I would like to do part of it, but the clock is ticking, so I need to get on it. Sounds like you had a great time.

@Leutrelle I did, but I was young and a survivalist by nature. I hiked it miminalist.

70 miles in 2 days is hard core. I am thinking of getting new gear and packing on the Appalachian Trail. I'm not getting younger, so I need to get on it.

@Rudy1962 My trail name was Gourmet, because I made blueberry pie above tree line and pissed off the dehydrated egg crowd.
What did they tag you with?

@Davesnothere lol. I would have loved some of that on the trail. My trail name was "bookboy". I gave myself that name because I was a book salesman at the time. One night at a shelter we were joined by a guy who was just doing an overnight trip. We kept calling each other by our trail names without thinking about it, it was second nature by then. Finally he asked, "What the hell's with these names?".

@Rudy1962 I did not pick my name, I was at one of those lean to's near Bear Mountain in NY? and asked the ranger who was on duty if I could make a rock oven, he raised an eyebrow that I knew what that was, talked briefly about where I would put it, and assented. I then used my bisquick and the blueberries and elderberries I had been picking all day to make the pie.
I hiked the trail from NORTH to SOUTH, backwards, so I was mostly solitary, as Maine is my East Coast local, so why not start at Katahdin?
That night I had stopped at the lean to a little early when I found it instead of pitching tent, and as the hikers came in and began to prep those dehydrated rats, they smelled my pie. Offered to trade me all kinds of things, but fuck that, I worked for that damn pie!

Most had no clue what a rock oven was, or that you could make such a thing, or make a pie on the trail, hence the name.

This whole thread is chock full of many fond memories for me

@Davesnothere I'm glad this thread brings back fond memories. Yes, hiking north to south would be a less populated journey. I ran into one independent fellow going that direction. He seemed quite happy and independent. I never made it to the northern states. I also never had anything but power and granola bars, and dehydrated meals cooked on a small burner. Well except for the times I hopped off the trail, stayed in a hotel and ordered pizza. Respect for you for staying on the trail, going north to south, and creative cooking along the way. Barring something unexpected, I will not be taking the hike again.

@Rudy1962 Nor will I, I lived my life fully excepting to be dead by thirty, now pushing 60 my body tells me of my youthful folly daily and sadly REAL hiking is a thing of my past due to health, now I can take strolls.
It was more solitary and a fine hike, but the south in the late summer was rough hiking. Georgia's Red clay was mud from my own sweat

I cycled also, and it is a lot of work. Probably the furthest I went was 50 miles, but it was on a single speed. The most I hiked in a day on a register trail, was 50 miles with pack.

Oh, man! I can't imagine doing that distance at a single gear. Even with a 12-speed and touring handlebars that distance would usually wreck my shoulders and elbows for a couple of days afterwards!

That is what it is all about there my friend. Are the biting flys bad there?

We have mosquitos you can pluck from the sky by the handful, horseflies that bite like horses and gnats you can't see. Not to mention the ticks and leeches. Oh, bears, wolves, coyotes, mountain lions, moose and other dangerous critters. That's how you know you're alive. lol

Lemme guess, 116 miles on private property? Up in the county or near two forks?

@davesnothere out by the forks.

@jayneonacobb Nice country, couple years back I was up there visitng a frind in fall whenweather started to roll in. You know how it is there, WHAM. So I started south before the snow, too slow. Driving down 2 in blowing snow my brain says "Damn thats a big ass deer . . ."
Nope, yearling moose standing on the roadside in near whiteout. Hate to go off the road there in a storm, dam plow would come by and we'd find ya next spring.

I always wanted to hike the the Smokies, sorry to say I never got to walk the trails in the Eastern US. But I walked many many miles in the Sierras and the Trinities in California. We would usually stay out for at least a week at a time, and would start out with a 60 pound pack. They were some of the best days of my life.

@Leutrelle
We should work it out to where we could host each other. You could come here and hike the Smokies, and I could visit your part of the world. We could act as each other's guide.

@Eazyduzzit Thats a great idea. Though I doubt I could walk many places that I used to. The Tuolumne River Valley in Yosemite was an easy hike, but it is about 8000 feet elevation, and probably very crowded now.

@Eazyduzzit If you are serious I would like to partner up and hike.

@Leutrelle Sure, but I work full time, so I'd have to figure out if there was a time we could do it.

@Eazyduzzit I am going to get geared up, and will be ready. just message me.

The Smokies . . .
once, above tree line I was marveling at a T storm in the valley, stunned watching the lighting striking down into the valley a few miles off.
I watched for several minutes amazed before my brain kicked in "Hey dumbass, your above tree line, wearing an external metal fram pack, YOU are the fucking lighting rod"

I took my brains advice . . .