Thursday, July 28, 2011

Has anyone from Conecuh County ever 'thru-hiked' the Appalachian Trail?


More than a few readers have told me how much they enjoyed reading about Jeff Daniels’ effort to hike the entire length of the Appalachian Trail in last week’s edition of The Courant.

For those of you who missed the story, which appeared on the front page, Daniels, who lives in Evergreen, began hiking the AT on March 13 at Stringer Mountain, Ga. and hopes to reach the end of the trail at Katahdin, Maine in mid-September. The AT is arguably the world’s most famous hiking trail and at 2,181-miles long, it passes through 14 states.

To say that an attempt to hike the entire length of the AT, commonly called “thru-hiking,” is a monumental accomplishment would be an understatement. Only a small percentage of the hikers who set out to thru-hike the AT actually finish the trip for a number of reasons. Foul weather, injury, sickness, poor planning, loneliness and exhaustion are only a few of the many reasons that hikers don’t finish the trip.

Daniels has less than 600 miles to go, and when he arrives at Katahdin, Maine, I think it’s safe to say that he’ll secure his place among the Who’s Who of Conecuh County.

I’ve asked around, and as far as I can tell, no resident of Conecuh County has ever successfully hiked the entire length of the AT in one trip. A number of county residents have hiked portions of the AT, but none, so far as I can tell, have hiked the entire trail all in one trip.

With that said, if any of you know of a Conecuh County resident who has successfully hiked the AT, please call me at The Courant office at 251-578-1492.

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The members of the Alabama Sports Writers Association had to have their preseason football poll ballots turned in before 5 p.m. on Monday, and the poll will be released on Wed., Aug. 3. The preseason poll was originally scheduled to be released on Sun., July 31, but was pushed back a few days this year by the poll’s organizers.

I won’t be surprised to see Hillcrest High School receive a number of votes in the preseason poll. Despite the fact that the Jags will have to replace a five-year starter at quarterback, many sportswriters around the state are aware that Larry Boykin is Hillcrest’s head coach. They know what type of team he’s capable of putting on the field, and many writers, especially in southwest Alabama, are expecting the Jags to be very competitive.

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A few of you have also asked me if we’re going to set up another College Football Pick ‘Em group on ESPN.com this year, and the short answer is “yes.”

I checked the site on Monday, and this year’s contest isn’t open. As soon as they kick off the contest, I’ll set up a group and we’ll let the fun begin.

For those of you unfamiliar with this free contest, it allows local college football fans an opportunity to pick the winners of 10 college games over the course of the season to see how they match up against their buddies and other local football fans.

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