Loose Leaf Notes

-The following first appeared in The Floyd Press on April 7, 2022.

Joe Klein’s preparations to section hike the Appalachian Trail from Georgia to North Carolina took more time than his actual journey and involved researching and purchasing the best lightweight gear, preparing and freeze-drying meals, and taking practice day-hikes near his home along the Blue Ridge Parkway.

As part of his preparation, Klein, a longtime Floyd County resident, spoke with a local friend who recently completed a thru hike. He also spoke with Tommy Bailey, a Floyd Countian author of The Appalachian Trail, Step by Step: How to Prepare for a Thru or Long Distance Section Hike. Other friends lent assistance, helping freeze-dry the venison sausage, stew and scrambled eggs that Klein made for the hike.

Klein started the trail with his friend Scott Schwarzer, an experienced section hiker who recently retired and is now on a thru hike to Maine. Schwarzer, who was the inspiration behind Klein’s decision to do the hike, provided Klein with tips about the importance of trekking poles, which act as another set of limbs that provide stability when tackling tricky terrain, and non-cotton clothing, which wicks away moisture and keeps you warm, even when wet.

On March 11^th, the pair set off from the approach trail in Amicalola Falls State Park in Georgia with Klein in his Floydfest biking jersey and a Republic of Floyd patch on his 42-pound backpack. It’s customary to personalize your gear, Klein noted.

The AT travels through fourteen states along the peaks and valleys of the Appalachian Mountain Range. It takes approximately 5 to 7 months to complete the 2,194-mile hike from the approach trail in Georgia (which adds an extra 8.8 miles), or from Springer Mountain, where the first white blaze trail marker is, to Katahdin Maine.

Klein’s 145 miles and 14-day adventure started and ended with brutally cold nights. He noted that it was in the single digits with sustained 30 to 40 mile winds above 4,000 feet of elevation.

“You put on every layer you have and get into your down sleeping bag at 7 p.m., aka hiker’s midnight, and wait it out and sleep if you can,” he said, adding that when the sun rises with the possibility of packing up, you get moving so you can warm up.

Three-sided open shelters, provided by AT Conservatory clubs, are located along the trail every 8 – 10 miles and are especially appreciated in cold and rainy weather. Privies, water and somewhat flat tent sites are accessible at the shelters, which sleep approximately 6 to 14 people.

On the trail, fellow hikers become like family, or “tramily,” as the hikers call it, lending support and sharing resources. There are trail angels who offer supplies and feed the hikers hot food when the trail crosses a road.

“Most of them are hikers who know what it’s like,” said Klein, citing the friend from Indian Valley that drove him and Schwarzer to the approach trail in Georgia.

He also remembered being treated by a trail angel one morning to hot coffee and “Kentucky Crepes,” which consisted of a hotdog wrapped in a pancake smothered with peanut butter, maple syrup and hot sauce. “It was a weird combination but we were so cold and hungry that it tasted great.”

Not only is it customary to personalize your equipment but most hikers get a personalized trail name, given to them by fellow-hikers. Klein’s trail name became “Overflow Joe,” given while he was telling a story as he was filtering water that was running over, but it also fits his enthusiastic personality.

Hikers bond over the challenges of weather, terrain and food. They resupply every 5-6 days, coming down off the trail and into towns to shower, do laundry and get hot meals, “as many calories as you can eat.”

There are hiker boxes at most motels, hostels and outfitter stores where hikers take and leave free items. Klein explained that early on the boxes are full with items that people let go to drop weight off their packs. He remembers seeing a cast iron skillet, whole jars of salad dressing and all kinds of books.

“I climbed over 5,000-foot peaks, often several times in the same day. In comparison, the Buffalo Mountain is 3,900 feet,” said Klein, who reported no blisters, but his ankles did swell up a bit.

One of his happiest moments on the trail came when he walked a “magical valley” through Mooney’s Gap, his Irish ancestral name. “It was a gentle open valley with abundant water streaming across the trail,” he said.

Klein got off the trail at the Nantahala Outdoor Center in North Carolina, where he got into a pair of crocs and waited for a family member to pick him up. In all the excitement of completion and family reunion, Klein’s hiking shoes were left on the sidewalk, but some of his new friends with trail names like Disco, Come-along and Lil’ Chap retrieved his shoes and texted him a picture of them before putting them in the mail.

Klein is thinking about a bookends section hike, meeting up with his Schwarzer in the fall for the last two weeks of the hike into Maine. “I’m considering a lifetime goal of section hiking 2 -3 weeks a year,” he said.