Lyle Bialk |
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| Rob and Lyle somewhere in Virginia (photo by Bruce Ohlson) |
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| HikaNation search engine results for Lyle |
| The Hikers | 60 of Scott's Shots | Hikers by Rex | HikaNation |
Well, just to add my story, though many on here have heard it already. My "thru" was not actually of the AT, but it did include 500 miles of the AT. In July of 1980 I joined a group hiking cross-country. I joined the group in Bryce Canyon National Park (Ruby's Inn, to be exact) and backpacked 3300 miles in the next 11 months to end at Lewes Delaware on May 27, 1981. The group had started in San Francisco. My pack was a Kelty Tioga, my tent a Sierra Designs Starflight (just under 4 lbs), a Jansport Synthetic Brass Bed for a sleeping bag, and a SVEA for a stove (with a Sigg Tourister Cook Kit). Boots were a pair of Vasque Hiker II - triple layer of full grain leather over my foot - extremely heavy and blister inducing. Had to slather on Sno-Seal every couple of weeks, especially in the desert, to keep them from drying out and splitting - also kept them semi waterproof. In decent weather, from eastern Colorado to Damascus, I wore cheap running shoes and carried the boots on top of my pack. Flashlight and candle lanterns were our light sources (anyone remember the Mallorys? Could hold these in your mouth while cooking). We would hike trails if there were any close to where we were headed. Some of the better known trails we followed were: Rico-Silverton Trail in Colorado, 100 miles of the CDT in Colorado, the entire River to River Trail in Illinois, 50 miles of the Sheltowee Trace in Kentucky, Cumberland Gap Trail, the AT from Damascus to Harpers Ferry, and the C&O Canal Towpath into DC. Pack weight was normally about 40-45 lbs. We would often go a week or more between re-supplies, had to pack for 11 days when crossing the Continental Divide on the CDT. My guess is that the heaviest pack I carried was in the range of 60 lbs. Temperatures we encountered ranged from over 100 degrees in the high deserts of Utah to 13 below zero in both Missouri and Whitetop Mountain in VA. No actual trail support facilities (except on the AT portion), but local folks were wonderfully supportive, and helpful all across the country. We averaged 12 - 13 miles per day, kept low so folks could join us along the way for a day/week/month. Our longest "official" day was 16 miles, shortest was 3 miles. My personal longest days were a series of 25, 24, and 27 miles consecutively through SNP on the AT. For further browsing (and more pictures than you'll want to look at) check out the website: HikaNation |
