Twig Adventures

Tag: thru-hiking

GDT Days 0: Travel Woes

Great Divide Trail

Monday July 1st to Tuesday, July 2nd, 2024 My trip didn’t get off a great start at the very beginning. My first flight was supposed to depart at 5:13 am but of course after getting myself to the airport 2 hours ahead of time (I woke up at 2:45 am), the flight was delayed 2 hours for a broken PA handset. It was such a minor thing that we were given the go ahead to fly, provided that the correct paperwork was filled out before we took off. We left the gate only 20 minutes late, getting my hopes up that I might still make my tight connection, only to have to return to the gate to sit some more.[…]

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Introducing the Great Divide Trail

Great Divide Trail

The Great Divide Trail, GDT, is a long distance hiking route that runs approximately 700 miles / 1100 kms through the Canadian Rockies, between Alberta and British Columbia (not to be confused with a bike route of a similar name). It’s also commonly thought of as the continuation of the Continental Divide Trail, or CDT, in the USA. In fact, the southern terminus lies at the US/Canada border, 4 miles south of Waterton where the CDT officially ends. The Northern Terminus is in Kakwa Lake Provincial Park, pretty much in the middle of nowhere. It’s anywhere from a 20 to 60 mile ATV road walk/hitch just get from the northern terminus to a highway that leads to Prince George and[…]

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BMT & FHT Summary & Stats

Appalachian Trail, Benton MacKaye Trail, Foothills Trail

Both these trails were relatively short, hence this short(er) post. Some thoughts and findings from the BMT: First, thanks to all the volunteers that make this trail happen! Yes there are blowdowns and overgrowth, because all that stuff happens daily, especially in the summer! Trail maintenance is a constant thing and I saw how dedicated the volunteers were in trying to keep up with it. Thank you! Anyone looking for solitude and that remote wilderness feel will find it on the BMT. I saw only 7 BMT thru and section hikers in 2 weeks. Some of the climbs and descents were brutal but there were also a lot of cruisy sections, especially parts following old road beds along the ridges[…]

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FHT Day 4: An Unexpected Finale, To Say the Least

Foothills Trail

Thursday and on into Friday, May 24th, 2024, 2130-1000Chimney Top Campsite to Foothills Trail Eastern Terminus at Table Rock State Park13.2 miles, Gain: 2530′, Loss: 3690′, elevation 1150′ Finding myself riding out a thunderstorm at midnight in a privy, after having been run out of my campsite by 4 bears, got me evaluating my life choices. On the one hand, I was glad to be away from the bears, dry and safe. But on the other, I was in a privy, dead tired, and debating whether the smell and gross-factor was tolerable enough to spend the night or if I’d be better off moving on. I’d already covered over 3 miles in the dark, what was another 10? Earlier, back[…]

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FHT Days 3: This Trail Has Some Teeth…That End in a Cliffhanger

Foothills Trail

Thursday, May 23rd, 2024, 0630-1700Hilliard Falls to Chimney Top Campsite, mm 63 27 miles, Gain: 5680′, Loss: 4920′, elevation 2300′ Something in all the waterfalls must have supercharged me, because I woke with a feeling of wanting to crush miles. My goal was to leave only half a day’s distance for the last day, and boy did I and then some! This day was actually just typical of ones on the BMT, and it was quite a bit easier…though the stairs really reared their ugly head in a few spots. Since I managed to get a pretty early start, I figured I’d shoot for my 10 by 10 standard. I passed the halfway mark of the FHT just after 7[…]

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FHT Day 2: Waterfalls!

Foothills Trail

Wednesday, May 22nd, 2024, 0650-1800Chattooga Rive camp to Hilliard Falls, NC, mm 36.322 miles, Gain: 3830′, Loss: 4300′, elevation 1520′ This day went down in the books as the best Waterfalls Day, ever. I enjoyed a waterfall for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, with a few smaller bites in between. I slept amazingly alongside the river and woke feeling so refreshed and excited for the day. I walked less than half a mile before coming to Burrells Ford Campground. I was so glad I stopped short the day before because there were many house-sized tents, barking dogs, and people about (probably some habituated bears, as well). I wanted none of that drama, but I sure appreciated being able to use the[…]

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FHT Day 1: Why Not?

Foothills Trail

Tuesday, May 21st, 2024, 1010-1800Oconee State Park Tamassee Knob trailhead to Chattooga Rive camp, mm15.2 miles, Gain: 2560′, Loss: 2280′, elevation 2030′ After AT Trail Days came to an end, it was time to head home. On the way, I planned a stop to visit my friends Esther and Wayne in Tyron, NC. It was only a few hours drive from Damascus, breaking up what would have been a ridiculously long drive to Miami. Once there, I couldn’t help but notice that I was only 50 minutes from the eastern terminus of the Foothills Trail and that it was going to be sunny for several days. After the BMT, I was sick of the rain and feeling pretty tired, so[…]

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AT Trail Days 2024

Appalachian Trail, Benton MacKaye Trail

Wednesday- Sunday, May 15-19th It was a wild week at AT Trail Days in Damascus VA. I embraced it all, from camping in the woods in Tent City, to the commercial hype from all the vendors, to joining in the AT class parade through town, to dancing in the rain and mud around the bonfire to the beat of drums. I’ve never been to a rave and this may be as close to one as I get. I wanted to complete my Triple Crown of Trail Days, coordinating the timing of my Benton MacKaye Trail hike to end just beforehand, and a Foothills Trail hike directly after. In this way, I killed a whole bunch of bears with one stone.[…]

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BMT Day 14: An Early Finish

Appalachian Trail, Benton MacKaye Trail

Tuesday, May 14th, 2024, 0730-1230Laurel Gap Shelter to Baxter Creek Trailhead, Northern BMT Terminus, mm 289.712 miles (plus another 4 mile road walk to get back to my car at Standing Bear Hostel), Gain: 1100′, Loss: 4840′, elevation 1710′ BMT Done! (save for the 16 mile section I have to go back to finish someday). Unfortunately it was a not-so-rewarding final 12 miles view-wise, but I did have a fabulous morning waking to the bird song surrounding the shelter. I slept so good that the songs were the one and only thing that woke me. Well, I did have a little mouse visitor sometime in the night, but my food was hung on the bear cable and there was nothing[…]

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BMT Day 13: Finally a Quiet and Dry Shelter!

Benton MacKaye Trail

Monday, May 13th, 2024, 0700-1730Newton Bald 52 to Laurel Gap Shelter, mm 277.725 miles, Gain: 6980′, Loss: 6490′, elevation 5440′ It was cloudy when I woke and I could tell the rain was coming early. But at least my tent was bone dry and would hopefully stay that way, if I could just make it to the shelter. The morning got off to a surprising and unsettling start. In the pre-dawn darkness, I went to retrieve my food bag from the bear cables. I had to go past the hammockers, so I was trying to be extra quiet. Just as I came abreast of them, out of the corner of my eye, I caught the motion of a large animal[…]

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