could we still agree that the concept of a thru hike originated with earl's attempt?
That's a very good point. It's true of any branch of history, not just the AT.Originally Posted by emerald
"You're a nearsighted, bitter old fool."
The concept originated as someone's private thoughts prior to the first attempt. Who first considered such a hike and when is more difficult to ascertain than when the first attempt occurred.
I believe I recall reading Gene Espy wasn't aware of Earl Shaffer's hike when he first began making plans for his own hike. If so, it wouldn't be correct to claim the concept of an A.T. through hike came into being as a result of Earl Shaffer's climbing Katahdin in 1948.
Last edited by emerald; 07-26-2011 at 14:09.
And that person probably was myron avery as he finished wheelin ' the last few miles of the trail.
The record would seem to indicate otherwise since Avery apparently thought Shaffer's claim incredulous initially.
What blows my mind about Earl's hike is that he did it without zip-locks!
I mystified on why you think either idea has merit. There's certainly nothing wrong with recognizing 2000-Milers. Gene was second, why mention him and not the 1st dozen?
Last edited by Sly; 07-18-2011 at 18:36.
Same can be said for the record attempting speed hikers you seem to admire so much. Why bother helping.
Last edited by Sly; 07-18-2011 at 18:52.
http://www.appalachiantrail.org/who-...l-hall-of-fame
Others honored as members of the inaugural class included the first and second individuals to ever hike the 2,000-mile Trail in a continuous effort, the late Earl V. Shaffer and Gene Espy, respectively, as well as the late Edward B. Garvey, author, trail maintainer, and volunteer leader for both the ATC and the Potomac Appalachian Trail Club. Shaffer, active in two Pennsylvania trail clubs, served three years on the ATC board; Garvey, 16 years.
ATC's resources would be better spent on resource management issues than worrying about who's hiked the A.T. They shouldn't allow themselves to get sucked into arbitrating disputes over who has and hasn't hiked it either. There are other organizations that could go on about that ad nauseam. WhiteBlaze.net is but one example.
Maybe whether Gene hiked the entire A.T. isn't as controversial. There are many other early through hikers ATC has chosen to mention by name. Let me see once as we do here in the Land of the Pennsylvania Dutch whether they have now chosen to list him along with the others they singled out.
http://www.appalachiantrail.org/abou...il/2000-milers
The question is a fair question and a good one I must acknowledge and ponder before attempting a better answer.First reported thru-hiker.
In 1948, Earl V. Shaffer became the first to report a thru-hike, walking the entire Trail from Georgia to Maine. He hiked again—this time from Maine to Georgia—in 1965. On his third thru-hike, 50 years after his first, he became the oldest thru-hiker at age 79, a distinction he held until 2004.
Last edited by emerald; 07-20-2011 at 00:47.
cuz through hiking doesn't require much athletic ability. just a big block of time and money. it's just walkin'. have i ever mentioned that?
2000-Mile acknowledgment by the ATC is based on the honor system, it doesn't arbitrate disputes. Anyone could claim Gene missed a whiteblazed section and given the time of his hike would most likely be right. Only a purist would care.
Last edited by Sly; 07-18-2011 at 21:35.
1) Columbus discovered America
2) The earth is the center of the universe
3) There are WMD in Iraq
4) Earl Shaffer was the first person to walk the entire trail.
I only knew Earl from 1973 until he passed on. I talked with him at least a dozen times and met him on his third hike four times. He always seemed to crticize Grandma Gatewood when her name came up. He also seem to have misinformed, critical opinions of the motives behind the circle expeditions. I remember my father taking him to task on these comments once at a Gathering. Also, he knowingly took a ride around a major part of the Bigelow range on his third hike (ironically a section that proved so strenuous for Ed Garvey that he terminated his 2nd thru).
It is true that he was honest about his trail route in the first printing of Walking With Spring. There have been some questionable cover-ups (or revisionist history) since that first printing and into the present because this research surely will cast a new light on all the posthumous Earl merchandise being sold to the public by the Shaffer Foundation.
It reminds me how some folks at Mt.Washington reacted when the highest recorded wind was verified in another place.
Happy trails!
Panzer I've talked with people who met Earl on his first hike up the 'AT' in 48, and they recalled their meeting with 'The Crazy One' pretty much as Earl himself described it in his little black book.
I care. I think this is important stuff. These old dead people are trying to take some of the rightful accomplishment away from real thru hikers.
IMO every inch of the trail must be hiked or the self-proclaimed thru hiker is a fraud.
Obviously, this entails heel-to-toe foot placement so that no portion of the trail is missed. We can accept no less.
It's not 'just walking' if you have a pack on your back. Sure you're walking alright, but with a pack on your back its not the same as 'just walking'. When you are 'just walking' do you have a backpack on your back?.., if you do you're probably backpacking.
ATC's recognition program and the statistics it generates reflect the number of complete hikes reported, not necessarily the number of complete hikes. Although the language is pretty clear about what's intended, it's up to each hiker to determine when to apply for recognition.
The notion that ATC is the closest thing to an arbiter regarding who should be recognized as the 1st through hiker was language from the linked Roanoke Times article. ATC accepted Earl Shaffers' hike as the 1st through hike.
It doesn't meet the standards of the current recognition program, but that came along years later. I doubt the majority of hikers believe it would be good use of ATC's resources to attempt to rewrite history or open that can of worms.
Last edited by emerald; 07-19-2011 at 09:57.
Earl was a great man, who also thru-hiked in 1998! As many others have already discussed, the AT was much, much different in 1948 then today-for those who have read his book, he had to use an ax and hack his own AT trail when none existed. LW says its "just walkin", but it was much different in 1948 then today.
"I told my Ma's and Pa's I was coming to them mountains and they acted as if they was gutshot. Ma, I sez's, them mountains is the marrow of the world and by God, I was right". Del Gue
Yes, this is a repeated situation in Earl's book...however the report seems to indicate that in many of these instances there was an AT trail, Earl just wasn't on it....
Regardless of exactly how he got to Maine it was still a great achievement, but is was kind of disturbing to read the report when it points out the differences between Earl's private notes (his notebook) and what is written in the public documents (report to the ATC & his book). You get a strong feeling that there was some effort to hide details of the actual route....the starting point for example. It is hard to read the report & not think that Earl didn't actually start at Mt Oglethorpe & despite being aware of this at a later time, did not state so in his book.
Oh good grief. Who cares? Worry about your own hike, not someone else's. Seriously.
Don't take anything I say seriously... I certainly don't.
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