Day 21: Spiderwebs and Poison Ivy

One of the books I read about the AT said to make sure you're not the first one to leave camp because you'll run into all the morning spiderwebs. SO right! I was up and walking by 8, and I hadn't seen anyone pass by yet, so it was up to me to break through all the webs. Usually the thin, invisible strings are spiderless, but I got a few spiders with today's batch.


It was so webby at times in the 'tunnels' (thick brush on all sides) than I was walking with my hiking poles doing scissor slices in front of me. I probably looked like a big dork (usually, I'm sure), but it seemed to help a little. Good news for me, tho, regarding the dorkiness, was that I didn't actually see another person all day until one guy taking a lazy morning around noon, and then a few more people at 2pm.

Oh, and poison ivy... No, Nick, I did not run out of TP and choose the wrong leaf, I'm just noticing it a lot on the trail now. Hoping not to have any close encounters, but I'm sure it's only a matter of time before the PI oils find their way to my skin...

Anyway, it was a beautiful May day!


Not bad hiking either, until a bit of a rock scramble up to an exposed ridgeline (with a sign!) that led to another amazing, panoramic view. I definitely would not have wanted to be up there if the weather was bad...

One side of the ridge has this view:


And the other side has this view:


I hiked on over Big Butt mountain, which did NOT have a sign, but it's in the hiker book at mile 300 (so I've made it THREE HUNDRED MILES miles miles miles...!). It made me giggle. Who names these things?! I passed the next shelter and forged on to the campsite that was my target. Unfortunately, the few flat spots were already taken. Good thing I had just filled up on water! I'd planned to hike on to the next possible spot, and was lucky enough to find one juuust big enough for me about a half mile down the trail. That'll do!

I've set up and eaten,


hung my bear bag, and the sun is just now falling behind the mountains. I may be asleep before it's completely dark! (the pic is of the sunset through my tent) Another big day tomorrow, then an easy one on Thursday... I just wish my phone would work when I wanted it to! (Verizon is totally the way to go on the trail. Xan and I have AT&T, and it blows compared to the coverage Brian's been getting with Verizon... Boo AT&T... Boo.)

Mail Drop News:
I thought I could, but I canNOT edit my "mail drops" page from my phone. I will add more to the page when I get to a real computer. As of now, I'm expected to be at:
- The Uncle Johnny's Hostel in Erwin, TN on Thursday 5/6. (too late to send!)
- The Kincora Hiking hostel, not the post office, (1278 Dennis Cove Rd, Hampton, TN 37658) on 5/11.
- The Sun Dog Outfitters (331 Douglass Drive, Demascus, VA 24236) (VIRGINIA?!?!!) on 5/15.
- Happy Hiker Hollow (484 Phillipi Hollow Road, Atkins, VA 24311) on 5/21 ish.
- The Plaza Hotel (415 North Main Street, Pearisburg, VA 24134) around 5/27 ish.



-- Posted from the trail...

Location:Campsite around mile 305

Day 20: Monday Morning... Back to Work

Er... well, Monday afternoon anyways... Woke up around 8 and bummed around in the bunkhouse organizing a bit. (The other guy in there had been doing that with the light on until 3am the night before -WTF?!) Then headed over with all my stuff to the main house to have some breakfast (my own this time) and pack it up. Xan and Brian made their way out of the tents, and we all slowly-but-surely packed it all up. We left Frank, Jack the dog, the chickens, Monster the cat, and the Duckett House around 12:30. We'd had a delightful stay.

On our way back into town, we made a quick side trip SOUTH on the AT. Somehow, coming in late Saturday night (it was getting dark), we missed a white blaze and ended up coming in on the road. None of us wanted to skip any of the trail (yet?), so we scampered up the 100 yards or so and then back down. It definitely would've been shorter had we NOT missed that blaze. We all felt better after covering our missed ground.

We stopped by the Sunnybank Inn ("Elmer's") to see if there were beds for the boys who were going to stay in Hot Springs one more night, but they were full. We did, however, hear that Still Steve had been through and had asked about us. We checked the Alpine Court Hotel - no rooms and no Steve. Stopped by the post office to take care of a few things and soon ran into Buttons (the adorable hippy thru hiker who hasn't shaved her armpits in a few years, but it suits her just fine) and Screamer (the lovable stoner hiker who may, at times, be mistaken for being homeless...). They had just reserved a cabin near the river and were looking for two kids to fill the other beds. Perfect! Timing is everything...

Buttons and Screamer walked us all over to the cute little cabin and soon after, I had to get on the road... The boys were off the the public library to plan future mail drops, etc. So we said goodbye, but it was really just 'see you later,' and then I was hiking... (and I kinda feel bad that Xan and Brian had only juuust giving my blog address to their parents... and now I'll be doing a few days without them! Don't worry tho, they'll probably be doing just about what I'll be doing... Hi parents!)

Beautiful quarter mile walk in the shade by the river (ahhhh) before turning deadly uphill for the next mile.


It was so hot and muggy and my pack was full of food and water. Hard to believe I had taken a shower that morning. Walked on for a few hours and passed a few other hikers. (going at a faster pace, I'm used to seeing new faces all the time as we pass people, but then sometimes we're caught by a few folks who didn't take a zero day. I guess it will be leap-frog-ish till the end tho.)

There was a side trail at one point to go up (UP!) to a fire tower. Since it was nice out, I dropped my pack and hopped up the .3 miles or so. Glad I did! The sky was gorgeous and the view was panoramic. Got a few photos (on the real camera) and headed back down. Less than an hour later I had made it to the shelter, 10 miles in. I stopped to chat to McGuyver (sp??), who was behind me, but she didn't take a zero day, and a few others before heading on. The shelter was full and a few were tenting, but I wanted to add a few more miles.

Two. Two more miles till I found a nice campsite. Perfect. It was about 7:30, but I still had over an hour of light.


I managed to make a fire (despite everything being wet) to shoosh the bugs away and then set up my tent and made dinner. It was solitary, but really nice and peaceful. As the light started to fade, I cleaned up and went to hang my bear bag. Got FREAKED OUT by a deer that was grazing nearby, but eventually took care of business and am now relaxing in my tent... blogging it up.

I think I've proven that I can do this alone (not sure I needed to prove it to anyone other than to myself...). So, now that I know this, I also know I don't HAVE to do it alone... It's kinda more fun WITH people most of the time, I think... (my über-independence can get in the way sometimes...)

Forgot to mention:
- Xan is pronounced "Zan"... like Alexander. It rhymes with Dan and plan and Jackie Chan...
- My dad sent me deodorant, so it's all pitastic in there now, tho I'm realizing that part of the problem is definitely the synthetic material of my cool Nike dry fit shirt...
- After we visited the spa for the first time, I found a crumpled up bill in the grass... 20 bucks! So dinner was mostly on me that night...
- I have a trail name now! It's Stucco. It started as Stumble Counter because I count my daily stumbles, and then got shortened down to just StuCo... Stucco.) (it also works since I often get songs stuck in my head. During days 3-7, I hopelessly had "Part of that World" from The Little Mermaid either fully or partially stuck in there... Thank goodness Xan knew the words I didn't...) Other names I had considered were: Phaser, Whistler, Downhill Whistler, Goldilocks (Pee-Wee's suggestion because of my hair and because I'm usually hanging out with three guys...), Doonit ("doing it"), and Zanco (Spanish for "stilt"). I like Stucco.



-- Posted from the trail...

Location:7, Ebbs Chapel,United States

Day 19: Peaceful Rest...

No phone service in Hot Springs, but lots of rest and relaxation.

Woke up earlier than I wanted to (7am), but laid in bed till 8ish. Not the most comfortable night, but I was inside. Apparently, it didn't rain last night.



Frank, the guy who runs the BnB, whipped up a fabulous breakfast of pancakes, eggs, hash browns, fruit, veggie sausage, and juice. It was excellent. Jack, the dog, begged for food and/or for attention. We got our laundry going shortly afterwards, and then just sat on the porch and chatted in the rocking chairs with Ron and Cathy about everything... It was so nice. A few hours later, the laundry was done, and I finally received the packages sent to me here. Thanks so much to my parents, Jeanne, Wendy, and Aunt Sue for the awesome packages and encouraging letters. Lots of love and thanks - every one meant a lot :)

After we got our clean summer clothes on (the temp had climbed past 80...), we headed to the Dollar General, then the Hot Springs Spa (we booked a tub for later), then the outfitter, then ice cream. The boys' package wasn't at the outfitter yet, but I think it should show up tomorrow morning.


It was HOT out!! The thermometer at the outfitters read 94... ! We walked back up to the Duckett House, cracked a few beers, and went down to the stream that bordered Frank's property. Soaked our feet a bit before hanging out more on the porch.


Later we got dinner on the way back to the Spa - seemed like a 20 mile walk each time as it was on the opposite edge of town. We ate and then got access to our private mineral bath jacuzi. Ooo la la. We cracked a few more beers (which was completely allowed) and enjoyed the river view, hot water, and good company. Ahhhhhhh...

After the soak, we headed back into town and were talking about how we were so sure we'd run into Little Foot at some point here, but didn't, and no one had his phone number. THEN there was a faint cry out as we passed by the Sunnybrook Inn. It was Little Foot!! We went up and chatted for a bit, and he shared snacks and told us how he'd ended up at the Riverfest with his buddies last night after rolling in and partied till 5am... After walking 26+ miles!!?! Trooper.

Headed back for bed at the Duckett. We are all very exhausted from our excessive time spent eating and soaking... ;) I'm headed out of town tomorrow, early afternoon, to try to make it to Erwin, TN by Thursday to meet up with my friend Adam from DC. He and his friend Robert will walk with me for a long weekend!

The boys may stay another day here, or move over to Sunnybrook, or leave town tomorrow, too. I may be without them for a few days... or not...

I already miss this zero day, but there are many many many many miles to go!!

Check out my sweet hiking pole strap tan:




-- Posted from the trail...

Location:The Duckett House

Day 18: Hot Springs, Hot Feet

We weren't gonna go all the way to Hot Springs, NC from the Ground Hog shelter... But after Little Foot left early and left a note at the shelter we WERE going to stay at, the challenge was on. Longest day yet. 27 miles.



Little Foot left camp first in the morning, then me, then the guys. Such a pleasant morning to wake up to. Nice and mild. I never caught LF, but I stopped atop Max Patch, a BEAUTIFUL spot of endless grassy hills with the mountains all around in the background. I sang The Hills Are Alive again... I stopped for a break, then Xan and Brian showed up and stopped, too. Gorgeous break. A few other hikers stopped by in our area as well, and it ended up being almost 2 hours before I was hiking again. We had only planned to go about 13 miles today - to take it easy after making it 41 miles in a day and a half.

We left Max Patch together and loved the next 3 miles of flat-ish hiking, through the sunny woods. It was another warm day. We finally made it to the Walnut shelter, where we had planned to stay, when we found the note. Well, then we HAD to keep going! No, we really didn't, but we were all feeling up for it and, despite the weather report for thunderstorms, the sky looked great.

Off we went! Lots of down, but ups too, and about am hour from town it really looked and sounded like rain. Getting a better look, tho, from a clearer spot made me realize that the thunder I thought I heard was actually a plane, and the dark clouds I thought I saw were mostly dark mountains... So we ended up crawling into town at 8:30pm, desperate for a nice clean hotel room and a shower. And food! Our optimism for such things slowly faded, tho, as we walked the streets on this Saturday night. There was a big music festival in town and all the hotels were fully booked! Even the hostels! Luckily, we ended up at The Dockett House, which had one spot in the bunkhouse, and would allow us to tent on the lawn. I got the bunk room (big smiley face and thanks to the boys). After setting up, we got to chatting with Frank and a few of the other guests and there were huge biscuits passed around and bananas. We all decided that showers were more important than eating, so we got clean and chowed down a few more biscuits with a few beers on the front porch in rocking chairs WITH our feet up. It was such a nice ending to the day... Who needs dinner when there's biscuits, beer and bananas...?

Almost 70 miles in 2.5 days... Go us.
(...go us to bed...)


-- Posted from the trail...

Location:The Dockett House B&B

Day 17: See Ya, Smokies...

Woke up early from a bizarre dream where I had to give an info-mercial/presentation about a gardening tool in front of a live audience at the halftime of a semi-pro football game... all because my cousin Becky was feeling sick and couldn't do it. I had no idea what I was doing, but I was talking in a southern twang... and then my former co-worker, Felicia, was trying to get me into her apartment building, but the electronic implant in my arm wasn't working.

Dreams are weird.



Right, so, I got up early and left by 7:15. Great few miles in the crisp morning air till I got to the next shelter, and I had juuuust missed the guys leaving at 10ish. Kept walking in the warming day, expecting to see the guys at any point. Didn't. (what I DID see, though, was the poo of at least 50 horses, but never did see an actual horse. Strangely frustrating.) I did pass Yeti and then caught Little Foot and Pee-Wee at the gap. (I had walked 16 miles by 1pm and was officially out of the Smokies!) It was 2.4 more miles to the Standing Bear hostel where the boys were going to stop for lunch. I ended up getting there about 20 mins after they did, and we chilled for an hour in a half in this amazing little hippy village.


Little Foot, Pee-Wee and Yeti rolled in shortly after. The guys had a bunch of snacks and made a pizza, and I had a Coke, an oatmeal cream pie, and a Jimmy Dean breakfast sandwich. We soaked our feet in the stream and later had an ice pop. It was so nice out. We didn't want to leave, but the boys had only done 8 miles (24 yesterday, tho!!) and we all kinda wanted to camp for free rather than pay a hostel.

Sooooo as the sugar high was leaving our veins, we took off on an uphill battle, looking for a suitable campsite. The next shelter was another 7 something miles away. The guys blazed uphill and I was starting to fade. Little Foot was in front. Xan and Brian were somewhere in the middle. I was feeling pretty slow (walking since 7:15am!). The knee I fell on was a bit sore, but not from falling. It's just always the knee that's sore, especially going downhill. It's the blisters on my heels that are the most sore tho. Both heels now! Even my trusty, go-to left foot?! Just waiting for my baby skin to die off and my big girl skin to grow in, I guess...

So I kept going. And going. And going... Passing a couple campsites, but nothing too good for four of us, and I didn't see the boys. Still hot out. Kinda buggy. I think I'm getting an idea of what summer may be like... Kept going. More uphill. No idea how far we'd gone or when we left or how far it was to the next anything. Tired. Feet hurt. Then the hill broke out into a grassy bald and I started to sing "thaaaaaa HILLS are aliiiiiive... with the sound of muuuuuusic!" It was a beautiful sight with the Smokies in the background. Kept walking across the bald and back onto the woods, but now it was downhill. Ahhhh. Better. Since it got up to about 80 degrees and was sunny all day, it was oh-so-nice to be going downhill in the shade. (ps: I stank)

Right about 7:45pm, when I was thinking about when I should start thinking about starting to worry, I came to a shelter sign! And the boys had written my name in the dirt with an arrow. I'd made it!!?! 25.3 miles!!! That's almost a marathon!! And it took just about 2.5 times as long as it did to run the one I did... I felt pretty good. Feet hurt, but spirits were high. The shelter (only sleeps 6) was full, but the boys were setting up camp down by the stream, so I joined. A beautiful spot. After setting up camp, we all ate around the fire Xan and Little Foot made and joked around until eyelids got heavy. A few big days for them and for me. Well deserved sleep ahead... and maybe rain tomorrow afternoon... Glad we got in some major miles during the nice weather. Fewer than two days till a zero day in Hot Springs, NC!!!

(25.3 miles...! I'm a bad ass, right? Am I right?? I'm right, right? I'm so right... Am I right?)


-- Posted from the trail...

Location:Ground Hog Shelter

Day 16: Tennessee to my left... Carolina to my right...

Well, our plan to get up and make the 8am shuttle fell through as we talked while falling asleep last night... And soon after we woke up, so did our back-up plan to catch a 9am shuttle for $10... Little Foot was the impressive exception - he managed to leave early and made the 8am shuttle. Xan, Brian and I were just not feeling it.

The hotel had coffee, hot cocoa, donuts and fruit for breakfast (what a deal!!), and I had snagged a bit of fruit from the buffet last night in a plastic bag (shhh), so the morning meal was taken care of. We said goodbye to Still Steve who was gonna spend another night in town, and we headed to the main drag to hitch up to Newfound Gap. (side note: Steve is awesome. And if Zack Galifinakis did a movie about hiking, Steve could be his body double... Also, Steve is very helpful as he started the AT southbound last summer and knows all about the northern half of the trail. He got held up in Pearisburg, VA with all the snow early this year, so he took a small break and began down at Springer the day after we did. (also also... Steve thought I was 22, so he gets extra fun bonus points...))

Not ten minutes into strategizing did a little ole lady in a teal 2-door coup pull up and lure us in with the promise of fried chicken!! Her name was Timex, and she was 70. She thru-hiked in 2004 and had a trunk full of food to take up to hikers as trail magic. Golden!!


She gave us a few pointers about the trail and told us some stories (including the one where she fell down a mountain and broke two ribs!?! At 64?!!??!? ...she kept going, too...), and then we were back at the gap, eating chicken and chocolate and soon saying goodbye. What a morning! And what a beautiful day!!! (oh, and we saw a bear near the road on the way back up... two tourists were out of their car snapping photos... seemed very zoo-like, so I'm not sure I can count it...)

It was just lovely out - 65 and sunny maybe...? Probably got up to 70. We set up the hill, which according to the map was supposed to be a very steep climb, but it ended up being a very handle-able grade. The hiking was great today! And (as Xan said) it was vista-licious!


We were basically walking on narrow ridgelines with Tennessee on our left and North Carolina on our right. It was beautiful, and there wasn't too much mud until the end. There was still a bunch of snow in the shady parts if the mountain. The three of us stayed together the whole day and had an awesome 90's sing-along during the last 2 hours. Barenaked Ladies, Cake, 311, Puddle of Mudd, Spice Girls, Billy Joel, Cher, Kid Rock, The Offpring, Alanis Morissette, and much much more... Good times.

We pulled into a fairly full shelter around 6:15pm. Little Foot, Pee-Wee, and Yeti were thinking about pressing onto the next shelter, 7 something miles away, and doing a little night hiking while there's a full moon out. Xan and Brian were in, but I was done for the day. I can go night hiking when it's warmer... and we had already done 16miles. So they left and I set up camp on the bottom shelf of the shelter. Joyce was here and a few familiar faces. I made my noodle soup and packed up for bed. I gotta catch those guys tomorrow! (they're planning a late start and they'll be stopping in Davenport gap for a package, so it could happen...)

Should be nice again tomorrow, but rain through the weekend.

Happy ASM10 to the ABI'ers! Hope all is going well over at National Harbor!!



-- Posted from the trail...

Location:Ski Mountain Rd,Gatlinburg,United States

Day 15: Clingmans's Dome!

Woke up freezing. Below freezing, actually. The themometer read 25 degrees... Few wanted to leave their warm sleeping bags. I was one, but somehow mustered the strength to get up, go get water from the stream and make some tea. Ugh, it was so cold!!



During the evening before, lots of kids were talking about hitching into Gatlinburg from Newfound Gap for a night at the cheap Grand Prix hotel after surviving the snow. Xan, Brian and I had planned to go straight through the Smokies, but the idea of going into town was sounding more and more overwhelmingly awesome. AND Brian's sister, Meg, goes to U Tennesee and was willing to swing by, pick us up, and go have lunch in Gatlinburg. Excellent. But we had to get to the gap by 2pm.

So, we began hiking shortly after 9 and it was pretty cool. A winter wonderland of sorts... Luckily, a few people left before us, so there were tracks to follow. Couldn't see much of any white blazes...

Now, there are good times to be 6 feet tall, like when you have to hang your pack on a high nail... and there are bad times to be 6 feet tall, like when all the trees are heavy with snow and hanging all over the trail. Though, unless you were 4 foot nothing, you'd have to duck and dodge all those branches... And if you hit one (which happened very often) all the snow goes right down your back. Hello!

The 5 mile climb to the top of Clingman's Dome (the highest elevation of the whole AT) was very beautiful in the (thank god!) morning sun, and it was nice and gradual. We got to the top and took a few frosty photos from the observation deck before the strong winds chased us back down. (most of those photos are on my camera, not my iPhone, but I'll try to get a few uploaded...)

Then we started DOWN. By this time, the sun was strong, and all the snow was melting. It was basically raining on us, and the mud/snow/ice mixture on the ground was gross, slippery, and quite unpleasant. Brian and Xan took off (they're very fast downhill), and I was walking with Little Foot for a while. He stopped to pee and I didn't end up seeing him again till the end. I was trying to focus hard on my steps, and a bad-news-bears email I got (with brief phone service at the top) had me all flustered and thinking, but I wanted to go fast to be in time for our ride... I was soaking wet from the snow/ice drips and frustrated, and then stumble #10 of the day was my first fall. Slippery log. Right foot went left, and I came down on my right knee and hand. Argh! But no injury. I did a bit of a laugh/cry and then took off again, a bit slower now... The boys and I had a bet where the first person to fall would buy a round of beers. Beer's on me.

I was so ready to be done with this mountain!! And I was going to make it in time. Just before I got to the gap, someone had left trail magic on the trail!! A box of Nutter Butters, Ho-Ho's, oranges and bananas!! Instant good mood. And then I met the boys in the parking lot. Lots of action and tourists a this gap. One guy asked me to pose for a picture, so he could capture a "real through hiker." Ha!

Meg showed up a few minutes after we all got there, and soon we packed 6 stinky hikers and all our stuff into her friend's jeep cheroke... It was impressive. 20 minutes later, Meg, Brian, Xan, Little Foot, Joyce, Still Steve, and I were packing in the food at Wendy's in Gatlinburg, TN. Delish.

Meg had to get back to campus for a softball game, but dropped us all off at the Grand Prix hotel at the edge of town. 4 in a room for $14 each. Nice! Two queen beds and a balcony for all our stinky crap! Joyce and Steve gir singles. We dumped everything and "e-pack-ulated" everywhere, and started laundry. A quick trip to the outfitter and the mini mart, and we hung out with a few other hikers in our room. We were waiting for laundry and drinking a few beers before hitting up the all-you-can-eat buffet at Shoney's. Aw yeah. We ate like kings. And now it's so very late for us. Almost 11?!?! Tired. Too full. Big uphill tomorrow. So tired. Bloated. But happy with a pillow...


-- Posted from the trail...

Location:Ski Mountain Rd,Gatlinburg,United States