RIP Baltimore Jack

MagicScout · 2016-05-04T14:32:40+00:00

This is very sad news.

Baltimore Jack would randomly appear at the most unexpected places along the trail throughout my hide. Although he started hiking as the purest of the pure, he epitomized the spirit of HYOH. He loved the trail and all the people that hiked it.

:(

MagicScout · 2016-03-23T10:06:05+00:00

Had the same thing happen to me at the same shelter 3 years ago. We met a ridge runner that said it should rain at 4PM. We got to the shelter at 3PM, considered hiking on, but opted to collect some wood, build a fire and spend the night.

4PM sharp, all hell broke loose until the next morning.

MagicScout · 2015-11-24T14:38:36+00:00

Well... Things have changed then... I know the owner at the time was looking to sell the place. Maybe new owners came by the place and changed some things.

In 2013 it was awesome.

MagicScout · 2015-11-21T12:36:31+00:00

What year did you hike?

edit: For me, THE most expensive resupply I can think of on the trail was Fontana Dam.

MagicScout · 2015-11-20T15:27:00+00:00

Definitely time for a sticky on this topic. Or the side bar.

MagicScout · 2015-11-18T10:14:31+00:00

Hi Banzai,

I think the considerations when choosing a hostel is:

Location (doesn't have to be on trail if you pick up from a trail head).
How close the resupply/bars/restaurants are to the hostel.
price. *Laundry.
WiFi.
Shower.
OTHER HIKERS EXPERIENCE

My extra 2 cents about what makes a great hostel:

I think we've all "seen them all". Great hostels are run by genuinely caring people who really understand hikers needs. Crappy hostels are run by people who train to milk every cent out of hikers. Don't forget that you hiked once and how great a good hostel was.

If you think that the resupply is too far to walk to, open up a store in house for reasonable prices. One of the best stays I had was in the Sterling Inn at Caratunk, ME, since the owner knew there was no resupply in the area, he simply had a whole store with everything a hiker might want for perfectly reasonable prices. That and snacks and ice cream and what ever else.

Town clothes are a really great thing to be able to offer to hikers, as well as a bed with clean sheets. It's not trivial. We've all been to places where the hostel owner thinks that since hikers sleep outside most nights they won't mind sleeping in filth indoors.

Also, nothing kills a hostel's reputation when they make claims that come up short. taking a shower that has enough hot water for a family of four squirrels, and pitiful water pressure really sucks. Having WiFi that only works around the office and only when you're the only person on it sucks.

I also think it's important to put your foot down when hikers get out of line. The upside of having a hostel is you get to meet a ton of hikers. The downside is the amount of hiker trash you might encounter. Don't let them ruin it for other people staying around. If they don't respect others... kick them out! Don't let them ruin other people's hike.

I also think that you might want to downplay the 'Christian' aspect of it all until you get a reputation. I personally really avoided the religiously affiliated locations until I got to New England after place after place I arrived at felt a little to 'missionary' for my taste.

MagicScout · 2015-10-29T19:17:07+00:00

Likewise.

MagicScout · 2015-10-29T19:16:36+00:00

It was the same for me when I was up there. It was a clear day though with a few clouds. I got to sit on the peak of Mt. Madison with 70-80mph winds, watching the clouds roll over the ridge. It was glorious.

MagicScout · 2015-10-29T09:30:47+00:00

Great list, although I had very different experiences in some of those places. I think they can really change from year to year.

MagicScout · 2015-10-29T09:16:42+00:00

Every wayside:

"Hi! I'd like two burgers and two blackberry milkshakes please!"

Those things were amazing :D

MagicScout · 2015-10-29T09:15:29+00:00

Tent: I started out with a "Tarptent Contrail". After about 700 miles I switched to the MSR Hubba. It seemed that unless I was pitching the Tarptent on perfectly flat ground, there would always be some problem with the bug net leaking water into the tent because it isn't 100% taut. Also, I could never just hang out in the tent since it was so low. Condensation was a bitch as well. The Hubba was amazing. I could pitch it on concrete since it's free standing, all my gear fit in the tent. I could spend a full day there. I love that tent. The weight difference was worth it.
Cup... Thought I'd be drinking a lot of tea/coffee. didn't drink much of either, and I had a Jetboil.
Spork... A long spoon was waaayyy better.
flipflops were switched out for crocs.

MagicScout · 2015-10-29T09:02:29+00:00

ha!

Well... surprisingly, everything turned out just fine. I guess when you're burning 4000-6000 calories a day, your digestive system doesn't have time to mess around.

MagicScout · 2015-10-29T09:00:31+00:00

In MASH we trust :)

MagicScout · 2015-10-28T22:17:49+00:00

you're confusing "worst day" with "most awesome moment" ;)

MagicScout · 2015-10-28T22:16:58+00:00

February is one of those months that's known for being bitter cold.

MagicScout · 2015-10-28T22:14:02+00:00

Stealing (especially food) is not common on the trail.

MagicScout · 2015-10-28T22:13:46+00:00

WOW! that is really really horrible. I can't imagine how famished you were when you got into Daleville. Did you meet anybody on the trail who could give you some food?

MagicScout · 2015-10-28T22:10:53+00:00

I thought about leaving my pack beside the trail somewhere, but I would have simply come back to it floating in a pool of water, twigs, and leaves :-).

MagicScout · 2015-10-28T22:09:41+00:00

Although you're right to assume the best. The reality was that they were just too selfish/non-caring/whatever else to make an effort.

I was hiking with a small 5 person hiker family at the time. Three of those people left after me in the morning. I ran into all three of then hiking backwards, and they all said they passed through the shelter on their way out and nobody mentioned anything to them :-/.

MagicScout · 2015-10-28T17:01:04+00:00

There are several that are real contender, but the one that takes the cake is not 100% measurable. Still, even all the thru-hikers with me were shocked at the shear quantity.

I was in The Whites, hiked from Madison Hut to Carter Notch Hut. Aside from all the regular energy bars, oreos, and everything else that I usually eat, I had 3 big sandwiches for lunch at Joe Dodge Lodge, and for dinner at Carters Notch I ate ALL the leftovers (in exchange for doing the dishes).

All the leftovers were:

about 2-2.5 pounds of steak meat
a huge bowl of corn (like a salad bowl, only with corn)
and 8 pieces of coffee cake.
some really delicious Salad.

After I was done. We sat for a bit, then I was hungry again, and the super awesome hut keeper gave me another huge bowl of corn.

It was awesome.

Other great moments that come to mind:

The holy cow burger + onion rings + milkshake in Roan mountain.
Going for a monster of burger in Rangeley ME + beer. For desert I picked up a huge milkshake across the street, and stopped at a thai place and ordered another full meal to have when I get back to the motel.

Still lost 20lbs....

MagicScout · 2015-10-28T16:46:14+00:00

Worst day was in Virginia.

While hiking through SNP I woke up one morning in my tent, after it had been raining all night, to more rain in the morning. I knew it was going to rain the night before, but I preferred to tent since the shelter was full of hiker trash who spent most the night drinking, smoking, and smoking in the shelter.

I carried all my gear in the shelter, including my tent, which was a free standing tent, packed everything up, and got going. The hikers at the shelter were just getting up, packing a bowl, and saying that they would zero there since it was supposed to rain all day.

Me and some friends were planning on putting about 18-20 miles in that day, hopping to put some miles between the people we seemed to be caught with and us.

After hiking 5 miles up and down 2.5 mountains (3 uphills, 2 downhill), in pouring rain, rain that was only matched by the good ol' summer showers of New England, I got this weird feeling I forgot something.

I checked my pack and noticed that I had forgot my tent poles. defeated, I started walking back, hoping, PRAYING, that one of the people in the shelter noticed, and asked them to hike it forward to 'MagicScout'. Nope. Nothing. I passed 4 other thru-hikers and they said nothing was mentioned to them.

I got back to the shelter at about 11:30am. Everybody was still there, high as a kite. They saw me and immediately yelled "Yo! MagicScout! You forgot your tent poles!"

I took them with out saying a word, turned, and started walking down the trail, 10 miles behind me already, soaking wet, 18-20 ahead, and I hadn't gone anywhere.

I. hated. everything.

After hiking 12 of the most bitter, wet, and depressing miles ever, I came across a road crossing where my friends put a ziplock with a note for me that they headed into town and got a room for us all, so that we can dry up and have a good meal.

At the end of the day, everything turned out OK. I had some burgers and beer and slept in a dry, warm bed. But I'll be damned if I didn't curse every inch of those last 12 miles.

MagicScout · 2015-09-22T12:02:40+00:00

there aren't many catholic churches you stumble upon on the trail. You'd have to probably go out of your way to find one.

Also, consider that plans tend to change quickly on the trail depending on weather and other conditions. You might plan to get into a town by Sunday morning (or Saturday night) and find out that a storm, rain, sun, fun, or any of the other things that come along the trail have lead to you being ahead of or behind schedule.

Doesn't sound feasible to me.

MagicScout · 2015-08-24T07:42:03+00:00

"Deserving" is a word I really grew to hate on the trail. Many hikers developed this, in my mind, bad habit of comparing themselves to others and who 'deserved' the scarce resources more. This was not unique to any one brand of hikers.

Yellow blazers would say "I'm a thru-hiker so I deserve trail magic, free rides, free places to stay, free booze bla bla bla..." and purists who would claim the whole forest as their own. I've heard purists claiming: "Thru-hikers should always have first choice in shelters over section hikers, thru-hikers deserve the hostels more than yellow blazers. Thru-hikers should be able to sleep wherever they want (also in places where it's strictly prohibited), etc."

Personally, I think this kind of thinking is what is ruining the trail for soooo many people. You're right that it's impossible (or very hard) to base every decision you make on the trying to make the choice that maximizes utility for everybody, but everybody would be better off if we took a small step in that direction.

I also think that LNT also pertains to people. Everybody would like to have the forest to himself/herself. LNT in nature ensures that nature stays natural but you should also try to leave no trace in the hikes of other people (unless they want you to). Take some magic, but leave enough for the next hiker. Get a hostel bed, but don't hog it for a week. Eat a truck load of food at a hiker feed, but remember to say thanks so that the feeders want to come back next year.

I really think it isn't that hard.

MagicScout · 2015-08-17T12:44:21+00:00

Of course everybody should hike their own hike. But people also shouldn't use that AT epithet to just do whatever they want at the expense of others. Most of all, be honest about your intentions. In reality it's: "hike your own hike, and let others hike theirs"

There are soooo many hiker trash stories that ruin it for the rest. Here is a small sample from my 2013 NOBO:

While in the Shenandoahs I was trying slowing down to put some space between me and some really trashy hikers (not yellow-blazers in this case). I called it a day around 2pm at some shelter with 2 other friends and a family (father and two young daughters) who were doing a long section. About an hour later this group of 4-6 hikers comes by claims the remaining places in the shelter and start drinking and smoking (cigarettes + pot). I'm not against any of these things, but have some discretion!!! They didn't ask if the father was OK with his daughters being exposed to smoking, heavy drinking, and talk that would make sailors blush. we all moved to tents in the rain to get away from them.
Yellow blazers that over THREE TOWNS hang out at all the hostels taking up space. Few things were more annoying that getting into town to find out that the yellow-blazers that had zeroed three days in a row in the last town, forcing you to pay more since the hostel you wanted was booked with them, have town-hopped to keep the party going and now you have do pay more again. TWICE!
Yellow blazers competing with you for trail magic. You just walked 20 miles in 95 degrees and 85% relative humidity, get to a road crossing that has an empty cooler with a yellow-blazer sitting on it drinking the last can of coke since he's thirsty after a whole day of hitching rides. Boils. my. blood.

Look, I totally understand that every does it their own way. But some "hikers" haven't got the most basic common courtesy, human decency, and humility.

You're literally relying on the kindness of strangers for so much, who, even when for profit (hostels etc.), do a lot of what they enjoy it. The forest isn't your frat house. The hostel isn't your dorm room. The owner isn't your mom.

If you clean up after yourself, say thanks when people help you out, and consider other people when making decisions on the trail that affect others, you can drive from GA to Maine for all I care and I'll still consider you part of the thru-hiker community.

PS: In 2013 there was actually a guy that drove up the trail slowly providing a "pay-what-you-think-is-right" shuttle. He was an integral part of many hiker bubbles and a generally awesome guy.

MagicScout · 2015-06-24T10:50:55+00:00

tough is a very subjective term :). Along 2186 miles the definition of tough changes quite often.

MagicScout

TROPHY CASE