[pct-l] The AT as a "green tunnel"

[Diane Soini of Santa Barbara Hikes]

I have only hiked a day hike on the AT in Georgia (Blood Mountain).  
I've lived out west my entire life. Going back east and hiking the AT  
was like going to an exciting foreign land. I have also hiked in the  
Catskills.

Back east it is totally different but it's got its own beauty. There  
were thousands of little orange newts all over the trail in the  
Catskills. There were huge frogs croaking in ponds. There were  
tangled vines and vegetation in Georgia and noisy birds. I was in  
Georgia in fall and it was turning colors and colorful leaves were  
all over the trail. There was humidity. I love humidity. There's  
usually no humidity where I live, or else it's cold and foggy which  
isn't the same as warm and humid. I just love warm humidity. We ate  
fresh boiled peanuts at the shelter on Blood Mountain. I've never  
eaten such a thing before. There was bluegrass music at the store at  
Neel Gap plus hot apple cider. I swear it was as much a trip to a  
foreign land as going to India. My tiny experience out east on the AT  
and in the Catskills wasn't anything like the PCT but it was  
interesting and beautiful.

The PCT has epic views. It is "oh my god", breathtakingly beautiful  
almost every day. There are some boring forest places in So Cal, Nor  
Cal, Oregon and Washington but overall, it's mostly staggeringly  
beautiful, wild, with views of rugged mountains or stark deserts as  
far as the eye can see. It gives you faith that the Earth is alive  
and still beautiful and pristine. The PCT has the views they make  
coffee table books out of. This is Ansel Adams and National  
Geographic beautiful.

What I saw of the east reminded me of the paintings on the wall in my  
house growing up. They were of scenes of some secret, wooded, quite  
place with a pond and forest. A secret place to go and be alone with  
the frogs and the birds and maybe even the fairies and wood nymphs. I  
have no idea what the entire AT is like, but it will have close-in  
beauty. It will have a magic of its own.

When I was hiking the PCT in the rain in Washington I had to focus on  
the close-in views, to take time to notice the beauty around me  
because there were no faraway views thanks to the rain clouds. I took  
pleasure in the close-in views of storybook meadows and spooky  
forests full of ferns. I love ferns. I imagine the AT is like that: 6  
months of close in beauty punctuated by periodic great views. The PCT  
is kind of opposite. 5 months of epic views punctuated by periodic  
times where close-in beauty must be appreciated.

Well, I've rambled enough. Sorry to not let your topic die.


On Oct 19, 2010, at 10:00 AM, pct-l-request at backcountry.net wrote:
> I'd rather hear the opinions of folks that have thru hiked the PCT  
> and can
> compare. I know it won't be much of a wilderness experience, but  
> the thought
> of spending months in a tunnel has me a little concerned.
>
> Thanks for the responses. I don't want to go into it too much, so  
> let's just
> let this topic die. I don't have to worry about it for at least a  
> year! :)