Link to my other Blog which is a detailed first peson account of my thru hike of the Finger Lakes Trail
I will be making these posts as I type them up.
http://fingerlakestrailthruhike.blogspot.com/
Finger Lakes Trail, end-to-end, through (thru) hike, started June 18th completed Aug 9th, 2010. A 52 day journey, 563miles. Title: The Old Man and the Trail, A Solitary Journey of Renewal. By Garth Fisher, age 70, 2315 N. Wright Rd., Janesville, WI 53546
Monday, September 20, 2010
Monday, September 6, 2010
Introduction
Introduction to: The Old Man and the Trail, A Solitary Journey of Renewal
Garth Fisher
In 2000 I did a through hike of the Appalachian Trail, at the age of 60. I then worked as a Ridgerunner for the AT in New Jersey for 4 summers. I completed my first marathon in 2005. In 2008 I had a hip replacement and doubted that I would ever do a long distance hike again. I learned this year, 2010 that I could do a long distance hike. In my other life,I am therapist, Hospice Volunteer, and an Intuitive Energy Reader, I have attempted to understand myself, my work, my clients, and our world as deeply as possible. My goal with my Blogs is to share some of my experiences and thoughts as well as offer you the reader a space to share your relevant experiences and thoughts to the subject of the Blog. My plan is to add the comments made about a post to the post itself as an extension. I appreciate your participation and look forward to hearing from you. Respectfully Garth Fisher
Garth Fisher
In 2000 I did a through hike of the Appalachian Trail, at the age of 60. I then worked as a Ridgerunner for the AT in New Jersey for 4 summers. I completed my first marathon in 2005. In 2008 I had a hip replacement and doubted that I would ever do a long distance hike again. I learned this year, 2010 that I could do a long distance hike. In my other life,I am therapist, Hospice Volunteer, and an Intuitive Energy Reader, I have attempted to understand myself, my work, my clients, and our world as deeply as possible. My goal with my Blogs is to share some of my experiences and thoughts as well as offer you the reader a space to share your relevant experiences and thoughts to the subject of the Blog. My plan is to add the comments made about a post to the post itself as an extension. I appreciate your participation and look forward to hearing from you. Respectfully Garth Fisher
Thoughts and preparation for the Hike
Thoughts and Preparation for the Hike
There are two levels to my preparation for a long distance hike. The first level relates to my inner process, and the second relates to the technical aspects of getting ready for the hike.
The Inner Process: It has been 10 years since I did my Thru hike of the Applachian Trail. It has been 5 years since I worked on the AT in New Jersey and ran my marathon in Las Vagas. After the marathon, my hip began to seriously deteriorate, leading to a hip replacement 2 years ago. I went from 5 years of yearly heavy duty exercising, to 5 years of slowly and steadily becoming a couch potatoe physically. Yet, as I worked more as a therapist, I exercised my brain more and more. Yet, as I approached my 70th birthday, I progressively felt like my life was over or coming to an end. Looking back on the process, there was a gradual void starting at age 65. During the months of my 69th year, I realized that I had never thought about my life beyond 70. There was a void in my consciousness relating to the future past a certain age. During this time frame, I was working for two psychiatric clinics one in Janesville and one in Madsion, totaling about 50-55 hours a week. My focus was on helping others. I took that responsiblity seriously and whatever I could to assist others in their quest to feel and behave better. While at the same time, I did very little to take care of myself. Gradually, an image began to form in my awareness. It started with me looking back over the journey of my life. The view was a landscape made up of jungles, valleys, rivers, swamps, and mountains all of which I had struggle through and survived all of those obstecles, and now I was standing on a ridge with all of those trials behind me. When I turned around and looked forward, I saw a large plain in front of me. I knew that somewhere over the horizon there was (is) the OCEAN of LIFE. In my personal spiritual philosophy, the OCEAN is where we came from and where we all return -- the cycle of birth and death. Once the above image and view of my life settled into my awareness, the logical next question is, "what do I do on the journey from here to there?" I also realized that to do anything, I needed to have an open time space This awareness lead to the realization, that to create a space, I would need to retire from my work.
This was a difficult decision, because I felt a responsibility to my clients, and the idea of me "abandoning" (which meant that I referred them to other therapist) them was very distasteful. I experienced various episodes and levels of guilt. Once I concluded that I would create a time space for myself, I had to decide what I was going to do. Doing a long distance hike of at least 500 miles was my primary thought. I had been talking about doing the El Cameno pilgrimage trail in northern Spain for 3 years. When I started looking at 500 mile trails beside Spain, I came across the Bruce Trail in Canada, the Grande Trail in AZ and NM, the Finger Lakes Trail in New York, and a coastal hike along England's coast.
According to the FLT Conference, only about 20 people thru-hike the trail each year. The total number of thru-hikers in the trail’s 48 year history is a mere 289. The trail takes about six to seven weeks to complete, and it’s easy to go an entire week without seeing another hiker.
The Technical Process: see next page
There are two levels to my preparation for a long distance hike. The first level relates to my inner process, and the second relates to the technical aspects of getting ready for the hike.
The Inner Process: It has been 10 years since I did my Thru hike of the Applachian Trail. It has been 5 years since I worked on the AT in New Jersey and ran my marathon in Las Vagas. After the marathon, my hip began to seriously deteriorate, leading to a hip replacement 2 years ago. I went from 5 years of yearly heavy duty exercising, to 5 years of slowly and steadily becoming a couch potatoe physically. Yet, as I worked more as a therapist, I exercised my brain more and more. Yet, as I approached my 70th birthday, I progressively felt like my life was over or coming to an end. Looking back on the process, there was a gradual void starting at age 65. During the months of my 69th year, I realized that I had never thought about my life beyond 70. There was a void in my consciousness relating to the future past a certain age. During this time frame, I was working for two psychiatric clinics one in Janesville and one in Madsion, totaling about 50-55 hours a week. My focus was on helping others. I took that responsiblity seriously and whatever I could to assist others in their quest to feel and behave better. While at the same time, I did very little to take care of myself. Gradually, an image began to form in my awareness. It started with me looking back over the journey of my life. The view was a landscape made up of jungles, valleys, rivers, swamps, and mountains all of which I had struggle through and survived all of those obstecles, and now I was standing on a ridge with all of those trials behind me. When I turned around and looked forward, I saw a large plain in front of me. I knew that somewhere over the horizon there was (is) the OCEAN of LIFE. In my personal spiritual philosophy, the OCEAN is where we came from and where we all return -- the cycle of birth and death. Once the above image and view of my life settled into my awareness, the logical next question is, "what do I do on the journey from here to there?" I also realized that to do anything, I needed to have an open time space This awareness lead to the realization, that to create a space, I would need to retire from my work.
This was a difficult decision, because I felt a responsibility to my clients, and the idea of me "abandoning" (which meant that I referred them to other therapist) them was very distasteful. I experienced various episodes and levels of guilt. Once I concluded that I would create a time space for myself, I had to decide what I was going to do. Doing a long distance hike of at least 500 miles was my primary thought. I had been talking about doing the El Cameno pilgrimage trail in northern Spain for 3 years. When I started looking at 500 mile trails beside Spain, I came across the Bruce Trail in Canada, the Grande Trail in AZ and NM, the Finger Lakes Trail in New York, and a coastal hike along England's coast.
According to the FLT Conference, only about 20 people thru-hike the trail each year. The total number of thru-hikers in the trail’s 48 year history is a mere 289. The trail takes about six to seven weeks to complete, and it’s easy to go an entire week without seeing another hiker.
The Technical Process: see next page
Technical Preparation
Technical Preparation:
Decision making, at least for me, is a long process of mulling something over and over. It can be in the background of my mind for a long time, while my day to day activities are in the foreground. Eventually, a conclusion forms, and the answer becomes progressively more clear. Deciding to do a 500 mile hike, required a 3-4 month time space. In turn this required, a 3 months or so planning and walking through the process of retiring from my work, deciding which trail to hike, planning meals, and deciding and if necessary purchasing gear. I started with doing an internet search of all the trails under consideration and looking for books on each trail. I then ordered maps of the trails and then started evaluating the terrain, local resources i.e. nearby towns, possible food drops through post offices or motels. There was also the consideration of which direction to travel -- east to west or west to east, all the trails I was considering went in these directions. I gradually eleminated: the NM/AZ trail because of the mountains, the Bruce trail because it was out of country and had very few towns near the trail, the El Camino trail because it was out of country and I did not have time to learn sufficient Spanish to feel comfortable navigating through Spain. The Finger Lakes Trail had one other plus. In 2003, I worked with Pat and Gina on the NJ Appalachian Trail as a Ridgerunner. They were living in Ithaca, NY, the middle of the FLT, and they had invited me to visit at different times over the years. I chose to do an End-to-End hike, as they call it, of the Finger Lakes Trail. The distance would be 550 miles plus. The starting time would be in mid-June. The basic plan was to drive to Ind. and visit my mother and some HS friends, Ted and Wanda, and then drive to Ithaca where I would leave my car while I hiked over the next 6-7 weeks.
Using the FLT maps, I plotted out an itenerary, and made up food boxes that Pat and Gina could send to me at post offices (general delivery) or motels. The next task was to sort through the gear I had and consider what new gear I needed to purchase. My doctor had who did my hip surgery 2 years ago, advised me to keep my pack weight at around 30 pounds. Historically, my pack weight was usually around 40-45 pounds. I will review my gear and what I have learned to be truly necessary gear and considerations for an end-to-end hike of the FLT in another segment of the Indtroduction (next page).
I then started the journey of retirement, buying gear, and a modest attempt of getting physically in better shape. Over the past 5 years I had gradually gained weight, my doctor's lab workups said that my body was not doing so well, and my psychology was depressed. My outlook on life was definitely at a low point, and my overall energy level was the lowest it had been in 35 years.
Decision making, at least for me, is a long process of mulling something over and over. It can be in the background of my mind for a long time, while my day to day activities are in the foreground. Eventually, a conclusion forms, and the answer becomes progressively more clear. Deciding to do a 500 mile hike, required a 3-4 month time space. In turn this required, a 3 months or so planning and walking through the process of retiring from my work, deciding which trail to hike, planning meals, and deciding and if necessary purchasing gear. I started with doing an internet search of all the trails under consideration and looking for books on each trail. I then ordered maps of the trails and then started evaluating the terrain, local resources i.e. nearby towns, possible food drops through post offices or motels. There was also the consideration of which direction to travel -- east to west or west to east, all the trails I was considering went in these directions. I gradually eleminated: the NM/AZ trail because of the mountains, the Bruce trail because it was out of country and had very few towns near the trail, the El Camino trail because it was out of country and I did not have time to learn sufficient Spanish to feel comfortable navigating through Spain. The Finger Lakes Trail had one other plus. In 2003, I worked with Pat and Gina on the NJ Appalachian Trail as a Ridgerunner. They were living in Ithaca, NY, the middle of the FLT, and they had invited me to visit at different times over the years. I chose to do an End-to-End hike, as they call it, of the Finger Lakes Trail. The distance would be 550 miles plus. The starting time would be in mid-June. The basic plan was to drive to Ind. and visit my mother and some HS friends, Ted and Wanda, and then drive to Ithaca where I would leave my car while I hiked over the next 6-7 weeks.
Using the FLT maps, I plotted out an itenerary, and made up food boxes that Pat and Gina could send to me at post offices (general delivery) or motels. The next task was to sort through the gear I had and consider what new gear I needed to purchase. My doctor had who did my hip surgery 2 years ago, advised me to keep my pack weight at around 30 pounds. Historically, my pack weight was usually around 40-45 pounds. I will review my gear and what I have learned to be truly necessary gear and considerations for an end-to-end hike of the FLT in another segment of the Indtroduction (next page).
I then started the journey of retirement, buying gear, and a modest attempt of getting physically in better shape. Over the past 5 years I had gradually gained weight, my doctor's lab workups said that my body was not doing so well, and my psychology was depressed. My outlook on life was definitely at a low point, and my overall energy level was the lowest it had been in 35 years.
Essential Equipment and Gear -- from my experience
Essential Equipment/Gear -- from my experience
1. FLT maps
It will be very difficult to do an End-to-End hike without the maps and the information on the back
of the maps. There are stretches where the white blazes are few and far between. The mileage on
the back is just for that specific map. You have to do your own math for the whole trail. The first
half of the maps uses access points which makes it easier to locate yourself on the map and figure
mileage. The eastern maps do not have access points. The mileage on the trail signs do not always
agree with the map mileage, but that was never a problem.
2. A small compass
There are times when the road signs are twisted and the direction is not clear. Also, in the woods
with the thick canopy it is sometimes difficult to use the sun for directions.
3. Pump water filter
Springs are few and far between. Most water has to come from creeks and a few ponds. There is
allot of sediment even when the water looks clear.
4. A good tent
Shelters are few and far between. Unlike the Appalachian Trail where shelters are spaced with
long distance hikers, the FLT is geared more for local hikers and day hikers. I spent most of
my nights sleeping in my tent.
5. Hard soled boots
I estimate that 35 % of the FLT is a road walk. I wore out my first set of boots at 300 miles
in part due to the hot road walks. There were times when the road played tar baby with my
boots and hiking poles. There were a number of hiking days over 90 degrees in late Jun and Jul
5. A broad brimmed hat and sun screen for the arms
The road walks often did not have shade. My arms got burnt before I bought some sunscreen.
6. Hiking pants with zip off legs
The raspberry bushes were terrible from the very beginning of the hike, but really bad in the Catskill Mountains. I am not sure if it is better in the early summer, but they make parts of the
hike miserable.
7. Walking sticks (if for nothing else to push the raspberry bushes out of the way)
8. Stove and fuel
While the shelters had fire pits, the bivouac areas did not.
9. Water bottles for at least 4 liters of water.
5 liters would probably be better except for the weight. I had to ask for water at a number of houses, and there were times when I had to conserve my water between fill ups.
10. Rope to hang food bags in the a tree
There are no bear boxes or hanging lines for food. While I saw only one bear, I did see some bear sign. The locals were always telling about bear sightings in the neighborhood.
11. 1st Aid (include some NewSkin, there are little containers now at stores) and a sawing kit
I hiked alone for the whole hike, and met a few day hikers. I was alone at the all the shelters
except
2, which means there is little or no back up from fellow hikers like it was on the AT.
There are also numerous cell phone dead zones, some in the east, but especially in the Catskills.
12. A prepaid calling card
There were 4 times when I could have used a calling card. Fortunately people let me use their
land line without charge.
13. Enough cash, and ID
3 motels did not take credit cards. I carried travelers checks and cash, but ran low later in the
hike and had to have my support crew send me cash. The travelers checks confused some of the stores I shopped at.
14. Cell phone
15. 2 LED flashlights – one for backup and one for regular use.
1. FLT maps
It will be very difficult to do an End-to-End hike without the maps and the information on the back
of the maps. There are stretches where the white blazes are few and far between. The mileage on
the back is just for that specific map. You have to do your own math for the whole trail. The first
half of the maps uses access points which makes it easier to locate yourself on the map and figure
mileage. The eastern maps do not have access points. The mileage on the trail signs do not always
agree with the map mileage, but that was never a problem.
2. A small compass
There are times when the road signs are twisted and the direction is not clear. Also, in the woods
with the thick canopy it is sometimes difficult to use the sun for directions.
3. Pump water filter
Springs are few and far between. Most water has to come from creeks and a few ponds. There is
allot of sediment even when the water looks clear.
4. A good tent
Shelters are few and far between. Unlike the Appalachian Trail where shelters are spaced with
long distance hikers, the FLT is geared more for local hikers and day hikers. I spent most of
my nights sleeping in my tent.
5. Hard soled boots
I estimate that 35 % of the FLT is a road walk. I wore out my first set of boots at 300 miles
in part due to the hot road walks. There were times when the road played tar baby with my
boots and hiking poles. There were a number of hiking days over 90 degrees in late Jun and Jul
5. A broad brimmed hat and sun screen for the arms
The road walks often did not have shade. My arms got burnt before I bought some sunscreen.
6. Hiking pants with zip off legs
The raspberry bushes were terrible from the very beginning of the hike, but really bad in the Catskill Mountains. I am not sure if it is better in the early summer, but they make parts of the
hike miserable.
7. Walking sticks (if for nothing else to push the raspberry bushes out of the way)
8. Stove and fuel
While the shelters had fire pits, the bivouac areas did not.
9. Water bottles for at least 4 liters of water.
5 liters would probably be better except for the weight. I had to ask for water at a number of houses, and there were times when I had to conserve my water between fill ups.
10. Rope to hang food bags in the a tree
There are no bear boxes or hanging lines for food. While I saw only one bear, I did see some bear sign. The locals were always telling about bear sightings in the neighborhood.
11. 1st Aid (include some NewSkin, there are little containers now at stores) and a sawing kit
I hiked alone for the whole hike, and met a few day hikers. I was alone at the all the shelters
except
2, which means there is little or no back up from fellow hikers like it was on the AT.
There are also numerous cell phone dead zones, some in the east, but especially in the Catskills.
12. A prepaid calling card
There were 4 times when I could have used a calling card. Fortunately people let me use their
land line without charge.
13. Enough cash, and ID
3 motels did not take credit cards. I carried travelers checks and cash, but ran low later in the
hike and had to have my support crew send me cash. The travelers checks confused some of the stores I shopped at.
14. Cell phone
15. 2 LED flashlights – one for backup and one for regular use.
My Gear
My Gear
1. Backpack: Osprey H2O, Aether 70
2. Big Agnes air core Mummy: very good, though I always hand checked the tent floor for sharps
45 degree down sleeping bag from Campmor
3. MSR water pump filter
4. OR knee length Gaiters
5. Esbit stove and fuel pellets, one pellet cooked my evening meal
6. ¾ Liter aluminum cook pot from Campmor
7. Sierra Designs XL stuff rain jacket
8. Wenzel 2 man (really 1 ½) Lone Tree 7X5: the zipper leaked during any rain, used a tarp over it
9. Keehn hiking boots, second pair Timberline
10. Broad brimmed hat with ventilation from Walmart
11. 6 ft hiking sticks from the local woods
12. Hiking pants with zip off legs from Campmor, light weight shirts (smelled bad), (next time wool)
Wool socks were great, minimal smell and dried fast.
13. Vivitar digital camera
14. 1 Two liter platypus with tube and bite valve, 2 one liter platy’s
15. Backup white Iodine, 2oz
16. 2 Led flashlights, small
17. Sewing kit and 1st Aid kit with liquid newskin and bandages, large nail clippers and tweezer
P38 can opener, a metal whistle, pen and 3x5 cards
18. Small knife, 1 ½ in. blade
19. Bandana
20. Small absorbent towel from Campmor
21. 2 twenty five feet lengths of 1/8th cord
22. 2 ground clothes, silicon impregnated nylon, one small and one large
23. 6 clothes pins
24. 8oz plastic cup hung on back of pack
25. 1 pair camp shoes Crocks from Walmart
26. Wet-ones one pack per 5 days hiking
27. Small bottle of soap
28. TP and tooth paste and brush (I cut my hair very short)
29. Cell phone, money, travelers checks
30. Drivers license and credit card.
1. Backpack: Osprey H2O, Aether 70
2. Big Agnes air core Mummy: very good, though I always hand checked the tent floor for sharps
45 degree down sleeping bag from Campmor
3. MSR water pump filter
4. OR knee length Gaiters
5. Esbit stove and fuel pellets, one pellet cooked my evening meal
6. ¾ Liter aluminum cook pot from Campmor
7. Sierra Designs XL stuff rain jacket
8. Wenzel 2 man (really 1 ½) Lone Tree 7X5: the zipper leaked during any rain, used a tarp over it
9. Keehn hiking boots, second pair Timberline
10. Broad brimmed hat with ventilation from Walmart
11. 6 ft hiking sticks from the local woods
12. Hiking pants with zip off legs from Campmor, light weight shirts (smelled bad), (next time wool)
Wool socks were great, minimal smell and dried fast.
13. Vivitar digital camera
14. 1 Two liter platypus with tube and bite valve, 2 one liter platy’s
15. Backup white Iodine, 2oz
16. 2 Led flashlights, small
17. Sewing kit and 1st Aid kit with liquid newskin and bandages, large nail clippers and tweezer
P38 can opener, a metal whistle, pen and 3x5 cards
18. Small knife, 1 ½ in. blade
19. Bandana
20. Small absorbent towel from Campmor
21. 2 twenty five feet lengths of 1/8th cord
22. 2 ground clothes, silicon impregnated nylon, one small and one large
23. 6 clothes pins
24. 8oz plastic cup hung on back of pack
25. 1 pair camp shoes Crocks from Walmart
26. Wet-ones one pack per 5 days hiking
27. Small bottle of soap
28. TP and tooth paste and brush (I cut my hair very short)
29. Cell phone, money, travelers checks
30. Drivers license and credit card.
June 18th The First Steps
June 18th
10 years ago I was 6 weeks into hiking the AT, on my first day on the AT, I did the approach trail with a 55 pound pack, 8 miles up to the first camp site. Now 10 years later, I felt exhausted after 1 mile up hill at the start of the FLT at the Penn/NY boarder with a 38-pound pack. I had planned to get to a shelter after 7 miles. But, I came to a stream at 4 miles, debated whether or not to stop, Started to go ahead, walked 200 yards, reminded myself that exhausted hikers, in the late afternoon, are the most vulnerable to injury or getting lost. I turned back, made camp, and slept 10 hours. Everyone back home kept advising me to be careful. 10 years ago I probably would have pushed on, I chose to play it safe, follow the advise of others, and trust my experience and my head rather than my ego. I find that my head has much less chatter in it this time out or even back in WIS.
10 years ago I was 6 weeks into hiking the AT, on my first day on the AT, I did the approach trail with a 55 pound pack, 8 miles up to the first camp site. Now 10 years later, I felt exhausted after 1 mile up hill at the start of the FLT at the Penn/NY boarder with a 38-pound pack. I had planned to get to a shelter after 7 miles. But, I came to a stream at 4 miles, debated whether or not to stop, Started to go ahead, walked 200 yards, reminded myself that exhausted hikers, in the late afternoon, are the most vulnerable to injury or getting lost. I turned back, made camp, and slept 10 hours. Everyone back home kept advising me to be careful. 10 years ago I probably would have pushed on, I chose to play it safe, follow the advise of others, and trust my experience and my head rather than my ego. I find that my head has much less chatter in it this time out or even back in WIS.
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