Saturday 11 July 1974, the old AT

 Virginia's AT was in constant flux.  Trail RELOS were common and many times you really didn't know your location.  That was important for camps, water and even tops of mountains. For example, Mt Rogers, the tallest mountain in Virginia is no longer on the AT.

But on this date we (Don, Ralph and me) hiked something like 20 miles to get to Walker Mtn LT (built in 1960) arriving at 530 PM. This was day four after leaving Damascus, VA. At 9pm, we moved to sleep in the nearby fire tower.  The first pic is from Ralph.

Here is the USGS map from the Seventies showing the trail route.

Today, the AT doesn't even reach the ridge.

First a quote from my book. 

On the 11th of July, I wrote a letter to my parents reporting a 20.2 mile day and a total of 492.4 miles.  That night we slept in the Walker Mountain Fire Tower (3,900 feet).  We could have stayed in the LT, but a once in a lifetime chance to sleep in a tower was something not to miss.  Also had a chance to pee off the Tower to see a long continuous stream of pee, a dream of every young boy.  The water source at the LT was a boxed cistern, often used in the south to collect rainwater off the roof of the shelter and store in a vault. The trail has since be RELOed away from this scenic spot to the west; shame since the mountain was the trail route from 1955-1980.

Details from my Journal.

11 July Thursday

20.2 miles

Cruising except for the last 8 miles.  Arrive @ LT 530 (not bad) and @ 9:00 decided to sleep in the fire tower.  Never have done it before.  It may turn out to be a cool thing.  A couple of times I hauled ass on the trail or as Ralph puts it "Bristow Overdrive."  On Rt. 11 there was an Exxon Gas Station & we bought ice cream and junk.  It helped me get up Walker Mtn, (in the rain of course).  I couldn't find Dad's Church because of a trail relocation.  But I wasn't going to walk any more than I have to.

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From Google Streetview, this might be the gas station on Rt 11 where I bought the snacks.

Here is the trail map and ATC Guide.  Like south, I combined several guidebooks to just have northbound hiking and cover the entire 504.8 miles+/-.

Much better map, eh?  The trail has since moved away from Walker Mountain to the west to cross the Hoston River Valley.  This was a massive RELO.

It took us 7 days to hike from Damascus to Pearisburg (my next maildrop) on the AT.

Today, in Grateful Dead History

 Check out this concert.

Grateful Dead Live at Omaha Civic Auditorium on 1978-07-05 : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive

Sugaree, Beat It On Down The Line, They Love Each Other, Looks Like Rain, Dire Wolf, It's All Over Now, Candyman, Lazy Lightning-> Supplication, Deal Samson & Delilah, Ship of Fools, Estimated Prophet-> Eyes Of The World-> Drums-> Wharf Rat-> Truckin'-> Iko Iko-> Around & Around

You can download for later enjoyment.

Happy 4th! Vandeventer LT, then and now on the AT

 Happy Fourth!

The day before left the Trivett House in Elk Park, NC, on July third and hitched back to the Trail and hiked an easy 10 miles to our camp.  Lots of road walking along the way, in a stretch that had since been relocated several times to secure a permanent and SAFE trail corridor.

It was the fourth of July in 1974 when we left Moreland Gap LT (built 1960) with Ralph, Don and Pete.  Pete is shown warming his hands over the fire at the camp.  Don, on the left is collecting firewood.  Ralph's walking stick is between them.  You can click on any pic for a larger image.

We then arrived at this Appalachian Trail Leanto.  Ralph shot this pic that night.

Vandeventer LT was built in 1961 and still stands. Some additional facts: 5 ft high roof in sleeping area 15' x 7' sleeping area: plywood, 2 ft off of ground. Shelter is 10' x 16'.

You will notice in the back, there is an opening in the trees to look southeast.  Lots of great views along the Iron Mountains.

Today, the NPS photo shows this.

Looks like a new roof?

From the AT Map.  Check this site out for lots a great pics of LTs on the AT.

And the same area from the USGS Watauga Dam Quad

Details of this day from my AT log:

4 July Thursday

20.1 miles fucking hard ass miles

Arrived at Leanto (which we got) at 730 pm after a hard day.  1 or 2 pics from fire tower on White Mt. 3 pics at waterfall 2 (I guess) or Wautuga (?) lake from leanto of views. Scratched my arms and legs on pricker bushes.  Had banana cream pudding which was good. Expected to have a good fireworks display from LT in the valley but no go.  Bought beer and peanuts at a joint along trail.  Tasted like shit.  Hotter than hell today. Sweated balls off. 45 miles from Damascus.

Glad today is over.

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More pics, first White Rock Tower, and the USGS map from Moreland Gap to the Tower.

Next Laural Fork Falls and the USGS map of the time.

And then Wilbur Lake from the top of a tuff climb.  The lake was built sometime between 1938 and 1960. So, the first AT hikers would not have had this view.

and one from a power line.

Finally, a page from the AT guidebook for the section viewed above and my comments.

The guidebook map shows this.

You will notice I had highlighted LTs with a red marker and put a blue X with camps that we used.  The scale is in the upper right and according to the guide and trail mileage sheet it was a bit over 20 miles and ALL uphill.

So, fifty years ago, hikers had the ATC Trail Guide and Maps, plus the Mileage Fact Sheet. No GPS.

Check marks are my nightly camps and if underlined, we stayed inside the Leanto,

Guides were published (about) every 5 years since the 1960s. This copy was a blended copy reporting only northbound travel from Springer Mt, Georgia to Damascus Virginia. Back in the day when you could remove pages.  So it essentially covered three different books and about 400 miles of Trail.

RELOS were published in the Appalachian Trailway News and look like this entry from the May 1972 edition.

Don, Ralph and I finished the AT in 1975.  We were one of the 92 hikers to complete the AT that year. I am not sure about Pete.  It was a great experience.

For more on the history of the Appalachian Trail, see the Special Collections at George Mason University Library.

You can also visit the AT Museum, where my book is for sale.  All proceeds go to the museum.

I am working on a new edition with color photography, so stay tuned.

Dominican Republic Tourism

 My brother had planned to tour DR but the trip was cancelled.  So here are some pictures from the area around Puerto Plata on the north shore.

First we show some pictures in the Iberostar Resort.  I am sure most of the others look the same.

Our room was ocean front and every day the housekeeping staff would fold a towel differently.

We decided on the north shore instead of the more popular east shore since you get better sunsets.  (I remember staying in Ocean City, Maryland and you got a sun rise, but no sunset.)

Pretty cool local vegetation.

Walking west along the shore.

Local kids were friendly.

Took a cable car to the top of the Isabel de Torres National Park and got some great shots of Puerto Plata.

Toured a Rum Bottling company

And a drive around town.

Visited a Larimar Museum to pick up some stones.

Infantil Malecón Park and the Museum at Fortaleza de San Felipe

Mama Juana 

but alas, we had to head north to the snow and cold.