Permits and Fees

Let me start off by saying that I love the Great Smoky Mountains National Park (GSMNP). I have visited several times and I'm always blown away by the natural beauty. I also know that it's one of the most heavily visited national parks; I read that over six million people come here each year. 

When I thru-hiked the Appalachian Trail in  2011, the GSMNP was certainly one of the highlights but I also remember feeling like it was the most heavily regulated forest I had ever been to. Hikers were required to register - we had to fill out a form and submit one copy to the National Park Service and keep one copy in our possession. Hikers were only allowed to stay in the provided shelters unless the shelter was full and then they had to camp within one hundred feet of said shelter. There were National Park Rangers and Ridge Runners from the Appalachian Trail Conservancy everywhere, making sure hikers were following all the rules. 

I was fine with all of that. My thinking was that if that's what it takes to keep this place as beautiful as it is, then fine; I'll gladly do all that they ask. 

New for 2013, hikers had to pay for a special permit. All the old rules still applied but now you also had to pay $20 to hike through the park. 

This is the first time in the 78 year history of the AT that hikers have to pay to hike the trail. 

Now, if you told me that this money was going directly to help improve the trail, I'd be fine with that. 

Maybe to clear some of these blow-downs?

Or for new signs?

Nope. This money just goes into the giant federal coffers. It's a shameless money-grab and I find it abhorrent. 

Just to be clear: I can drive around the park all day and all night in my '72 Oldsmobile, chugging out thick blue smoke (bad head gasket), blaring the stereo and honking the horn. I can run up and down all the trails I want and poop in all the privies for free. But if I want to quietly walk through the woods, Leaving No Trace, I have to pay $20. Does that make sense to anyone reading this? Cars enter for free but hikers have to pay?

So I'm not paying it. I'm fundamentally against it and I'm not going to do it. I'm going to quietly and carefully hike through the park. I will Leave No Trace (which is an important philosophy to me) and I'll keep a low profile but I will not pay for a permit. I will take the risk and I will suffer the consequences (possible arrest and a fine of up to $3000) if I get caught. 

I'm equally disgusted that hikers, as a group, simply caved in to this injustice. They reflexively type in their credit card numbers because that's what the government told them to do. No one asked why? Or, maybe, what do we get for our $20?

I have asked the NPS, via email, what the $20 goes toward and (of course) have received no response. 

If you agree with me, please leave a comment below. Or, if you think that hikers should pay to walk through a national park, then please do the same. Either way, I'd like to hear from you. 

And to those of you who would say "Oh, but if you look at the website, it's actually a fee to camp, not to hike and you can pay $4 per night instead of $20 to thru-hike",  I say, "Tell it to the judge, punk!" *in the voice of Clint Eastwood dressed as a Park Ranger*. The picture above is the sign posted at both the North and South boundaries as of 12/18/15 and that's  the law we are expected to follow: $20 for a thru-hiker permit. 

Hiker Trash Style

Blaze Orange Hat - Given to me by a hunter in Glasgow, VA. 

Running cap (brimmed) - Given to me by the Devil's Backbone Brewing Company in the heart of Virginia. 

Suspenders made of paracord 550 from the original 50' given to me by Randy Lanning. 

Moosejaw shirt - shameless plug. 

Medium weight base layer from REI with points gifted to me by Krystele Bodet. 

North Face snow pants from Miranda Lanning. 

OR gaiters from Kellie Richardson and the Burning Boots Trail Club. 

Asolo boots from Jeff Kindy.

Trekking poles belong to Hee Haw. Much of my gear is from him. 

The pack, I actually bought in 2011. Kelty Lakota. It's got nearly 4,400 miles on it and it's had a couple major surgeries but seems to be holding up. 

That's a Marmot shell that Traci Rink got me on the CDT. 

Ready for the cold weather. 

 

My Morning Routine

The first thought I have every morning is the same as the last thought I have every night: Holy Moses Roses it's cold! 

I'll usually stay snuggled up in my sleeping bag until there's enough light out so that I don't have to burn the batteries on my headlamp. I use that time to prioritize packing up to best make use of my hands while they still work; buckles and snaps come first since they take some dexterity. 

Once I let the air out of the mattress and stow my sleeping bag in its compression sack, there's no turning back. I've got to minimize the time between being warm in my sleeping bag and being warm hiking so I need to hurry. 

If I have them, I'll open a couple of those chemical hand warmers and put them in my gloves. I'll also use them to unstick frozen tent poles and, eventually, I'll put them in my boots. 

While pulling tent stakes out of the frozen ground and shaking the frost off the rain fly, I can feel my hands and feet getting numb. By the time I strap my pack on and grab my trekking poles, they are painfully cold. 

That's okay. I'll get moving as fast as I can and get my core temperature up. It will take a while until that warm blood circulates to my extremities. Sometimes, that's the worst part!

Finally, the sun comes up and the ambient temperature starts to rise. Time to stop, de-layer and cook up some coffee. This is my favorite time of day; time to stretch, to feel the sun on my face and to be grateful that I'm right where I belong: On the trail. 

Is your morning like my morning? Leave me a comment below!

The Future of the AT

Having thru-hiked the trail in 2011, I can use the changes I've seen on the trail this year to speculate about what the trail may be like in the future. 

Mostly, I see more of everything: more signs, more restrictions, more fees... more hikers! I guess this was predictable. With the release of movies like 'Wild' and 'A Walk In The Woods', more people are going to explore the world of long distance hiking. Friends who started northbound on the trail this year said shelters and campsites were crowded.

The trends that tend to make me nervous are the increase in signs, permits and fees. Signs like 'No Camping' or 'Camping Only in Designated Areas'. Permits are more common, as well. Lots of agencies wanting names, addresses and 'itineraries'. These things fly in the face of thru-hiking culture. We come out here because we want to be free. They want an 'itinerary' of where I'm going to camp every night for the next week? I don't know where I'm going to camp. Can I just write "wherever I'm at when the sun goes down"?

We need more signs like this:

And fewer signs like this:

For the first time in the 78 year history of the Appalachian Trail, hikers will be charged a fee to hike through the Smoky Mountains. Technically, it's a fee to camp in the Smokies, not hike. Four dollars per night or $20 to thru-hike. Never before have we had to pay to hike this trail. Benton MacKaye must be rolling in his grave. 

Additional, federal regulations include the use of a 'bear can' (a cylindrical plastic container to store your food in) for part of the Smokies. Yes, it's a federal offense to hike with your food in an unapproved container. 

If I extrapolate these changes far into the future, I can picture hikers passing through the woods on a moving sidewalk; the kind they have in airports. Huge plexiglass walls on either side keep humans from interacting with nature. A permit to ride the trail will cost hundreds of dollars. Camping will only be permitted... scratch that. Camping will not be permitted. 

For those of you who say that these kinds of regulations are necessary to keep the trail as nice as it is, I agree - to an extent. I just think the pendulum is swinging way too far toward the 'manage the woods' end. It needs to swing back toward the 'let people enjoy their hike' end. 

Mostly, I'm just glad to be out here. Soon (hopefully) I'll have thru-hiked this trail twice. That's plenty. They can restrict, regulate and charge the hell out of future hikers. It won't do anything but make me sad. 

Got an opinion? Leave a comment.

Please and Thank You

Please, if you want to see me finish this hike and you're feeling generous, click on that 'donate' button. I'm sooo close to the finish but I need a little help. Note: If you're not on a desktop, you may have to click on 'View web version' at the bottom of the page to see the 'donate' button. 

Thank you to the following people and organizations for getting me this far:

Pam White has been helping me and sending me re-supply boxes this whole time. I first met Pam when her son, Gary Zaborowski and I were planning our CDT hike and we've been dear friends ever since. 

Roberta McCoy and all my friend's at Ollie's Bargain Outlet for all their help and encouragement. Roberta, especially, has been filling and sending me re-supply boxes and has encouraged me to keep going since I first sought her advice about leaving Ollie's and doing this hike. 

Jason Phelps (Hee Haw) really made this hike happen. He loaned me a TON of his own gear, let me stay at his place (thanks, also, to Pete Kotsimpulos!), gave me a guided tour of Katahdin and hiked with me every chance he got. No way this hike happens without his help. Also, Jason's dad, Donald Phelps and Don's girlfriend, Debra Morse angel'd me, fed me and let me stay at their beautiful lakefront home in Maine. I've been to Jason's work, met many of his friends and family and heard his band (Jerks Of Grass) play several times. It's no wonder he is so well-liked and respected. 

Manuela Petzhold for treating me to a wonderful weekend in New York City and for sending me books, letters, postcards and re-supply boxes full of delicious German chocolate!

My friend of 40 years (no kidding!), Susie Hollyer and her husband, Drew Chinarian. They are the foundation of what I call the Wolverine Lake Crew which includes Marlyss Hollyer who created my website and listens to all my crazy ideas as though I was an actual sane person. Susie, who knows that I am, in fact, not a sane person, has helped me with every hike I've ever done and was always there for me. Especially when I was down. Way down. That's a true friend. 

High school friends George Hughes and Ellen Paynter for their support. George re-supplied me and treated me to a fantastic lunch in Harper's Ferry. I was so glad to see him again. 

Nancy Smith for a delicious breakfast at McDonald's and for sending me re-supply boxes. Nancy was very kind to a stranger and I feel like the world could use more people like her. 

Suzie Kramer (Mother Nature), Sarah Michal (Sunshine Sarah) and Chelsea Gaunt (Surefoot) for the awesome (and healthy!) re-supply box. They even sent some delicious Michigan craft beer!

Dustin and Tiffany Newman for their generous donation and for walking with me in the middle of the night during the Relay For Life when no one else was awake. 

My landlords Candice and Luther Stacy for putting up with me living with them, for taking care of my stuff and for sending an awesome re-supply box. 

Of course, the founding members of Camp Champaign: Martha Rogers and Sandy Lowe. They give me advice, they send me everything from poetry to cold-weather gear and they are always there for me. 

Hilary and Louise Taylor aka Xena The Warrior Princess and her daughter for their generous donation and for inspiring me to keep going (Xena) and to be healthy (Louise). 

Alice Bodnar (Holstein) and Ryan Linn (Guthook) for providing me maps for the whole AT through Guthook's App. Anyone considering a long distance hike needs to download Guthook's App. 

Tom Miedema, Perry Keydel and all my friends at Moosejaw Mountaineering for all the good advice and gear. They support my hikes and my library talks and they are my friends. 

My dear sister, Carol Machak for making her delicious custom spices and sending them to me. They make plain old rice taste fantastic. 

Jeff McWilliams for loaning me his sweet Thermarest mattress that keeps me up off the cold ground. 

Jerry and Becky Patterson for taking me into their home and showing me what real Southern hospitality is all about. 

And, finally...

I'd like to thank all my friends on the Michigan Hiking and Backing FB Page, the Michigan Trails and Greenways Alliance, Stormy Kromer and the Good Shepherd United Methodist Church for all they do. Thank you. 

The Devil's Backbone

People who know me know that I have two passions in life: long distance hiking and great craft beer. Sometimes, all the stars align and these two essential elements joyously collide. 

As I hike southbound on the Appalachian Trail, I'd been hearing about a place in Virginia - this goes all the way back to Pennsylvania - from beer snobs like myself about a brewpub called The Devil's Backbone. 

I thought about checking it out but beer is just not in the budget on this hike. It's gonna be tight until the end - IF I make it. Also, this place was about six miles off-trail. That's a tough hitch or a long road-walk for me. I was gonna skip it but I am extraordinarily proud of Michigan's craft brew scene and I wanted to compare what Virginia had to offer. I decided to go for it. 

The hitch was, indeed, tough. I had to walk a steep mile down hill to even get to a place that was safe for a car to pull over. A lovely woman in a van finally had mercy on me. She knew right where I wanted to go. "All the hikers stop there." she told me. I was trying not to get my hopes up because you never know what to expect but visions of a cold, hoppy IPA were dancing in my head. 

As we pulled in to the place, I realized that it was much more than just a brewpub - it was a huge compound! It had an outdoor stage, several smaller buildings that sold food and beer and big, open areas for RV parking and camping. It appeared to be a well-planned event center. I later found out they had just had a concert there attended by 8,000 people. 

As soon as I walked into the restaurant part of it, I received a warm welcome. They had a place for me to park my pack and they sat me at a table near an outlet so I could plug in my phone. I felt kinda bad when the server handed me a dinner menu and I told her I would only be having one beer. She was fine with that. 

All of this matters not if the beer is no good and I was NOT disappointed. I ordered an Eight Point IPA - their flagship beer. It hit all the targets dead on: color, aroma, temperature, carbonation and, most importantly, taste. A perfect combination of bitter hops and sweet malt. This beer was worth getting off the trail. 

Then things got even better when my server insisted I try (rather large) samples of both the Schwartz Beer and the Trail Angel Weiss. 

Both very well crafted brews. This place competes with just about anything in Michigan. The hostess welcomed me to camp on the property and told me to come back at 9am the next morning for a 'hiker's special' breakfast. 

That morning I had the pleasure of meeting Steve, the owner. He is both a builder and a hiker and this whole place was his idea. We shared some great conversation about the trails we had hiked. Breakfast was served to me by the chef and was one of the best meals I've had on this trail. 

All that good food for only five dollars! Before I left, Steve made sure to hook me up with some bumper stickers and a new ball cap. 

The whole thing was such a truly positive experience that I was glowing for days after. Sometimes, life is just really good. 

Have you a good experience at a brewpub? Leave me a comment about it below!

Cowboy Camping

I can sleep anywhere. This is a skill I mastered during my six years in the U.S. Army and it has served me well while long distance hiking. In fact, one of the things I really love about life on the trail is that when you pack up in the morning, you never know where you're going to sleep that night. Most likely, it's going to be in your tent alongside of the trail somewhere but you just never know. 

When I can, I like to cowboy camp; that is, to skip the tent and just sleep under the stars. It's a wonderful feeling to lay on your back and drift off to sleep as you watch the moon cross the sky. Plus, it takes far less time to pack up in the morning since you don't have a tent to put away. 

The disadvantage is that the weather could turn on you. You may fall asleep under the stars but you might wake up to fat drops of rain hitting you in the face. Thus begins the mad scramble of trying to get your boots on and quickly set up your tent before you and all your gear get soaked. Or, the wind can pick up. I've drifted off to sleep before in peace and quiet only to wake up with thirty mile-an-hour winds blowing leaves and dust all over me. It would be too much of a headache to try and get the tent set up in wind like that. Instead, I just put my back to the wind and go back to sleep. 

People often ask me if one could hike the entire AT without a tent and it's certainly possible. You'd have to cowboy camp or find a spot in a shelter every night - that's the part that I would hate. Shelters can be crowded and noisy. No thank you. I'd rather stop in at the shelters, water-up and enjoy the commroderie but then go find a quiet spot to camp by myself. 

This is about as late in the year as I can get away with (comfortably) cowboy camping. Soon, I'll need the tent just to hold in some heat. Until then, when possible, I'll shun the shelter and sleep under the stars.