My Adventure Solo Travel are just flow with a very loose schedule and minimum preparation. All information I get at the place where I land for hiking or biking. That how the “movie” starts and I’m curious to see what will be the next episode.
Diner for hikers in the Church in Duncannon, lunch in McDonald’s Walnutport out of the trail, trying to hitchhike back but stopped by a policeman because it was prohibited in Pennsylvania.
Pretty Harpers Ferry, the trip to Washington with Laurie, back to the woods, and very special trail magic from Laurie and Co
Shenandoah National Park. Stunning views, meeting with bears, storm at night, a ride from German tourists to the motel, then back to the trail.
Cool hostel with organic food (what was its name?), meteorite shower at Four Pines hostel, chicken buffet, famous McAfee Knob, sealing tent, laundering at Troutville Fire Station.
Woohoo, Damascus Trail Days! It was something like … I have nothing to compare with. Hiking Woodstock? Hiking Burning Man? Time will tell.
Disappointed with my new backpack, exhausted after a night in a shelter – no compromising, never again! – ended up in Appalachian Folk School without any ability to walk a single mile.
After Hot Springs I moved on totally by myself, learned how to tent in the woods fare away from others, and how to hang food. It was time to get serious.
A lot of food from Tennessee club, bold hills, very noisy (bad noise, not fun) hikers hostel in Hot Springs, that helped me to make a choice: you need to stop hanging with crowds too much otherwise you would never see Katahdin.
Tennessee North Carolina state line, sun in Smokies, the wreckage of an aircraft, and the Standing Bear hostel at the end of Smokies with a lot of “old” and “new” hikers there.
Rain, twilights, muddy woods, Smokies. A lonely silhouette, moving slowly the same directions like me, no raincoat, no backpack. Just white angels wings on the back of his black hoody. Who it could be? Ghost, who else.
More rain, less fun, just mud, and beautiful muddy mountains, that I slide from on my bum. I am glad I saw Smokies on their best: smoke itself, rain, mud. And blossom!
More rain. More hikers in Nantahala Outdoor Center. More fun. More food.
Reading carefully how to deal with black bears, cooking stove, experiencing the last slightly below freezing temperature. A hikers hostel sent a bus to fetch us out of the woods during a bad forecast.
Learning more about NoBo hikers (Northbound), Trail Angels, and hikers hostels. Watching what others eat, how they sleep, what they’re wearing, and what they are caring.
Woody Gap. Drying from the first storm at the trail angel’s house. My passport and other documents were wet as well, and, to save time, I asked the old lady to dry them with a hair drier, while I was bathing.
#SpringerMountain. First two days and two nights on #AppalachianTrail. First storm. These first two days that did not let me turn around straight from Springer Mountain in Georgia.
I flew from South Africa to hike the #AppalachianTrail. What I knew about it? That as a trail runner I was able to do these 2000 miles anyway. I supposed to walk with a project of US militaries, so no need to care about supplying/resupplying. They would show me the way to hm… Katarin? Karazin? Ah, does it matter?
In 2014 I hiked the Appalachian Trail, unexpectable and unpredictable way. I wasn’t ready, I didn’t know about AT, I didn’t know how to deal with woods and wilderness and I was not a backpacker at all. So I’ve got whole nine yards of it.
2014, Johannesburg, Kalahari, Cape-Town, Port Elizabeth, Durban, Groskop, Pretoria.
