I’m so looking forward to your journey. This was a great video. Don’t ever say “I spent to much time” somewhere. Enjoy every single minute. Might be your one and only shot so take it all in. Prayers will follow from Dallas, Ga.
This is so exciting! I love the way you appreciate so many little things around you. I’m happy to see this adventure through your eyes. Beautiful woodpecker! Thanks for taking the extra time.
Your video had about three reminders for why I ditched one bottle for a CNOC bag. The snow and ice cycles will come and go for at least another six weeks. On 2/4, it's snowing and icing in the Smokeys. Not all of that was rhodo. Mountain laurel is similar but smaller. Those tunnels make great wind breaks. I really do appreciate your recording this. Seeing how you staged and set some of those shots just on the stairs shows how much more time and effort you're exerting compared to a basic hiker without the camera gear or need to constantly retrace steps. I've hiked that staircase several time. Duplicate steps drive me nuts. The umbrella holders are good. I usually make sure I'm hiking a few miles behind someone that started with one.
Thx so much for taking us along with u. I hope u realize how much u r helping the ones that wud luv to b out there doing what u r doing, but for whatever reason can’t fulfill their dreams at this time. Thx for again for doing this for us at home, I know it must b a lot more trouble filming as u go along. Just always remember it is always appreciated and we r always here rooting u on.
I've been following you for awhile since you were traveling in your SUV and hiking the AZT. Every year I look for an AT vlog to follow to relive my 2006 thru hike. Love your laid back style . Looking forward to following you all the way to Katahdin.
Hey Jay! Thanks for being in the live chat! That was great! What an epic video. It never gets old seeing someone start an AT adventure. Trail looks great this year. I hope she treats you well. I am very much looking forward to seeing all of your on trail shenanigans! I will bring it up again as you get closer but it would be awesome to bring you some magic when you get up north. Enjoy your warm bed at the hostel and thanks again for the amazing content. 🙏 Thanks for bringing us along today. I hope tomorrow’s miles are kind. Keep truckin’ and be well. -Grateful
Wow- that’s right ! You planned for February to start your Appalachian Trail . Here it IS. February already ! Just goes to show me, I need to make a plan !! Hey, Good on You - you’re on your Way ! - I will be watching
Great start. Damn #41. I don't think I have ever seen a RU-vidr get a number that low. 40 hikers in front of you and 3000 plus behind you. I loved the views of the water falls. The time at the falls was well spent. 👣😎👍☮
Quite good of you to notice the various types of trees and which direction you should be going ! Have a safe, great hike. , good health, laughter on your journey 🧗
Just wanted to thank you Jay for your excellent videos (I followed you on the PCT and then the AT) and learned SO MUCH! I am a rookie at backpacking and haven’t done any since my Marine Corps days in the early 1970’s but am heading for Atlanta in just over a month and will start the AT at Springer, NOBO, on about February 21, 2024. I hope to vlog my journey and upload to my RU-vid channel. If you happen to watch any of my videos, I apologize in advance as I have copied your gear almost 100%. I figured that if it worked for an expert like you, how is a rookie like me going to improve on your gear choices! If I don’t do well, it certainly won’t be because of my gear so thanks for tremendous guidance on that! I don’t know how far I will get but I hope to make it all the way to the top of Katahdin! I hope you and Tina are doing great. Thanks again for everything!
thanks for the videos. i am starting my thru-hike on february 26. it’s my first time doing anything like this and i get a lot out of watching ur channel.
Jay, my wife and I went back and watched the Glacier hike; we were there last summer as well. Great video, and we look forward to the AT thru hike videos to come. We started watching Taylor the NaHamsha hiker; Quicksand; and Hawk videos of their AT thru hike. We are pulling and praying for you to make it all the way to Katahdin.
Awesome Jay great job documenting the start and what it’s like. You probably already know this but I learned very quickly on the long trail when you hang your pack in the shelters to unzip your waist belt pouches and others so if the mice get to them they don’t chew through them. Tough but exciting first day! We need to get you a trail name. Should be something to do with always going the wrong way lol. Hike on my friend!
You should definitely get to see rhododendron blooms while on the AT this year, they start as early as March and continue blooming into the summer, along with the mountain laurel and flame azaleas. Plus you'll get to watch all of the trees go into bloom which is beautiful and often fragrant. 🌳🌺
Love your music choices! We came out to help serve Thanksgiving to SOBO thru hikers in 2018 and made excursion to do Amicalola Falls! Love it! The trail down made the kids learn to appreciate using at least 1 treking pole on the downhill for sure! LOL! Two of our darlings mooched a pole each from myself and dear hubby.
Very cool overview of the area. That bent tree is an Indian marker tree. That's a crazy amount of camera weight to carry. Love to see the results. Great video and God Bless.
Enjoying the start of your AT hike. Hope to start in March or April. Had a rotator cuff tear while backpacking in NC-still recovering (Dec 27 surgery). As an ex-Marine you should have no problem physically or mentally. I'll be 74 when I start. Worried more about the physical than the mental. As a former forester like your observations of nature. The hike not the destination is the reason for being out there. Good luck (not that you'll need it.)
Man you put a lot of effort into filming this video thank you! The camera wasn't constantly on your face and it was all about the bigger picture. I don't watch a lot of North American trail stuff on RU-vid but I'll be following your journey good luck out there!👍
Yay! Awesome first day! Very funny contrast in your accommodations. You woke up in a luxury hotel. At night you had to check for mice and squirrels in a drafty and cold shelter! Great video. I'm looking forward to following your adventures on the AT.
I am just now catching up on some of the earlier vids, as I didn't find your hike until a month or so in. It's interesting (and totally unsurprising LOL) how later in the hike, you stopped all the setting the camera and doing multiple shots of you walking by. It adds a lot to be sure, but SO MUCH WORK!!! I'm glad you slacked off on that later on and just hiked! Hiking the AT is enough work without adding so much more. 🙂
Congratulations on the start of your journey! The filming was beautiful and there is a charm in your videos. Well done. You are the first person I followed that appreciates the beauty of the falls. I wish you the best as you travel forward.
Thanks for letting us join in the first day excitement! I've gotten to hike through beautiful tunnels of blooming rhododendrons in PA (and WV), you might hit them at the right time!
I know I’m a little late to the game here for these videos but my pop is a big fan and he put me onto your channel. He said he met some guy named Jay on a hiking trip a while back and that you posted a bunch of hiking videos so I’m looking forward to watching your AT trip as it unfolds. Side note: I just gotta say man, my old man said you were a super nice guy when he bumped into you and the others in the group ( I think he said some guy named badger and nuclear or something like that? I dunno) and he really enjoyed hearing your hiking stories. I don’t know what you guys said but whatever it was, I think it’s one of the things that finally pushed him to really buckle down and start preparing to take the AT trip himself. He’s planning on retiring from teaching after the 22/23 school year and is going to make the trip in the spring of 24 and I haven’t seen him as pumped and determined to take on a challenge as he is for this in a long long time, maybe ever. So thanks man for being kind to him out there, and for being a positive and motivational energy in the universe. One never knows when and how one might have a positive impact on another’s life. And also, thanks for giving he and my little sister a shout out in one of your videos. She doesn’t get out much bc of her disability so she sort of gets her outdoorsy/nature fix from guys like you and sintax and some of the other RU-vid camping community. She really got a kick out of it when she heard you say her name in the video, and it was like she almost felt famous or something for getting mentioned in a video with thousands of views and for days after that she was just all smiles ear to ear.. Man it just was a really stand up thing you did dude, thank you. Stay cool, stay safe out on the trail, and god bless dude.
So nicely put together vlog. It's clear that you are no rookie but I like that you show your mistakes and mishaps - helps noobs like me. Your enthusiasm is infectious. Happy Trails, Jay!
One of the most interesting start videos I’ve seen. Great job, really appreciate the effort you put into this. Thanks for so many details on gear malfunctions and cooking, etc. beautiful pic of the Pileated Woodpecker! Will be following your journey. Best of luck🥾
Great start Jay, So glad I've found your channel, I'm going to be watching you all the way through to the end, all the luck in the world, and stay safe on trail 👍
So excited for you ! I can’t wait to watch every video this is so much fun to watch you and your excitement. Thank you for taking us along thank you for all the effort to make the videos. You’re terrific.
I was cracking up when you demonstrated the sink...good stuff! It's always frustrating when filling up your water bottle is like trying to turn a screw with a wet noodle. I'm happy for you, Jay...looks like a great start to the hike. I think the burnt cozy and lost (poorly designed) clip were just an early purging of any bad juju...now you're clean and clear. Thanks for sharing and putting a smile on my face.
Just saw day 1 Jay!! 😊. Beautiful falls! Now you are in Maine!! I’ve enjoyed every minute of your hike! After you and Tina finish I’ll go back and catch up days I’m just seeing now!! Hike on!! 😊🥾🏕🇺🇸🧗♀️🐻.
Great to see another through hike from you! I did about 500 miles of the AT in pieces many decades ago, so will enjoy following along since my hiking days are over. I enjoyed all your Arizona Trail videos and look forward to these. Good luck!
Don't worry about getting sick.....you will at some point just count on it. In other words don't worry about it. Stuff happens and will happen good and bad. That's the thing it's how you handle it. This is your hike so make it what "you" want. You will discover who you are.
