Tuesday, October 20, 2009
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
Slideshow for the entire hike
I took a while to put this together and I did have to delete a ton of pictures to cut it down, but here is what I consider to be the "best of" our AT hike.
Monday, October 5, 2009
Articles in the Carroll County Times
Lois Szymanski
Brothers complete Appalachian Trail hike
By Lois Szymanski, Central Carroll
Friday, October 02, 2009
Over the summer, two Finksburg brothers completed a feat few can claim — at a pace even fewer have achieved. On Aug. 26, 18-year-old Chris Maguire and 20-year-old Jack Maguire stepped off the Appalachian Trail. They’d made the 2,178-mile walk from northern Georgia to central Maine in 97 days, each of them wearing down three pairs of shoes along the way.According to Jack Maguire, plans for the Appalachian Trail hike started after he had hiked a part of the trail in Pennsylvania. “I became enthralled with the idea that those short three miles were a part of such a huge path, stretching from Georgia to Maine,” he said.His brother Craig agreed. He had hiked parts of the trail in Maryland, Virginia and Pennsylvania. “I found myself wanting to return to the trail each time I finished a hike,” he said.Since both are in college, they decided to try a summer thru-hike. “Most hikers will take off jobs or school to amble through the woods over a 120-170-day period,” Jack said. “But we wanted a challenge.”The pair took a Greyhound Bus to Gainesville, Ga., stepping onto the southern trail tip on May 21 at Springer Mountain in the Chattahoochee National Forest. The hike would take them through Georgia, North Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine.In the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, “we were chased by territorial turkeys,” said Jack. “We were stalked at night by a hungry bear which chewed Chris’ hiking poles up real good, and I nearly stepped on a huge rattlesnake. Life on the trail is plenty exciting.”“The mountains became my home,” Craig added. “I could appreciate nature for the harsh and enlightening realities it contains. I was accomplishing something daily.”About 20 days into the trek, both young men became ill. “We had to hike while throwing up and having severe stomach issues,” Jack said. But they kept pushing forward. “I lived with an immediate goal,” said Craig, “to walk to Maine.”
In North Carolina the pair encountered a horrific thunderstorm. “Out there, there is no place to hide,” said Jack of the high open stretches called Balds. “You have to literally run for your life,” he said.Despite the hardships, there were also nice surprises along the way. “During our brief stay in Pearisburg, Va., we came upon a town fair,” Jack recalled. “The blooming onions there were some of the best food I ever had.”They also encountered a town festival in Rutland, Vt., with live bands and street vendors.They met hikers from Montana, Washington, California, France, England, Poland, Israel, New Zealand and Australia as well as many East Coast states.Jack said they met a federal prosecutor, a Green architect, the manager of California’s largest kayak outfitter, a famous trail filmmaker, the owner of BackpackingChef.com, and a man who ran waste management programs worldwide.“We met old men and college grads,” he said, “southern-accented Dixies and people with the deepest New England accents you’ve ever heard in Maine.”The deepest friendship they formed along the way was with the only pair keeping the same fast pace: Their names were Camel and Fungi.“Because there are no distractions, conversations with friends, even strangers, can last hours and involve deep material,” Jack said. “Camel and Fungi developed a particular bond with us. We developed a long list of funny quotes, compiled along the way. It can be quite funny walking across dialect borders.”Jack said the worst part of the trip was “mosquitoes and no-see-ums preventing one from sleeping, walking in shin-deep mud in the Northeast, persistent rain in Tennessee, not showering or laundering, having no music, rocks, roots, and other obstacles on the trail, not having a flush toilet, snakes, unfriendly drivers (one who threw a full beer can at us), not being able to verbalize the experience to non-thru-hikers, running out of water for hours at a time, getting sick, getting to a summit which is either without a view or foggy, and Pennsylvania rocks.”“The people were the greatest part,” he said. “The trail community is the friendliest. All the people out there treated us like legends. Often there were boxes full of cold drinks and snacks waiting in the middle of nowhere. I have a particular love for the owners of the trail hostels in towns. I love how intensely satisfying a good meal in town was. I loved how time was no longer an issue; out on the trail … your past is measured in miles.”As they hiked, Jack and Craig’s mom updated their online blog. “We carried a cell phone and called home every other day,” Craig said. “Our mom would write an update with all the latest news. Our family and friends could keep up with our hike.”Craig said the hike strengthened their relationship. “We bonded,” he said. “I can’t imagine hiking the whole trail without him. It was a group effort. We pushed each other to keep hiking.”Jack agreed. “My brother and I become incredibly close. We ate out of the same pot. We drank from the same streams, and often even sat on the same log to enjoy a rest. We fought ferociously at times, but when two people share such an intense passionate adventure, they are bound at the hip.“Chris and I enjoy the trip a lot more knowing that our experience will not be lost in the annals of our individual memories. When we discuss the hike, it’s for real. We know what it felt like out there.”Read more about the Maguire brothers’ adventure on their blog at http://www.jackchrishike.blogspot.com/.
Saturday October 3, 2009 Carroll County Times Editorial "Thumbs-Up"
Brothers Chris and Jack Maguire, from Finksburg, recently completed the 2,178-mile Appalachian Trail hike from northern Georgia to central Maine in 97 days. The two decided to do the hike this summer after Jack had hiked three short miles of the trail in Pennsylvania. The college-aged brothers said they bonded during their trek and met all sorts of interesting people along the way, which they chronicled in a blog their mother updated via daily cell phone reports.
Brothers complete Appalachian Trail hike
By Lois Szymanski, Central Carroll
Friday, October 02, 2009
Over the summer, two Finksburg brothers completed a feat few can claim — at a pace even fewer have achieved. On Aug. 26, 18-year-old Chris Maguire and 20-year-old Jack Maguire stepped off the Appalachian Trail. They’d made the 2,178-mile walk from northern Georgia to central Maine in 97 days, each of them wearing down three pairs of shoes along the way.According to Jack Maguire, plans for the Appalachian Trail hike started after he had hiked a part of the trail in Pennsylvania. “I became enthralled with the idea that those short three miles were a part of such a huge path, stretching from Georgia to Maine,” he said.His brother Craig agreed. He had hiked parts of the trail in Maryland, Virginia and Pennsylvania. “I found myself wanting to return to the trail each time I finished a hike,” he said.Since both are in college, they decided to try a summer thru-hike. “Most hikers will take off jobs or school to amble through the woods over a 120-170-day period,” Jack said. “But we wanted a challenge.”The pair took a Greyhound Bus to Gainesville, Ga., stepping onto the southern trail tip on May 21 at Springer Mountain in the Chattahoochee National Forest. The hike would take them through Georgia, North Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine.In the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, “we were chased by territorial turkeys,” said Jack. “We were stalked at night by a hungry bear which chewed Chris’ hiking poles up real good, and I nearly stepped on a huge rattlesnake. Life on the trail is plenty exciting.”“The mountains became my home,” Craig added. “I could appreciate nature for the harsh and enlightening realities it contains. I was accomplishing something daily.”About 20 days into the trek, both young men became ill. “We had to hike while throwing up and having severe stomach issues,” Jack said. But they kept pushing forward. “I lived with an immediate goal,” said Craig, “to walk to Maine.”
In North Carolina the pair encountered a horrific thunderstorm. “Out there, there is no place to hide,” said Jack of the high open stretches called Balds. “You have to literally run for your life,” he said.Despite the hardships, there were also nice surprises along the way. “During our brief stay in Pearisburg, Va., we came upon a town fair,” Jack recalled. “The blooming onions there were some of the best food I ever had.”They also encountered a town festival in Rutland, Vt., with live bands and street vendors.They met hikers from Montana, Washington, California, France, England, Poland, Israel, New Zealand and Australia as well as many East Coast states.Jack said they met a federal prosecutor, a Green architect, the manager of California’s largest kayak outfitter, a famous trail filmmaker, the owner of BackpackingChef.com, and a man who ran waste management programs worldwide.“We met old men and college grads,” he said, “southern-accented Dixies and people with the deepest New England accents you’ve ever heard in Maine.”The deepest friendship they formed along the way was with the only pair keeping the same fast pace: Their names were Camel and Fungi.“Because there are no distractions, conversations with friends, even strangers, can last hours and involve deep material,” Jack said. “Camel and Fungi developed a particular bond with us. We developed a long list of funny quotes, compiled along the way. It can be quite funny walking across dialect borders.”Jack said the worst part of the trip was “mosquitoes and no-see-ums preventing one from sleeping, walking in shin-deep mud in the Northeast, persistent rain in Tennessee, not showering or laundering, having no music, rocks, roots, and other obstacles on the trail, not having a flush toilet, snakes, unfriendly drivers (one who threw a full beer can at us), not being able to verbalize the experience to non-thru-hikers, running out of water for hours at a time, getting sick, getting to a summit which is either without a view or foggy, and Pennsylvania rocks.”“The people were the greatest part,” he said. “The trail community is the friendliest. All the people out there treated us like legends. Often there were boxes full of cold drinks and snacks waiting in the middle of nowhere. I have a particular love for the owners of the trail hostels in towns. I love how intensely satisfying a good meal in town was. I loved how time was no longer an issue; out on the trail … your past is measured in miles.”As they hiked, Jack and Craig’s mom updated their online blog. “We carried a cell phone and called home every other day,” Craig said. “Our mom would write an update with all the latest news. Our family and friends could keep up with our hike.”Craig said the hike strengthened their relationship. “We bonded,” he said. “I can’t imagine hiking the whole trail without him. It was a group effort. We pushed each other to keep hiking.”Jack agreed. “My brother and I become incredibly close. We ate out of the same pot. We drank from the same streams, and often even sat on the same log to enjoy a rest. We fought ferociously at times, but when two people share such an intense passionate adventure, they are bound at the hip.“Chris and I enjoy the trip a lot more knowing that our experience will not be lost in the annals of our individual memories. When we discuss the hike, it’s for real. We know what it felt like out there.”Read more about the Maguire brothers’ adventure on their blog at http://www.jackchrishike.blogspot.com/.
Saturday October 3, 2009 Carroll County Times Editorial "Thumbs-Up"
Brothers Chris and Jack Maguire, from Finksburg, recently completed the 2,178-mile Appalachian Trail hike from northern Georgia to central Maine in 97 days. The two decided to do the hike this summer after Jack had hiked three short miles of the trail in Pennsylvania. The college-aged brothers said they bonded during their trek and met all sorts of interesting people along the way, which they chronicled in a blog their mother updated via daily cell phone reports.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
