Once again, we stand over our maps in the map room and continue developing our trail plan. This is a good episode, with lots of factual details, such as trail huts, camp stores, and mileage in between.

We talk about Giardia and Cryptosporidium, etc., during the first 15 minutes of this podcast. The remaining time we spend talking about the new gear we've purchased and gear we still think we need. The previous week we drank water from the cattle pond, and since cattle host all sorts of nasty protozoa, bacteria, and viruses, we started getting concerned about the filtering system we used. It was the "crypto" had me paranoid. (Luckily, none of us ever got sick.)

We finish this podcast discussing the Grand Tetons, the most picturesque string of mountains I've personally ever seen. Just south of Yellowstone, just north of Jackson, Wyoming. We also pose the question: Should we hike SNP from North to South, rather than South to North?

Because we've recorded two episodes ahead, I know what's coming up next week. We answer this last question by looking at the maps next week. Studying maps is a good time. That's next week. Where is Big Meadows? Halfway? Closer to the North? We'll figure it out next week.

Also, dad has made a final decision about his using a tarp shelter or a tent. That's the last bit of this podcast.

Couple links:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portable_water_purification

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Protozoa

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cryptosporidium

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giardia

I'll add show notes later...

I'll probably have this episode transcribed. It's loaded with factual information. Buy the Appalachian Trail Guide to Shenandoah National Park (with side trails) from the Potomac Appalachian Trail Club.

I might add a detailed description later...

Another outdoor episode!

We enjoyed ourselves immensely, tramping six miles (once again) into the back-country, heading west toward two ponds under the sun, our packs fully loaded and Nature's offering flawless. We are lucky where we walk--true, but a scratch on the surface of the world; to us it is everything. Our whole of it. Here, we trek inside a globe of earthy colors and songs. We feel the tactile ambiance of boots pounding, hair aflutter with breeze, and skin turned out to the warmth of the day. We smell how fragrant the air is here. We move purposely while unhurried.

At camp, night falls. We record the first half of our podcast under the stars.

Next day, mid-morning, under the great blue sky, we record the second half.

It's good stuff...living.

I am simply amazed by this episode! Why? Because I just listened to the entire hour, and no episode so far has seemed to flow by faster. I would never have imagined that random bits and pieces of talk could move along so quickly and so interestingly. T...

We broke this episode into two halves. First, we talked about hiking, riding motorcycles, and pitching tarp tents. Then we paused the recording and went outside to test our ideas. When we came back in, we had new insights for the research journal, especially on how not to succeed in building a tarp shelter. This is real world experience! This is more than two guys sitting around drinking margaritas and pontificating and offering up theories! No, we go out into the wilds of the riverfront and prove our mettle.  For one, dad proves his 1982 CM25 Custom motorcycle actually runs. For two, he proves he can ride it. That was one of the best field tests in my recent memory. I got a video of him riding, too, which can be seen on the Epic Field Notes Youtube channel, or just watch the embedded video below.

In this episode, we spread our AT maps on a table and discuss elevations, contours, trail features, huts, shelters, cabins, distances, fire roads, water sources, and so on. My map is produced by the Potomac Appalachian Trail Club (PATC.net). Dad's map is the A.T. Guide by David "AWOL" Miller (theATguide.com). Both of these guides prove excellent, and as we research them in real time, we discover countless valuable details about the 101 mile stretch of the Appalachian National Scenic Trail within the Shenandoah National Park.

Hands down, my favorite podcast episode so far!

We loaded our packs with 15 lbs of gear and journeyed out along Hog Barn Road toward West Pond. The weather and temperature were perfect! 46 degrees. Young Jack came along, as well as our two dogs, Woof and Fonz. After about 3 miles, we rested beside a cabin and pond, and there we recorded the first half of this episode. In field recording was so much fun! There wasn't much better than lying back on the hillside, just soaking up the spring sun, nearly drifting off into a nap. But napping would wait, because we ruminated on the scenery, on the hiking, on the dinner we'd cook up later, on eagles flying around, on how to sit on a chicken eggs naked, on what we carried, on what everything weighted, and many more topics of great interest to us.

At our second stop, we recorded the second half of this show. By then we were noticeably more tired, more crabby, more brain dead. We succeeded in boiling water with the MRS Whisperlite stove (boiled two cups in 2 minutes), and cooked up a fantastic meal of Beef Stroganoff. Alas, there were so many topics to discuss, we had no problem keeping the conversation rolling for the entire hour.

Bullet list (1st half of show):

In a valley overlooking a pond

Old log cabin built with hand axes

20 lbs packs get lighter as you go

Blue sky, fluffy white clouds, 46 degrees

Dogs are swimming in the pond

Jack says "Hello"

Benefits of lying back in the grass

Sat, March 29, 1:40 pm - no bugs

Eagle egg story

Talk about dragon eggs

Sitting naked on chicken eggs

Gear talk and rundown of item weights

How much water we brought

Each 12 oz package of Beef Stroganoff weights 6.5 oz

Dad want to see my Colibri lighter

I brought a cougar knife

Jack and I saw a cougar; I tell the story

Saving Private Ryan knife in chest scene

How we bundled our gear in towels

Walking in mud takes more energy

Hiking Staffs are useful but ours are heavy

How to use and carry a hiking staff

Dad might have bent his third leg

How to tuck and roll and dive for snakes

Responsible hiking techniques for safety

On climbing logs or going around

Name calling

Leaving your idiot hiking partner behind

Unnecessary risks

Two eagles flying and nesting in the treetops

Dad meets a Falconeer

Getting the Jeep buried and how

Dad flicks my Colibri lighter

How to start a fire like Tom Hanks

Bullet List (2nd half of show):

At West Pond with less enthusiasm

We got tired

Beef Stroganoff was tasty

16 oz of water boiled in 2 minutes

Six miles total hike

More stove talk

The dogs are hungry too

Jack talks to dad about seeing a dead cow

They discuss bear and cougar scat

Should we hike back or catch a ride home?

Another mention of the dead cow

Carrying 20 lbs gets easier as you go

Hiking from sun up to sun down on the A.T.

Discussing strenuous, uphill battles

Bob's coonskin cougar tracking hat

More interesting ways we used our hiking staff

The dead squirrel story

Talk about the value of leather gloves

Transport on call

Dad's pedometer confirms six mile estimate

GPS units versus U.S. Geographical Survey maps

Feeling lost in the woods

Rabid frogs

Opie Taylor's fishing pole

Why more people should hike

Dad's old trail epiphany

Riding and wrecking dirt bikes

Jack's Eagle Scout project ideas

Volksmarching and maps

Dad saw the Jeep ravine

4-wheeling talk

Bass fishing at West Pond

Same old bear attack fantasy

Result of dad's try to draft past me

On falling with style

Increasing our pack weight for next hike

One-person sleeping bag?

Tyvek tents and Visklamps

More name calling

Hammock chat

Sleeping under a pine tree in the Boundary Waters

Hands down, my favorite podcast episode so far!