Catskill Eagle

Bad news for Lyle's buddy Catskill Eagle. He is off the trail with a foot injury and won't know until next week how long it will take before he can go back on. Catskill Eagle, if you are reading this I'm sorry for your injury and for the delay in your journey. Lyle left me a phone message this morning that I should check up on you so the news that you are off the trail is traveling the AT grapevine. I'll pass along the comments from your on-line journal so he can bring everybody up to speed on your situation. I hope that your recovery goes well and that you do practice your plan of being a good patient so your "vacation" is as short as possible.

Over 600 miles!

Wow! Lyle has over 600 miles done. They left Pearisburg this morning and are camping on a ridge this evening. It was a beautiful day for hiking with clear skies and lots of sun. What a joy after all of the rain. Although Lyle did see his breath the other morning in the tent--they've been having unusually low temps overnight but there is a warming trend heading their way.

Lyle and Plugger are hiking with Lone Star now. She is from Texas and took some time away from nursing to hike the AT. They met a few days ago and they will plan to stay together as long as possible. Lyle found a place to download his chip in Pearisburg and I have 4 cd's of photos heading my way. Pictures from Hot Springs through the hike into Pearisburg. I can't remember how many it turned out to be but I'll have lots to choose from to load on the blog! He plans to be in to Troutville in 5-6 days and that is the next "big" stop. Lyle found out that when Neil (Lyle's son) lived in Radford he hiked this portion of the trail. Neil told Lyle that there are a lot of really neat things coming up so Lyle is really looking forward to the next few weeks. I hope they continue to have good weather and manageable grades!

Trail Days in Damascus

I have no idea where these pictures were taken, but they came off of the most recent CD of photos from Lyle.

Trail days in Damascus turned out to be a lot of fun. Lyle estimates that there were 5,000-7,000 hikers in town. There was free food, games, slide shows, vendors, and lots of sharing of stories. One of the bonuses was a free medical exam. They weighed in, listened to heart and lungs, checked over the feet and tested blood. Lyle has lost 17 pounds since he started the hike and his "numbers" are excellent. He is good to go for another 50,000 miles! :)

Lyle enjoyed the three days of resting, eating and talking with other hikers. He's met a lot of new people. And he had an opportunity to call Ken at home (mentioned earlier in the blog). He did come back to the trail after his rest at home but it just wasn't right. His body wasn't really ready and he didn't find any other hikers that he bonded with like he had with Lyle and company. So he finally left the trail and went back home. It seems that he didn't have an actual heart attack, but his calcium was critically low. This causes your muscles and system to do strange things so I guess you could say his system started to shut down on him and it felt like a heart attack. He is confident that he has the problem stabilized now and wants to get back on the trail next summer. Good luck Ken if you are reading this. We're all glad that you are well.

Lyle is leaving Damascus today and will ride back to where he left the trail (120 miles north of Damascus). Once they get to the launch point, there are only a few miles to the next shelter so they don't expect to leave town until around noon today. They want to take advantage of the free food and fun for as long as possible!

Plugger will be staying with Lyle until Harpers Ferry. I didn't realize that he had been planning to leave the trail about now but when he met Lyle he wanted to continue to Harpers Ferry. Originally he was planning to come back to the trail with a couple of buddies in September and finish the hike to Harpers Ferry. But, he decided that it would be better to stay and finish now because it might fall through in September. So he called his very loving and understanding wife and pleaded to stay on the trail for another month. Well, she agreed and now they are heading off together. This is great because they are very compatible and enjoy each other's company.

They had some rain during the trail days but because Lyle and Plugger were in a hostel it didn't matter much to them. They were really glad they weren't in tent city! They are hoping that the rain will go away now but who knows? The rest of the trail should be very scenic and less difficult. They've been told that they can make about 20-25 miles each day but I guess that really depends upon how much Lyle stops to take pictures! He has a chip full of pictures to send home but can't find anywhere to download them. He's not sure what he is going to do, but hopefully I'll get some pictures before long.

Judy, Tom, and Leon--Lyle really appreciated your letters! They caught up to him in Damascus. I guess when the mail service knows you are a thru hiker, they forward the mail until it catches up to the hiker. The next mail drop is Troutville, VA 24175. He expects to be there in two weeks (approximately June 2).

That's all for today.

Boy, Do I Like Virginia

These pictures are from the most recent CD I received from Lyle. The pictures are from GA and TN and maybe a few from VA...I can't really remember what he said about the cutoff. Now I know why he keeps asking for more duct tape :(

It's been awhile since I've updated the site because our communications have been sporatic and short. The trail is going through some very remote areas and cell service isn't all that great. But, we have spoken and that's the main thing.

Lyle and Plugger have gone over 600 miles! Virginia is a much "easier" hike than Georgia or TN. There are ups and downs, but not like what they've gone through. Now Lyle understands when people say if you can get to Damascus you can finish. Many of his trail buddies have left the trail unexpectedly. Word travels fast up and down the line...kinda like the old telephone game. The grapevine is alive and well on the AT! Plugger's buddy Scrubs was forced off the trail because of a broken bone in his leg. He stepped on a rock wrong and that was the end of his hike this year.

They have been walking through the Graceland Highlands and the big thing is the wild ponies. They are everywhere. Once a year they round them up to thin out the herd but otherwise they roam free. They are very jumpy and nervous but Lyle has a few pictures of them (of course!). They should be coming on the next CD whenever he finds a town that offers the service of downloading pictures from cameras. He said he is really enjoying the hike and scenery in VA. Some is due to the state, but he is also getting into better shape. His feet are not as blistered and sore, and that really makes a difference in how you feel!

They have had a lot of rain yet so they have been staying in as many shelters as possible. And they have been catching rides into towns which Lyle had not planned on. But, when you are wet, cold and miserable the schedule become much less important. And, hot meals and a place to dry off climb right to the top of the list.

They plan to go back to Damascus for trail days next weekend. Plugger has a friend that is going to pick them up, take them back to Damascus for the celebration, and then take them back to where they left off. And, I guess he is going to hike a spell with them too. He has a trail name but I don't have it in front of me right now. Part of the celebration is a parade with all of the hikers that are in town. They parade through town and the locals fire water guns and water balloons at them. I find this hysterical! It sounds like a good time and Lyle may be getting some new gear. He really wants a backpack that is lighter and maybe a lighter tent. It's hard to believe that a tent can be lighter than what he has, but they are out there. He says it all depends upon on how much it will cost.

It's hard to pinpoint exactly where they are, but I know he has crossed Mt Rogers and Marion. If you want to send any mail, you can drop it in first class and possibly get it to Damascus before he returns. The next mail drop will by Pearisburg I think but we need to discuss this and confirm it. He thinks he will buy provisions on the trail from now on so I'm not sure I'll be sending another box.

That's all for now. Happy Mother's Day for all you mothers that may be reading this! :)

What...the blue blaze?

Over 400 hundred miles and almost out of Tennessee! Once Lyle passes the Hard Core Cascades around 8:00 a.m. tomorrow morning (Saturday May 6), he will be moving into Virginia. That means he will have walked through 3 of the 5 states he will be in this summer.

The days have been getting longer and Lyle is usually covering more miles each day. His normal day is now ranging from 14-20 miles depending upon the elevation that needs to be covered. The fact that the days are getting longer helps, but his legs are beginning to get in shape too. The other day he had an extended day because he didn't read his map. He has been hiking with two other guys and they decided to go into town to resupply. The next shelter was about 3 miles down the trail so Lyle was going to walk slow and meet the fellas at the shelter in the evening. He came to a fork in the trail and one was marked with a blue blaze and the other with white. They have been following the white unless they need water--blue marks the route to water. The sign also said bad weather route, but since the day was nice he went down the trail with the white blaze. He went past a waterfall, and came back to a spot on the trail where he could see the blue blaze down aways. He decided to continue on the white and off he went. The day was sunny and warm (for a change) so he was enjoying the hike.

Well, as time passed and he started up elevation it occured to him that he was well past three miles. So he finally stopped and took out his map to figure out where he was. He found his location and realized he was now closer to the next shelter than the shelter he was supposed to be going to. Apparently this section of the AT is one of the very few where you do want to follow the blue even if you don't need water. At this point in time, it made more sense to go on, so he did. He ended up doing 22 miles that day. Needless to say he was one tired pup at the end of the day. When he called me he was dangling his very sore and tired feet in the lake near the camp site. He was going to leave a note for Plugger at the shelter to let him know he was going on and that eventually they would meet up again.

Plugger is picking up his car in Damascus and "hopping" it ahead and then coming back to Damascus to pick up the trail again. Lyle hasn't decided if he wants to wait an extra day for Plugger to come back to Damascus or if he should keep going after his 0 day. I haven't spoken much with Lyle this past week since he has been in very remote country. What few calls we've had have been short with lots of interference. We hope to have a longer conversation tomorrow evening when he is in town and we should have better cell service.

I found a note that I had scribbled one evening when talking with Lyle. He said his mantra is "If you can think it you can dream it, and if you can dream it you can do it." Words for all of us to live by.

There is One in Every Crowd

Rain, rain and more rain! And cold too! Good bye NC and hello Tennessee! Lyle crossed the state line today and is extremely happy to be out of North Carolina. He is staying in another hostel for the evening. It's next to Hwy 19 and it will be warm, dry and quiet this evening. It's a smaller hostel than what he has been in, and these owners stick to a limit of how many people can stay. Lyle's heard a rumor that breakfast is terrific too!

It was a beautiful day following a chilly start in the morning. Last night the shelter was an old barn, and Lyle had set up his tent in the loft. The extra protection helped him stay warm on the coldest night of the trip. The others thought he was crazy setting up the tent, but they understood the next morning when he said how warm and comfortable he had been.

The unfortunate experience recently was a theft. At the last hostel Lyle left some travelers checks in a plastic bag unattended. With others leaving cash and other valuables laying around, he didn't think it would be a problem, but when he picked up the bag before bedtime the checks were gone. Needless to say he was disgusted and upset. His words were "It's too bad that there is one in every crowd." So, he set off on the trail the next morning thinking he was $80 poorer. But, later that morning a hiker was making a bee-line for him. The hiker asked Lyle if he was No Lines. When Lyle responded yes, the hiker said he had something for him. Since Lyle had never met him before, he couldn't imagine what it could be. Well, the hiker took out his wallet and produced the 4 checks. They were found crumpled up under some things in one of the bedrooms. Whoever took them must have realized they couldn't use them and decided to leave them. Thankfully someone recognized Lyle's name and was able to give this hiker enough of a description to get the checks returned. Lyle is being much more careful with his things now. Too bad but it's a fact of life.

He plans to be in Damascus (TN) by the end of the week. He'll probably take at least one 0 day to rest and re-pack. He was a bit shocked by the quantity of food I mailed to him in Elk Park--it was my turn to pack the box this time. I didn't think I was packing too much but I guess he nearly had a heart attack when he lifted the box! So following a frantic phone call to me, we decided the best thing to do would be to mail what he didn't need ahead to Damascus. Then I won't have to mail a package to him for awhile. Now all I need to mail are the articles on the Packer's draft picks! He hasn't heard too much about the NFL draft so he said he would enjoy some of the paper to catch up.

He estimates that he has lost at least 10 pounds but he hasn't come across a scale yet. When he tells me what he eats when he gets into town, it's hard to believe he wouldn't gain weight! But I know how hard he is working...especially when he tells me he is sleeping 10-12 hours each night. That's almost unheard of for him...he always found it difficult to sleep in on Saturday's!

385 miles finished and counting. That's all for now. Enoy the pictures!