June 14th 1974 AT

 Yesterday (in 1974) I crossed into North Carolina at Bly Gap (see the famous tree).  I note in my journal that it was a "fart day, fart, fart, fart, belch, belch, fart..."  You get the point.

Bears are a big problem on the AT today.  Mainly because hikers make it easy to get food.  I didn't have any bear encounters but a mouse in the Smokies chewed into my pack to get my tooth paste.  So play it safe and follow these guidelines from the ATC.

Back to the 14th, I crossed Standing Indian Mountain 

and Albert Mountain. And had fantastic views.

After almost 20 miles of hiking, camped at Rock Gap LT.

You see I am finally wearing shorts (cut-offs).

Bears on the AT

Seems our fury friends are getting bold.  Besides my neighbor bear (folks across the street saw a bear a few days ago), bears are a problem along the Appalachian Trail.  And my dog treed a bear earlier this summer in my backyard.

This guy was in my neighborhood two years ago.

Bear visits my backyard again

Seems Jiggy is spending a lot of time in the neighborhood. So much that my wife has named her (him?). She presents no problem, unless you have a bird feeder. And besides, there is plenty of food during the summer, so everyone has taken down their feeders.

While a bit dark and the focus comes and goes due to the low light conditions, here's Jiggy heading north along Ashley Brook.

Earth Day 2011

I planted some grass seed and a few trees in my yard. Anything to grab some of that CO2 from the atmosphere AND make my little 0.67 hectares of land a better place. Oh yeah, we share it with our new friend.