Friday, September 28, 2012

Take a Tiny House Tour


I'd write something about this, but I've spent too many hours learning everything I needed to know to edit the audio and make a video. I hope you enjoy it. I find this to be a super fascinating project. We talk about Marcus' inspiration, original design, construction process, and costs.




If you can't view the embedded video, you'll find it here on YouTube

SmallerHouseLargerLife.com is under construction. If you'd like to contact Marcus Barksdale, reach him at smallerhouselargerlife@gmail.com.

This is my first audio and video editing project, ever. Please excuse all its imperfections. I blog about this and other things that interest me right here and as often as possible.

Thursday, September 27, 2012

I've Got a Book!

I've been kind of low key (okay, almost silent) about the fact that I researched and wrote a book with the working title Hiking Through History for the Appalachian Trail Conservancy. It's time I open up.

The fact is, I was waiting for the big "reveal." I was waiting for the book to materialize from its long metamorphosis from digital manuscript to bound form to validate me, as a historian, writer, author. I was waiting to ask for your support once it came out, to invite me to speak, purchase my book, and spread the word.

But I'm really excited for it, and I want to make it a reality, soon (as in edits finalized, layout complete, printed, and in your hands).  

I just made my third presentation on the book. I've presented at UNCA-Asheville, the Madison County Geneological Society, and, tonight, the Franklin Library. I'm honing my presentation, and I'm owning the fact that I've written a book. I'm amped! I got home two hours ago, and I'm still running off the excitement of sharing the the Appalachian Trail and the history I discovered. 

So, let's do this, shall we?

If you are interested or may ever be interested in my book, sign up with your interest here so I can demonstrate interest and support. Together: you, me, the Appalachian Trail Conservancy, we'll make this a reality.

Thanks,
Leanna


Monday, September 24, 2012

Resupply: The Appalachian Trail v. The Pacific Crest Trail

The Appalachian Trail Versus the Pacific Crest Trail: How to Pick Your Pleasure, Part Four

They weren’t designated the first National Scenic Trails for nothing. These two premier hiking trails are designed specifically to impart the beauty of their landscapes (seriously, trail builders think of these things).

Both are excellent choices, so whether you’ve finished hiking one of them and are ready to take on the next, or are simply deciding which one to hike for your first-ever thru-hike, here are some discernable differences that make each unique.

Town Stops & Resupply: While this won’t make or break a decision to hike one of these trails over the other, resupply is an important component of a long-distance hike, and these two trails are really different when it comes to resupply.  

A hitch in Maine
The A.T. has resupply points in high frequency, and they are generally only a short distance from the trail, which means hikers can carry less food and stop more regularly to resupply. Communities near the A.T. often have a pretty good awareness of hikers, and they’re fairly willing to pick up hitchhikers coming in to town, or returning to trail. Trail towns do a pretty good job of stocking what hikers need, and there are hostels and hotels that cater to hikers, offering discount rates for overnight stays.
The long wait. The hitch into Mojave finally ended with a ride in the police car. Thankfully the patrolman looks out for hikers in need of a ride so they don't become casualties of the intense roadside heat.
The PCT doesn’t have quite the same level of awareness among drivers, and the towns are further from the Trail, which means longer waits while hitchhiking and longer rides once someone picks you up. The bigger resupply stops do carry standard fare for hikers’ diets, but there are a lot of smaller stops where you may still need to rely on a mail drop.
I got a hitch with these nice fellas near Wrightwood, CA.

Even if hiking solo, hitchhiking to towns in pairs is the safest approach. I take this precaution seriously as a female hiker. While it’s not always possible to hitchhike with others, the fact that more people hike the A.T. means that there are generally other hikers around when you get ready to hitch to town, or back to the trail. In all cases, use your gut. If someone seems odd, by all means, find a reason to get out of taking them up on their offer for a ride ("Oh, I just remembered that I think I left my camera back at my last stop on the Trail...Gotta get it. Thanks anyway!")

Trail Guides: When planning and hiking, here are my recommendations on the best resources for each of these trails. I would use them in these combinations.

Pacific Crest Trail 
Water report (I'm not sure about the future of this site as the person who compiled the information passed away in August. Hopefully another PCT enthusiast will undertake the effort in his absence.)

Appalachian Trail


This is the final installment of a four part series on the differences between these 2 trails:
Part One: People
Part Two: Elements
Part Three: Trail terrain, views, snow
Part Four: Resupply

Do you have experience with both of these trails? What do you think are the biggest differences? 

Saturday, September 22, 2012

True or False: the A.T. is hard; the PCT is easy

The Appalachian Trail v. the Pacific Crest Trail: How to Pick Your Pleasure, part three

They weren’t designated the first National Scenic Trails for nothing. These two premier hiking trails are designed specifically to impart the beauty of their landscapes (seriously, trail builders think of these things).

Both are excellent choices, so whether you’ve finished hiking one of them and are ready to take on the next, or are simply deciding which one to hike for your first-ever thru-hike, here is one of several discernible differences that make each unique.

The Trail: I’m talking treadway or footpath here. Every A.T. hiker hears that PCT is so much easier to hike. Every PCT hiker hears that the A.T. is like walking through a green tunnel. So, let’s get all this out in the open.
Gradually graded Pacific Crest Trail in Southern California

The A.T. is hard. The PCT is easy. These generalizations, like most, don’t tell the whole story. The Pacific Crest Trail is primarily more gently graded than the A.T., and this difference is most starkly apparent at the outset of a northbound thru-hike, whether you start at Campo, California, or Spring Mountain, Georgia. While most hikers intend to train for their hike (and some do) most set out on a trail having scrambled to organize the rest of their lives so they can leave to fulfill their dream, often starting out with good intentions but not a lot of strength in their “hiking legs.” Plus, it’s my opinion that there’s no better training for a thru-hike than a thru-hike, but that’s another post entirely.

The difference at these trails’ southern terminuses means you may be able to easily hike 15 to 20 miles on day one in California, where you may only be able to hike 6 or 8 in Georgia. The difference is elevation change and the grade of the trail, but to generalize and say all of the PCT is easier would be going too far and excludes other factors of a PCT hike.

The fact is the PCT through the Sierras is difficult, given the altitude, terrain, river crossings, and snow; it’s not always a cakewalk. In the same token, the A.T. isn’t always a steep ascent and steep descent; there are rolling meadows, riverside ambles, and ridgeline walks. They both have their unique challenges, so let’s not get crazy with generalizations.

Sure, you can hike longer mile days on the PCT with a bit less fatigue, but you also need to cover 400 more miles on that trail in a slightly shorter window of time than on the A.T. (2,180 on the A.T. vs. 2,600 on the PCT).

Green Tunnel v. Views for Miles: I like to think of the Appalachian Trail as an experience in minutia, all the small wonders that make up this grand spectacle of nature; this includes walking through fog-shrouded tunnels of rhododendron grown so tightly together that I feel like I’m walking through a fairy tale. There are amazing views to be had along the A.T. from rock outcroppings and mountain summits, but they are the special features of the Trail, not necessarily a daily requirement. If they were on the food pyramid, amazing views would be the decadent dessert that you get in moderation, while walking in the rest of the experience provides well-balanced nourishment.
See the whit blaze on the rock in the center? Yes, this is the
Appalachian Trail in Pennsylvania. (I love to dispel the
generalization that ALL of Penn. is like this though.)

The PCT offers views for miles around. In fact from where you walk, you can often see the trail ahead snaking off into the distance. This has the potential to inspire as well as discourage you, especially if you are tired and know your destination is far beyond sight. From every place you stand, you can take ten amazing photographs, easily. The key in such an environment is to find awe in the landscape that is perpetually on display.

Because you can become desensitized to either the vast beauty laid out before you on the PCT, or the forest’s secret wonders and “special features” on the A.T., it’s best to steer clear of comparing the apples and oranges in this regard, and just accept them as designed.

Snow: As a Southerner the snow took me by surprise on the A.T. and the PCT, at different times and in different ways. Here’s how:

On the Appalachian Trail, assuming a start date before April, you will likely get snow. While other areas of the Southeast may see not one white flake, A.T. hikers will get a dusting, if not a dump, because of the elevation and the likelihood for the mountain tops to “catch” and stall the weather system. Hikers starting in February or March often get snow in Georgia, North Carolina, and Tennessee, most notably in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. These spring snows are wet and heavy, and can come unexpectedly (like following several days of spring sunshine). Like any other time on the A.T. it’s important for hikers be aware of their condition and follow tips for preventing hypothermia.
I awoke to this snowfall the morning I walked into North Carolina.
On the PCT, you will encounter snow. It’s a matter of when and where. The thing I was least prepared for and learned the most about was snow and snow traversing, because I was traveling across som near vertical snowfields. The terrain that offers views for miles is the same terrain that means there are no big trees to cling to should you slide down an icy slope . A slip without knowledge of self-arrest techniques could have been deadly. As it was, I was uneasy and less than surefooted on that terrain. While snow conditions differ from year to year, when I hiked there was a lot; I must have walked three miles through snow to reach Muir Hut and another five or six in snow after the summit celebration.
On the PCT
If I had to do it all over again I would have taken some mountaineering courses on snow and snow travel before my hike (and when I do it all over again, I will).


My trepidation for traveling in snow without my ice axe (I needed it much sooner than I thought and had sent it much farther ahead), led me to make a penny wise, pound foolish mistake. My friend Morph and I skipped around snowy San Jacinto and Fuller Ridge to a section farther north because I didn't have an ice axe. I should have bought one at the outfitter and kept hiking. As it was we spent excessive time and money hiking a more northern section, then returned later to re-capture this missing section of the Trail.


This is part three of a four part series on the differences between these 2 trails:
Part One: People
Part Two: Elements
Part Three: Trail terrain, views, snow
Part Four: Resupply 

Thursday, September 20, 2012

The Elements: Appalachian Trail v. Pacific Crest Trail, a Guide to Picking Your Pleasure, part two

They weren’t designated the first National Scenic Trails for nothing. These two premier hiking trails are designed specifically to impart the beauty of their landscapes (seriously, trail builders think of these things).

Both are excellent choices, so whether you’ve finished hiking one of them and are ready to take on the next, or are simply deciding which one to hike for your first-ever thru-hike, the elements comprise one of several discernible differences that make each trail unique.

The Elements: The Appalachians and the Pacific Crest are different mountain ranges with distinct landscapes and climates that influence these elements: earth, wind, fire, and water.

Earth: On the A.T. the world beneath your feet is red clay, rocks, and roots (from Georgia up to the mid-Atlantic), or boggy and bedrock (in the northeast). As a 480 million year old mountain range, it's stable ground.
Bedrock of the White Mountains of New Hampshire

The PCT is sandy and shifts beneath your feet. Yes, sandy sidehill slips out from under you along canyons; additionally, the ground may literally sway beneath you as you drift to sleep. If you aren’t accustomed to quakes before your PCT hike, you will develop a sense for them. I felt three earthquakes in two-months.

Wind: The A.T. doesn’t have anything on the PCT when it comes to wind. This PCT element is a force to be reckoned with. I read recommendations for wind shirts or jackets in Yogi's PCT planning guide, but I should have taken the advice more seriously, very seriously.
It's no wonder you hike in sight of windmills on the PCT.

Fire: Gathering around a fire with friends is a primal and communal activity. It’s nostalgic, but it’s generally not practical on a thru-hike. After all, who wants to hike all day, and then collect firewood? But I’m writing more than just about campfires when I talk about fire. It relates to camp stoves, too.

If you like a hot meal, if you like gathering around a campfire, and if you like hot coffee on trail, the A.T. has a lot more to offer. Why? Because, as my friend Morph has said, the PCT is a tinderbox.
Burned forest. It's a frequent occurrence on the PCT.

In 2012, there were 11 fires that effected or closed sections of the PCT. Given that conditions are drier in the west, coupled with the aforementioned wind, it can be dangerous and unwise to build campfires, and sometimes even cook a hot meal on what would otherwise be a safe camp stove. It’s your judgment call once you’re out on the trail, but I signed and took seriously a permit to hike on the PCT that said I would be responsible to pay for containment and clean-up of any fire I caused. Sometimes this meant giving up the option to warm my instant mashed potatoes.

Water: Call me a water angel because it seems that in the years I chose to thru-hike, water was abundant. I hiked the A.T. in the rainiest year on record, and the PCT in 2010 was experiencing a very wet spring. That being said, water resources are always more abundant on the A.T. than the PCT. There are long stretches of the PCT through the desert where natural sources can’t be relied upon; this generally requires hikers to carry more water for longer distances.

(More about my initial impressions on PCT elements are found on my Trail Journal site. Please excuse the typos, I haven't edited it since my transcriber originally posted it. Sometimes she just couldn't make out my scrawl.)

This is part two of a four part series on the differences between these trails:
Part One: People
Part Two: Elements
Part Three: Trail terrain, views, snow
Part Four: Resupply

Wednesday, September 19, 2012

Appalachian Trail v. Pacific Crest Trail: A Guide to Pick Your Hiking Pleasure, part one: People or Wilderness

They weren’t designated the first National Scenic Trails for nothing. These two premier hiking trails are designed specifically to impart the beauty of their landscapes. (Seriously, trail builders think of these things.)

I awoke to this sunrise after literally sleeping alone under rocks on the PCT.

Both are excellent choices, so whether you’ve finished hiking one of them and are ready to take on the next, or are simply deciding which one to hike for your first-ever thru-hike, here is one of several discernible differences that make each unique.

This analysis is based on northbound thru-hikes of both trails. A southbound hike of the Appalachian Trail offers some distinctions from hiking Georgia to Maine that will offer a completely different experience. (I'm happy to discuss those differences with you.)

The People Factor: The Appalachian Trail has shelters and designated campsites along the way. The Pacific Crest Trail encourages distributed camping by not formalizing camps.

Here’s how it impacts your trip:

Lots of good people, many I still count as best friends, at Eagles Nest Shelter in Penn. in 2003.

On the A.T. shelters tends to organize hikers into condensed clumps, yes clumps, of hikers.  If you stay at shelters or camp nearby them, you may hike alone all day, encountering some hikers along the way, but rest assured, you’ll get to swap stories over meals around the campfire before you snooze. It’s a perk for the extroverts among us, but can be overwhelming to people who came to seek fellowship with the wilderness, as the shelter environment can breed an almost party-like atmosphere, especially within the first 500-miles of the Trail.

I slept alone under these rocks on May 4, 2010 as this spot afforded the most protection from the relentless wind.

On the PCT there are a few formalized campsites, and others that naturally develop around water sources. Without heavily established sites, hikers on the PCT tend to walk until they are ready to stop, rather than walk to an established “destination” for the day. Also, fewer people start thru-hikes of the PCT every year than on the A.T. Given these facts, if you start any time after the ADZPCTKO, you will encounter fewer hikers during the day and at night. It takes a bit more planning to camp with people you enjoy spending time with on the PCT given the low-impact nature of camping, especially if you like to hike alone much of the day.

This is part one of a four part series on the differences between the PCT and the A.T. Tomorrow, I'll discuss the elements. Not the weather, but earth, wind, fire, and water. After that I'll cover terrain, snow, and resupply. If you have requests for other topics, please let me know.