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Earl V. Shaffer November 8, 1918 - May 5, 2002, was an American outdoorsman and author known as The Crazy One He is best known for attempting what became the first documented thru-hike along the entire length of the Appalachian Trail (AT). Later, he wrote a book about this experience. Shaffer was also a carpenter, a soldier specializing in radar and radio, and an antique dealer. The Pocosin cabin along the trail in Shenandoah National Park The Appalachian National Scenic Trail, generally known as the Appalachian Trail, is a 2,174 mile (3500 km) marked hiking trail in the eastern United States, running from Springer Mountain in Georgia to Mount Katahdin in Maine. ...
Shaffer was born in the village of Shiloh, in rural York, Pennsylvania, twenty-five miles East of the AT, and near which he always made his home. In the 1936 he hiked a portion of the trail with his brother Evan. He learned of the trail from a neighbor and close friend, Walter Winemiller. They made plans to hike the whole of the AT together, after the war that they anticipated the US would eventually enter. World War II was a truly global conflict with many facets: Immense human sacrifice, fierce indoctrinations, and the use of new, extremely devastating weapons - the atom bomb being the ultimate. ...
Shaffer enlisted in the army in 1941, serving in the Signal Corps. He was well along in his training at the time of the Pearl Harbor attack, and did arduous and risky service as a forward-area radioman in the South Pacific into 1945. His friend Winemiller served in the Pacific Theater as well, and died on the landing at Iwo Jima. Shaffer is said to have regarded completing the planned AT hike as a way of recovering from the stress of his war experiences and from his loss in the war of friends. The Army is the branch of the United States armed forces which has primary responsibility for land-based military operations. ...
Attack on Pearl Harbor Conflict World War II, Pacific War Date December 7, 1941 Place Pearl Harbor, Hawaii Result Japanese victory On the morning of December 7, 1941, planes and midget submarines of the Imperial Japanese Navy commanded by Vice Admiral Chuichi Nagumo, carried out a surprise assault on the...
The Radioman was also spelled radio-man and radio man. ...
The Pacific Ocean (from the Latin name Mare Pacificum, peaceful sea, bestowed upon it by the Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan) is the worlds largest body of water. ...
1945 was a common year starting on Monday (link will take you to calendar). ...
The Pacific Theater of Operations (PTO) is the term used in the United States for all military activity in the Pacific Ocean and the countries bordering it, in World War II. Pacific War is a more common name, around the world, for the broader conflict between the Allies and Japan...
In 1948, he began the journey from Mt. Oglethorpe, in Georgia (the trail's southern end at that time). With sparse equipment that would be regarded as grossly inadequate by most of the thru-hikers since -- he used worn boots, his army rucksack, and no stove or tent -- he reached Mt. Katahdin in Maine, in 124 days. Especially after he overcame the skepticism of Appalachian Trail Conference officials (who initially believed his claim of completing the route was obviously fraudulent), his trip raised public awareness of the Trail. He privately published his memoir of the experience; his title, Walking With Spring, reflects the experience of most AT hikers, that in order to make the whole trip in the northward direction (the most common choice), it is best to start as soon as the Georgia mountains thaw, and set a pace that roughly keeps up with the northward progress of milder weather. Mount Katahdin is the highest mountain in Maine. ...
State nickname: The Pine Tree State Other U.S. States Capital Augusta Largest city Portland Governor John Baldacci (D) Official languages None Area 86,542 km² (39th) - Land 80,005 km² - Water 11,724 km² (13. ...
The Appalachian Trail Conference (ATC) (formerly Appalachian Trail Conference) is a nonprofit organization dedicated to the conservation of the Appalachian Trail, which runs from Maine to Georgia. ...
In 1965 Shaffer hiked in 99 days from Maine to Springer Mountain, which had recently replaced Oglethorpe as the Trail's Georgia end, becoming the first person to complete a trip in each direction. 1965 was a common year starting on Friday (link goes to calendar). ...
Springer Mountain (3,280 feet), located in the Chattahoochee National Forest in northern Georgia, is the southernmost point on and southern terminus of the Appalachian Trail. ...
In 1982, the Appalachian Trail Conference published Shaffer's Walking With Spring commercially. 1982 is a common year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar. ...
In 1998, he made another northward through-hike (at age 79) from May 2 to October 21 (six days past official closing of the state park), in 174 days, for the 50th anniversary of his first one, with David Donaldson (known as "The Spirit of '48"). He later developed his notes from this trip, under the working title "Ode to the Appalachian Trail", into The Appalachian Trail: Calling Me Back To The Hills. 1998 is a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International Year of the Ocean. ...
May 2 is the 122nd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (123rd in leap years). ...
October 21 is the 294th day of the year (295th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 71 days remaining. ...
Shaffer was diagnosed with liver cancer, and died of its complications soon after on May 5, 2002. Donaldson, his most recent through-hike companion, was at his bedside.
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