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04/26/2012
Walt and Jake
![](http://boyscouttrail.com/i/blog/850.jpg)
Jake was handling the diner when I came in. I sat as far from everyone else as I could since I hadn't showered. ;-)
Jake was friendly, efficient, and extremely helpful. He's a college student in Idaho. The food was good, especially the chocolate shake.
Walt does registrations and (as far as I can tell) pretty much everything else as needed. I've never met anyone as conscientious, carrying for the comfort of others, and seeming to enjoy their job as Walt. His fast smile is contagious and his efforts to make everyone welcome is admirable. He got weather forecast info, showed me the way to a local lookout tower, and even insisted I use his personal cellphone to call home when mine had no coverage.
A couple girls working here seemed just as good as Walt and Jake, but I didn't really talk with them.
A funny thing - these guys have just started working here as summer jobs so they are still learning. When I ordered my shake, neither Jake nor Walt knew how to run the shake machine so they got another buddy to do it. I have to say, it was one of the best chocolate shakes I've had. Thanks, guys!
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Posted: 04/26/2012
Posted: 04/26/2012
Two Days to Go
I've not had coverage to send posts since the south rim of the Grand Canyon so a flurry of updates were just posted - don't miss 'em.
I finally met up with PapaBear and we're all set for the end of my hike. Tomorrow, he'll take me back to where I stopped and I'll hike about 30 miles. Then, I'll finish on Saturday and we'll head toward Phoenix.
I probably won't be able to post until Sunday since there seems to be no t-mobile in the area. (we're at a restaurant in Utah right now and hading back to Jacob Lake in a minute)
04/28/2012
Day 42 - Smelling the Barn
![](http://boyscouttrail.com/i/blog/853.jpg)
I traveled about 28 miles today.
PapaBear drove me to where I hitched a ride. I walked back up to the trail and hiked it Jacob Lake. Now I just need to do 28 more miles tomorrow. Kind of like the farm animals getting close to home and getting anxious to finish up.
I saw a small herd of 8 or 9 deer. Other than that, most of the day was spent walking through this big burned out area.
It was fun to top and have lunch at a trailhead with PapaBear, then off hiking through the afternoon.
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Posted: 04/28/2012
Posted: 04/28/2012
Day 43 - Final Steps
![](http://boyscouttrail.com/i/blog/854.jpg)
I traveled about 28 miles today.
I'm Done!
I reached Utah at 2pm today and PapaBear was waiting to take me to Phoenix - we're on our way now.
I overdid it the past few days and my legs really hurt, but nothing serious. The actual hiking today was fairly easy and the painted desert at the end was beautiful.
If someone from troop 479 reads this, please tell Benjamin M. to take a look.
This pic is of me at the end of the trail holding a solid silver 1961 quarter that Benjamin and his dad gave me for my trip. They said it might come in handy for trading since it is silver. I carried it the whole way and it often reminded me of everyone back home that I would see soon. It will forever remain one of my favorite things I've collected over the years. It's extra special because it was made the year I was born.
05/01/2012
Next Steps
Now that my little 800-mile hike through Arizona is over, I get to move on to other things. I plan to take a couple weeks to mostly rest up and ensure my leg is ok - probably need to see a doctor about that when I get home. Here's my list of things to do over the next few months:
So, I won't be bored. :-)
Hike On
- Present my story at District Roundtable. Show my gear and some pics and then answer questions from other Scouters. Hopefully I'll get them thinking about lighter weight backpacking possibilities with their scouts.
- Present Red Cross training. I've got a backlog of Scouters needing certification so they can go to Philmont, Seabase, and Northern Tier. Since I've been gone 7 weeks, I'm adding a couple more training sessions to make sure everyone gets training that needs it.
- Write my first book. This is the big one. I plan to write a handful of short stories from the trail for children. They will demonstrate human/nature interaction and include discussion outlines so teachers can use them for nature lessons. I'm very excited about this and look forward to working with my niece to make it a reality.
- Rest, then keep hiking. I have to make sure my legs are whole and secure and then I can start back up walking each day to keep in shape. I'd hate to just sit and eat and lose my fairly good heart/lung/leg development I received from walking every day for the past couple months.
- Let the local papers and TV know what I did. They might be interested in a short story. I'd also use that exposure to promote the ScoutStrong program a bit more.
- Catch up on my hundreds of emails that have accumulated while I was on the trail.
So, I won't be bored. :-)
Hike On
05/14/2012
AZ Trail Journal Ready
I've been quietly resting my legs and putting together my Arizona Trail Journal for the past week.
You can read all about my trek Right Here. I've included pictures from the trail, information about my homemade gear, and a daily record of the hike. I hope it provides you with helpful information, some tips, a little humor, and maybe gets you thinking about doing a longer hike yourself or with others.
A GoogleEarth map of the trail with pictures will be available pretty soon.
Hike On
You can read all about my trek Right Here. I've included pictures from the trail, information about my homemade gear, and a daily record of the hike. I hope it provides you with helpful information, some tips, a little humor, and maybe gets you thinking about doing a longer hike yourself or with others.
A GoogleEarth map of the trail with pictures will be available pretty soon.
Hike On
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Posted: 05/14/2012
Posted: 05/14/2012
05/24/2012
Google Map Photo Gallery
![Arizona Trail](http://hikingdude.com/i/trails/azt_l.jpg)
You can see a map of the trail with thumbnail images near the location where the photo was taken. This is done by using the time the photo was taken which is embeded in the photo by the digital camera and the tracking points from the Spot Messenger I used on my hike. The tracking messages contain a Lat/Lon location and the time. Some free software works its way through the waypoints and the photos and creates a KML file for Google to read. I used GPicSync, but there are other packages out there.
Google Maps views the photos in a web page. If you view the file in Google Earth, you can take a tour which automatically hops through the photos and locations. (Open KMZ file (200KB) in Google Earth)
Well, if you want to take a look, click the 'Map' link on my AZ Trail page. On that page, you can also check out gear, food, and expenses from the trip.
Hike On
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Posted: 05/24/2012
Posted: 05/24/2012
06/25/2012
Blood Needed
![Give Blood Scouts](http://boyscouttrail.com/i/blog/give-blood.gif)
The Red Cross says its blood supply has reached emergency low levels, with 50,000 fewer donations than expected in June. This shortfall leaves about half the readily available blood products on hand today than at this time last year.
![Give Blood Today](http://boyscouttrail.com/i/blog/i-give-blood.gif)
I've given over 6 gallons of blood, starting in college when the fraternities had a contest each semester to see which could give the most.
See Red Cross Blood site to find or host a blood drive.
Hike On
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Posted: 06/25/2012
Posted: 06/25/2012
06/28/2012
Morning Hiking
![early morning hike](http://boyscouttrail.com/i/blog/sunrise.jpg)
Slipping into my down jacket and camp shoes, I unzip the tent as quietly as possible, which still imitates an irritated rattlesnake and is sure to wake someone. As I emerge from my safe nylon home, the world is fresh and wild before me, unspoiled and unaware of the hectic day ahead. This is the time of day reserved just for me and the wildlife.
Exploring with others, especially youth, is one of the most enjoyable ways I can imagine to spend a day, helping them experience nature and the wilds around them. But, the style of exploration with a group is different than solitary walks. A dozen or twenty feet clomping through the woods, with or without a handful of voices being exercised, makes for rare animal encounters. Most animals have long ago fled our invasion reaches them. We occasionally encounter a deaf deer or lame raccoon, but that is the exception.
Real hope of seeing animals requires an early rise, stealth, and silence. That's why I venture out alone before camp wakes. I head into the breeze, slow and watchful, with high hopes. My reward may be nothing more than a lone chattering squirrel or a set of obscure tracks. On the other hand, I may catch a pair of rabbits unaware or deer grazing on moist grass. It's the anticipation that make the early morning hike such fun.
![hiking wildlife](http://boyscouttrail.com/i/blog/loon.jpg)
Now, I've had my selfish refreshing time with nature and am ready for the motorboats, fishermen, and the rest out here, like me, getting away from it all.
Hike On
06/30/2012
#1 Way to Lighten Your Load
![lightweight hiking](http://boyscouttrail.com/i/blog/lightload.jpg)
I reduced my pack weight from around 40 to around 25 pounds by making a light shelter, quilt, and pack, reducing redundancies, and purchasing a few lightweight items. That includes food and water, so carrying less water and stopping more often to tank up can make the pack even lighter. So, I removed about 15 pounds from my pack that I don't have to lug across the country.
During my 6 weeks of hiking the AZT, I lost about 14 pounds. Most of that was in the first 2 weeks and then I stabilized more as I got used to eating, hiking, and sleeping.
Just by losing weight off my body, I nearly reached the weight savings that I got from all the gear tweaking I did! And, I don't really have a lot of excess - I'm 6-1 and weigh about 175 now that I've gained 10lbs of the weight back.
Going into a backpacking trip with the idea of 'Super! This will be a great way for me to lose a few pounds!' is NOT a good idea. Your body will need calories to function properly on the trail and holding back the food it needs will cause you to be weak and increase the risk of injury. If it's a long trek, you will most likely lose some weight anyway, but that should not be your plan. I lost weight because I did not force myself to eat as many calories as I was burning each day - I should have eaten more.
A much better idea is to lose some weight before a trek. For two or three months before your trek, while you're doing practice hikes, also cut back on the ice cream, hamburgers, soda, chips, and all that other fattening stuff. The increased physical exercise will burn from 100 to 150 calories per mile, depending on your body and pack weight. Since there's about 3500 calories in a pound of fat, you can figure out how many miles you'll need to hike to remove 10 pounds of fat. More than you thought, huh?
But, that fat won't burn off if you increase your calorie intake. Thoughts like, 'Hey, I hiked 6 miles. I can have a second bratwurst' will thwart your efforts. Self-discipline is the key to long-term weight lose. Or, hire a personal trainer if money is no object. :-)
However you do it, losing weight before starting a backpacking trip or long hike is the best way to reduce the complete package you need to haul over mountains and valleys.
Hike On
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Posted: 06/30/2012
Posted: 06/30/2012
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All Comments:
Feb 13, 2020 - Jason Berklund
Hey hiking dude I have several questions planning my first north to south trip
from 270 all the way down. I kind a know what to wear what to eat all that
important jive. I am in relatively good shape definitely Not concerned about
where in tear. 45 years old going with a 21-year-old nephew. My question is
I have friends in Duluth that I don’t want to burden with driving me what’s the
best way to get up to otter Lake Road that’s not gonna cost a crap ton. We
were thinking 15 miles a day. We were also thinking hammocks. Let me
know what you think please. I have read so much and look at so much and
heard so many opinions but You seem to be very realistic on your
comments. Thank you
Feb 13, 2020 - Hiking Dude
@Jason - Hammocks work fine - most campsites have lots of trees.
15MPD is realistic, and you'll probably do more than that many
days.
Getting to the northern terminus is expensive (in my mind). If you can schedule correctly, Arrowhead Transit is cheapest to Grand Marais, but then Harriet Quarles is the only shuttle I know of. You might find a good ol' boy in Grand Marais willing to drive you the 35 miles to the end for a few $$$.
It's a 3 hour drive from Duluth - that's 6 hours and 300 miles round-trip. Maybe your friend would like to drive up the north shore for a day.
Getting to the northern terminus is expensive (in my mind). If you can schedule correctly, Arrowhead Transit is cheapest to Grand Marais, but then Harriet Quarles is the only shuttle I know of. You might find a good ol' boy in Grand Marais willing to drive you the 35 miles to the end for a few $$$.
It's a 3 hour drive from Duluth - that's 6 hours and 300 miles round-trip. Maybe your friend would like to drive up the north shore for a day.
Feb 04, 2024 - John
Me and my fiance are going to Costa Rica for our honeymoon and we
are so excited!
May 02, 2024 - Zeke Mead
Has anyone cycled this Camiño? Sounds like the trail is a road
and if trucks are able to do it, maybe bikes too?
May 03, 2024 - Hiking Dude
@Zeke - Someone could certainly bike part of the Camino de Costa
Rica, but other parts are simple trail that would not be passable
by bike.
Sep 02, 2024 - Susan
I am Ms. Susan from USA looking for
fun. Check my profile:
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