Before and After

There are times on the trail where one comes across such an astounding view that you just have to take a picture. This happens even when hiking the trail for a second time. Some shots are nothing more than a fluke of having seen the same neat thing twice and taking a picture, ignorant of the earlier version. Other times I was fully aware of the duplicate from 1999 but knew that the difference was so great that it would be nice to have a comparison. What follows are these comparison shots. Sometimes the difference is noticeable; at others it is as subtle as the time of day or the season in which the pictures were taken. In all instances, the earlier 1999 photo is on the left while the 2001 photo is on the right.

And yeah, if your computer monitor ain't wide enough, you won't get an optimal view of this page. Deal with it.

The ultimate AT photo revisited! I have finally ascertained for sure that the mountain in the background is Big Bald, a mere 5 trail miles away. It is easy to see that I passed through the area several weeks earlier in 2001, but notice also the difference in the time of day. It was early evening when I took the 2001 shot. This is a remarkable picture opportunity - I've actually seen different versions of this on other websites. When hiking the section again, I was surprised at how suddenly one comes out of the woods to be hit full force with this view. What I had forgotten was that if these shots were to pan to the right, we would see the mountainside dotted with houses. Wide open country my butt.

Speaking of butts, this shot is from Big Butt in Tennessee. I knew exactly what I was doing when I took this pic in 2001. While it is snowier, it isn't that cold and in a day all the snow would be gone.

Can you guess which picture had me placing my camera close to my body so I could warm it up first? I'm not sure which was worse, the rain in the 99 pic or the 14º morning in 2001.

Not only was McAfee Knob socked in when I passed by in 2001, there was also no one around to take my picture. Despite the rain, fog and chill, this is one of the days I look back on with fond memories, whereas in 1999, I was quite depressed as I stood on the Knob. Bad weather isn't necessarily bad hiking, nor does good weather equal good hiking.