NOBO

Joe's "Clark's Jungle Hammock"

NOBO is actually a term used in describing a hiker and the direction he is going on the Appalachian Trail also known as the AT. Timothy has taken a 6 month leave of absence from Marina Management in Florida and on May 1 he started hiking the AT from Springer Mountain in Georgia,  heading North . Yesterday he was at Fontana Village, NC and spent the night at the Fontana  Hilton before heading into the Great Smokey Mountain National Park today. If you have ever read Bill Bryson's book, "A Walk in the Woods" , you know that hikers  have trail names. When Tim started, he did not have a name, but shortly after leaving Springer, he became "Spoon'. Seems that when he was ordering his gear from REI, he wasn't paying close attention to the items he purchased, just checking things off his list and moving on. So he ordered a spork, which is a spoon fork combination, and he also ordered another spoon combination thing. When he got his package from REI out came this huge plastic ladle/spoon thing about foot and half long. Chuckled about it and because it was really light thru it in the pack anyway. When he got to the first shelter, and started to cook dinner, with some friends he had met on the trail, Matt's girlfriend said that she had forgotten to bring any thing to eat with, and Tim said "I have just the thing for you" and pulled out his giant spoon. So his friends started calling him Spoon. I guess he tried to object but, then of course the whole shelter picked up on the name and continued calling him "Spoon". So "Spoon" he is!!! He carries enough food for 3 to 4 days on the trail and when he stops for food, he usually updates his blog. He wasn't able to find a WiFi connection in Fontana, so it looks like Gatlinburg will be his next opportunity for blogging. You can subscribe or view his blog at: The AT & T

Spoon at Tray Gap

          So the hammock above is my hammock. Sean & I are planning on joining him for 4 days at the end of June or the beginning of July,  somewhere in Virginia. Tim actually started talking about this hike last fall and he and I had a lot of discussions about gear and  planning. He originally planned to leave in April, but then because of his work load, he decided in early March, that he wasn't going to be able to go. My plan had been to start off with him at Springer, figuring that I could keep up with him when he first started, and Sean was going to join him later. So when Ellen & I were snowbound at Newfound Gap, in the Great Smokey Mountains on our way home from Florida, I was glad that he had made the decision not to start this year. But by Easter he had changed his mind and started ordering his gear and announced that May 1 was starting his starting date. Tim is using a Hennessey hammock, recommended by his friend Rob, and says that it is working fine. Light weight , no poles , easy to set up. All the reasons I chose plus not having to sleep on the cold ground. My old bones do not like sleeping on the cold hard ground or the hard wooden floors in the shelters.

Tim resting in his hammock in Gerogia

          We are following his progress north, he has been averaging about 14 miles per day, and we are looking forward to meeting up with him in Virgina in about a month. I am packed and am carrying my fully loaded pack as I lead hikes in the Blue Hills on Thursday evenings with the SE Mass Chapter of the AMC's Red Line the Blue Hills hike series.

Leaving Gatlinburg

Sunday morning we got on our hiking gear, took a little tour through Gatlinburg, before heading to the Laurel Falls trail.  Once in the park we saw that the road over the top was closed for snow and ice conditions. The trailhead tor the falls was off on a different road so we took that hoping that the weather would break, so after we finished our hike, the road would be open.  It was a little bit of a climb up to the falls and almost 2 miles , but the trail was well packed without rocks or roots so it was easy going. With all the rain, the streams were really running and the falls were quite spectacular. We were thinking that we would have to drive around to get to Asheville but the rangers had opened the road and we headed on. The Appalachian Trail crosses the road at Newfound Gap, so we stopped and took some pictures, then on down the other side and on to Asheville.
We had a nice time in Asheville. Really liked the city, with lots of cafes, and little traffic. After we arrived we got out and walked around, looked at the art work on the streets, had a little coffee and decided on a place to go for dinner. Asheville has a really nice bookstore!! Actually Asheville has a lot of nice places to visit. We had a great dinner at the Lobster Trap which is also known as Oyster Brewing and although we were not able to sample their signature brew- Oyster Stout- their IPA was quite good. When we walked in, Ellen said, "they use the same brewing system you do". Theirs is actually a little more sophisticated but the principles are the same. A two tier system, but I do not have a keg mash tun.(anyone interested I can explain??) So I had a couple of drafts and some jambalaya, and we both were quite happy. The next day we did some shopping in the local wine store and then on to some serious antiquing. Ellen found a nice tin carrier that she can use for plants, but I lucked out on my search for a grain scale and some apple peelers. We decided this wasn't apple country nor an area with grain silos. Then on to the Blue Ridge Parkway. First we stopped at the visitor center where we found out which parts of the parkway were open and which were closed and then a visit to the Craft store for some pottery for Ellen. There were a number of sections of the parkway that were closed for construction and storm damage so we are definitely going to have to come back to see those sections. We got on at Linville Falls and stayed on to Deep Gap. It actually was the last section of the Blue Ridge parkway that was completed. A lot of the road was held up by columns and subsequently the elevated road ran out along side the ridge rather than over it. It made for some rather spectacular views. One of the things that was really apparent in the North Carolina section , was the wind/snow storm damage on the trees. It looked like a giant had taken a scythe and swiped off the tops of the trees. Tree tops were down everywhere and you could see where they had been ground up . But there was still substantial more work to be done to clean up the roadway and hills. We spent the night in Wilkesboro, NC and the next day got back on the Blue Ridge Parkway at Roaring Gap, finishing North Carolina and then we were able to go to the end of the Virginia section. We saw lots of deer, 1 wild turkey and 2 Mountain Goats. After the Virginia section we went into the Shenandoah National Park and onto the Skyline Drive. We did not take the Skyline to the end but got off and spent the night in Winchester, VA. The next day was was the last day of our vacation and was spent on a long ride home on the interstates, going from Virginia, through West Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, Rhode Island and finally Massachusetts and home. There are more pictures of our trip filed on the right hand side of the blog under "Other Stuff" click on Florida Vacation 2010 and it will take you right there.

Leaving Delray

Thomas Edison with a couple of friends

For our final dinner in Delray Tim fixed us giant grilled shrimp and Florida Stone crabs. It was a great meal to end our vacation on the East Coast of Florida. Thursday morning we said goodbye, dropped off a geocoin that we had previously picked up in Arizona and headed across Alligator Alley under cloudy skies for John & Daphne's in Fort Myers. The sky cleared by the time we arrived and they took us to the Thomas Edison - Henry Ford`museum. Edison bought property in Fort Myers for his winter home in 1895. He came here for winter relaxation with his family and to conduct botany studies. Henry Ford, who had been employed by Edison for 2 years before he started building cars also bought a piece of property next to Edison's. Edison did the planning for the property from the artesian wells for the swimming pool to the landscaping and home and lab designs.

We enjoyed our brief stay with John & Daphne, having a nice dinner and some evening conversation.

Daphne, Joe and Ellen, Emma, John and Cricket

Then Friday we were bound for Georgia under threatening skies. The clouds opened up and we had some torrential rainfall to the other side of Tampa. When Ellen checked in to our Motel in Tifton , GA she heard stories of lots of cars off the road both North and South of us. Rt. 75 North from Fort Myers to the Florida Border was very interesting. Lot's of terrain changes. However in Georgia Rt. 75 becomes a billboard infested road. I-hop, sex, land deals, you name it and it is advertised. Interesting move from fireworks to sex. We are hoping that as we get further in the billboards will disappear.
We left Tifton Georgia heading for the Great Smoky National Forest. As we were heading north I noticed that my gps was telling me that I was going about 2 mph less than what was being shown on my car speedometer. I guess that we haven't gone as far as we thought or my mileage isn't quite as good. The billboards continued to plague us on our trip north until after Gainesville. Where the terrain also changed and we were able to see the mountains we were heading for. We stopped at Tallulah Gorge for pictures and a break. The Great Walenda crossed the gorge on a wire in 1970, 6 years later he died in Puerto Rico attempting another high wire crossing. In Dillard we saw our first snow on the way north and we were still in Georgia.As we drove up through the Great Smoky National Park, the temperature began to drop and the rain turned to snow. We were not in a blizzard but the snow was definitely coming down and the visibility was very poor.

At the top of Newfound Gap, one foot in TN, One foot in NC

We are hoping that this storm is going to clear tomorrow so we can get some hiking in. After coming down from the ridge we entered Gatlinburg to a horrendous traffic jam. We found out that we had just missed the Santa Claus parade and traffic was backed up from one end of the town to the other. Found a place to stay and are hoping for a better day Sunday.