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THURSDAY. AUGUST 18. 2022 PICKENS COUNTY PROGRESS PAGE 3A Man walks 865 miles “Every day was an adventure, ” J. C. Armbruster said of his 865 hike. “ I saw forest, fields and waterfalls. ” Averaging 14 miles a day, J.C. Armbruster walked 865 miles from his home in Waynesboro to Jasper on the Ap palachian Trail. By Maria Boling J.C. Armbruster walked 865 miles to get to Jasper. All while carrying 30 pounds of food, water, change of clothes, a tent, a blow up mattress and growing a stag gering amount of facial hair. On April 22, 2022, J.C. left his home, dog “Arrow,” and his golf clubs to venture onto the wooded paths of the Appalachian Trail. At the be ginning of August, he came to rest for a few days here in peaceful Jasper before head ing back to his home in Way nesboro, Virginia. The famed trail is 2,200 miles from the northern ter minus, on Mount Katahdin, Maine, elevation 5,267 feet, to Springer Mountain, just north of Jasper. To walk the trail requires rigorous prepa ration, exceptional fortitude and an enormous amount of personal spirit. Using statis tics if 3,000 walkers began only about 750 will complete the arduous journey. It is not for the faint of heart. How ever, all who have even tried the hike will say it afforded them a combination of wilderness, solitude, unfor gettable fellowships, and magnificent wildlife. Armbruster cooked by the campfire in the afternoons. He camped early, about 4:30, because of the heat. One of his main meals consisted of a dish he named Ramen Bomb. The lightweight noodles were water boiled and com bined with a mixture of pep pers, peanut butter, hot sauce and Spam. “It’s an acquired taste,” he said. He made sure his diet contained an abun dance of calories, including a measured amount of fat, pro tein and carbohydrates. He also took vitamins. Every day he had to search for water, called “Camel Up” in trail lan guage. Armbruster kept about two and a half liters of water and purification pills but never used the pills since he also carried a water filter. Along the way he spotted an Amish community where he purchased a half stick of but ter, cheese and a loaf of their delectable bread. He washed it all down with an Amish fruit smoothie. Armbruster made lasting friendships along the way. Others he met were simply unusual, such as the woman who brought two goats as travel companions and a young couple with a kitten. Another was a family of six, including four children, aptly called “The Nuts.” he also met up with a monk who kept what he needed in a small satchel on his back. His long robes became his sleeping bag when night fell. A walker holding on to a battery pow ered leaf blower was never seen by Armbruster but he certainly heard of him. A lot of the walkers were named for memorable char acteristics. Hence J.C. must stand for Jesus Christ there fore “Super Star” seemed to fit. He met, among others, Topo, Jacked Up, Left Field, Lemon Drop, and Jeans. Armbruster, who walked about 14 miles a day, thought about taking his dog, Arrow, with him, then, after a trial run, decided it would be a cruel feat for the animal. Eight hundred plus miles is a long way for a dog to walk no matter how much it would mean to have a companion. One night J.C. camped about 60 feet uphill from a little brook. About 3 a.m. it started to rain. J.C. then set his alarm so that every hour or so he could check on the creeping shore line. Sud denly, the little brook became a flooding river and he had to quickly pack everything and head for higher ground. Dis oriented with no trail to fol low in the wooded darkness and pouring rain he simply walked until he eventually found a small road that led to civilization and the welcom ing lights of a filling station. The coffee there was the best he has ever tasted and the of fered donut hit the spot. Seven miles of the Ap palachian Trail was closed for two days due to the flood. This adventurous red head is an artist. Check out his cre ative work on the web at J.C. Armbruster Art Shop. “Every day was an adven ture,” J.C. said. “ I saw forest, fields and waterfalls.” When asked what his fu ture plans were regarding his walk he quickly vowed, “I will finish the Appalachian Trail in 2023.” S$i^f*0'>J£1LL OUTDOORS K By O'-KteiLL WILLIAMS Late Summer Destinations Dam Good Fishing — Be sure to study the release sched ule of dams into reservoirs, keeping in mind that the cold water flowing in can really get fish going. {O’Neill's column appears twice monthly in the Progress, generally the first and third weeks of the month.} If you have not tried this, you must, and this is the time. All over the South be fore September ends, where one reservoir empties via a dam into a river that eventu ally feeds another lake, it’s always Spring in those wa ters. Think about it for a moment. Deeply in the up stream lake, cool, highly oxygenated waters populated with billions of shad, around the year, belch forth into a river that feeds another lake. For instance, in Georgia; Hartwell into Russell, Rus sell into Clarks Hill, Oconee into Sinclair, in Alabama, Wheeler into Pickwick, in Tennessee, Watts Barr into WALK-IN BATHTUB SALE! SAVE s 1,500 00 Walk-In Tubs /EXPERIENCE YOU CAN TRUST Only American Standard has OVER 150 years of experience and offers the Liberation Walk-In Bathtub /SUPERIOR DESIGN Ultra low easy entry and exit design, wide door, built-in safety bar & textured floor provides a safer bathing experience /PATENTED QUICK DRAIN TECHNOLOGY /LIFETIME WARRANTY The ONLY Lifetime Warranty on the bath AND installation, INCLUDING labor backed by American Standard /44 HYDROTHERAPY JETS More than any other tub we've seen Lifetime Warranty | Finance Options Available' Limited Time Offer-Call Today! C 855-484-1187 iain relief FREE Savings include our own American Standard Right Height Toilet ( J 500 VALUE) the Tennessee River, etc. All you do it find them, again, where safe and legal, have some live bait or swim ming plastics and travel up river to the dam and there you are. Go to the Internet, source information about the dam’s electric generation schedule and there you are. That schedule guarantees when the gamers will be feeding. Wanna get started at the top of the “O’Neill’s” sug gested list? The best may be to hire Brian Barton (look him up at Brian Bartonout- soors.com). 1 recommend him highly. Here’s an ac count that will work for you in various degrees wherever you put together the puzzle. Met Brian on the dock about a mile down from Wil son Dam which holds back waters from Wheeler Lake and releases them to Pick wick Lake. All this is near the little town of Sheffield in Northwestern Alabama. With Brians’ tutelage, we used live shad on light line and spinning reels with light wire Tru-Tum Hooks and a small split shot. Casting into the current as it pours out in a swirling circle from the dam around the huge rocks and allowing the bait to sink slowly, in two hours we caught 10 Largemouth Bass up to 5 pounds, 4 Small- mouth to 6 pounds, hooked and broke off on Stripers to 50 pounds, 3 White Bass to 2 pounds, 4 Blue Cats to 6 pounds and 1 Black Drum at 12 pounds. Historically, his clients have caught Largemouth Bass to 12 pounds, Stripers to 70 pounds and Smallmouths to over 6 pounds. We never put on a fresh bait that we did not get bit and often when one bit and did not get hooked another would bite. In the two hours we were be hind the dam, we always had a fish on the hook with many ‘doubles’. Will it work that way fish ing in the swift waters below all the dams across the South? No, but 1 have had similar results behind Watts Barr and Eufaula. It’ll cer tainly be better than fishing down the lakes dodging houseboats, Jet Skies and skiers while trying to get Spotted Bass or two to bite at 60 feet or trying to catch a few around the docks at two o’clock in the morning. Give it a try. I did and have been bragging about it for years. O'Neill Williams, born in Atlanta, is host of O'Neill Outside, Find out more or contact him at O'NeillOutside.com. TRUGREEN Get the most out of your lawn this spring. Save now with 502s Your First SCHEDULE YOUR APPOINTMENT TODAY! 1-844-677-9735 ‘Requires purchase of annual plan. Special price is for first Lawn application only. Requires purchase of annual plan, for new residential EasyPay or PrePay customers only. Valid at participating TruGreen locations. Availability of services may vary by geography. Not to be combined with or used in conjunction with any other offer or discount. Additional restrictions may apply. Consumer responsible for all sales tax. tPurchase of annual lawn plan required for Healthy Lawn Analysis, which is performed at the first visit*Guara ntee applies to annual plan customers only. BBB accredited since 07/01/2012. ©2022 TruGreen Limited Partnership. All rights reserved. In Connecticut, B-0153, B-1380, B-0127, B-0200, B-0151. 63 31 15 T H E Cl 00 U> 20 1 39_ c 33 K % ‘ It 27 s FT5I ThOT you know Pickens? 68 1 P 37 z 37 3 z L »—■ mr 15 The Pickens Puzzler is a monthly crossword that will test your knowledge of all things Pickens County. The crossword will be featured every third week of the month. The answer key can be found on the classified page. Good luck! IS 18 Across I. Jasper Mam Street side street starts with "S' 4. Big pointy hill 7. Wot silent stone II. Slang for highway 12. Where teens take classes 13. Storied downtown restaurant for the birds 15. Water body, big vista 16. Muddy Labor Day road dogger 18. Stork's landing place for Sheriff Lobo star 19. A not sodrvme vine Down 2 A park starts “L," not made with frultand cake 3. Oversized water vessel, gated 5. Local fish wrapper 6. County seat, also a stone 8. Monument at wooden bridge 9. Barn for boots, not horses 10. County's top cop 11. Mountain City 14. A southerner's favorite drink 17. Tate marble, also pigs The Pickens Puzzler is proudly sponsored by: M State Farm Alan Horne, Jr., Agent 95 Whitfield Drive, Suite F Jasper, GA 30143 Bus: 706-692-2888