Lessons from Grandma Gatewood and Earl Shaffer on the Appalachian Trail
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- Опубликовано: 26 авг 2024
- Books about the thru hikes of Emma Gatewood and Earl Shaffer contain lessons still valid today.
CORRECTION - Shaffer's third thru hike was in 1998.
Clinton Clark's 1945 gear list - www.facebook.c...
Shaffer's 1948 trail journal (the hike starts on page 7) -
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Transcription of Shaffer's 1965 trail journal -
www.trailjourna...
Images of Shaffer's 1965 trail journal -
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Loner's book on Amazon -
www.amazon.com...
Loner on RUclips -
/ loner2012at
McNeely's report on Shaffer's first hike -
www.atmuseum.o...
Mildred Ryder -
thetrek.co/app...
Facebook - www.facebook.c...
CORRECTION - Shaffer's last thru hike was in 1998.
great video, i am honored to have a signed copie of earls book.a good friend of mine was a friend of him.i hiked the AT 2003 in exactly 4 month like he did.
greetings from germany psyco heiko PCT 99 AT 03 CDT 10
It's always an honor to have a triple crown hiker as a viewer! Glad you liked the video and thanks for watching!
Excellent video and books. So much can be learned from those thruhikers from antiquity. We all need to respect these lessons from those who have come before us. Thanks for sharing !
Agreed! And thanks for watching!
Awesome . Badass . What a hardened and determined lady and the guy also of course LOL
They were, indeed. And thanks for watching!
Hey Flatbroke! Great job pointing out how much we can learn from these two AT pioneers. As you said, Grandma Gatewood was the original ultralight hiker. I also have these books as both are heros and influences of mine. I'm flattered to be mentioned in the same breath. Thanks so much for the review and shout-out. I've already received a handful of messages saying they saw the book on your channel! As always, thanks for providing important information to the long distance hiking community.
You the man - and thanks again for watching!
A pair of Grandma Gatewood's hiking shoes (I believe they are the Keds if memory serves) are on display at Mt. Rogers Outfitters in Damascus, Virginia. The AT goes right past their front door.
Assuming I make it that far, I will definitely check that out. Keep hiking and thanks again for being a great viewer!
another good one and a tribute to these two hikers thank you.
You're welcome and thanks again for being a viewer!
Three of my favorite books ... thank you very much for such excellent reviews and for the valuable links you provided. Anyone contemplating a thruhike should start here.
Thanks for your kind words and thanks again for watching!
Great video! I've read these books (one of them twice) and I really liked hearing the details you pulled out to highlight in your video. (I also have Loner's book btw.) I was also interested in a few other details you didn't mention. Today there's a lot of discussion about start dates, and people seem to be starting earlier and earlier each year. It's almost like a competition, as if soon, you won't be a real thru-hiker unless you start in February. (Maybe that's an exaggeration, but . . . ) So, as for historical start dates: Shaffer started April 4 and Emma Gatewood on May 3. (Gene Espy, the second thru-hiker, started the last day in May in 1951.) I'm especially interested in start dates as I think about the start date for my own thru-hike (mid to late April, though when tell people that, they are concerned I won't have time to finish). I was also interested in all of Shaffer's discussion about shoes. To toughen up his feet, he did without socks and put sand in his shoes, later admitting that the technique worked just as well without the sand. He also spent some time on the trail without heels on his boots, trying to imitate Indian moccasins. He had his boots resoled and asked the cobbler to leave off the heels, admitting that people thought he was nuts. Nuts, maybe, but also the forerunner of the "zero drop" shoes like Altra Lone Peaks that are now all the rage on the AT. A few more points (I really liked this video). I didn't know about Shaffer's journals and am glad you linked them here. Also, as for that National Geographic article, there is a pdf online somewhere. I just read it three weeks ago. It's amazing -- the people hiking in the photos look so happy it's no wonder that Emma Gatewood got the wrong idea about the trail. (Here's the link -- bit.ly/2hyH3DM). Thanks for a great video.
Thanks a million for the link to the National Geographic article. I got a kick out of the photo of the 10 lb. nylon tent - I didn't know nylon tents were around that early, and the fabric must have been mighty thick (or heavily coated) to weigh that much. I wouldn't worry too much about others' views on starting dates. You're experienced enough to figure that out for yourself! Keep up the good work on your channel and thanks for commenting!
Great overviews and shared stories, very inspiring. Thank you!
Glad you liked it and thanks for watching!
That is one on the most motivational videos to me. Many thanks.
You're welcome and thanks for watching!
Interesting history. Very impressive people. Thanks for sharing and educating.
My pleasure, and thanks for being a viewer!
Thanks for introducing me to these books! going to look for them
You will like them! And thanks again for watching!
Thanks once again for another great video!! When I get AT Fever, I always come back to watch again. And even tho I have completed several long-distance hikes, I always find myself taking something away from them.
Earl Shaffer & G-ma Gatewood have been such a huge inspiration to me since the first time I heard their stories. As well as a man named Dale Sanders (aka Grey Beard) another Good Ol' Boy from Kentucky like ourselves I might add, who I met last year while doing Trail Magic. He was making an attempt at and subsequently completed his record Thru-Hike as the oldest person to do so at the age of 82. In his post Thru-Hike interview with the Washington Post, he cited a comment I made to him as his inspiration to keep going when all he wanted to do was quit :)
But once again, thank you for the great videos with such informative and well thought out content. We appreciate your effort! I'm always looking forward to the next one! Happy Trails my friend!!
Good job giving Grey Beard that encouragement! Thanks again for watching; I am honored to have such great viewers as yourself!
These hikers paved the way for everyone these days..loved the history lesson..you rock man..the gear stuff blows my mind..lewis and Clark did it so I guess the AT is a little easier do to the seasons.
Lewis and Clark yeah ... another epic trek! Thanks a million for being a viewer!
Yeah no problem man.. I love your channel it brings Like A Different Twist on the trail..a couple others I watch are like that as well.. keep doing your thing.. good videos
You were one of the first channels I stared watching when I got serious about the AT. I want to say thank you for all of the videos you posted. I got a lot of great info and history from you. I’ll be attempting my thru hike in March. Maybe I’ll see you out there. Happy hiking ⛰
I hope it's a great thru hike and a great time! Thanks a million for being a viewer!
I've read the Grandma Gatewood book & very much enjoyed it. Looking forward to reading Earl Shaffer's book. Thank you for the review & your videos. 😊
Glad you liked the video and thanks a million for being a viewer!
Fascinating!!
They were fascinating, indeed. And thanks for watching!
Didn't know Loner2012 wrote a book,his RUclips videos are the best,not just about the A.T. but the town's and history, really good perspective
Check his book out, and thanks for watching!
Outstanding info. I'm passing on to friends looking forward to the A.T. Adventure.
Thanks for your support!
Very interesting video!! I'm trying to imagine carrying such heavy packs, especially over those hills! Thanks for sharing! :-)
I've run into a couple of young fellas humping 50 pounds on the AT, but not lately. Glad you liked the video and thanks again for being a viewer!
I met Earl Shaffer on the AT in 1983
And we ate liver! (that was the meal at Graymoor Monestary)
That's great! What a memory! And thanks a million for watching!
Very informative and enjoyable, thank you.
You're welcome and thanks a million for watching!
Fantastic video! I'll have to give these a read
You'll like them. And thanks for watching!
As usual, I enjoyed your latest video. I read Shaffer's book earlier this year and enjoyed it. The thing that amazed me about the book was how much time he invested just looking for the trail, which seemed to be pretty neglected and often rerouted without notice after the war. I also wanted to comment on your "tiny steps" technique for steep climbs. When I started hiking earlier this year, the steep uphill sections were killing me. One day, I tried doing a steep uphill section in slow motion, similar to your "tiny steps" method. I found I could go uphill without getting winded. At the top of the hill there was no need to rest, so I could just pick up the pace on the easier terrain. It was quite remarkable. Thanks for the book reviews.
Thanks for sharing your experience and thanks for watching!
Tiny steps is the equivalent of low gear. Works for trucks and bikes....
Great topic. Thank you!
You're welcome and thanks for being a viewer!
Loved the description of their hike and what the trail taught them.
Glad you liked it and thanks for watching!
Nice job, very historic and informative
Glad you liked it and thanks a million for watching!
Outstanding!
And thank you for watching!
This was fascinating!!! I wonder if some of the hospitality back then was due to the idea that this was really entertainment and connection. Someone like Gatewood would have provided stories that they could retell over and over. I believe we have lost that element because our stories often come from TV or movies.
Good point, and thanks again for watching!
Enjoyed the review!!
Glad you liked it and thanks for being a viewer!
I feel inspired every time I think about Grandma Gatewood's story. I also carry vienna sausages (beef links actually), ham, raisins and dried figs too. It's a tough women's diet :-) Thanks for the video.
Congratulations on your epic thru hike -- Grandma Gatewood would have admired your hike! And thanks a million for being a viewer!
Thanks so much! Actually it's not the end, the Long Trail and Northville Placid Trail videos are waiting for being edited :-). And I think I have a lot in common with Grandma Gatewood. All the best!
I will keep watching!
Excellent review of these books and another valuable installment in your series. I'm feeling really old, though, after another commentator on this video referred to the '50s (my early childhood era) as "antiquity."
Getting old beats the alternative. :) And thanks again for being a valued viewer!
How to carry flour or sugar? I still do that. I started out with cloth bags, but now use ziplock bags.
This is a great inspirational video, one of your best. I have always been curious about these people. I was into ultralight backpacking in the late 1960s.
Thanks for the endorsement of the video and thanks once again for being a great viewer!
Very interesting. Thanks.
Thanks for watching!
One more thing..the museum at pine grove furnace in PA has alot of stuff similar to things shown in this vid..
Interesting stuff as always!
Thanks a million for watching!
Shaffer looks like a great book to read
Definitely, and thanks again for watching!
nice
Glad you liked it and thanks for watching!
Wish we had more "prudish mores" in this day and time.
Great video. The comment about how hard the trail is on feet needs to be repeated. In July 2016 I did a short section hike in Maryland, but quit early because my feet were beat up. I'm going to try again this summer after working on toughening my feet. Could you do a vid about shoes?
Curious: What shoes were you wearing? I'm not sure I'm a good one to ask. But I will say on my September 2017 section hike I asked several others what they were wearing, and they all said Salomons. I went to REI to check them out. The soles are pretty rigid, but flex just a bit at the toes. With the shoes I wore in September, rocks sticking up a few inches across would dig into my feet pretty bad. I'm sure the shoe soles were bending over the rocks. I am guessing Salomons would minimize that and I plan to buy a pair pretty soon. I need a new pair anyways. Guess I'll know more when I try them on. And thanks for watching!
I failed to mention one option that's cheaper than new shoes - Superfeet sole inserts. I used them to replace the inserts that came with my Asics. They provide some arch support and are hard enough on the bottoms to help blunt the impact of stepping on a sharp rock. They have to be cut to fit with scissors - that took me a couple tries to get them to fit well. But worth it overall. You can check 'em out here - www.amazon.com/Superfeet-GREEN-Length-Insole-Green/dp/B0033BI55K/ref=sr_1_4_s_it?s=hpc&ie=UTF8&qid=1511377723&sr=1-4&keywords=superfeet -- NOTE that one reviewer says they are for those with high arches. Which I have.
Spenco basic green insoles go a long way to decrease the pain on the bottom of your feet. They are a uniform thickness and cheaper than Superfeet. You can trim them to make more room for your toes or bony parts of your feet.
The cardboard shed was probably tar paper. great vid. Thanks for sharing.
Thanks for watching!
Flatbroke, what's the max weight of a pack you will take on the AT?
My base weight used to be 11 lbs on the AT until I got hurt in the car wreck I've mentioned in several videos. After a surgery got me walking decently again, I section hiked on the AT in September 2017 with a base weight of 8.5 lbs. I carried a lot of food (had some left over) cause I didn't want to resupply. This put the pack at about 20 lbs total. I talk about that trip's gear list in detail in this video -- ruclips.net/video/nsZYIsl6l8w/видео.html -- THE MAIN REASON I went so light is that I knew I was not in great physical condition, and the AT is a rough place. Note that I didnt use anything made of cuben fiber. It is very expensive and I can't afford it. Also, I have made many trips - I know what I can put up with and I'm sure it's more than most people. So most people, for example, will carry a heavier sleeping pad than me. I've always considered deciding what gear to buy to be a real pain in the neck. I spent a year selecting items for the 11 lb. base. I spent at least six months deciding what to buy to get it down to 8.5 lbs. I tested all new stuff at home in advance. In winter weather I know I'll have to add a couple more pounds, at least. Hope this helps and thanks for being a viewer!
Peace pilgrim....
Thanks for watching!