AppalachianTrail Adventure

Dave his halfway through his newest adventure.

Last Monday, March 21st, Dave took a red-eye to North Carolina to hike the Great Smoky Mountains with Zero, Tailgunner, and Butterfly.

The story actually begins prior to getting on that red-eye. We planned to leave for the airport around 9:00 pm pacific time. Dave had been packed since 2:00 that afternoon, and by 7:00 pm was pacing. It was around 8:00 when we heard the helicopter. We live near the 210 and 605 freeways, so we figured that there must have been an accident. The helicopters come out in droves when there is a freeway accident. We realized it was not an accident when our back yard lit up from the spot light of the helicopter.

Dave went out the front door to get a better look at where the helicopter was. Before he knew it, there were 4 police cars on the street. He jumped back inside, hoping that it was not him that the helicopter saw, directing the police to our street. We decided to go out together and had not even made it over our threshold, when one of the policemen told us to get back inside.

We live in a relatively quiet neighborhood, but this is LA. We shut the front door and looked out the windows, not wanting to interfere with the police. Around 8:30, 8:45, the police were sending messages over the loud speaker - basically saying, "residents, stay inside or you could get shot" and to the bad guys, "surrender and we will not use force, you will be safe, but if you choose to hide or run we have been given permission to shoot".

It was about this time that we realized that this neighborhood event was not going to end quickly and we needed to get to the airport. I called the Temple City Sheriff, who also handle our town, and told them who I was, where I lived, and that we needed to get to the airport. After a short discussion, I handed the phone to Dave. We had been told that we were stuck in the house and that we could not leave, but they did tell Dave to call back in 20 minutes. When he called back, the police had come up with an escape plan for us.

Dave gave a description of himself and what house we were at, and what car we were going to drive. We opened the door and Dave walked out with his hands up. I wish I had a video camera! The police officer was looking the other way and Dave didn't want to surprise/startle him. He said, "we are over here, over here". The officer had us get Dave's bag and lock up the house. He told us to roll the windows down in the car, turn on the dome light, and drive very slowly to the next officer up the street. We got to the next check point, and the officer explained that he didn't know when we'd be able to get back to the house. I told him that I would think about that later, but that we needed to get Dave to the airport. It was now 9:20, still with plenty of time to get him to LAX for his flight.

The trip to the airport was uneventful. We said goodbye and Dave wished me luck getting back home. As I approached home, I saw that the helicopter was still searching the neighborhood. There are two ways into our block. I want to the first entrance and there were so many cars already blocked out by a police car that I had no where to park. What can one do at 11:00 pm? I decided to fill up with gas and go through the car wash. Then I drove over to the second entrance where, sure enough, a police car was blocking our path. There is a parking lot that I pulled into. After sitting in my car for a bit, I decided to get out and began talking to neighbors. It was actually really nice meeting hands full of people who live nearby whom I had never met. We did a lot of laughing, wondering, hypothesizing. Then, one of the neighbors were able to fill us in on what was happening. He lives a block over with his mom. She had gotten word to him about the events of the night. Someone saw four men jump the fence of her neighbor who happened to be a police officer. We are not sure at this time why they picked that house, but the officer confronted the four guys and ended up shooting two of them. The other two were on the loose, being hunted by the helicopter, officers and police dogs. We are still trying to find out if these men were apprehended at the end of the evening.

Around 1:00 am, I decided I could stand in the cold no longer. With children living nearby, I figured I'll wake one of them up and sleep on their couch. I started with Katie who did not answer her phone. I decided to drive past the first entrance to see what was happening there, and was relieved to find that the police had moved the barricades to a new position. People were still waiting to get to their homes, but I had a clear shot to my driveway. I was thrilled at being home!

Dave called the next day on his way to Lane's house (where Zero has been staying) to let me know he arrived in Charlotte North Carolina. He was going to spend the day getting food, any other supplies he needed, and getting his new pack from Zero set for the trip. They planned on being on the road early Wednesday morning. They had a 4 hour trip to get to the trail head at Fontana Dam.

At Fontana Dam, Zero and Dave met up with Tailgunner. This is AT mile 163.7. I received Zero's spot that first night, and saw that they had made good progress. As it turns out, they had taken a wrong trail at one point and had to walk extra miles to get to the campground. They ended up doing about 8 miles the first day.

The second day they walked about 8 1/2 miles. They passed "Mollies shelter", and went on to Russell Field Shelter for the night, at AT mile 177.5. As they were hiking the third day, Tailgunner realized he had left his hat back at the shelter, so turned around to get it, saying he'd catch back up with Zero and Dave. That night, Zero and Dave stayed at Siler Bald Shelter, at AT mile 192.2.

Dave called Saturday afternoon to let me know that they got off the trail and into Gatlinburg, TN. Dave said that this is near Dollyworld. It had been raining, sleeting, snowing, and being really cold. It was nice to warm up, do laundry, and tray and get a good night's sleep. Although at that time they had not seen Tailgunner, they did meet up with Butterfly.

Their plan was to get back on the trail Sunday morning and get to the planned location Monday to meet up with the camera man who will be spending some time with them on the trail for the PBS show that is being done about Zero.

I don't plan on hearing from Dave until they get back to Lane's house. He had been trying to call me each night with no luck, but had been using his phone battery. He was unsure if he'd have enough power to call until he could charge his phone again.

Once I hear from him, I'll update the blog. In the mean time, check out the web sites below with some information on the Great Smoky Mountains and the Appalachian Trail.

Look at the Great Smoky Mountain clickable map. The AT is the green dotted line, which in the Great Smoky's lies on the border of Tennessee and North Carolina.

http://web.eecs.utk.edu/~dunigan/gsmnp/mrsid.php

Here are a list of the shelters, and the mileage on the AT.

http://web.eecs.utk.edu/~dunigan/at/

Trail Angel Jane

Pictures from Echo Lake to Castella

Here is the link to the pictures of Dave's last 400 miles. His camera got switched to video, so the last black pictures are really videos. Cut and paste the link into your browser. You can click on the videos and they will run,or just enjoy the beautiful pictures.

http://picasaweb.google.com/107456376552438097301/EchoLakeToCastellaOctoberToNovember?authkey=Gv1sRgCN2o89rxqIW2KA#

Dave is adjusted to being at home. He has lots of projects, one of which is to label all of these photos. Let's hope he can remember where he was!!!

TAJ

Tomorrow is the BIG Day!!

Tonight, November 3rd, Dave's Spot did not come in. I did get a brief chance to talk to him this afternoon. He was tired, but getting closer and closer to Castle Craigs State Park.

Dave told me he would head for PCT mile 1490. He'd then have 15 miles tomorrow to walk to the end of the line. See PCT Half Mile map California Section O page 8.

http://www.pctmap.net/download/p/mapdl.html

He will have a climb of about 2000 feet up, and then it's all down hill. Dave will cross under the 5 freeway and then he'll need to make his way to the campground. He wants to go back to the same location I dropped him off. It is really important to him that he hikes every step of this Adventure. He'll then see if he can get a hitch into Dunsmuir, a town about 5.5 miles away. He really doesn't want to walk that. He'll call and let me know if he's at the campground waiting for me in his tent staying warm and cozy, or if he gets a ride into town and is waiting for me in a motel all warm and cozy. Either way, I'll be with him tomorrow night.

There will be no blog update tomorrow night because it will be late when I get in. It may actually be a few days before I have Internet access, so be patient and we'll get you pictures and a will be setting up a welcome home for Dave. Don't forget we are planning a 7 mile hike from Baden Powell to Little Jimmy and then have a get together here at the house. Details next week.

Trail Angel Jane

Butterknife Creek

Dave called in early this afternoon. Yesterday was a miserable day to hike. It was suppose to only be am showers, but it sprinkled in the morning and rained on and off all afternoon. Everything was soaking wet. He also spent time getting on and off the trail onto the road which was driving him crazy.

He found water last night and decided that would be where he could camp, but was unsure about where he could put up his tent. he took about 10 more steps when he walked into the most perfect camping spot. During the night he heard noise and thought it was a bear. Luckily for him it was a deer checking out his tent.

Things were dry this morning, except for his feet. The wind was drying things fast. His shoes and socks were still wet from walking through the overgrown trail yesterday. But today was turning out to be a beautiful, crisp day. He turned the corner of a mountain and saw Castle Craigs State Park! How exciting to see his ending location. He could also see Mt. Shasta which was very majestic, covered with snow. Dave was given yet another wonderful hiking day. He did have 4-5 inches of snow to walk through at one point, but the snow was so soft that his sore feet and didn't mind the snow at all.

His shoes, well, that is another matter. They are falling apart. There is no tread on them. The top of the shoe has ripped and torn so that it is almost half way off. He only needs to squeak 2 or so days out of them! Yes, he does have duct tape, but I'm not sure how much of that is left!

Dave's goal for today was to get to PCT mile 1472, but he thought that he might stop short if he came upon water and a good camping spot. He must not have had much luck, because his Spot came in at 5:01 at PCT mile 1472. Check out PCT Half Mile map California Section O page 6.

http://www.pctmap.net/download/p/mapdl.html

You can also see his SPOT on google maps

http://www.findmespot.com/mylocation/?id=3mgk3/41.12922/\-122.02698

Currently, it looks like Dave will get into Castle Craigs State park Thursday. He'll set up his tent to stay warm and wait for me to get him. He's planning on being at the campsite where I dropped him off oh so long ago! I've got a long drive, but am excited to see him and bring him home!

Trail Angel Jane

Spring - Moosehead Spring Headwaters

Dave's Spot came in tonight 4:39 pm tonight Monday November 1st. He is camping at a Spring, the headwaters of Moosehead Spring, at PCT mile 1453. Camping near water is his highest concern. He is just below Mushroom Rock.

Look at PCT Half Mile map California Section O page 4

http://www.pctmap.net/download/p/mapdl.html

Here is Dave's Spot which you can compare to the Half Mile maps. You can switch from Map to Terrain to get a good idea of where Dave is camping today.

http://www.findmespot.com/mylocation/?id=3mMEx/41.17527/\-121.8369

Dave is directly due east of his target, Castle Craigs State Park. Tomorrow Dave will hike over 600 feet in elevation up, and then will start a decent. He'll be going down in elevation about 3000 feet over the next two days.

Trail Angel Jane

Update on October 31st

Dave was able to get a weak signal today, Monday November 1st. He was surprised that his Spot did not work, but it was raining last night and I think that interfers with the signal.

I had thought Dave would get to PCT mile 1439, but he stopped at 1437, just after a road by Peavine Creek. You would look at the same PCT Half Mile map, Section O page 2. It rained last night and again all morning.

When Dave called around 1:00, he said it had finally stopped raining. It was cold this morning, but has since warmed up. He's just cold from being wet. The trail is overgrown and of course not just damp, but soaking wet. Walking on the trail was drenching his feet and legs. Luckily there is a road that runs parrell to the trail, that is Summit Lake Road. He'll stay on that road as long as the trail doesn't wander more than 20 yards or so. If he walked just the road it would double his hike.

Tonight Dave is working on getting to PCT mile 1453. He is predicting to get into Castle Craigs State Park at PCT mile 1506.5 on Thursday. It will be just over 50 miles left to go after today.

Yesterday, at one point on the trail, Dave saw smoke. He rounded a curve in the trail and saw flames. He tried to call Shirley, the Ranger he recently met, but when he got no answer he called the Dietmans and Wolman answered. Wolfman said he'd call it in. As Dave walked, he realized that there were a handful of small fires. It looked like someone was burning wood throughout the woods, but no one was watching these fires as far as Dave could see. He kept walking to get out of the burining area. He did hear trucks today but believed these were logging trucks. We'll know more once we talk to Wolfman later in the week.

Trail Angel Jane

Trinity Forests - Summit Lake Road

Dave's Spot did not come in tonight, Sunday October 31st. He was able to to call me around noon today. It was raining on and off, mostly off, but Dave was walking towards dark clouds. According to the weather report, he was only suppose to have am showers. He should have had a dry afternoon and evening.

His plan today was to only hike about 13 miles. Yes, the pack on his back was extra heavy with food. He's been slack packing the past couple of days and was already not used to the weight. These would all be good reasons to only hike the 13 miles, but Dave had another reason. There are water issues in this area, or should I say lack of water. Dave will be camping close to the water sources, even if it means a short day of hiking. He'd rather be safe than sorry.

You can see where Dave planned on camping tonight on PCT Half Mile map California Section O page 2, at PCT mile 1439.

http://www.pctmap.net/download/p/mapdl.html

Trail Angel Jane