Tag Archives: Frank Clark

Ward Pound Ridge In Spring

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 “If everyone in the world took care of each other the way folks do out on the trail, and if everyone approached each day with as much hope and optimism as hikers do, the world would be a better place.” – Jon Tullis

“If you can find a path with no obstacles, it probably doesn’t lead anywhere.” – Frank A. Clark

“We don’t stop hiking because we grow old, we grow old because we stop hiking.” – Finis Mitchel

Spring has been good for Ward Pound Ridge Reservation this year. A good amount of rain has provided the moisture necessary to turn the woods from a greyish-naked landscape to a beautiful lush wonderland. The smell of the trail is overwhelming!!

When I started this relatively short hike, it was a cool and breezy 53 degrees under clear blue skies. I ended up taking the green trail to the yellow trail for a distance of 3.7 miles. Although there were no real views to speak of, just being in the woods on such an excellent day was good enough for me!

This area of New York, especially in WPR, is marked by miles and miles of these stone walls. When you first look at them strewn throughout the park, they seem really random. With that said, I can’t imagine that when they were built, they were just put there for no reason. I am sure it has to do something with land boundaries. The amount of back-breaking work it had to have taken to build them is absolutely crazy!

At just over 2 miles into this hike is a rock that I stop at every time I am on this trail to take a water break and just chill. It is positioned in such a place that you can feel the breeze come through the trees, but if you walk up the trail another 50 feet, the breeze is gone. I know that is pretty random, but random is ok.

Unfortunately, as spring turns to summer, the lush greenness that I am seeing now will disappear. The woods will still be beautiful but will start to take on a depleted look.

Would I drink this water even if it was filtered? I don’t know…

It doesn’t look this way in the photo, but this is a nice incline on the trail. Luckily for me, I was going down it instead of up! Maybe next time.

Overall, this hike is a good one if you don’t have much time or just want to get out into the woods for a break. Since it was Memorial Day yesterday, I thought that I would see more folks heading out but I guess at the early hour I chose to hike it was not to be.

One of the best things about WPR is that if I had decided that I wanted to hike some more, the possibilities would have been endless. With many of the trails connecting and close by each other, adding another mile or five miles wouldn’t have been an issue.

Happy Hiking!!!!

Hike #4-5/30-3.7-14.9

Thinking About Thru Hiking? Here Is A Book You Must Read

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“Obstacles are put in your way to see if what you want is really worth fighting for.”

-Anonymous

“If you find a path with no obstacles, it probably doesn’t lead anywhere.”

-Frank A. Clark

When people start thinking about thru hiking the Appalachian Trail, it is mostly a romantic notion. As you sit on your couch reading book after book and watching the vlogs of thru hikers on YouTube, it doesn’t look that bad. You’re on your own. No work and no job. It’s just you and the trail hiking every day. Right? Not so fast.

I just finished reading Appalachian Trials: The Psychological and Emotional Guide to Successfully Thru-Hiking The Appalachian Trail by Zach Davis. A hiker and backpacker himself, the author thru hiked the Appalachian Trail in 2011, finishing in five months.

I learned very quickly in Marine Corps basic training that the physical part of the training was going to be the easy part. At 18 years old, I had thought that would be the case. It was the mental aspect of what I was doing that, at times, almost spelled doom for me. But I toughed it out.

Zach Davis pretty much makes the same claim. Getting your “trail legs” and being able to hike 15-20 miles becomes manageable as you make your way to Mt. Katahdin. Unfortunately, the stress of the trail, home, and life in general present obstacles that sometimes become too much for people and they get off of the trail.

Zach identfies these issues and addresses them head on. There is no mamby pampy nonsense here. He tells it like it is and by doing this he hopefully will prevent thru hikers from falling prey to quitting because they listen to much to the negative thoughts flowing through their mind.

I took the following from Amazon:

In Appalachian Trials readers will learn:
• Effective goal setting techniques that will assure you reach Mt. Katahdin
• The common early stage pitfalls and how to avoid them
• How to beat “the Virginia Blues”
• The importance of and meaning behind “hiking your own hike”
• 5 strategies for unwavering mental endurance
• The most common mistake made in the final stretch of the trail
• The top method for staving off stress 
• Tips for enjoying rather than enduring each of the five million steps along the journey

Anyone even remotely thinking about thru hiking the AT should read this book at least once. I know that if I find myself ever getting complacent in my thoughts about the AT, I will re-read this book to get myself grounded and back to reality.

Happy Hiking!!!