Scoutmaster Podcast 338

Hi, this is Sean Mitchell, assistant Scoutmaster with troop number 27 in Snyder, Texas. In this edition of the Scoutmaster podcast is brought to you by Backers Like Me And now it's to you. Scoutmaster, We met a through hiker going southbound. He was two days away from finishing.

He said: what's the difference between a day hiker, a weekender, and a through hiker? The day hiker, when they see food on the ground, passes by it. The weekender, when they see food on the ground, picks it up, brushes off the dirt and eats it.

And the through hiker eats it and then starts digging for more. Sounds about right. Sounds about right. Yeah,

Hey, this is podcast number 338.. Welcome back to the Scoutmaster podcast. This is Clarke Green. Wow, Today is going to be fun.

So I found out a week or so ago a couple of my old Eagle Scouts were off to hike the Appalachian Trail. I was able to get in touch with them and record a conversation that I had a lot of fun doing.

But before we go to that conversation, I want to pause and thank all the folks who are ScoutMasterCGcom backers and patrons. You're the ones who keep this going and make it possible for me to keep up with the blog and the podcast Really do appreciate all of your support. If you'd like to become a backer or join our patron subscribers, visit ScoutMasterCGcom. You'll find links to follow at the top right of any page and links in this episode's podcast notes. In a moment you're going to hear two of my old Eagle Scouts- The first one you'll hear.

His name is Wade Bastion, And then he'll be joined by his hiking partner, Bucky Kellogg, And we'll have a great time talking about what they're up to And we'll also recall their first backpacking trip, which I remember to some extent, But they remember in much more detail than I do. And before we get to that conversation, I'm going to play a song from Bucky's band Lost Festingos that I think is reasonably fitting to the occasion. If you look at the podcast notes, you can get a copy of the song if you like.

So let's get started. Shall we,

Stepping to my forest, feel the magic in the air? I know that you're not evil. I know deep down you care. I cannot help but wonder why you do the things you do. I hope you will remember that it's applied it to Cause I am a Sasquatch And I live among the trees, And I am proud to be a Sasquatch. I live in peace and harmony, In harmony.

Tell everybody where you are right now. Right now I am in Hiawasi, Georgia, in a Holiday Inn Express.

And what are you doing in Hiawasi, Georgia? I am here on a zero day from the Appalachian Trail. We're hiking from Georgia to Maine.

And when did you start? We started just about a week ago. Last Monday actually was our first day.

And tell me what a zero day is? So a zero day is when you're feeling just a bit too lazy to hike, So you just end up doing nothing.

So we're doing nothing in a town where people are who will get offended by how bad we smell. Well, that's nothing new, Yeah, Yeah, no.

Well, I mean now it's just like more pungent, but just by far. I would say the letters TMI right now are too much information.

Where did this idea come from that you're going to go and hike the Appalachian Trail? This idea came from Bucky And I guess when he gets back he can tell it. But I'll give my little bit here. He has always wanted to through hike. He's done different sections, like he did all over a month. He's always really wanted to hike And he got to a point with his job, where everything just came in to line.

I had a couple months where I didn't have a job and nothing better to do, So I just decided: why not join him Now? I'm actually going to throw it on speakerphone, because Bucky has just come back in the room.

Bucky, what's up? What's up with you? I am sitting in a relatively dry and comfortable place.

I understand that you are now for the first time in a week. No, no, We spent two nights in a hostel two nights ago. Wait a minute, Let's back up. Hospital, Hostel, Hostel.

Okay, Tell me how everything got started and then tell me about the first week on the trail. I was feeling like I needed to make some changes, So I was already thinking about doing the trail. I gave my boss notice.

I gave her like six months notice or three months notice, So this isn't something that you decided to do like last week. No, As my camping trips usually are, this time it was not.

This one was relatively well planned. Yeah, We did a lot of that, though, And we're definitely better prepared for having Wade here than I would have been by myself.

So you have things like food and a tent and clothing. Yeah, I probably would have had some food, a hammock and some stuff, But we planned out meals together and then Wade did a lot of drying while I was finishing up work.

So we have 117 dried meals- Yeah, Wow- Of eight different varieties. But you're not carrying them all right now, Oh no, I made that mistake.

So we got them all ready and vacuum sealed them. I brought them all over to Bucky's house and Bucky's mom is going to mail them to us at intervals throughout the trip.

That's a pretty usual way that people do this, isn't it? It's a little better prepared than most people- or not most people, but like, I feel like half of the people are that prepared and then half of them are flying by to see their pants. Yeah, We've met some people already that are just like, just kind of going for it. There was the one guy who said he started out with like a 75 pound pack or something like that, with all MREs. Yeah, Nothing but MREs in his pack. 75 pounds.

Yeah, That's what he said. Yeah, He said he was just offering MREs to people because he just said so much, Wait in his pack. Oh my, Oh my. Yeah, I am in no way fishing for compliments, but if they happen to fall. That's fine.

Where did you get into backpacking and hiking and things like that? Oh gosh, There's this real old man. I knew What was his name. Yeah, Tony's held a beard.

Oh yeah, First time I really went hiking was on the Appalachian Trail in Pennsylvania with the troop, with you, and I was so unprepared for that trip. I wore sneakers and had one of those camp more like external frame packs, And I remember the sec, the like Saturday of the trip.

It was only like a 10, 12 mile trip total, but I remember the last mile or so to the shelter. I was just sobbing, I was in so much pain.

Mr Keen was behind me and he was just trying to keep my spirits up and asked me if I liked Harry Potter and things like that, And I was just so sad. Oh man, I was hurting so bad.

How old were you? 12.?

Okay, I'm sorry I interrupted you, Keep going. So, yeah, No, I was just sobbing and hurt and so bad.

And then so we get to the shelter and water was maybe a tenth of a mile down the hill And it seemed like forever. So I went down and one of the other adult leaders was spilling up water bottles And I only had two like plastic, like Dasani water bottles- just like you know- not now jeans or anything- And one of the water bottles I had put my free chewed gum into because I thought it would make the water minty And then when I, when the water was filled back up in a gum, had dissolved.

So when there was clean water in there, it was just disgusting, It was just absolutely horrible. So I only really had one liter of water to go the rest of that night And the next morning out.

So that was my introduction to backpacking. For some reason I liked it enough to go the next year And it's just got better from there. But yeah, that was, that was my first time. That was my first time hiking.

So it was memorable for you. Definitely memorable, Bucky.

Do you remember the first hiking trip you went on? That was my first backpacking as well, Because remember the first backpacking trip I should have gone on being a year ahead of Wade, I showed up at the church crying and refused to go.

I do recall that I wasn't going to mention it, but now that you mentioned it I figured I might as well like preclude that and embarrass myself. That's probably a big driver as to why I wanted to do this, Because it was one of those like, oh, I missed my dad, Like I don't want to do this without him, And then I didn't go.

And then every year after that I went and regretted not going that first time, though Wade's first trip was quite memorable. You would have been a little more experienced than he, Yeah, And just like a little bit older. Somebody was carrying a pot on the outside of their pack and Mr Mann kept filling it with rocks.

And then what else happened on that trip? I think maybe Andrew Mattingly carried, went back and carried somebody's pack for them. I can't remember who it was because he packed way too much. Oh yeah, Yeah, that was. That was. That was an interesting trip.

That was an eventful trip. Was there anyone that wasn't? No, no, Every backpacking trip I can remember from Scouts- Yeah, there were. There was always things that happened. There was the wrong foot, the wrong shoes on the wrong feet incident. That was a fun one.

That was. That was like four trips in.

For me, though, Yeah, that was when we were like old and we were doing the people who are listening, or volunteer Scouts. They're looking at the younger guys in their troops who are not very well prepared, who don't really know what they're going through or what they're up against, And they're kind of wondering: is it a good idea to take these guys out backpacking, or do they ever learn anything?

Or why is it so frustratingly horrible for like 11 and 12 year old? Sometimes, I don't. I don't think it's just frustratingly horrible for 11 and 12 year old, It's frustratingly horrible for everybody. Somehow Outdoor masochistic minds, we've decided that this is fun and we're going to have fun, but it's really not that fun. The fun part is when you're stopped and like talking to people and hanging around a camp and like getting water, And I don't think that that's necessarily just the problem of the 11 and 12 year olds.

I think what really helps is make helping them be as prepared as they possibly can, which is all you can hope for anyone, but nobody really remembers how hard it is until they're doing it. Yeah, I know it's always sounds like such a great thing. Yeah, let's go walk the entire Appalachian Trail. That'll be cool, Except for the part where it rains every day. Yeah, Do you think when you were 11 or 12 that anybody could explain the experience to you in a way that you would actually be prepared.

I think explaining like verbally what would never do it justice. But when you take all the gear and lay it out and have them pick off the pack and say, all right, like carry this around the block, I think we started doing that where we just like brought 30 pounds of canned food and put it in a backpack and we're like this is what it's going to feel like That was a more efficient descriptor than anything else. Or overloading a pack and putting it on somebody and being like this is what it feels like after 10 miles. But you did that with some guys who still didn't understand. That's true. Yeah, I don't know.

I think it's very, very tough to describe how difficult it really is. Yeah, Until you're crying at the end of the day.

Yeah, But here's my point: You can't really understand what you're doing in a lot of stuff that scouts do until you actually do it and then you learn how to do it and it gets better, Absolutely. Yeah, Yeah, That is very true. Before my first trip you could have told me how great hiking boots are.

All day long I would have still shown up in sneakers And I'm glad I learned that, because now I know the value of good footwear, And that's one of those things you learn on trips like that, because it's better than learning it alone. At least you've got other people there who've done this several times and like, yeah, all right, buddy, This is how you set up camps, This is how you start a fire, Or this is how you go hiking like this. It's those experiences on the trips that will help you, I guess. Learn the lessons, learn how to do everything you need to do.

I think that's a big part of what scouting does- to make people better People- is you get humbled constantly at that age where you need to be humbled, Where you're like: I know everything better than all of these people telling me what I should do, And then you do it wrong and you're like, oh, I should have done it that way. And it helps you listen in a very harsh way: Yeah, Yeah, Dang that guy, I hate him, but he's right. Yeah, Yeah. And it helps you be more accepting of that, when somebody tells you something, to actually think about it instead of be like, no, I'm going to do it my way because it's my way.

Yeah, just like 75 pounds of MREs, Why not? Yeah, exactly, Exactly. There's all kinds of platitudes about through hiking and everything about everybody hikes their own hike.

I think it happens in scouts- maybe in a smaller context, but I don't know. When you're 11 or 12 or 13 years old, it's a pretty big context for you.

I think it's just as sizable in scouts as it is now hitting it. I mean, we're 52.4 miles in or something like that, And we've been hit hard.

It's not necessarily the same lesson because we were better prepared than we were when we were scouts, but it's the same sort of message. You both went on to become eagle scouts in spite of everything. Yeah, It's amazing how that happened.

So how long ago was that? For me, my paperwork was submitted just before the deadline, So that was early 2010.. That was, yeah, seven years ago, 2008 for me, And you were a little less of a deadline guy.

I think I was maybe a month ahead of being on the deadline. Yeah, I was paperwork submitted just before my 18th birthday.

Yeah, I do remember that way because you were one of the guys where we were counting hours. Yeah, It was pretty close, but I made it.

It's been either seven or nine years, right, So worth doing. Absolutely. Yeah, absolutely, In the years since becoming an eagle scout. I mean, I've still been involved in scouts.

I think last year is one of the first years where I really wasn't involved. One of the great things that happened in the process of becoming an eagle scout was learning how to work with other people and how to manage a project like that and how to manage other people more so than just being a patrol leader, seeing a patrol leader actually having a significant task at hand and being able to accomplish it, because that transferred into working at Camp Horseshoe, that transferred into being trained at National Camp School and then working at National Camp School.

There were so many skills that I learned there that really helped out And those were things that I started learning with the eagle project. So I definitely really enjoyed doing it.

What translates for you, Bucky? I think a large part of my person comes from that task.

I think that's probably to this point. One of my greatest accomplishments would be getting eagle, And it was kind of alarming that I did because I hit first class and just sat there And I was like I don't care.

And then I think when I say around 16, I was like, well, I'm going to do this. So I had to scramble again, But the takeaway is definitely communication skills, leadership skills. It's one of those things that sounds kind of cheesy to say I'd be like be in a scout taught me how to be a leader, But it really did. And it also taught me when other people take charge, because I have a problem with that. After I got a taste of control as a patrol leader- I loved it way too much, But you learned to take a backseat after, Because I was.

I think I was surprised after I was senior patrol leader And I maybe did something else after senior patrol leader. So I had to go back to being answering to somebody else and letting them fill that role And I think that was almost just as important as learning to be a leader is when to be a leader. That's pretty interesting. I like that. That's a good thought. Like when you understand how to lead things, you also understand more about how to be a decent follower.

I think that's something that we picked up from someone named Clark: letting us make our own mistakes. It was invaluable.

There's a big learning in making the mistakes yourself and then having someone there that can laugh a little and say I told you so, but also we know that it's there to help us if we really need it. So we weren't incredibly cruel, just kind of normally cruel. You're cruel at just the right time- Surgical cruelness, you know.

So what do your folks think of all this? My parents are very excited. My mom has wanted me to hike the Appalachian Trail for a very long time And I don't want to say I never really wanted to, but I never really thought I would- And she had friends who would go and hike and do all these sorts of things.

And she would always get very excited and like, wait, what are you going to do this? And I never really thought about doing it.

So when the idea came up, when Bucky was first pitching me the idea of, like I'm doing this, are you coming with me? And I was sort of sold right then I first told my mom because my dad would have freaked out and been like: no, you can't run away into the woods for a couple of months, Because that's what I do all summer already.

So I went to my mom's first and was like, mom, I think I'm going to hike the trail with Bucky. And she was like, she was so excited. She was in the first moment She was like: yes, absolutely, That's great, I'll get you a guidebook, I'll get in touch with my friends along the trail, It'll be great, It'll be awesome.

And then I got in touch with my dad and was like: hey, dad, by the way, this spring this I'm going to be hiking the Appalachian Trail. And he was all right with it.

I think he's very excited now that I'm actually here and doing it. But I'm sure they were worried leading up to it that I wasn't prepared or was going to run into bad weather or whatever.

But now that I'm out here, now that I'm doing it, I think they're just very excited that I'm in the woods and using my skills. They're so supportive. That's good. Yeah, supportive. Bucky, you found the same thing. Yeah, It's a combination of pride and jealousy for my mom.

Mom's been doing the long trail So she's got better and more gear than me. So she was very supportive.

She knows it's my thing, So, and Joe's- Joe's super proud. He sent me a text about it. It was a little heartbreaking. There's what Probably a thousand people who give it any serious thought at all, for every person that actually makes it to Springer Mountain.

Yeah, absolutely, You guys started kind of early, didn't you? We got to the like visitor center at Amacola Falls, which is where a lot of through hikers originally register, And that was February 6th, I think this past Monday.

So when we signed in at the register we were numbers 39 and 40 that had registered. So we are on the early end. I've got a good friend from Corsu Milton.

He started January 14th I think was his first day- Oh no kidding. And he just got out of the Smokies. Getting out of the Smokies alive is an accomplishment, Yeah, especially this early.

He had a rough go at it, but he's out and still kicking, So that's good. The trails kind of front loaded with a lot of really stiff hiking, isn't it?

We thought Georgia would be a breeze and we have hit a lot of difficulty. Yeah, there's a switchback or two, I understand, You know. Yeah, Some like spring loaded rocks.

Yeah, Do you have a date in mind when you would like to be on Katahdin? I have a job in the Adirondacks as a summit steward again this summer, So that starts Memorial Day weekend.

So I'm hoping I can get to Vermont, maybe even New Hampshire, by then, Even if we had done our super outrageous plan of 20 miles a day from the start. We wouldn't have gotten to Katahdin until early June.

So I don't think I'll be making it until I take some time off of being a summit steward, But hopefully I do at some point this summer. I'd like to be done before July, but I have no schedule. I paid my rent for six months, though I'd like to be done before July.

So tell me about the first week. I have a couple of questions for you.

What time of day did you start? I think it was 1045.. We started at Bringer Mountain.

So you started like 10,, 30,, 11 o'clock in the morning. Yes, How long was it before you decided that this was the worst idea you've ever had?

It was like what? 445 that night? Yeah, Maybe a little later. Maybe it was like five.

Well, yeah, That day we started fast. There was fairly level ground, at least in the beginning. Our first maybe four miles.

We were doing like three miles an hour. But then it started trickling So we put our pack covers on.

Then it started coming down more, So we put our rain gear on. Then we kept thinking the shelter would be closed And it wasn't.

And then finally, we saw the shelter from across the way. It was not a loop, It was a little loop. It wasn't even a quarter mile away at that point.

But we were just so tired and hungry We sat down in the middle of the trail with our eyes pointed at the shelter And we just ate trail mix and summer sausage And, just like, took a 15, 20 minute break before continuing the last two tenths of a mile maybe to the shelter. And that was when we were like, wow, this is tough.

And our day was 15.8 miles, not including the .9 up, So it was just about a 17 mile day. That's a lot, Yeah. And that was our first day. And our second day was supposed to be 19. Yeah, And our third was supposed to be 19. Yeah, Our next one was 10..

And then the one after that was five, Yeah, The 10 mile day. The second day, at some point along the way I had twisted my leg or something and really hurt my knee. That was no fun.

So the rest of the day is no fun, still hurting. So the rest of that day was spent moving slow and like slower and slower, And then the rain started right back up again.

We got to this place with a couple campsites and there was a spring a little ways down And Bucky was like: all right, I'm going to go filter some water, You just sit here and try and stretch out your leg. It was maybe a mile to the next shelter, But we ended up just staying there. We set up a tent in the rain, which is no fun when the shelter is an option.

So we just set up a tent there and just passed out at like five, six o'clock at night, Cause we were just exhausted. After that 10 miles, We would not go any further. Yeah, We couldn't have gone. We couldn't have made it to that shelter. There was like a little bit of an incline and it was enough to just there was no way we could have done it.

Yeah, I just so know that feeling. Yeah, The third day was five miles, because the first day when we were at the shelter, the people there, they were all saying, oh, there's a hot still only 15 miles down the trail and we're all going to stay there.

So we were also planning on trying to get to that hostel, which we only got the 10 miles in. So the next five miles was up and over Blood Mountain. Yeah, It sounds terrible, but it actually wasn't that bad. That was our third day was getting up Blood Mountain, Yeah And over.

We stayed in the hostel and then the next day we were already thinking about zeroing. So, because Wade got some blisters and we just wanted to heal, Then it was 18 degrees that night, or snow the night before.

We stayed the night again, but I think we even exited the hostel for breakfast until one. Yeah, It was cold and snowy. Yeah, I have to tell you, I did the map because I was like, oh, this would be cool, Let me just kind of keep track of where they are and everything.

I put the picture of you guys on Springer Mountain, at Springer Mountain on the map, and I was like, oh, okay, So they're at Blood Mountain and it's the 12th. And I did that and I said I wonder how far that is.

So I looked at it was like 28 miles and I said, man, Blood Mountain was a long time ago. Yeah, We put up with a little bit of a delay, but yeah, we're still. We're not moving that fast.

You guys have trail names yet Yeah, I have not had one and nothing has really been proposed for me, So I'm still just regular way. I have an old one, but it's a little shameful, So I'm letting it slide and letting the new one find its way. And the story of behind it isn't necessarily good for a scout podcast.

Shocker- Well, Bucky's pretty good trail name. To begin with I was thinking Scotch, I've been wearing my kill and I, but we'll see, They'll probably call you like skirt or something. Yeah, No guys, guys, it's Scotch, It's Scotch. Yeah, Yeah, Yeah, It's skirt. I kind of like it. Yeah, The next time you're going to zero out and you're not going to be doing anything and I can sit and talk to you, It'd be kind of fun to track along and see where you are and what you're up to.

Yeah, Absolutely, I know we've got towns that we want to zero. I really appreciate you taking the time to talk to me. I'm totally envious of your being able to do this. I'm glad that you're happy and you're saying, reasonably safe. It'll be fun to keep track of where this goes. It's fun to keep track of the old Eagle Scouts.

You guys have a blast and we'll keep up. Yeah, Absolutely, We'll try and keep you updated as much as possible and, yeah, I'd love to do this again, Absolutely, Okay, Thanks so much, guys. Thanks for taking the time. Yeah, go to him. Yep, Thank you