Appalachian Trail stories?

[CyrixInstead]

Hi everyone, I'm new to the forum, having found the place through Larry (mtgoat) over at Short-Media - I think it's Larry isn't it??

I was wondering if any of you guys had hiked the Appalachian Trail, and if so could you tell me any interesting/funny stories from along the way?

I am a fan of Bill Bryson, and enjoyed his book 'A Walk in the Woods' immensely, and hope one day to hike the trail myself, although I've not done any hiking before (I live in hilly England )

Thanx!!

~Cyrix

[mtgoat]

Welcome Cyrix!

I hope you enjoy your stay and return to share what you know as well as ask about other topics of interest. Yes, it is Larry.

Everyone, please welcome Cyrix to our home and you don't have to go too easy on him, he can take it. He is a good guy I know from Short-Media (a tech site) and he comes to us from across the pond to grace us with his presence and is interested in what I'm sure a lot here can help him with.

[funkyfreddy]

AT isn't in the Catskills

Hi Cyrix, I hate to tell you this but the Appalachian Trail doesn't go through the Catskills, which probably explains the lack of responses. You should probably repost the thread under " rabid granola crunchers" or one of the general hiking forums.

[Kevin]

I thought a part of the AT did cut through the catskills? Doesn't it have to in order to make it to new england?

[hikerchick]

Nah Kevin,

The AT skirts the south-eastern edge of NY and heads right into CT, I don't think it goes through any of the Catskills. There are some great AT specific websites that have tons of AT info, send me a PM if you'd like links (I don't know if posting links is okay?)

hc

[Kevin]

No problem, post away... we're a resource, not a competitor

I know of one myself I like:

http://www.trailforums.com/index.cfm

[hikerchick]

For great AT info . . . try www.whiteblaze.net

[funkyfreddy]

Hi Kevin - nice site!

The AT definitely doesn't go through the Catskills, which is probably why the Catskills are still a nice uncrowded area to hike in. It might be a good idea to provide a separate forum for the AT if it's not too much of a PITA, because AT hikers won't know to look for info in a Catskill Mountains Forum.

[Fox]

Hey Cyrix,

I was reading through this thread and I see you haven't really got a response to your request. What exactly are you looking for? Is it only humorous stories or stories in general?

Whenever someone asks me for a story from the trail I always tell the one that was just weird and spooky. Interested in these kinds of stories?

[funkyfreddy]

re: AT still isn't in the Catskills

Originally posted by Fox
Whenever someone asks me for a story from the trail I always tell the one that was just weird and spooky. Interested in these kinds of stories?

I'm interested if they aren't, please tell. You go first......... I've got some spookies and some funnies as well. Let's swap some stories around the digital campfire while we gnaw on some digital marshmallows..........

yuck! the thought of that........ digital marshmallows...........I never liked marshmallows to begin with, would rather eat a roasted rat, at least that would have some nutritional value..........

better yet, let's just tell the stories!

[CyrixInstead]

Yeah, any stories would be great!! People always have stories, and I love listening!

~Cyrix

[Fox]

Ok, I’ll go….

About 13 years ago I planned take my boys hiking around the loop that is Stratton Pond and Stratton MT in VT. This was going to be their first hike. The youngest was 7 years old.

I invited a good friend along too. It was going to be his first backpacking trip as well. I scheduled the trip to correspond as closely with the full moon as I could so the boys could see the beauty of Stratton Pond at night.

We had a nice easy walk in to the pond via Stratton Pond Trail and set up in one of the shelters that used to be right on the water. We messed around and built a small fire and generally everyone was in great spirits. We got the boys bedded down for the night and my buddy revealed to me that he had brought in 4 beers that were currently sitting in the edge of the pond cooling. We of course adjourned to the waters edge.

In the spot we were staying is a large rock that sits just off the shore that you can step out on to. We were very close across the water to where the trail comes in to the pond region. We were standing down on that rock enjoying a cold one and basking in the warmth of the night when I heard singing. Up to this point we had seen few hikers and none had said they were staying at the area. We had assumed we had the pond to ourselves.

I asked my buddy if he heard the singing and after a bit of quiet he said he did. We listened very alertly trying to discern what was being sung. It became obvious that it was a woman singing. We both fixed our gaze on the south shore where the trail ran into and then around to the east side of the pond. Before long I saw her. She came down to the water and stood on a patch of ground that juts out into the pond right where we were looking. She glowed in the moonlight. I figured she was dressed all in white and I thought it odd that she was wearing what looked like an ankle length nightgown. She kept singing and it was hypnotizing. I still couldn’t make out any words. Her song was soft but it was hauntingly beautiful. We stared fixed at her for what felt like a very long time. I wondered if she knew we were there.

She then seemed to turn around and, still singing, start back towards the forest. It was then that I noticed she had no apparent stride. In other words I could not see that she was taking steps. I know that area very well and the ground is not smooth at all. It requires a few steps up to get back to the trail. She didn’t. She just seemed to glide up. It was at this point the “spell” that had held us so mesmerized seemed to break and my buddy leaned over and whispered to me, “I’m not seeing this… are you?”

I kept watching her as she drifted along the shore through the trees when suddenly she wasn’t there anymore. I looked down the trail to an area I knew passed back out into direct moonlight and waited for a long time to see if she came out. She didn’t. It was then I realized the singing had stopped. I turned to Dan and said, “Well….you’ve got a hell of a story to tell from your first backpacking trip.”


Now it's your turn.

[spider]

Hi CyrixInstead
I put my AT story over with mntgoats welcome to you. I couldn't post when I linked to this thread but just realized posting is no problem when I come here direct.

The AT...in the old days it was called the "Gov't Trail."
It was said that in the early days there was a lot of resentment and you didn't want to stumble across a "still" in the woods especially if the bootleggers were there..it could have been your last day.

Nowadays the trail extends into the International Appalachian Trail

SIA
A
T

culminating in Newfoundland, though, Gaspe Quebec is often considered it's terminus

now that I've already submited my AT story and I really don't have a good IAT story... unless.. maybe... that girl in a thong incident...........

[Fox]

maybe folks are just shy...

Once when I was hiking southbound on the AT with my son I felt the urgent call of nature. I told him I needed to take a quick side trip into the woods and he pulled off the trail and dropped his pack to relax and wait.

I headed off trail seeking a suitable spot. About 100 yards into the woods heading down slope a shaft of sunlight broke through the canopy illuminating a tree that had fallen across a rock and wedged into a forked tree (I thought I heard a chorus of angels). After testing it for strength with a couple of good hard pushes I dropped my drawers and eased my weight onto the tree and it promptly snapped. I did about 6 backward somersaults down the mountainside before coming up on my feet. Of course the first thing I did was look around to see if anyone had seen what had just happened.

The astounding part is that 1) I didn't slam into anything during my uncontrolled decent and 2) the toilet paper I had tucked into my shorts was still in place.

I managed to take care of business without further mishap and walk back up to where my son was waiting. Oh yes, it is pertinent to the over-all image to know that at that time I was wearing my hair a bit past shoulder length.

He took one look at me and said, "What happened to you?" I hadn't realized I had so many dead leaves and twigs stuck in my hair. I told him what had just happened and he laughed so hard I thought he would hurt himself.

[funkyfreddy]

re: Ghosts on the AT

Hi Fox, I loved the Stratton Pond ghost story! Did you post this story elsewhere because I think I’d heard or read about it about it a while back. I’d love to read more ghost stories from the AT and other places. Here’s something that happened to me last summer on top of Sugarloaf. I originally posted this at the start of a thread on VFTT called.........

Haunted Places on the AT

Over the years I've heard stories about different places along the AT that are supposedly haunted. I could tell you a few stories but before I do I'd like to ask about one place in particular - the summit building on Sugarloaf in Maine.

I had an interesting experience the night I stayed there. About an hour or so after dark I got woke up by footsteps going around the outside of the building. I thought it was some hikers getting to the summit late and expected them to come in and get settled but they didn’t. A bit later I heard voices and footsteps below where some old cable cars are. I was wondering what people would be doing wandering around in the dark but I didn’t think much about it and went back to sleep. Later though I got woke up again, this time by footsteps that stopped abruptly about 10 feet away from me inside the building. When this happened a chill ran up my spine. I turned on my head lamp but no one was there and the 2 other hikers were sound asleep.

The next day I ran into some northbound thruhikers on Mt. Spaulding. They asked me if I had been to the summit building and I said yes, the views are great. When they heard that I had stayed there over night one of them asked me if I had any strange experiences..... I said “It’s funny that you should ask” and told them what happened.

It turns out I’m not the only hiker this has happened to. They had heard some stories about Sugarloaf from southbounders and the AT grapevine. I was wondering if anyone here has heard any stories themselves......... I’d love to hear them. Thanks, Fred