TheKinrar @TheKinrar

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**George Steffanos** @GSteffanos@mstdn.social · 2d

George Steffanos @GSteffanos@mstdn.social

1/5
October 2, 1983: My first three-and-a-half miles took me through the end of the wilderness. The Appalachian Trail wound through an attractive forest, and it was gentle walking.

We are standing on a hill looking down over the treetops towards a broad river below us. It is raining. The river mirrors the gray sky. The far riverbank is also wooded, but the ridge just beyond is part of an area that was burnt over several years earlier. It is covered with the white charred still-standing trunks of dead trees and some shrub growth. Beyond that ridge are the lower slopes of mountain that quickly disappear into very low clouds. Some of the trees on our riverbank are turning gold or orange. The trees on the opposite bank are a riot of golds, oranges, reds and greens.

#backpacking #hiking #outdoors

**George Steffanos** @GSteffanos@mstdn.social · 4d

George Steffanos @GSteffanos@mstdn.social

1/4
July 22, 1983: I took my third and final break of the day about four miles past Neys Shelter at Auburn Lookout, the sole viewpoint from the Appalachian Trail all day. It was a rock outcrop hanging high above Port Clinton village and a long curve of the Schuylkill River Valley.

Beneath a deep blue sky with a few streaky clouds, we are standing high atop a mountain looking down into a sprawling valley. The view is framed by tall trees to our right and treetops below us. The valley is almost flat, with a few low hills. Just below us it is cut by a rather wide river with wooded banks that is spanned by a graceful single arch bridge. Just beyond the bridge is a small city with houses, parks and larger buildings. Beyond this city the valley is covered with farm fields and pastures, farm buildings and patches of forest. Some of the small hills are wooded, and there are narrow strips of trees as wind breaks between some of the fields. The air is relatively clear for summer, you can see for miles. A hazy line of mountains rises along the horizon, far in the distance.

#backpacking #hiking #landscapephotography

**George Steffanos** @GSteffanos@mstdn.social · 6d *

6d *

George Steffanos @GSteffanos@mstdn.social

1/3
August 16, 1983: The Appalachian Trail followed dirt roads for most of the ensuing five miles to US 7; the final mile or so was on a paved road. I passed through an attractive mixture of farms and woods: green and gold fields of ripening corn, cool, dark forest groves, green pastures dappled with yellow dandelions, some amazing views back towards the Taconics.

Beneath a cloudless deep blue sky a very light beige dirt road passes between two farm fields of tall grass. There are many white flowers growing among the grass just at each side of the road. A corner of a cornfield is just visible far to our left. The fields end at the edge of a forest ahead. Beyond that forest rises a chain of wooded mountains.

#backpacking #hiking #outdoors

**George Steffanos** @GSteffanos@mstdn.social · Mar 25

Mar 25

George Steffanos @GSteffanos@mstdn.social

1/5
September 24, 1983: From the bank, it all looked so peaceful. Golden sun-drops swirled innocently over foam-flecked blue and soft breezes stirred the pines. The initial fifteen or twenty yards to the gravel bar was almost anticlimactic. The current was strong, but the water was barely ankle-deep.

Beneath a hazy blue sky with a few streaky clouds we are standing at on a shaded rocky bank of a wide but shallow river. The opposite shore is also a jumble of rocks and small boulders, a long, narrow bar of ricks and gravel lies not far from that riverbank. A low wooded ridge rises above the far bank.

#backpacking #hiking #outdoors

**George Steffanos** @GSteffanos@mstdn.social · Mar 24

Mar 24

George Steffanos @GSteffanos@mstdn.social

1/9
August 15, 1983: As I entered Sages Ravine, I crossed the Massachusetts border. Ten states down and four to go.

We are standing on a rock outcrop at the top of a high cliff. Much of the cliff top around us is covered with greenish gold grassy plants and small green shrubs. On the right of our picture the ridge crest continues over a forested plateau with series of wooded prominences. We can just see the edge of this plateau and several ridges running down to the valley below. Most of our view is the relatively flat Housatonic Valley below us and stretching out to the low, rolling Litchfield Hills along the horizon. Both hills and valleys are mostly wooded with some green fields and pastures, especially in the valley.

#backpacking #landscapephotography #hiking

**George Steffanos** @GSteffanos@mstdn.social · Mar 23

Mar 23

George Steffanos @GSteffanos@mstdn.social

1/3
June 13, 1983: The Appalachian Trail was a varied and interesting experience this afternoon. The first mile followed paved state roads through the remainder of the broad farming valley bisected by the Interstate. It was a nice roadwalk. I passed scores of cows, several horses, a few pigs, and acres of pasture.

The sky is a beautiful light blue with a few small hazy clouds. We are looking past a rustic wooden fencepost helping support five strands of barbed wire. There is some very tall grass growing along the fenceline. Beyond that, a tall tree frames the right side of the photo. There are pastures and farm fields, a few trees, a large unpainted wood barn with a rusty metal sloped roof and a tall silo next to a pair of large old trees.

#backpacking #hiking #outdoors

**Jer** @jerzone@techhub.social · Mar 23

Mar 23

Jer @jerzone@techhub.social

It's that time of year, when I remember people are starting their AT hikes and posting on youtube.

https://youtu.be/mF6PZrK4ZsI
#AppalachianTrail #hiking

screenshot from Sailing Avemar’s channel as April crosses a rather full stream

**Shelia Hunt Fine Art** @sheliahunt@photog.social · Mar 22

Mar 22

Shelia Hunt Fine Art @sheliahunt@photog.social

“𝐀𝐏𝐏𝐀𝐋𝐀𝐂𝐇𝐈𝐀𝐍 𝐓𝐑𝐀𝐈𝐋 𝐍𝐄𝐀𝐑 𝐂𝐑𝐀𝐆𝐆𝐘 𝐆𝐀𝐑𝐃𝐄𝐍𝐒”, now available in Museum-quality Print and Canvas w/FREE SHIPPING at https://buff.ly/1YI4MRp

Forest trail in the Blue Ridge Mountains with lush greenery and dappled sunlight, captured at Craggy Gardens, North Carolina. From the Fine ARt Gallery of Shelia Hunt.

#SheliaHuntPhotography #BuyIntoArt #BlueRidgeMountains

**George Steffanos** @GSteffanos@mstdn.social · Mar 22

Mar 22

George Steffanos @GSteffanos@mstdn.social

1/4
May 9, 1983: Dave and I had lunch in Bly Gap, just across the state line into North Carolina. One state down and eleven to go.

Beneath a deep blue sky with puffy clouds, we are standing atop a mountainside. A large, rather steeply-sloping meadow runs down the side of the ridge from the crest here, bright green grass broken by reddish brown channels where several runoff streams (dry today) exposed the clay soil. The grass is sparse in spots, lush in others. A few smallish trees with bright yellow buds or tiny bright green leaves just emerging sprinkle the meadow. A forest of larger trees, also budding or beginning to sprout leaves surrounds the meadow. We are looking out across rugged foothills partially cloaked in the intense greens of a more advanced spring season. Several parallel ranges stretch out to the horizon. The nearest range is just as lofty as ours. Their crests are also showing some early signs of green, like ours.

#backpacking #hiking #nature

**George Steffanos** @GSteffanos@mstdn.social · Mar 21

Mar 21

George Steffanos @GSteffanos@mstdn.social

1/3
July 12, 1983: On the Maryland side of the river (5 states down, 9 to go), I crossed the remains of the old Chesapeake and Ohio barge canal. It was a main artery of trade between Washington. D.C. and the interior for a time after its construction in the mid-1800’s. Badly damaged during a Potomac River flood in 1924, it was never reopened.

The old towpath of a canal from the mid-1800’s. The path is wide and flat and lined on both sides with tall shade trees whose intertwined branches form a solid green canopy high overhead. The path is dirt; its center and shoulders are grassy.

#backpacking #hiking #outdoors

**George Steffanos** @GSteffanos@mstdn.social · Mar 20

Mar 20

George Steffanos @GSteffanos@mstdn.social

1/9
September 9, 1983: I made my way to Thunderstorm Junction, a spot where several trails intersect in a high saddle between three of the five peaks of Mount Adams. I left the Appalachian Trail behind for a while and turned onto Lowe’s Path for the long climb to Adams' 5798-foot main peak.

The views from the open alpine summit of Mount Adams. Beneath a soft blue, partly cloudy sky we can see every inch of the trail ahead from the pass below to the granite summit of Madison. Some low stunted trees, barely shrubs, clung to a few partially sheltered spots in and near the pass. The rest of the trail is across bare rock with patches of gold, grass-like plants about the height of a suburban lawn. Between the naked rocks there are green patches of small stunted shrubs or trees far down the sides of the mountain, nowhere near the ridge crest. Smaller wooded mountains are visible in the distance beyond Madison to our left.

#backpacking #hiking #outdoors

**George Steffanos** @GSteffanos@mstdn.social · Mar 18

Mar 18

George Steffanos @GSteffanos@mstdn.social

1/3
June 5, 1983: Although the hiking was rather easy from that point on, the woods continued to be very buggy. The heat and humidity of the day were slow to abate as the afternoon wore on. The Appalachian Trail followed the ridge with no major climbs or descents to Vanderventer Shelter. It was 5:00 when I arrived.

Beneath a hazy summer sky we are looking over the treetops at a large lake hundreds of feet below. It is mostly surrounded by forest, with wooded ridges rising above the far shore and two wooded islands within the lake. There are a few farm fields and houses scattered around three sides of the lake, the left side has a small village - a modest cluster of farms and houses. On the horizon, wooded ridges and valleys cascade off into the misty distance.

#backpacking #hiking #landscapephotography

**George Steffanos** @GSteffanos@mstdn.social · Mar 17

Mar 17

George Steffanos @GSteffanos@mstdn.social

1/4
May 27, 1983: Perched near the summit of Camp Creek Bald beside a very futuristic cluster of communications towers was a steel fire tower with views every bit as excellent as those from Rich Mountain.

We are high atop a fire tower on the summit of a mountain looking down along the ridge crest ahead. Many of the trees below are sprouting bright green spring leaves, one is covered with bright orange flowers. A sprawling grassy clearing has been cut out of the woods near the crest of the ridge. Coming up from the valley, a winding dirt road runs through that grassy clearing past a collection of odd-looking buildings to a large structure looking out over the valley from the base of a small cliff face. The smaller buildings included a cluster of A-frames and some larger round structures. Below the clearing rugged green foothills descend towards a wide, gently rolling plain.

#backpacking #hiking #landscapephotography

**George Steffanos** @GSteffanos@mstdn.social · Mar 16

Mar 16

George Steffanos @GSteffanos@mstdn.social

1/3
July 4, 1983: The first half-mile from the hut this morning climbed along the crest of the ridge forming the western rim of the ravine. This led to an interesting summit called Blackrock. It rose above the wooded ridge crest, a huge, barren mound of gray boulders smeared liberally with streaks of green paint.

It is very early in the morning. The clear sky has little color yet and is almost white. There is a lot of mist in the valleys below and mist and haze in the air. We are looking out from atop a mountain over the treetops on the mountainside below us into a maze of deep green mountains and hills and hollows below. With increasing distance, they take on a bluish tint from the haze and mist. The more distant mountains we can see are light blue gray ghosts.

#backpacking #hiking #outdoors

**George Steffanos** @GSteffanos@mstdn.social · Mar 15

Mar 15

George Steffanos @GSteffanos@mstdn.social

1/8
September 8, 1983: After Eisenhower, the trail descended into a col before another stiff climb up Mount Franklin, the first 5000-footer of the day. The sky had cleared very nicely by the time I reached this peak.

An alpine plateau in gold-tinged slanting evening sunlight beneath a soft blue sky. Much of the plateau and small portions of the peaks have a ground cover of golden grass-like plants with patches of green, leafy ground-hugging plants. Everything else is bare gray granite boulders and rock outcrops. Three nearby peaks rise above the plateau on our right. Beyond the three peaks, the top of a much higher peak is hidden by a long dark cloud, which casts a dark shadow on the rest of the peak and a spur ridge of that mountain.

#backpacking #hiking #outdoors

**George Steffanos** @GSteffanos@mstdn.social · Mar 14

Mar 14

George Steffanos @GSteffanos@mstdn.social

1/2
August 3, 1983: Took a few days off at home.

From June 3, 1983: There were unbroken vistas from the trail all along the west slope of Little Hump Mountain to its summit.

Walking along a ridge crest descending a well-cleared trail through an overgrown meadow. There are young trees, tall lush green grass and leafy shrubs taller than a man. Some of the shrubs are sporting bright yellow blossoms. Ahead, the scrubby growth peters out as the trail crosses a grassy gap and ascends the grassy slopes of a lofty mountain with wooded flanks. The sky is a soft pale blue with hazy white clouds.

#backpacking #hiking #landscapephotography

**George Steffanos** @GSteffanos@mstdn.social · Mar 13

Mar 13

George Steffanos @GSteffanos@mstdn.social

1/6
June 2, 1983: The trail was rough. The mile from the shelter to the cliffs on Little Rock Knob was straight uphill.

Beneath a soft blue sky streaked with hazy clouds, we are standing high atop a mountain, looking down at a rural two-lane road winding through a narrow valley in the mountains filled with farm fields and pastures. Across the valley rises another mountain, somewhat lower in height than ours. A patchwork of terraced fields and green pastures climbs partway up the otherwise forested slopes. A series of lower green flat-topped ridges and narrow valleys cascade to the horizon.

#backpacking #hiking #landscapephotography

**George Steffanos** @GSteffanos@mstdn.social · Mar 12

Mar 12

George Steffanos @GSteffanos@mstdn.social

1/3
May 12, 1983: I walked non-stop for the first ten miles. This mountain pass marked the onset of a long climb up to the summit of Wayah Bald which was the grueling climax of the ten-mile grind. Along the crest, the AT joined a paved road which had also ascended from Wayah Gap. The hard surface was not kind to my feet, which had been pounded by my non-stop marathon.

A bright sunny day but very hazy, with a whitewashed sky and distant vistas ghosted. We are high up a mountainside looking out through a thicket of rhododendron and budding hardwoods at a nearby ridge. It has some dark green clusters of evergreens, but is mostly covered with the bright greens of new spring leaves and tree buds. A second ridge not far beyond this one is a faint blue green ghost in the haze.

#backpacking #hiking #nature

**George Steffanos** @GSteffanos@mstdn.social · Mar 11

Mar 11

George Steffanos @GSteffanos@mstdn.social

1/4
July 7, 1983: Views of the Shenandoah Valley opened as I reached the crest, following a line of westward-facing cliffs. As the ridgeline narrowed, a nice view of the Piedmont appeared from some eastward-facing outcrops. Beneath today’s clear skies, the prospect was especially impressive —

The sky is very hazy and whitewashed. Standing atop a jagged and irregular gray rock outcrop looking down an otherwise lushly forested mountainside. A long wooded ridge descends towards the sprawling valley below us. Along that ridge there are a few glimpses of the last few miles of Skyline Drive as it descends towards that valley. The valley is mostly flat with some very low ridges. About half of the visible portions are wooded, but there are many large green fields, towns and villages. They gradually disappear into the haze with distance. We can barely make out a line of mountains on the far side of the valley.

#backpacking #hiking #landscapephotography

**George Steffanos** @GSteffanos@mstdn.social · Mar 10

Mar 10

George Steffanos @GSteffanos@mstdn.social

1/7
September 4, 1983: The AT bypassed the cliffs which towered over the pond, but there were several great viewpoints atop rock outcrops along that climb, overlooking an immense, L-shaped valley encircled by the lofty, wooded heights of Mount Wolf, Mount Kinsman, and several of their spur ridges.

Looking out from a high, open ridge crest, the summit area of South Kinsman Mountain, a short stretch of alpine ridge consisting of gray, lichen-covered granite rock, very low scrub spruce, and ground-hugging shrubs. It is clear, but the air is hazy and humid. Beyond Kinsman's foothills below us, the long, deep slash of Franconia Notch and the massive Franconia Ridge on the far side of the notch appear hazy and indistinct, but also impressive and imposing.

#backpacking #hiking #outdoors

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