The Saga of Duncan's

 It all started with a 49 year old photo.

Ralph Ferrusi, my recently reacquainted hiking partner from the southern AT in 1974, sent me this picture.

That's Don, Benji, Laura, and me (from left to right) in front of Duncan's that before that day we knew as "G" that stands for grocery in the Mileage Fact Sheet from the ATC.

It was always a nice find to come across a gas station or small store at road crossings to get some snacks or extra food.  While limited offerings, I did buy "soda, ice milk & cigs (for) 97 cents."

So after getting the above pic, that I didn't have, I tried to find it today virtually since I wasn't going to drive to see it.  

Google Maps is good for that purpose and I have used it for many road crossings along the AT.  Even better is the option to use Google Streetview.  Here you can do a virtual drive down many roads, and for some areas go back in time.  For Duncan's the view in 2009 looks like this.

Then using Google Earth and historical imagery I found the same truck here in 2010

A more recent Streetview from 2021 is here.

While the imagery doesn't go back to the 1970s, it is still a thrill to see views that reignite my memories.

Lastly, here is the USGS topo from the era showing the route in 1974.

Stecoah Gap and the AT

 After a night in Wesser, NC, we climbed UP the mountains.  

Looking back to Wesser, we got this view.

A drop in elevation got us to Stecoah Gap as seen in the topo from 1941.

Today, using Google Street View, we get these shots of the trail crossing.  But from my memory, I think they were paving and grading the road through the Gap in 1974.  Both pics are from June 2016.

The air photo from 1976 seems to confirm the construction we saw.

Allen Gap on the AT 1974 and later

 Left Hot Springs, NC, "carrying (must have been) 50-60 pounds" of new food and my gear after a Henderson Court Motel stay.  The date was 26th of June, 1974 and a Wednesday.

Crossed Allen Gap:

where the State Line Service Station and Cafe was found. We had ice cream (great).

This next shot is a Google Street View from 2007:

and one from 2009:

Google Earth Pro gives you aerial photography of the area back to 1985 but the earlier stuff has a crude resolution.

Halloween 2022

 Lots of positive news about Halloween this year.  

News from https://nrf.com/insights/holiday-and-seasonal-trends/halloween/halloween-data-center

highlights important things like Costumes:

$10.6 Billion US is the expected expenditure too! And over a $100 per household.

Halloween is big business.  Figures are double from 6 years ago.

For Halloween movies see this link for some locations.

Oh, donate your extra candy to a senior center or food pantry.

July 25, 1974

Hit Snowden Virginia on this date and bought some groceries at a small store.  If I recall, I got a hunk of cheese too.  I used two methods for food.  For the most part I bought food along the trail.  Occasionally the choices were limited, like Snowden, but in other towns we had full size super markets.  I also had some food mailed to me, but that was limited to items I knew I couldn't get along the trail. 

For dinners, I had Mac and Cheese, way too often.

I didn't take any photos on this day, but if this google street view works for you, this is a shot trail north leaving the James River Valley.

Here is a streetview of a AT Parking area east of the river.  Doubt that it was there in 1974.

Virtual Tourism: Trek with Google Maps

Google continues to blow me away.  I know about street view, but now there is trail view.
See the link.

I wrote about how the Internet would create a virtual tourism experience and Google just raised the bar.

My paper, published in Tourism Geographies last century, can be found at http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/14616689908721311#.UgvAQrJlRcQ


Bristow, R. (1999). Commentary: Virtual tourism — the ultimate ecotourism?
Tourism Geographies,  Vol. 1, Iss. 2, pp. 219-225.

ahhhh ..... old style computer mapping

Sure there was Symap. But when PC mapping came to life in the late eighties, maps were pretty crude. Sort of like the original SimEarth, Google Maps relives the old mapping environment.

Start your quest here.