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Take a Hike!

Why I'm Going
South to North

When I approached my boss at work and told him I was going to take 6 months off and hike the Appalachian Trail, his immediate reaction was tell me you're not going right now! You see, Fairchild Semiconductor had just separated from National Semiconductor, and we had lots of work ahead of us to make us truly a stand-alone company.

I offered to let him pick the date; Spring of 1998, Summer of 1998 or Spring of 1999. These dates let me go before the infamous Y2K bug hits, another time when I feel I should be at work. In an attempt to delay the ultimate loss of my smiling face around the office, he chose the Spring of 1999. I suspect he thought I would change my mind. Surprise :).

One clear advantage of going South to North and starting in the Spring is that my son can join me in the summer and finish the trip in Maine - summiting Katahdin and enjoying the beauty of the White Mountains. Another clear advantage is the social aspects and camaraderie that I will certainly enjoy - heading north with the throng of thru-hiker wanna-bes that will be leaving Georgia in the Spring headed for Maine.

The last, and perhaps the most compelling reason is best summed up by James Ritter in the following passage from his entry in the Rodale Press series Hiking the Appalachian Trail. Jim says:

That second night of the hike was spent in my little orange tent on top of Rainbow Ledges in a rainstorm. Thousands of blackflies spent the night with me, congregated under my tent's rain fly. What occurred in the morning will come to be known in the annals of the Appalachian Trail as the Massacre of Rainbow Ledges. It was fought as I packed my soaking tent and sleeping bag to move on. The breeze had left with the storm and there was nothing to keep the thousands of flies away. I applied insect repellent until it stung. I mixed three repellents, only to have the flies come and drink it from my hand like birds at a fountain. The blackflies were like a dark cloud over the ledges that morning, coming at me again and again, while I slapped and slapped. Someday I am going back there in midwinter, when there are no flies, and put up a plaque: 

                           HERE
                      ON JUNE 7,1971
               THE BATTLE OF RAINBOW LEDGES
                      WAS FOUGHT AND
             JIM RUTTER ESCAPED WITH HIS LIFE

fly Now I've been in the Maine woods in June, and I know exactly what Jim was referring to. The bugs up here are as bad as anywhere in the world for a few weeks in the Spring.

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