AT trek rewarding for Cyr

It’s that time of year when folks who have been hiking the Appalachian Trail northward contemplate the completion a life challenge and look ahead for the next one.

I caught up with Real Cyr, 52, of Millinocket and Florida, Wednesday by phone. He was at his sister’s home in Millinocket after having completed his through hike Aug. 31, 170 days after his start at Springer Mountain, Ga., March 19. Four days after completing his trek he was still unable to sleep in a bed, favoring instead the floor.

The painter said he got interested in making the trek through a lady friend in Florida who was fired up and ready to go – until the last minute when she backed out. Cyr decided to hike anyway. He strapped on his 50-pound pack and headed north, one of 3,000 who annually attempt the 2,160-mile trip. (About 10 percent of those who start finish.)

While many hikers who make the trek ship themselves supplies to post offices along the way, Cyr opted instead to supply as he went along. Turned out not to be a problem, he said. If there wasn’t a real grocery store, there was always a gas station or mom and pop with plenty of junk food – high in calories and fat -just right to stoke the furnace of the long-distance hiker. His staple for dinner was Lipton rice and noodle meals cooked over a MSR WhisperLite stove.

Cyr told me he averaged 14 miles a day, but there were some as high as 21, according to his journal. He wanted to take the time to smell the roses, he said, and scoffed at the “runners” as he called them, the ones who tried to do 20-plus miles a day. His “slow and steady” pace turned out to be just as good at making up distances. Reading through his log, I found several references to Cyr’s catching up with “runners” who had to take a few days off to nurse blistered feet and tired muscles.

While some of his nights were spent in AT shelters, many were spent under the stars or a tarp. It was quieter away from the shelter, Cyr said, and you didn’t have to share your space with others. And then there were the 12 nights spent at hostels or other commercial lodging facilities.

What was the cost for 170 days on the trail? About $2,700 or around $15 per day, Cyr said.

I asked Cyr why he would take on the Appalachian Trail. “To see if I could do it. I wasn’t sure, so I didn’t tell my relatives right away,” he said. After completing the hike, his journal entry says, “I learned there’s something mystical about the forest which makes you feel at one with it and that it’s where I belong.”

And what state did he like the best? Maine, of course, and in particular, the 100-mile wilderness between Abol Bridge on the West Branch of the Penobscot River to Monson. It is primitive, the mosses are pretty and the forests are old. Pennsylvania, by the way, rated lowest on his list of favorites. Maine, he said, was hard and pretty. Pennsylvania was hard, rocky and not so pretty.

As for injuries, Cyr managed to come through relatively unscathed. He said he was lucky to have fallen only four times. The worst was on July 26 in New Hampshire when he tripped on a root. His journal notes: “My 50-pound pack smashed my head to the ground like a rag doll. I got lucky, I missed a rock by 4 inches and stuck my head into the mud. Got up and noticed my little finger in my left hand was pointing the wrong way. I grabbed it with my right hand and pulled and set it back in place, and then I just kept going. It’s a little sore, but it’s got good color. It’s not blue.”

After such a hike you’d think one would be all hiked out. Not Cyr. He’s already looking into hiking the East Coast on rail-to-trail conversions. “I’ve built up an appetite for more adventure,” he said.

To read more about his trek, check out www.trailjournals.com and search under “Real Cyr.”

Paddlers wishing to improve on their skills or learn new ones should consider one or more of kayak-specific courses being offered at United Technologies Center on Hogan Road this fall and through the winter. The courses are scheduled in the evenings so adults with day jobs can attend.

My paddling mentor and friend, Karen Francoeur, once again is doing the instruction. She’s a Registered Maine Recreation/Sea Kayak Guide and an American Canoe Association certified instructor.

The curriculum being offered this fall includes: intermediate kayak skills ($175); kayak navigation (level 1 – $175, level 2 – $150); rolling clinic (two-part session, 3 hours each); and a rescue skills clinic.

The intermediate skills class (Tuesday evenings) is designed to take the next step up from beginner or for paddlers who have some time on the water, ready for technique refinement to understand the finer points of paddling on Maine’s lakes and ocean. Included is an advanced rescue clinic in the pool.

The navigation classes (Tuesday evenings) will take you from the basics to more advanced trip planning. The rolling clinic will focus on all the components of the roll (bracing, hip snaps, and sweep strokes in first session then put all the pieces together in the second session to execute the “roll.”

In the rescue skills clinic, you’ll learn how to be ready for the unexpected and learn how to do wet exits, partnership and self rescue skills. (Call UTC at 942-5591for dates and charges.)

If you want to take your skills to another level and want to learn what you need to know to become a sea kayak guide, there is a course offered beginning in February ($325, 45 hours). This course is designed to prepare future sea kayak guides with essential skills necessary to make informed decisions, plan trips and manage groups on the Maine waters. Test information and scheduling will be included as part of the course. The Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife administers the mandatory oral and written tests for licensing guides.

And this just in: The Maine Outdoor Adventure Club’s Bangor branch is doing its First Saturday Hike, open to anyone interested in learning what MOAC is all about. If you’re into meeting new friends and taking a moderate day hike, meet the group at the Brown Bag in Brewer at 9:30 a.m. Saturday (today) and you’ll have a fun day at Acadia National Park. Call Scott Bennett at 825-4709 for more information.

Jeff Strout can be reached at 990-8202 or by e-mail at jstrout@bangordailynews.net.