RickshawFan
Verified Outdoor Recreation Specialist
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I'm sticking to my theory.@RickshawFan, you raise some great points about this possibly being an AT through hiker. But given the amount of stuff, including a laptop, camera, cell phone, plus 2 backpacks, it clearly wasn't any ultra-light backpacking enthusiast. If one started hiking in Georgia on the AT, that might be about the point on the trail where you would take a break and go looking for a post office to mail everything you don't need back home. It's also quite close to US64.
This local article suggested there were about 100 photos recovered and LE had already been contacted by one of the individuals in the photos from N Georgia. There were multiple photos of artwork. But their lead on an artist from the Southwest seems to have fizzled.
Body found in outdoors | Cherokee Scout, Murphy, North Carolina
Within hours of those pictures appearing online, authorities were contacted by a north Georgia resident featured in one of the images. That tip pointed Wood out West.www.cherokeescout.com
Not every long-distance hiker likes to go light weight. And there are very experienced old-timer backpackers who have only ever taken a lot of stuff and like it that way.
It is not rare for long-distance hikers to have 2 backpacks! The second can be a light daypack that is used for slacking.
It also would not be unusual for a long-distance hiker to have more than you'd expect: everyone is different. And if this guy is an artist, he might very well want his computer along. I always had at least half a novel in my backpack on the AT. I generally had 3 gas canisters (for hot drinks). People thought I was nuts. To each their own. My winter gear with all of that was in a 35 liter pack; when snickerers saw that, they shut up. Everyone is different.
Now, if LE listed a snake bite kit or a dozen eggs or a cast iron frying pan, we'd need a bit more sleuthing, but even those are indicators: the newbie, the totally clueless, and the totally totally clueless. However, I did meet 2 thru hiking sisters who were, in fact, planning to carry a cast iron frying pan and a dozen eggs. Go figure. IIRC they came up with a slightly lighter plan after about 100 miles, but it was still "eye-rolly" and they hadn't figured out yet that carrying a dozen eggs isn't compatible with long-distance hiking, between lack of refrigeration and the odds of a gooey mess, not to mention the sheer bulk of an egg container.
This brings up another issue. When people are starting out on the trail, they often carry stuff that they will decide is totally unnecessary about 300 miles along. FWIW LMAO I saw a guy with two packs, one on the front, one on the back. He decided that was too heavy, so he hiked with one pack at a time. Yep, he'd hike with one, and then go and fetch the other. I mean....
As far as the AT, Murphy is quite near the beginning, but also, the UID might just have been heading to the trail or otherwise at the very beginning of his hike.
The UID might stick to his plan for the laptop, but the fork and knife are completely unnecessary. A DSLR camera would not be at all unusual, even though they're heavy: some hikers are photographers and artists. As I say, to each his own. And not everyone goes lightweight. The rest of his possessions did seem quite sparse.
Buuuut... there also needs to be a scenario about how the UID got to those woods. You see, Franklin and Hiawassee (nearby) pretty much have all the services you need, especially as far as re-supply, and they're nearer the trail (actually, they're tried and true re-supply spots). I have been in Hiawassee's Walmart. And I know Franklin has a hospital, because I've been in it! After a SAR on the AT near Hiawassee!
So, I'm not sure why you'd end up near Murphy. However, a ride might have taken him there, a trail angel, a church....
I also don't think we need to jump to the conclusion, if he's a hiker, that this UID is a thru-hiker. That would be someone going all the way from Georgia to Maine or vice versa.
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