Day 6-7: Farewell Georgia... Hello NC (mile 98.6)

Breakfast was a-freaking-mazing. Fresh pancakes with blueberry syrup, homemade cheese biscuits and gravy, eggs, sausage and orange juice. Also amazing was waking up in a warm bed with a pillow. All round, the Blueberry Patch was just what we all needed. Gary drove us into town to the post office and I finally got my solar charger!! Aw yeah - so technological now... Quick stop at a supermarket. (Mitch had caught up with us now and needed to re-supply) and then we were back on the trail... at 11:15. Late start, but we were fully fueled and ready to march.

Walking in the nice cool weather. And soon enough, we were at the Georgia/NC state line. Done with Georgia!! (which turned up the incline and didn't want to let us go.) 1 state down - 13 to go... Felt like good progress. We stopped for a snack (the boys both peed from one state to the other), and then we trucked on...



...for a whiiiiile. It ended up being a long day. 18 miles with a late start. We knew there was a chance of rain, so we made it to Standing Indian shelter and cooked up a warm meal. The temperature was dropping fast! Mitch showed up as we were cleaning up again, and we all goofed off until we fell asleep at 9:30 or so... Cold cold night! (maybe high 30s?) But my sleeping bag is doing the trick. Had to strip off a layer after a few hours. Sleeping in the poofy coat was just a bit much...

Woke up and it was still quite chilly and drizzling. Xan, Brian and I didn't want to move from our warm sleeping bags, so we stayed in them till almost 9. Tristan & Philip (son and father team) had tented and they were off early. William ("Fields") left next. Then Mitch. And finally us... Around 9:30. Walking helped the chill, but it continued to drizzle for most of the day. Finally tested out the Ike rain gear! Seems to work fine, tho I'm not sure I like the poncho vs a rain jacket...


I let the boys go on ahead since I think their pace is juuuust a bit too fast for me. But caught them for lunch at a shelter 7 miles down the road. Then we took off again for 6.5 miles to Big Springs shelter (mile 98.6!!) where we're all holed up now. HELL of a last .7 miles up Albert Mountain. Pretty much straight up. It started pouring soon after we arrived at the shelter, which was nice timing. Joyce, a 61 year old lady from Boulder, CO kept a good pace and is here, too. Mitch showed up 30 later. We all made dinner and tried to make cookies in Xan's jet boil pan with the roll or cookie dough Mitch brought up. Good, but not exactly cookies... Then Fields showed up drenched! Poor kid.


Bear bags are up and the temperature is down, and it's 7:30. Time for bed...? Looking forward to less rain tomorrow. Should be 60s and sunny.


-- Posted from the trail...

Location:Cartoogechaye,United States

Day 5: Shower!

So fresh and so clean clean... Writing in my bunk at the Blueberry Patch hostel outside Hiawasee, GA. It's amazing how much you can appreciate little things when you don't have them everyday!


Howly wind again atop another mountain. Guess it's gonna be like that... The group of 4 left about the same time, but Xan, Brian and I passed Mitch (he's still hobbly) and took off at a fast pace. We walk/talk/laugh well together and we did that for about 15 miles to Dick Creek Gap where we had to hitch out to the hostel 3.5 miles away. It was the first time attempting this for all three of us. We walked with a few cars zipping by for almost 2 miles (feet hurt) before an old pickup let us jump in the back. Best. Feeling. Ever.

Then we met Gary and Lenny (the wife) who run the hostel. Gorgeously nice and generous people, and a beautiful property. They have everything a hiker could need here, and whatever hikers don't need, they leave behind! So there is a huge medicine cabinet, toiletry basket, extra food box, extra gear box (found a bit of rope to replace mine) and they do our laundry! So I ran around in my rain gear for a bit. Old timer, Winston, and his buddy Koo showed up to stay the night as well. Gary said we could drive his Jeep into town if we wanted to, so Xan, Brian and I stopped at Rite Aid and then went for pizza! Delicious. The clothes were soon clean, and the boys went through their mail drop box. They had waaay too much food, so I got a few things, Winston/Koo got a few things, and a few things went into the extra food box. Everything is so clean and nice it'll be hard to go muck it all up again... And rain on tuesday maybe??


Should be a wonderful and huge blueberry pancake breakfast ready at 8:30 for us tomorrow... Then a quick stop into town again to pick up my things at the post office (solar charger!!!), and then we'll be back on the road again. Tomorrow night, North Carolina!!?!


-- Posted from the trail...

Location:Shooting Creek,United States

Day 4: Trail Magic

The wind was howly in the night, and I was worried it was going to start pouring a few times. It didn't. But I slept badly. The earplugs went back in.

Up. Sunrise. Breakfast. Pack up. Walk. Lots of people out on the Saturday. Then I didn't see anyone for a while until inning into Brian and Xan again! I caught them!! Apparently I mustve been camping less than a mile away. Walked with them for a while. And then stopped to have a snack while they pushed on. Caught up to them again (they were taking breaks both times) and we ended up at the blue mountain shelter where Michael and Tender Toes were lunching. Chatted and then Mad Hatter joined (with a 51 lb pack?!!?!? He had a huge solar charger for his LAPTOP and other video accessories for video blogging etc. ) THEN former thru hiker Gangsta showed up on a weekend trip. She brought us trail magic!! (trail magic is what it's called when non-hikers bring food for thru-hikers. From grilling burgers to pass out or cold drinks and snacks...) She brought up over 6 cans of coke, a huge bag of cookies, apples, bananas, and offered to take all our trash down!! AND we got to ask questions and receive thru hiker knowledge. AND SHE HAD AN ADORABLE PUPPY WITH HER!!! So cute. It's was truely magical. And delicious! (not the puppy). We all were amped to press on...

After filling water and thanking Gansta many many times, all but Mad Hatter and Gansta and a new guy left to conquer Rocky Mountain. Which was rough. Xan led the charge at a fierce pace and we made it up in less than an hour. So proud of ourselves. The boys were originally not going to do it till the morning, but I wanted to get it over with before dinner. It all ended up well and it was a beautiful camp site. We set up and made dinner and Mitch/Mic showed up! He had a massive day (almost 23 miles?!) on his still-sore ankle, but it was good to see him again. He was still making dinner as the sun went down, but I have to bow out to sleep. This mountain took it out of me!

Tomorrow night, we sleep under a roof and shower!


-- Posted from the trail...

Location:Shooting Creek,United States

Day 3: Neel Gap

It rained a bit in the night, but everything was dry in the morning. Beautiful sunrise over the distant mountains! Oatmeal for breakfast and then a slow clean/pack up before leaving at 8:25. Last one to leave again!!



So how do I feel?
Physically: good all round except for my ankle bones. No blisters amywhere (knock on tree), but I've got a bit of a rubbing problem on the outsides of both ankles. I taped O shaped cusions on them, but it didn't help. The morning was quite sore as they got warmed up, but by lunch I knew I had to modify my boots. I cut half dollar sized holes in the corresponding foam area in each boot. They are now designer. And they feel much better!! Not perfect, but tons better... We'll see how the ole ankle bones feel in the morning. Oh and my pack fits very well, except a little friction around the side belly area. So, I "butter down my muffin top" from time to time to help that.
Mentally: strong and alive. I feel very calm and in charge of this whole thing, and I think my luck with such excellent starting weather has helped a bunch. Great people to chat to when I want, and a lot of 'me' time to think about all sorts of things. It's good and I like it.

So, I have to stop in Hiawasee to pick up my solar charger (which didn't arrive in DC till the day I left! Thanks for sending, Leah!!). I realized yesterday that I wasn't going to make it there by Saturday at noon (when the P.O. closes), so now I can lollygag a bit to hit it up first thing Monday morning. I may even stay in town Sunday night! This will be good to slow me down a bit. I really shouldn't be pushing it now, but it's so hard not to sometimes.

Today I passed thru Neel Gap which houses a nice hostel with an outfitter famous for its "shake-downs." This is where a guy/gal who works there empties your ENTIRE pack and tells you what you don't need... Daunting, but they make it all about you knees and joints. Every extra pound in every step is extra pressure on your body multiplied by millions of steps... I wasn't sure I would do it, but a cool guy named Griz led me through it (and said that nothing is final - it's all just suggestions...) and he also showed me how to pack more efficiently. So, long story short, I took almost 5 lbs off my back and sent it home! (I hope I don't miss those things too much... ho hom...) Knees are happy tho!

Camping again tonight. First time alone. But it's a gorgeous spot with poofy grass. I've somehow managed to lose my bear bag rope (whoops!) but I was able to jimmy up a tree and tie it high enough. I'm sure it will be fine :)

(Oh and don't get too used to this daily entry business... Not sure how long it will last (especially since I don't have my charger yet!)). Down to 14%!!


-- Posted from the trail...

Location:Wolf Laurel Top

Day 2: Hot and Sweaty

Slept with the earplugs. The Italian guy was all sorts of snoring, and then I could hear the mice scrambling around. I thought it better to remain oblivious (tho I did wake up to "something" moving around near my hair - blech). There were 4 of us in the shelter. Jack from Rockville (a little bit if home), very friendly John (retired from NM and had a slight volume problem when people were trying to sleep) and the Italian guy (who spoke very little English and wore BRIGHT purple pants). Four men over 50 and me! The others (Krystal & Jorge, Xan, Brian, Nick and Clay) all had tented in the surrounding camping area.

Most everyone was up by 6:30. I stayed down, thinking horizontally for another 30 mins before getting to it. I was one of the last ones to leave at 8:45 but ended up passing everyone on the trail except Brian and Xan who are camping here tonight too.

Another gorgeous day, but hotter. Lots of up and down but really pretty with the sun thru the trees. I realize that I talk outloud to myself a lot. And get songs stuck in my head. Yesterday was 'Love Hurts' and today was 'The Weight' by The Band and 'The Sweet Escape' by Gwen Stefani. Anyways... I was going to push thru and try for a 20 mile day, but then ran into Mason at Woody Gap and with the hills ahead, he and I both thought it may be best to just stop at the next campsite. Which was beautiful at the top of the hill!! Great views, and Brian and Xan were already set up. Mitch (the "sprained ankle guy" who twisted it on THE FIRST DAY!!!?!?) showed up (amazingly) about 1.5 hrs after. He's driven.



So we all had dinner and hung out, picking out shapes in the clouds and watching the sun go down. Really really nice. First night in the tent!! Should be nice and comfy/cozy. Oh? Do I hear small raindrops??


-- Posted from the trail...

Location:Big Cedar Mountain

Day 1: Magical

Dad and I got up and had breakfast around 8:30, but didn't make it out of there till 9:30 or so. Bit of an adventure getting to Amicalola Falls State Park since my phone map didn't agree with the GPS which in turn didn't like what dad had printed out... BUT we made it and got checked in (I just wrote my name down in the notebook next to the date and my pack weight (it grew to 38lbs btw)) and then we followed the directions to springer mountain via car. I decided long ago that I wasn't going to do the 8.8mile uphill, non-AT approach trail... So the cruise was fine until we got to the forest service road that looked like it had been bombed. We drove anywhere from 4-16 mph for 6.5 miles. Glad it wasn't longer!


After a few photos, I got a last encouraging hug and was ON MY WAY!!! South... Yeah, I had to walk .9 miles south, uphill to the summit to reach the official southern terminus. But it was fine. Talked to Roger, the ATC guy who "lives" up there and he said I was the second DC person this year. Took a few more photos, then at about 3:20, I ACTUALLY BEGAN the 2175 mile trek! It was invigorating and surreal and there were TONS of things running thru my head.

The day was gorgeous. Couldn't have been better. I walked past babbling brooks and a waterfall and all the plants were beginning to bud. At times, it was like I was in Avatar.

I made it the 7.8 miles (8.7 if you include the doubleback) to Hawk Mountain shelter, where there were about 9 other people eating and setting up sleeping gear. Dinner was rice and jerky, and bedtime is now. Not too tired, but looking forward to sleeping in! It's been a while since I've gotten a full 8 hours... I think I may have to throw in the ole earplugs, tho, with the noise one of the older guys is snoring out already.


-- Posted from the trail...

Location:Hawk Mountain Shelter

The night before hiking...

The night before hiking
All through the hotel
A lady was typing.
A dream she did smell....

It's happening!!!

My dad and I made it down to Cherokee, NC for an evening of comfy beds, a/c, and a hot shower in the morning. (Thanks dad, for driving the whole way!!) We stopped for lunch with Jeanne and Wendy (thanks again, ladies!) in Christiansburg, VA, and ran a few last-minute errands before heading back down I-40.

Funny story about I-40. About 13 years ago, my dad and I took off for a college-visiting trip around NC/Tenn during the summer. There was a huge rock slide on the highway with road closures and a way-out-of-the-way detour, so I took the map and plotted a path through the hills. Well, we ended up taking a tour of the hills for about 2+ hours, running low on fuel and the sun getting low. We had asked a few locals the way to go, and, well, after about an hour, we began to wonder if they had a different plan in mind for us city folk that didn't prioritize getting back to paved road. Luckily, they were right. The mountain road did end up taking us the right way, it just took a long long while.

So, today, we're cruising on I-40, and guess what happened last October... A rock slide! And the road was still not open. First one since 1997... Who would've thought!?! We avoided the mountain road this time and opted to ask for the best directions at the nearby welcome center. We ended up adding [only] an hour to the trip, but we got to see lovely Gatlinsburg, TN and ride through the Great Smokey Mountains National Park at sunset. Very pretty and a beautiful night.

We rolled into Cherokee around 8:40pm, checked in, then walked over to the big Harrah's casino across the street from the hotel for a fulfilling and satisfying all-you-can-eat buffet. (probably ate-too-much, but oh well... I'll walk it off.)

So, now... The final organization, re-pack, and bed/shower combo for a while. Still a couple hours to drive tomorrow, but I hope to be hiking ON THE REAL BIG BAD AT by 1pm. Can't believe all this planning and researching and dreaming and stress and talk and energy is finally reaching day one. And mile one.

Tomorrow will be a day I won't ever forget.