Foothills Trail

In an attempt to enjoy the peaceful and beautiful outdoors before heading into a bustling Christmas time, Jacki and I, plus Lyle, Abi, and Carmelita head up North into South Carolina to the Foothills Trail. The trail is 77 miles. We only hiked a small 8 mile section from the Laurel Valley Access to Lake Jacossee. This trail was beautiful and we had a ton of fun. To include the introduction of the "Glowing Man". We crossed numerous bridges, maybe 35, and saw some amazing waterfalls.

With the inclusion of my new GoPro Hero and Lyle taking his Nikon D7000, plus his photography skills, we acquired some very nice shots. I've also learned some new editing techniques and the video features some of my favorite music from my dad.

So, enjoy the video!
Click To Learn: Foothills Trail
Check out my dad's music! Don Scroggins

Time Lapse Sequence Practice

My friend, Lyle, recently bought me a GoPro Hero camera for my birthday and it gave me the idea to try some time lapse shots.  I had never done them before, so it's been kind of an experiment.  I think they add a nice cinematic touch to a scene.  However, if you have nothing but time lapses, you just put pretty music to it.  :)

Hopefully I can get some of these on the AT!

To See some absolutely amazing time lapses, check out http://timescapes.org/!

Group Hike at Mistletoe State Park

A quick snap shot before leaving camp. (TJ, Abi, Jacki, Jeremy, Lyle)

Jacki and I went out with a couple a good friends and a new backpacker.  It was a very short over-nighter (7 miles total) with little ups or downs.  However, Jacki, Lyle, and I had run a 10k race that morning in freezing temperatures.  We were already a bit worn out.  I for one, fought taking a nap all day after the race and almost fell asleep packing.  The nice thing about going on short, easy trips like this, is that you can really bring whatever you want and relax as long as you want.  It's also nice to have a more diverse conversation with others than just Jacki.  Don't get me wrong, Jacki and I can have some pretty interesting conversations and I love talking with her, but sometimes we just like to listen to people tell their stories and discus their ideas on any and every topic.  Honestly, I think we prefer going with a small group rather than alone.  As long as those with us are good people and positive, boosting the group's spirits.  It makes for a fun trip. 

Back on the Trail

The last time Jacki and I actually went backpacking was before I even started this blog. Which is kind of ridiculous considering this blog is about our journey preparing and undertaking our journey on the Appalachian Trail. We were determined to get out to the mountains and away from our busy day to day schedules. It just so turns out that the Thanksgiving break was it. So, in stead of organizing, planning, preparing, and cooking a large Thanksgiving meal, we went hiking.

The plan was to hike for three easy days. Leave Vogel State Park, camp along the Coosa Backcountry Trail for the first night, hike up to Blood Mountain and sleep there the second night, then hike back on the third day. Unfortunately we ran into a little problem and had to cut the trip short. Oh well... we still thoroughly enjoyed being up in the mountains.

Enjoy the video!



J&J

5 Year Anniversary Road Trip

Jacki and I take our 5 year anniversary trip. Camping along the way, we drove up the east coast into unknown territory to explore a few amazing places that our nation has to offer.

Enjoy!

Watch in full screen HD for best quality!

Something Different

Jacki, a good friend of ours, Lyle, and I were planning a 3 day backpacking trip on the Foothills Trail in South Carolina this past weekend. However, we were invited on different adventurous trip by a girl Lyle met at a bar the previous weekend. Jacki and I agreed. Why not? Let's do it!

Enjoy the video! Always in 1080HD! Watch it full screen to get the most out of it!

Watch it on Youtube.
A spontaneous trip to the Blue Ridge mountains with a group of strangers that became our friends. Special thanks to Wildwater Ltd rafting and zip-line tours! Our Guides; Shannon, Sam, Kelly, and Stacy, thank you! You all were awesome! Extra special thanks to Carmelita for organizing the whole thing!

Out for a Day Hike

We decided to go for a short hike at Mistletoe State Park today. I thought it would be fun to get some practice making videos out on the trail. It's not much, but hey, it's the first video I've made of us hiking and the first with this camera.

Enjoy!

Video is HD

Hitched Hike blog arives!

May 4th, 2011

What is Hitched Hike?
It's a documentary of a loving married couple (me and my wife) hiking 2100 miles from Georgia to Maine on the historic Appalachian trail.

When is it?
Don't expect to see the film until spring of 2014, sorry. We won't be starting our journey until spring of 2013 and won't be finished hiking until that fall.

How did it start?
We had an interest in hiking and backpacking that led us on a few small excursions, and a lot of casual reading up on hiking and backpacking in general. I came across the Appalachian Trail (AT as it's commonly know) and was amazed that such a thing existed. I mentioned it to Jacki, and to my surprise, she was very interested in it, but nothing much came from it. We both just thought it was a cool thing.
In mid January, 2010, while hiking in the mountains of North Georgia, coming back from the Len Foote Hike Inn near Springer Mountain, Jacki said straightly, "I want hike the AT." I replied, "You know I would have to get out of the Air Force." "I know. But I'm okay with that now. " From that point we have been gearing up, saving up, learning as much as we can, and hitting the trail as often as possible. We can't wait to start our journey! And although I'm contractually bound to a windowless office building until December of 2012, I have my AT pictures on my desk and the weekends on the trail to keep me motivated :)

Look for posts in the future as we prepare for our "Hitched Hike"!