Some great pics from my hiking days...dialup, dont even bother....

David Schott

David Schott

Joined
Sep 27, 2004
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I thought I'd post this....I used to do a lot of hiking, backpacking, thru hiking....always took a nice camera. I'd like to post a bunch of these pics because every time I look at them, it makes me want to hit the trail again. Any campers in the NE area that are makers? I'd love to have a makers camping trip at some point.

Anyways, enjoy! These are both from the same trail...winter and spring:

January Franconia Ridge Traverse 2002 -5 with 65 MPH winds on the ridge. Somewhat of a deathtrap, but beautiful:
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Summer 2004: Same hike..this one the dog came with me.
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Rare alpine flowers...VERY rarely can you see them flowering this late in the season:
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Oh man, I thought I was the only crazy person going in the mountains in the winter! Thank you! Those pictures gave me all kinds of goosebumps. Wish I was there. Wow.
 
Nice pics, Dave; beautiful country. Nice dog, too! Dogs rule!

Thanks for sharing. :)
 
That's my home... I drive through that area each day for work!!!

Thanks for reminding me why I chose to stay here.
 
My dad would like to do it. He and my stepmom do 12 miles+ twice a week on the Appalachian Trail north of Atlanta. He's 75, and she's 84...
 
This is incentive to lose some weight so I can go up there and enjoy that beauty. Wow, thanks for the pics.
 
For anyone who has never winter hiked, it is a whole different realm....its the most exhausting thing on earth, I would say. I had to break trail across that ridge in 20" of powder and I wanted to die more than once. They say you burn nearly double calories in winter.

It is a humbling and scary experience to open your pack and find a 32 ounce nalgene frozen into a solid block, realizing you'd freeze that solid in not much more time if you got into trouble.....winter hiking is pretty dangerous, even moreso in the whites....I did Lafayette 3 times and turned back twice less than 1/4 mile from the summit due to declining weather. There isnt much room for poor judgement the way weather systems blow in...I watched a whiteout blow across the valley and completely blind me in about 20 minutes on this hike.....

But my god, its gorgeous. That winter hike was by far the most beautiful hike I have ever taken and I probably won't ever forget it.

Thanks for the comments! I'll be up in the whites again come spring once i get back in shape. My dog is a far better hiker than me. Lil bugger pulls every inch of the way....
 
Hey David, keep the pics coming! My wife knows there are two things I have on my must-do list at some point...through hike the AT and bicycle across the U.S.

We've been slowly plugging away at all of the mapped trails in the Smokeys...but haven't gotten out much this year...your pics make me want to head to the mountains this weekend...which I think I just might do!

:)

-Darren
 
Nice! I want to thru the AT as well but cant ever see me getting 6 months off the job, ya know? Right out of college I thru hiked the Long Trail....North Adams, Ma straight up to Canada through Vermont. Its 300+ so is a great alternative to the AT, and the first 100 miles is the AT until it turns east. Takes about a month at leisurely pace! I got the name TikTock when I did that hike...given to me by a AT thru-hiker who couldnt stand the loudness of a little alarm clock I was carrying. Ive used it as a handle ever since and have been thinking of putting a little clock on a maker's mark at some point in the future
 
Wow! Very nice. I'd like to go up to Mt. Rainier this time of year but the weather has been so weird lately and turning pretty quick I'm afraid we'd be stuck.
 
Thats beautiful, thanks for the pics, here in MD we only got like 1 good snowstorm and I love the High Mountains and snow, so that should tide me over for a while.
 
TikTock said:
I thought I'd post this....I used to do a lot of hiking, backpacking, thru hiking....always took a nice camera. I'd like to post a bunch of these pics because every time I look at them, it makes me want to hit the trail again. Any campers in the NE area that are makers? I'd love to have a makers camping trip at some point.
Click to expand...
ahh away from my dial up tonight :)
David I'm at the end of the AT by about 30 miles Baxter State Part
and the trail is closer to me than that. I havn't hiked it for the point of hiking it but I have been on the trail many times to fish :D Brownville Jct is a popular stop off for hikers to get suppys. about 22 miles off the main drag and up the trail 3 miles is a nice fishing spot for about a mile or two..
I've camped it too, :) I think I'll get out more next summer:thumbup:
 
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