Campground in Coronado National Forest near Portal, Arizona, where we heard a Whiskered Screech Owl our first night. Our first morning out, we cycled up South Fork Road and ran into a nice couple from California looking for the Trogon. I told them my MP3 player would not work (had all of the Arizona bird calls loaded into it) and they suggested I make my way up the road to their van and they would let me listen to the Trogon call on their ipod. When I arrived at the parking area, with co-workers in tow, our new friends were nowhere to be found, so I took off down the trail on my bicycle. Maybe 1/8 mile down the trail, I heard what I thought was the Trogon. I stopped and started to throw my bicycle beside the trail when I saw the couple down the trail waving at me. I ran down the trail to investigate and yes, a male Elegant Trogon. My co-workers showed up a couple of minutes later and we all sat there photographing and looking at the beautiful bird through binoculars. After ogling the Trogon, we cycled to the Southwest Research Station to check out the hummingbirds and the book store. Who knew we would find a mutant dragonfly with seven wings while there? From Portal to Southwest Research Station, and all roads in between, are great for cycling. At dusk, we drove down towards Rodeo in search of rattlesnakes and almost immediately found a juvenile Western Diamondback Rattlesnake and later found a Sonoran Gopher

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Snake. Okay, so now the trip can end. I mean really,anything more on their first day?

who could ask for

We met up with Maya Decker, a local birder, and were invited to her house to bird in her garden. Her house and yard were awesome. I’m sorry I didn’t take her up on the invitation last time I was in Portal. Maya took us down trails through peoples’ yards to bird our way toward the Portal post office where we had seen an Elf Owl the night before. We could have stayed there forever, but there were more birds, snakes, lizards,

butterflies, etc. to find and identify so we drove up to Rustler Park Campground for another two nights.

The cycling in the mountains between Rustler Park Campground, Barfoot Campground, and beyond is fun, but not easy unless you are going downhill. The birding is awesome and there are lots of good birding spots in and between the two campgrounds. There are also lots of great trails for hiking and backpacking. Most are difficult, but all are beautiful and are better hiked before June because it is HOT. I have not found Barfoot Campground on any online maps. I don’t know why that is; it is a beautiful campground, but you need a high-clearance vehicle to get there.

Next, we headed down to the Chiricahua National Monument for the day, then on to showers at a truck stop and a real meal at a restaurant in Wilcox. Whoo Hoo! After a little civilization, we headed into the Dragoon Mountains to Cochise Stronghold. We did some birding, but mostly hiking, which was great fun, and did a bit of wildlife watching. We found a Mojave

Rattlesnake, another Sonoran Gopher Snake and a gray fox. We saw two

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Golden Eagles soaring overhead and watched as a Red-tail Hawk dive-bombed one of the eagles. The eagle would roll forward, then flip sideways and backwards, then soar again. The eagle never attacked the hawk even though

the hawk attacked the eagle for a full 15 minutes until it flew off and left the eagle alone. It was spectacular to see; on of those gifts that only nature can provide. We were the only campers at Cochise Stronghold until the day that we left and two of us almost got caught bathing next to the car by a visitor and a park ranger. But, that is another story.

We went on to Patagonia State Park, which was close to one of the border crossings that we were going to do. The state park was like an over-crowded, loud, obnoxious amusement park without any of the fun stuff like rides. Well, we only slept there and left before most folks were even awake, but we did happen to make a little noise near some of the offenders from the night before. We crossed the border at Douglas into Agua priest, but it was dead and there were hardly any stores open anymore. One of the shopkeepers said it was because the snowbirds think they will get shot and killed in the streets by drug lords. Bisbee is a cool artist town with lots of theater, but we had no time to stop. We did, however, make a little time to see the Tombstone graveyard and a gift shop in Tombstone. I am now the proud proprietor of an official “Tombstone Arizona Territory Sheriff’s” badge. The town of Patagonia is a cool little artist town with an awesome children’s art center and studio. Mercedes Café is a must-stop. The food is great and they use mostly fair-trade products. There is a nice art gallery that is well worth a look and a must-stop birding site three miles from town.

We went on to the crossing at Nogales, which was much bigger than Agua Prieta and it had many shops, but the vendors were very aggressive; more aggressive than any other Mexican border town I have been to with the exception of Tijuana. Ciudad Acuna is, by far, my favorite Mexican border town, across from Del Rio, Texas.

Our next stop was Saguaro National Park’s Tucson Mountain District, west of Tucson and then the

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Rincon Mountain District, east of Tucson. We managed to identify many birds and reptiles at both units, but the most abundant and magnificent saguaro were at the Tucson Mountain District. We did very little hiking, not only because of the extreme heat, but also because the girls wanted to see Carlsbad Caverns before we went home.

We made it to Carlsbad in the early afternoon, the girls went into the caverns and I went birding on the car loop having been to the caverns enough times to forego this experience. We waited for the migrant bats to emerge at dusk, which wasn’t spectacular like I have seen in the past, but it was nice and worth staying late.

That night, we drive to Rockhound State Park in New Mexico. Along the way, we saw a forest fire in the Chiricahua Mountains started by a lightning strike, which was spectacular even from the interstate. We birded a bit at Rockhound and at Spring Canyon, which is day-use only, then went to the rock shop where I love to stop, mostly because of the two guys that own it. The door is often locked so you must knock on it and then you can hear the guys deciding who is going to answer it. Once inside, you are bombarded with information about where the geodes came from and how they acquired the two cats that are on leashes so they cannot get outside when patrons visit. You have to maneuver

around computers, tables of geodes, and stacks of papers and books to see everything. It’s one of the coolest rock shops ever and just outside of the entrance to Rockhound and Spring Canyon State Parks. This brought our adventure to an end. We drove all night to get back home late Monday afternoon, wishing we were still in Arizona. Check more of my photos on facebook.

Mojave Rattlesnake

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The Appalachian Trail

New Jersey, New York & Connecticut by Nancy Hall photos by John Thornhill

Lessons Learned on the AT.

1. Hike your own hike. 2. Not all miles are equal. 3. There are no easy days on the AT. 4. It is hard to stay human in the north. 5. Lots of people don’t like hikers.

Let me begin by saying that Marilyn and I are planning to return to the AT next year and plod on toward Katahdin, but we are hoping to make some modifications in our plans. However, John swears he will never set foot on the AT again. Marilyn, John, and I began this year’s trek at Delaware Water Gap on

the border between Pennsylvania and New Jersey, transformed from our usual mild mannered identities into hardy hikers Tabasco, Old Dog, and Harpo. No one had given me any info on this section of the trail, New Jersey, New York, and Connecticut, so our plans were set as they had been for previous sections. Ah, poor innocents!

1. Hike your own hike. On the first day out we tried to hike in John’s style with numerous rest breaks. That didn’t

work for Marilyn and me. The next day we tried to hike with very limited breaks, but that didn’t work for John. The next day we reluctantly decided we would

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have to split up. We only agreed because John had the SPOT emergency device with him. However, we quickly discovered that John is able to hike much faster than Marilyn and I can, so he quickly caught up with us after his numerous breaks. Then one day we waved to John as he sat down for a break and mistakenly got off the trail on a logging road, completely forgetting to watch for white blazes. By the time we had retraced our steps, John was ahead and we never caught him. It turned out to be one of the worst days of the hike with numerous dangerous rock climbs which John had to do alone while worrying about what had happened to us. It probably was a factor in his decision to leave the trail at Bear Mountain, New York.

2. Not all miles are equal. I would describe this section of the trail as 2/3 hiking and 1/3 rock climbing. Of course, much of the hiking is on rocky trail which beat your feet to a pulp, but it was the rock climbing that was the worst. The trail headed so steeply up the mountains that you were bent in

half to compensate and your Achilles tendons felt like they were ready to pop in two with a TWANG. When you got to the top, you were in the midst of exposed rocks where the real problems started. The trail designers had a little challenge planned for you to keep you from getting bored. One was a flat, perpendicular rock face

to be crossed with nothing to walk on. Marilyn and I finally threw our packs off the ledge, wedged our fingers in a crevice and walked our feet across while hanging over the edge. Each mountaintop had a new challenge and there are many mountaintops. Some of these challenges could take us over an hour to cross, so we quickly lost confidence in being able to do the sometimes 14 mile days we had planned. One day we struggled for 12 solid hours to reach the shelter.

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3. There are no easy days on the AT. Even when everything looks conducive to a simple day, something is lurking in the dark. For example, the map profile showed that 5 of our 12 miles to be covered that day were totally flat on an old road. However, in order to reach the road we had to descend a 500 ft. crevice filled with rock chunks. We couldn’t follow the

steps intended because our legs are too short. Marliyn is less than 5 ft tall. We were exhausted and shaking by the time we reached the bottom.

4. It is hard to stay human in the north. After all, we are not new to the AT. This is my 5th year and Marilyn’s 3rd. We go into town every 4 to 5 days to pick up a mail drop box, take a hot

shower, wash

laundry, and eat a good meal. But our planning failed us this year. The north is filled with towns that aren’t really towns. They can have a post

office but not much else. Laundromats appear to be rare. You can’t hand wash socks; they won’t dry. At one point we went 9 days wearing the same socks and without a hot shower. Twice we found ourselves camped in a public place with no possibility of a toilet to use. Think zip-lock bag.

5. Lots of people don’t like hikers. In the past, locals have been very friendly. This year we did meet a few friendly people, but we also encountered many who viewed us with suspicion or even hatred. One

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deli owner ran to lock his door when he saw hikers coming. If that didn’t make you go away, he made a “slice your neck” gesture to help discourage you. A woman yelled at Marilyn from a car while we were doing a road walk detour. We would be dead if all those daggers that were stared at us were real. We are hoping we have passed through

the “hatred zone” and Massachusetts and Vermont will be more welcoming next year. You may be wondering why we want to continue this hike. There is no good answer to that question. One of life’s mysteries, I guess.