So naturally I got out of Harpers Ferry later than planned. After grabbing my pack at the hostel I headed down to the trail which wove through the woods for about 1/2 mile before it shoved me out into historic downtown Harpers Ferry. I was officially in Touristville. Under normal circumstances I would love wandering around this historic town, but when you have a pack on and you are simply in the market for an outfitter and a grocery store, it can be a bit annoying. As I wandered aimlessly among the old-timey buildings, Oak (fellow trailmate staying at the hostel I was) spotted me and directed me to the tiny outfitter. I grabbed a few bandannas then joined him for some ice cream at ye old ice cream parlor. Oak pointed out that there was a general store on his little map, so we headed in that direction to see if I could pick up some fruit to hike out with and to see if he could do a full resupply there. We arrived at the "general store" and headed inside, realizing upon first step in the door that we were hugely mistaken. We had unknowingly wandered into 're-enactmentville' Harpers Ferry and there among a variety of fake goods available for purchase in 1883 stood a 17 year old in a civil war costume spewing a rehearsed tour. After our tour we inquired where one might purchase present day goods, only to be answered with a blank stare. At this point I decided to screw the fruit and get the hell out of this town. I had a few more quaint streets and bridges to pass by before the trail finally led me out of town. Oak walked me to the trailhead and waved me goodbye as I crossed the river and he wandered back into town in search of a store with actual merchandise.
I exited West Virginia almost immediately after leaving Harpers Ferry and entered Maryland. I hiked 15 miles that afternoon and it was a very quiet and pleasant hike. The AT in Maryland weaves around the Civil War Trails, so my hike was dotted with monuments and battlefields with plaques informing visitors of what great general died there. If you are a Civil War enthusiast, a visit to Harpers Ferry and the surrounding area is a must. The spattering of history throughout my hike was a pleasant change, but I was anxious to get to the backcountry. I realized this would not happen for me in Maryland. I got to the shelter late that night due to an extended puppy chow break (thanks Amy!) and an invested interest in an episode of Ants vs. Caterpillar. Watching ants does not make me crazy. I love that I have been afforded the time to simply sit and observe life, even at such a minute level. Ant watching is also an excellent 'hiking avoidance tactic.' When your only options are to either climb up this mountain, or sit and watch some ants, sometimes, you're gonna go with the ants.
I had to set my tent up that night in the dark, and right after I crawled in, my tent was attacked by what turned out to be a cat, though I didn't realize that until after I had 17 heart attacks. Only when I heard it meow did I conclude I was in no immediate danger, and my fear was replaced by confusion as I wondered what the fuck a cat was doing out here. Apparently it lives at the shelter and makes a good living yoging food from hikers and catching mice. The next morning Q-tip and Dances with Flies (fellow hikers I met that morning and may never see again, as it took them three days to do what I did in one) made me a breakfast burrito, which I gave half of to the cute forest cat, and then headed out to Dahlgren Campground. There were so many of these 'campgrounds' with bathrooms and running water. It's convenient but I am getting a bit annoyed at the presence of civilization. I walked another two miles and hit Washington Monument State Park. The trail leads right by the visitors center and straight up to the original Washington Monument. After I read through all the random George Washington facts scattered about and climbed the tower with Testament (section hiker I met the night before), it was was time to get moving. Testament and I hiked to the next shelter to have lunch, where I learned how alarmingly unprepared he was to be out here. A lot of hikers who are only doing half the AT launch from Harpers Ferry, so just when I was finally familiar with all the faces out here, a whole new batch of section hikers are getting thrown in the mix. When he learned that I had already been out here for three months he dove right into a novel of questions for me which I answered happily. I mean the kid had a garbage bag full of Chef Boyardee cans. Now my three months out here by no means makes me a backcountry expert, but I realized talking to him how confident and comfortable I had become out here. He told me how scared he would have been to hike after dark like I did. It's not ideal and I usually only do it when I still need to find water, but there's nothing there in the dark that isn't there in the light.
After leaving Testament I probably had one of the most boring stretches of hiking. I didn't run into another person all day, which most of the time is nice, but the trail was so flat and easy, I increasingly became less motivated to hike it. At least the climbs and boulders and roots and crazy turns give your mind something to focus on. When you are simply walking a flat tread with nothing to look at but the same tree on repeat and you have become exceedingly indifferent to your ipod and the numerous bird calls you have memorized, your mind has the freedom to wander wherever it chooses. Sometimes I welcome the long stretches where I lose myself in thought, and sometimes I go insane. I realized that even though I'll bitch about it later, what I like most about hiking and why I do it is the challenge. Hiking is a form of meditation for me, it is the only thing that has ever successfully cleared my head. When I'm going up a tough climb, my mind empties and I focus solely on getting to the top, probably similar to a runner's high. I realize this is a bit masochistic of me (but everyone on the AT is a masochist) but the physical pain I am putting my body through provides a path to clarity for my mind. Hiking is a very peaceful activity for me, despite it's difficulties, and that is why I do it.
I camped alone that night on top of Raven Cliff and woke the next morning ready to get out of Maryland and the Blair Witch woods (it's only 40 miles, 2 days of hiking) and excited to catch up with Daystar, Pants and Gribly. While I was packing my tent the morning rush hour started filtering past. The Ape Team (really fun couple from TN) informed me that Bullet was at their shelter last night and he had a message for me. I didn't know Bullet, but he knew that my trekking pole replacement Black Diamond was suppose to send me arrived at the Bears Den Hostel the day after I had left. Before my annoyance at Black Diamond could register I first was impressed by the effectiveness of trail telephone. Bears Den had no way of getting ahold of me as these hostels rarely take down any info, the manager simply asked the hikers that were currently there to spread the message up the trail. It only took 2 days after the pole arrived for the message to reach me via trial grapevine, even though I was already 60+ miles past Bears Den.
I found some water (I had to hike .4 off the trail down a steep hill, was not happy) and started my 26 mile day to Quarry Gap Shelter. I booked it past Pen-Mar park, crossed the Mason-Dixon line (ya!) stepped into Pennsylvania and by the time I had reached Snowy Mountain Rd, I had found Daystar and her sister Be-Bop! We all had the same goal for the day and headed on. Gribley and Pants had decided to hitch into Gettysburg for the night and camp with a bunch of boy scouts, and would meet us on the trail tomorrow. Quarry Gap Shelter was one of the nicest shelters thus far, in fact all of the shelters in PA have been top notch, TN should take notes. At the end of my marathon day I was nothing short of starved. This was the first time I really felt my hiker appetite take over my sanity. All I could think about was food. I devoured a pot of mashed potatoes intended for a family of 4 and felt like I had simply taken a deep breath, that's how little impact it had on my stomach. I realized that if I was going continue doing these big mile days I would need to start carrying more food. We all went to bed a little hungry that night, but it was ok, for the next day we would reach the official AT midpoint and be rewarded with a half gallon of ice cream....sweet dreams............
Monday, June 25, 2012
Wednesday, June 13, 2012
Halfway! (Almost)
Hi all! I've made it to Harper's Ferry, West VA! This is considered the mental halfway point of the AT. The ATC headquarters is located here, and it is the moment we finally get out of Virginia. The actual AT midpoint is in another 75 milesish so I should be hitting that Saturday morning. It is tradition to eat a half gallon of ice cream at the halfway point on the AT (there is a small store in the state park there, which I assume keeps the ice cream well stocked for this event). As excited as I was to reach Harper's Ferry, I will be more excited to reach the half gallon challenge:)
After an awesome two days off with my pops, I was dropped back off at the trailhead by myself in some lovely weather. Threats of hail and tornadoes were in the distance as my dad looked at me one last time to check that I really wanted to go out hiking in this.....apparently I did as I hopped out of the car and waved goodbye. One of the many things I love and appreciate about my dad is his ability to let me do what I want without questioning it. Very few parents would confidently deposit their child on top of a mountain in a storm by themselves without putting up some fight. About 10 minutes into my hike the storm I was intent on ignoring hit, and I started to quicken my pace down the mountain. About 5 or 6 deer flew past me on the trail, sprinting away from the storm. I wanted to yell at them to wait for me, as I also didn't want to be up there, but the stupid fast quadrupeds left me alone to deal with the storm by myself. I only made it 9 miles to the first shelter just in time to watch a 20ft. tree fall down right on the trail. Cathing up to my friends was going to take a bit longer than I thought.....
The next day was gorgeous and I hiked 25 miles straight into Shenendoah National Park. The park is very crowded with tourists, there are lodges/campsites/restaurants everywhere, and the wildlife is abudant and very used to humans, so bear and deer sightings are quite common. I saw a total of 6 bears, including a mamma bear and her cub. I got to watch the mamma teach her cub how to climb a tree, then I got to run away very fast when she realized I was watching. The deer also have no fear and practically walk right up to you. One of them tripped on my tent one night it was grazing so close. I was excited to get in and out of the park and back to the normal quiet woods. One thing I realized my first day in the Shennies is how much of a little family all the thru-hikers had become. Since I was seperated from my group, I didn't think I would have hiking buddies for awhile, but on the first day in the park I ran into a ton of old familar faces I hadn't seen in awhile. They had all caught up to me while I took those 2 days off. I still got to Blackrock by 7:45pm even with my numerous chat breaks with Ranger Bill, Spirit, The Honeymoon Hikers, Peach, Overdrive and ta-da! - Watermelon and Pants were at the shelter when I got there! I hadn't really seen Watermelon since the blizzard on Roan Mountain so it was awesome seeing him again. Pants, Watermelon and I hiked together for the next few days.
Sadly Watermelon and I lost Pants when he left Bearfence shelter early one morning and Watermelon and I decided not to leave till 1:30 for no apparent reason. The two of us had a slow couple of days with frequent town stops into Luray and Front Royal as Watermelon battled some unknown illness that kept him puking quite regularly:( I tried to keep him company while also keeping my distance so I didn't get sick, so far so good:) We celebrated as we finally got out of the park and set our sights on West VA. Virginia didn't let us out without a fight. The last 25 miles of VA were rocky as hell, and included 13.5 miles of The Rollar Coaster, a series of tightly packed climbs that totally wore everyone out. Unfortunately Watermelon ended up getting a ride from Bears Den Hostel to Harpers Ferry to catch a train home:( I am bummed to see him go and hope that he can finish the trail soon!
I hiked the last 20 miles into Harper's Ferry with Hot Shot, we got rained on the entire way so we booked it here and arrived around 3:30 yesterday. 20 miles by 3:30 might be one of my best times. We went straight to the ATC headquarters to get our picture taken and sign in, I am the 447th thru-hiker to come through Harpers Ferry this year. I had a relaxing night eating obscene amounts of pizza and hanging out with new friends at the hostel. I am excited to venture out into the woods on my own again, but hopefully this time get in some serious miles to catch up with the gang. 20's are pretty easy now, and I know we are all going to slow down once we hit The Whites up north so I'm going to try to get as many miles in now so I'm not hiking in snow up there.....probably will be anyway.
As I was hiking the other day I really realized how happy I am out here. There are ups and downs (literally), but there is really no where else I would rather be. I have nothing but love in my heart for these mountains and this trail and I am so excited to start the second half of my journey. I will be leaving West VA shortly as there is only a total of six miles or something here, heading into Maryland for two days (it only has 40 miles of trail) and then it's on to Pennsylvania! I gotta go eat the rest of my pizza and walk into the woods. Peace and love!!
After an awesome two days off with my pops, I was dropped back off at the trailhead by myself in some lovely weather. Threats of hail and tornadoes were in the distance as my dad looked at me one last time to check that I really wanted to go out hiking in this.....apparently I did as I hopped out of the car and waved goodbye. One of the many things I love and appreciate about my dad is his ability to let me do what I want without questioning it. Very few parents would confidently deposit their child on top of a mountain in a storm by themselves without putting up some fight. About 10 minutes into my hike the storm I was intent on ignoring hit, and I started to quicken my pace down the mountain. About 5 or 6 deer flew past me on the trail, sprinting away from the storm. I wanted to yell at them to wait for me, as I also didn't want to be up there, but the stupid fast quadrupeds left me alone to deal with the storm by myself. I only made it 9 miles to the first shelter just in time to watch a 20ft. tree fall down right on the trail. Cathing up to my friends was going to take a bit longer than I thought.....
The next day was gorgeous and I hiked 25 miles straight into Shenendoah National Park. The park is very crowded with tourists, there are lodges/campsites/restaurants everywhere, and the wildlife is abudant and very used to humans, so bear and deer sightings are quite common. I saw a total of 6 bears, including a mamma bear and her cub. I got to watch the mamma teach her cub how to climb a tree, then I got to run away very fast when she realized I was watching. The deer also have no fear and practically walk right up to you. One of them tripped on my tent one night it was grazing so close. I was excited to get in and out of the park and back to the normal quiet woods. One thing I realized my first day in the Shennies is how much of a little family all the thru-hikers had become. Since I was seperated from my group, I didn't think I would have hiking buddies for awhile, but on the first day in the park I ran into a ton of old familar faces I hadn't seen in awhile. They had all caught up to me while I took those 2 days off. I still got to Blackrock by 7:45pm even with my numerous chat breaks with Ranger Bill, Spirit, The Honeymoon Hikers, Peach, Overdrive and ta-da! - Watermelon and Pants were at the shelter when I got there! I hadn't really seen Watermelon since the blizzard on Roan Mountain so it was awesome seeing him again. Pants, Watermelon and I hiked together for the next few days.
Sadly Watermelon and I lost Pants when he left Bearfence shelter early one morning and Watermelon and I decided not to leave till 1:30 for no apparent reason. The two of us had a slow couple of days with frequent town stops into Luray and Front Royal as Watermelon battled some unknown illness that kept him puking quite regularly:( I tried to keep him company while also keeping my distance so I didn't get sick, so far so good:) We celebrated as we finally got out of the park and set our sights on West VA. Virginia didn't let us out without a fight. The last 25 miles of VA were rocky as hell, and included 13.5 miles of The Rollar Coaster, a series of tightly packed climbs that totally wore everyone out. Unfortunately Watermelon ended up getting a ride from Bears Den Hostel to Harpers Ferry to catch a train home:( I am bummed to see him go and hope that he can finish the trail soon!
I hiked the last 20 miles into Harper's Ferry with Hot Shot, we got rained on the entire way so we booked it here and arrived around 3:30 yesterday. 20 miles by 3:30 might be one of my best times. We went straight to the ATC headquarters to get our picture taken and sign in, I am the 447th thru-hiker to come through Harpers Ferry this year. I had a relaxing night eating obscene amounts of pizza and hanging out with new friends at the hostel. I am excited to venture out into the woods on my own again, but hopefully this time get in some serious miles to catch up with the gang. 20's are pretty easy now, and I know we are all going to slow down once we hit The Whites up north so I'm going to try to get as many miles in now so I'm not hiking in snow up there.....probably will be anyway.
As I was hiking the other day I really realized how happy I am out here. There are ups and downs (literally), but there is really no where else I would rather be. I have nothing but love in my heart for these mountains and this trail and I am so excited to start the second half of my journey. I will be leaving West VA shortly as there is only a total of six miles or something here, heading into Maryland for two days (it only has 40 miles of trail) and then it's on to Pennsylvania! I gotta go eat the rest of my pizza and walk into the woods. Peace and love!!
Friday, June 1, 2012
Privy Reading
For each of us eventually, whether we're ready for it or not, it will come to an end. There will be no more sunrises nor minutes, hours, or days. All collected, whether treasured or forgotten will pass to someone else. Your wealth, fame, and tempered power will shrivel to irrelevance. It will not matter what you owed or owned. Your grudges, resentments, frustrations, and jealousies will finally disappear. So to your hopes, ambitions, plans, and to do list will expire. The wins and losses that once seemed so important will fade away. It won't matter where you came from or on what side of the tracks you lived. At the end it won't matter if you're beautiful or brilliant. Even your gender and skin color will be irrelevant. So what will matter?
What matters is not what you've bought but what you've built. Not what you've got, but what you gave. What will matter is not your success but your significants. What will matter is not what you've learned, but what you've taught. What will matter is every act of integrity, compassion, courage, or sacrifice that enriched, empowered, or encouraged others to emulate your example. What will matter is not your competence, but your character. What will matter is not how many people you know, but how many will feel a lasting loss when you're gone. What will matter is not your memories, but the memories that live in those that you love.
A life lived that matters is not of circumstance, but a choice.
What matters is not what you've bought but what you've built. Not what you've got, but what you gave. What will matter is not your success but your significants. What will matter is not what you've learned, but what you've taught. What will matter is every act of integrity, compassion, courage, or sacrifice that enriched, empowered, or encouraged others to emulate your example. What will matter is not your competence, but your character. What will matter is not how many people you know, but how many will feel a lasting loss when you're gone. What will matter is not your memories, but the memories that live in those that you love.
A life lived that matters is not of circumstance, but a choice.
Still in VA....
Hello! Sorry for the month long hiatus, had a hard time getting to a computer. Last time I checked in I was in Damascus, VA, and I have since hiked some 375+ miles to my current location in Waynesboro, VA. The last month has gone by crazy fast with some ups and downs, but mostly ups:) Unfortunately, Pac-man, Hollywood and Flugelhorn have decided to get off the trail permanently. They were offered awesome Wilderness Ranger jobs that were too good to pass up. We are all really excited for them but also sad not to be hiking with them anymore. Daystar, Gribley, Pants, Lighthouse and I have carried on. I'm not really sure how to recap the last month, Virginia is a long state and I feel as though I've been in it forever. Some hikers have definitely got the "Virginia Blues" and I think we did for a few days as well. As we become stronger hikers (we are consistently doing 18-24 miles a day now), the challenges we face are more mental. The honeymoon period is over for a lot of hikers and they are slowly get sick of being out here. I have definitely had my days where I wake up and have no desire to strap all of my belongings to my back and hike over mountains all day. But despite our 'blue period' I still love being out here and VA has been good to me. Even on the totally shit days you just have to say to yourself, 'well, f*ck that day, there will be new days." Somehow sleep cures everything. Days that my ankle hurts so bad and I'm tired and wet and eating another fricken Pasta Side and I go to bed thinking how long will I be able to do this - but you wake up and your body feels a bit better and birds are chirping and you get to enjoy your coffee while looking at an amazing view of the mountains, and you start to wonder about what you're going to see today or who you'll meet or where you'll end up and you start to get excited again. I think if you lose that excitement, maybe it is time to get off. I hope I never do.
Despite the boring rainy beginning of VA, we have been having a good time - some of Gribley's friends came to hike with us for a few days and it was awesome introducing the trail to them. Daystar's sister has joined us as well and will be hiking with us for another couple of weeks. We stayed at an amazing farm called Woods Hole before heading back to Damascus for Trail Days. The energy at this hostel was so healing, and it was one of my favorite places so far on the trail. It was a very relaxing place to chill before heading to the madness that was Trail Days. Trail Days is a three day hiker festival that takes place in Damascus (we had to drive back to it as we were about 200 trail miles past). I got some gear repaired, ate, drank and was merry:) There was a 'hiker parade' in which all the current and previous years thru-hikers walk down the main street and have a water fight with the locals. It was basically a 3,000 person water balloon fight and it was awesome. There was also a hiker talent show - some of it was great, some was a great showcase as to why none of us have jobs and live in the woods.
After Trail Days we got dropped back where we left off and climbed up to McAfee knob (that's the pic where I am dangling off the edge that everyone is freaking out about, it's ok I won't fall). We watched the sunset up there and all seemed right with the world. We have been exposed to some phenomenal views lately, and some stupidly hot weather. It's amazing how something as simple as a gust of wind can change your life for just a second. Virginia has also given me my first bears! I've seen two now, and am no longer afraid of them as they seem to be more afraid of me. Virginia is also home to the Devil's Backbone Brewing Co., the most magical place on earth. This brewery picked the 5 of us up at the trailhead for free and took us to their brewery where I ate the most ridiculous thing I've ever eaten: 1/2lb burger topped with a pile of pulled pork, bacon, cheese, an onion ring and of course BBQ sauce. It started raining while we were there so the brewery guys let us sleep on their enclosed outdoor patio, started a fire in the pit for us, and gave us two free growlers of beer. What generous (and trusting) people to just pick up strangers out of the woods, give them a bunch of beer and leave to let them sleep at their place of business. The beer was good too:)
We made our way to Waynesboro, where I met up with my dad (he is a little over 100 miles ahead, he rented a car and drove back to hang for a few days). Yesterday we went to Monticello and to the Luray Caverns. It was so nice to see him and to take a break from the trail, but I am so ready to get back in the woods. I'm not sure I like the outside world as much as I used to and I far prefer the woods for the time being. I'm a day behind my friends, so I will hike faster to try and catch up, but I am looking forward to having a few days on my own. I usually hike alone during the day and we meet up for breaks/camp so it will be nice to have a few nights to myself....I say this skeptically as I am about to enter Shenandoah National Park (Blue Ridge mountains, Shenandoah River, John Denver and all that), and it is notoriously crowded with tourists. I should be hitting Harpers Ferry, WV in 9ish days, known as the mental halfway point of the AT. I couldn't be more excited!!!!! I still have a long way to go......but I've got 842.3 miles under my boots. Only 1341.9 to go!!
Despite the boring rainy beginning of VA, we have been having a good time - some of Gribley's friends came to hike with us for a few days and it was awesome introducing the trail to them. Daystar's sister has joined us as well and will be hiking with us for another couple of weeks. We stayed at an amazing farm called Woods Hole before heading back to Damascus for Trail Days. The energy at this hostel was so healing, and it was one of my favorite places so far on the trail. It was a very relaxing place to chill before heading to the madness that was Trail Days. Trail Days is a three day hiker festival that takes place in Damascus (we had to drive back to it as we were about 200 trail miles past). I got some gear repaired, ate, drank and was merry:) There was a 'hiker parade' in which all the current and previous years thru-hikers walk down the main street and have a water fight with the locals. It was basically a 3,000 person water balloon fight and it was awesome. There was also a hiker talent show - some of it was great, some was a great showcase as to why none of us have jobs and live in the woods.
After Trail Days we got dropped back where we left off and climbed up to McAfee knob (that's the pic where I am dangling off the edge that everyone is freaking out about, it's ok I won't fall). We watched the sunset up there and all seemed right with the world. We have been exposed to some phenomenal views lately, and some stupidly hot weather. It's amazing how something as simple as a gust of wind can change your life for just a second. Virginia has also given me my first bears! I've seen two now, and am no longer afraid of them as they seem to be more afraid of me. Virginia is also home to the Devil's Backbone Brewing Co., the most magical place on earth. This brewery picked the 5 of us up at the trailhead for free and took us to their brewery where I ate the most ridiculous thing I've ever eaten: 1/2lb burger topped with a pile of pulled pork, bacon, cheese, an onion ring and of course BBQ sauce. It started raining while we were there so the brewery guys let us sleep on their enclosed outdoor patio, started a fire in the pit for us, and gave us two free growlers of beer. What generous (and trusting) people to just pick up strangers out of the woods, give them a bunch of beer and leave to let them sleep at their place of business. The beer was good too:)
We made our way to Waynesboro, where I met up with my dad (he is a little over 100 miles ahead, he rented a car and drove back to hang for a few days). Yesterday we went to Monticello and to the Luray Caverns. It was so nice to see him and to take a break from the trail, but I am so ready to get back in the woods. I'm not sure I like the outside world as much as I used to and I far prefer the woods for the time being. I'm a day behind my friends, so I will hike faster to try and catch up, but I am looking forward to having a few days on my own. I usually hike alone during the day and we meet up for breaks/camp so it will be nice to have a few nights to myself....I say this skeptically as I am about to enter Shenandoah National Park (Blue Ridge mountains, Shenandoah River, John Denver and all that), and it is notoriously crowded with tourists. I should be hitting Harpers Ferry, WV in 9ish days, known as the mental halfway point of the AT. I couldn't be more excited!!!!! I still have a long way to go......but I've got 842.3 miles under my boots. Only 1341.9 to go!!
Monday, April 30, 2012
Hellooooo Virginia!
Hiya, so last time I checked in I was in the silly town of Erwin, TN. We hung out at Uncle Johnny's hostel most of the afternoon and finally hit the trail around 5pm. Due to the late start our goal was only Curly Maple Gap shelter about five miles away. The hike out of Erwin was pleasant, it followed a stream most of the way until we hit a stupidly steep climb right before the shelter. Those climbs that are so steep, where the ground is in your face, suck all the energy out you. When we got to the shelter, it was packed but luckily most of us were able to squeeze in. Like towns, shelters are fun gathering places for hikers. We spread out so much on the trail, but when you hit a shelter or a town sometimes you see hikers you haven't seen in weeks. The next morning we were, of course, the last ones to pull the trigger and leave. We hiked up to Beauty Spot, a grassy bald with a great view. We spent 2 hours up there with Blues Clues and Lighthouse playing Ninja and sunbathing. We still had Unaka Mountain to climb over. I decided I didn't want to carry water up the mountain, as I knew there was a stream on top, and I also had about three pounds of gummy bears in my bag for our 'zero in the woods' day.....
We all decided in Erwin that we should take a zero in the woods (a zero is a day you hike no miles, a nero is a day you hike very little miles - at this point I consider any day below double digits a nero). We normally take our zeros in town but we thought it would be fun to actually just sit and enjoy the woods for a day without the need to get up and hike. We all agreed to pack in 'shareables,' so we could sit and eat candy all day long. We found a pretty little apple orchard with a stream, set up camp, and dumped pounds of food in the center for everyone to pick through as they please. It was awesome. I will definitely be doing more zeros in the woods, minus the gummy bears as they were horribly heavy and a hiker should never really choose gummy bears over water.
During the zero, while cooking dinner, Pac-man either knocked over his bottle of fuel or the log he was leaning against shifted - whatever the course of events - Pac-man started himself on fire. The entire right side of his down jacket, including his hand, went aflame. Luckily, Pants on Fire jumped on top of him before any damage was done while Hollywood and I put out the rest of the fire. Other than that little incident, the zero in the woods was one of the most relaxing days I've had on this trip, and I've had a lot of them.....like the next day when we only walked three miles and ended up at some lady's house playing cards most of the afternoon and then getting shuttled to a Mexican restaurant. Connie (or CC) runs a hostel in the middle of nowhere and will take hikers into town (I'm honestly not sure which town or state I was in) to eat. Hollywood, Pants and I ended up spending the night at her hostel and hiking out to meet the rest of the boys the next morning. Daystar had hiked ahead during our zero to meet up with a friend in Boone.
Unfortunately we woke up to some pretty shitastic weather. We had a little over 16 miles to Overmountain shelter, and during my climb over Roan Mountain (which is known for it's cold temps) it started to snow on me. Then it started to sleet on me. We were frozen and soaked by the time we got to the full shelter, and it only got worse. Overmountain is an old barn that has been converted to a shelter, so the top level is completely enclosed, but the assholes that were already up there set up their tents INSIDE the shelter. They double sheltered, which is just a rude thing to do because it leaves less room for other cold wet hikers, like us. We ended up have to sleep on an exposed platform under the barn. It wasn't warm. We woke up to frozen solid boots that took 15 minutes to pound out, frozen water bladders/hoses and our sleeping bags were dusted with snow. It was blizzarding outside and I was seriously dreading hiking the nine miles in my ice block boots to the road where Daystar was going to pick us up, but I didn't really have a choice.
What we didn't see coming was the four miles of exposed balds we had to walk over in the 40mph winds. That four miles was probably the most exciting/terrifying on the trail. It was impossible to walk straight as the wind bitch slapped us over and over again, and you couldn't see more than a few yards in front of you, I just followed the frozen footsteps of the hikers from the day before. We got to the road and were immediately escorted to the Best Western in Banner Elk by Daystar and her awesome friend Monica for hot showers and a sandwich party. The hike from Banner Elk to Damascus (where I currently am) was a tough one. The weather was still being an asshole and we put in a lot of long days. I hiked my longest day at 22.6 miles. I am also officially done with TN, my least favorite state so far. VA is going to be a lot easier than what I've hiked, so I am excited to get up to 30 mile days! I never thought I would be able to hike that much so it feels great that I am getting to that point. I'm going to be in Virgina for the next 550 miles or so. I'll be coming back to Damascus on the weekend of the 18th for Trail Days, the annual hiker festival. The big park turns into 'Tent City' as thousands of current and previous thru-hikers gather here to drink, eat and be merry for one awesome weekend and I can't wait. Sadly, Hollywood, Flugelhorn and Pac-man got off the trail yesterday to go do some trail work in Arkansas for a week. I hope they can hike fast to catch up with us when they get back on because we will miss them!!
But for now I'm gonna go grab some lunch with Daystar, Gribley and Pants and hike out of here, 5 days to Atkins. Tomorrow I will be hiking through Grayson Highlands State Park, where there is a herd of wild horses I plan on finding. I've got carrots:) Miss you all! Kisses!
We all decided in Erwin that we should take a zero in the woods (a zero is a day you hike no miles, a nero is a day you hike very little miles - at this point I consider any day below double digits a nero). We normally take our zeros in town but we thought it would be fun to actually just sit and enjoy the woods for a day without the need to get up and hike. We all agreed to pack in 'shareables,' so we could sit and eat candy all day long. We found a pretty little apple orchard with a stream, set up camp, and dumped pounds of food in the center for everyone to pick through as they please. It was awesome. I will definitely be doing more zeros in the woods, minus the gummy bears as they were horribly heavy and a hiker should never really choose gummy bears over water.
During the zero, while cooking dinner, Pac-man either knocked over his bottle of fuel or the log he was leaning against shifted - whatever the course of events - Pac-man started himself on fire. The entire right side of his down jacket, including his hand, went aflame. Luckily, Pants on Fire jumped on top of him before any damage was done while Hollywood and I put out the rest of the fire. Other than that little incident, the zero in the woods was one of the most relaxing days I've had on this trip, and I've had a lot of them.....like the next day when we only walked three miles and ended up at some lady's house playing cards most of the afternoon and then getting shuttled to a Mexican restaurant. Connie (or CC) runs a hostel in the middle of nowhere and will take hikers into town (I'm honestly not sure which town or state I was in) to eat. Hollywood, Pants and I ended up spending the night at her hostel and hiking out to meet the rest of the boys the next morning. Daystar had hiked ahead during our zero to meet up with a friend in Boone.
Unfortunately we woke up to some pretty shitastic weather. We had a little over 16 miles to Overmountain shelter, and during my climb over Roan Mountain (which is known for it's cold temps) it started to snow on me. Then it started to sleet on me. We were frozen and soaked by the time we got to the full shelter, and it only got worse. Overmountain is an old barn that has been converted to a shelter, so the top level is completely enclosed, but the assholes that were already up there set up their tents INSIDE the shelter. They double sheltered, which is just a rude thing to do because it leaves less room for other cold wet hikers, like us. We ended up have to sleep on an exposed platform under the barn. It wasn't warm. We woke up to frozen solid boots that took 15 minutes to pound out, frozen water bladders/hoses and our sleeping bags were dusted with snow. It was blizzarding outside and I was seriously dreading hiking the nine miles in my ice block boots to the road where Daystar was going to pick us up, but I didn't really have a choice.
What we didn't see coming was the four miles of exposed balds we had to walk over in the 40mph winds. That four miles was probably the most exciting/terrifying on the trail. It was impossible to walk straight as the wind bitch slapped us over and over again, and you couldn't see more than a few yards in front of you, I just followed the frozen footsteps of the hikers from the day before. We got to the road and were immediately escorted to the Best Western in Banner Elk by Daystar and her awesome friend Monica for hot showers and a sandwich party. The hike from Banner Elk to Damascus (where I currently am) was a tough one. The weather was still being an asshole and we put in a lot of long days. I hiked my longest day at 22.6 miles. I am also officially done with TN, my least favorite state so far. VA is going to be a lot easier than what I've hiked, so I am excited to get up to 30 mile days! I never thought I would be able to hike that much so it feels great that I am getting to that point. I'm going to be in Virgina for the next 550 miles or so. I'll be coming back to Damascus on the weekend of the 18th for Trail Days, the annual hiker festival. The big park turns into 'Tent City' as thousands of current and previous thru-hikers gather here to drink, eat and be merry for one awesome weekend and I can't wait. Sadly, Hollywood, Flugelhorn and Pac-man got off the trail yesterday to go do some trail work in Arkansas for a week. I hope they can hike fast to catch up with us when they get back on because we will miss them!!
But for now I'm gonna go grab some lunch with Daystar, Gribley and Pants and hike out of here, 5 days to Atkins. Tomorrow I will be hiking through Grayson Highlands State Park, where there is a herd of wild horses I plan on finding. I've got carrots:) Miss you all! Kisses!
Wednesday, April 18, 2012
No Bourbon in Erwin
It's been a few days since leaving Hot Springs, NC - by far my favorite town thus far. I am currently in Erwin, TN. When I asked the guy running the hostel how he liked Erwin, the first thing out of his mouth was that it was the most horribly racist place, but great if you like outdoor adventure. The town is resting on the Nolichucky River so there are lots of options for rafting and kayaking. The population of Erwin is 5,500, and there are 66 baptist churches to choose from.......since Hot Springs was in a dry county we were unable to resupply our whisky bottles and the motto of the five day hike to Erwin was "No Bourbon till Erwin." Imagine our disappointment when we came to learn Erwin is also in a dry county:( You can't even get wine here. They do however have a vast array of Bud Light, of course.
The first two days out of Hot Springs were pretty easy. We experienced the best trail magic thus far on the hike at Allen Gap. A sign directed us to walk 300 yards up the road to a house where we would be fed. Even though we had just had breakfast, a thru-hiker never passes up a free meal. We approached a wood cabin when an older man named Hercules came out to greet and hug us. He and his wife thru-hiked in '99, loved the area, came back and bought a cabin near the trail. Every spring they post a sign directing hikers to their house where they cook them Belgian waffles, stew, and brownie sundaes. Since they bought the house, they have served over 3,000 hikers.
Trail magic is one of the most awesome things about the trail. The best magic comes from previous hikers. Around our 100 mile mark, a former hiker who is also a park ranger rigged a pully system in the middle of the woods and hung a plastic bin of homemade cake along with a very encouraging note. Every week this person is lugging out food for hikers she will never even meet. I have experienced more random acts of kindness from complete strangers in the one month I have been out here than I have in my entire lifetime.
It was a slow climb out of Allen Gap due to all the food I had just consumed with Hercules. We made it to Jerry Cabin Shelter and for the first time the shelter was empty. The crowds are finally starting to thin out. The seven of us plus Blues Clues (he's a hiker hoping to take his therapy background and combine it with wilderness therapy, nice guy) had the shelter to ourselves, but most of us still set up our tents. We got going pretty early (9am, early for us) because we had plans to meet friends of Pac-Man and Flugelhorn (formerly Ranger Steve, he changes his name more than Puffy) at Devil's Fork Gap. We got to the gap at around 1pm, but they didn't arrive until 4:30, so we ended up having one of the best lazy afternoons on the trail, chilling in a field by the side of a rarely driven road, playing cards and listening to music and eating all of our food. Luckily, their friends rock and rolled up with 2 buckets of Bojangles (the best chicken in the south), another whole rotisserie chicken, a ton of fresh fruit and 6 bottles of wine. Yes we lugged all this up a mountain and proceeded to have an awesome night camping with a great view. Lighthouse (a young Scot with the brightest headlamp known to man that he always forgets to turn off), hiked by later and decided to stay and join the festivities. Eliza, Reed, Dylan and Scot are a fantastic group of people and I am so happy to have met them. (Check out their website to learn about this phenomenal non-profit they started this year, solfoodmobilfarm.org)
The problem with trail magic is full bellies make for slow hiking. The next morning after saying goodbye we made it about three miles to a shelter where we set up shop for about two hours to relax, and eat again. We eventually made it another six and camped by a stream. Yesterday Daystar and I decided to hike the 20 miles to get to Erwin last night, while the boys stayed in the shelter six miles out because they didn't want to hike in the rain. It's still raining. I am going to hang out at Uncles Johnny's hostel till 12:30, then get shuttled to the all you can eat Pizza Hut buffet, hit up the grocery store and hopefully hike out after everyone else gets here. Lighthouse went to the all you can eat KFC buffet (yes, that exists in the south) last night and gorged himself to the point of no return. As he laid on the bed next to me while his giant food baby digested he just looked at me in pain and said "How do fat people do this? They must always be in pain." Welcome to America buddy.
One thing I have been doing less and less of is planning out my days. I used to look at the elevation profiles every morning and try to figure out where I would stay for the next few days, but plans always change. I'm not even living day to day, I'm living moment to moment and it's awesome. One minute I'll be hiking thinking about where I'm going to sleep that night, and the next I'll be in some old guys house being served a belgian waffle. The elevation profiles I'm carrying have been helpful (it's nice to know what's coming), but it's becoming kind of redundant. Every morning someone exclaims, 'Oh we have a fat climb today!' We have a fat climb everyday. I'm never going to look at the profile and be like 'What's this? I'm climbing a mountain today!? Did NOT see that coming." Remember when we thought the earth was flat? Wasn't that a lovely concept..... I think instead I will enjoy my morning poptart and instant coffee in peace, my legs blissfully ignorant of the elevation changes they are about to make.
Speaking of legs, they are stiff. My knees and ankles are really starting to get sore. Mentally, I am not all tired of being a vagabond, sleeping somewhere different every night, hiking everyday is gorgeous and awesome. If you were to ask my knees they would completely disagree. Stairs are my arch enemy, I can hear my knees screaming at me every time I go down stairs and my ankles yelling at me every time I go up them. I hope I am not doing any permanent damage to my body even though as I write this I know that I am. This experience is worth it though. As the thru-hiker mantra goes, "No pain, no rain, no Maine."
The next for sure town I will be in is Damascus, VA some 125ish miles away. I might need to pop into Elk River to re-supply, but we'll see. To anyone hoping to get a phone call from me, I'm not getting cell service in Erwin so you will have to wait. Sorry. But I am planning on taking a few days off in Damascus so I can hopefully catch up with everyone then. Lot's of love!
The first two days out of Hot Springs were pretty easy. We experienced the best trail magic thus far on the hike at Allen Gap. A sign directed us to walk 300 yards up the road to a house where we would be fed. Even though we had just had breakfast, a thru-hiker never passes up a free meal. We approached a wood cabin when an older man named Hercules came out to greet and hug us. He and his wife thru-hiked in '99, loved the area, came back and bought a cabin near the trail. Every spring they post a sign directing hikers to their house where they cook them Belgian waffles, stew, and brownie sundaes. Since they bought the house, they have served over 3,000 hikers.
Trail magic is one of the most awesome things about the trail. The best magic comes from previous hikers. Around our 100 mile mark, a former hiker who is also a park ranger rigged a pully system in the middle of the woods and hung a plastic bin of homemade cake along with a very encouraging note. Every week this person is lugging out food for hikers she will never even meet. I have experienced more random acts of kindness from complete strangers in the one month I have been out here than I have in my entire lifetime.
It was a slow climb out of Allen Gap due to all the food I had just consumed with Hercules. We made it to Jerry Cabin Shelter and for the first time the shelter was empty. The crowds are finally starting to thin out. The seven of us plus Blues Clues (he's a hiker hoping to take his therapy background and combine it with wilderness therapy, nice guy) had the shelter to ourselves, but most of us still set up our tents. We got going pretty early (9am, early for us) because we had plans to meet friends of Pac-Man and Flugelhorn (formerly Ranger Steve, he changes his name more than Puffy) at Devil's Fork Gap. We got to the gap at around 1pm, but they didn't arrive until 4:30, so we ended up having one of the best lazy afternoons on the trail, chilling in a field by the side of a rarely driven road, playing cards and listening to music and eating all of our food. Luckily, their friends rock and rolled up with 2 buckets of Bojangles (the best chicken in the south), another whole rotisserie chicken, a ton of fresh fruit and 6 bottles of wine. Yes we lugged all this up a mountain and proceeded to have an awesome night camping with a great view. Lighthouse (a young Scot with the brightest headlamp known to man that he always forgets to turn off), hiked by later and decided to stay and join the festivities. Eliza, Reed, Dylan and Scot are a fantastic group of people and I am so happy to have met them. (Check out their website to learn about this phenomenal non-profit they started this year, solfoodmobilfarm.org)
The problem with trail magic is full bellies make for slow hiking. The next morning after saying goodbye we made it about three miles to a shelter where we set up shop for about two hours to relax, and eat again. We eventually made it another six and camped by a stream. Yesterday Daystar and I decided to hike the 20 miles to get to Erwin last night, while the boys stayed in the shelter six miles out because they didn't want to hike in the rain. It's still raining. I am going to hang out at Uncles Johnny's hostel till 12:30, then get shuttled to the all you can eat Pizza Hut buffet, hit up the grocery store and hopefully hike out after everyone else gets here. Lighthouse went to the all you can eat KFC buffet (yes, that exists in the south) last night and gorged himself to the point of no return. As he laid on the bed next to me while his giant food baby digested he just looked at me in pain and said "How do fat people do this? They must always be in pain." Welcome to America buddy.
One thing I have been doing less and less of is planning out my days. I used to look at the elevation profiles every morning and try to figure out where I would stay for the next few days, but plans always change. I'm not even living day to day, I'm living moment to moment and it's awesome. One minute I'll be hiking thinking about where I'm going to sleep that night, and the next I'll be in some old guys house being served a belgian waffle. The elevation profiles I'm carrying have been helpful (it's nice to know what's coming), but it's becoming kind of redundant. Every morning someone exclaims, 'Oh we have a fat climb today!' We have a fat climb everyday. I'm never going to look at the profile and be like 'What's this? I'm climbing a mountain today!? Did NOT see that coming." Remember when we thought the earth was flat? Wasn't that a lovely concept..... I think instead I will enjoy my morning poptart and instant coffee in peace, my legs blissfully ignorant of the elevation changes they are about to make.
Speaking of legs, they are stiff. My knees and ankles are really starting to get sore. Mentally, I am not all tired of being a vagabond, sleeping somewhere different every night, hiking everyday is gorgeous and awesome. If you were to ask my knees they would completely disagree. Stairs are my arch enemy, I can hear my knees screaming at me every time I go down stairs and my ankles yelling at me every time I go up them. I hope I am not doing any permanent damage to my body even though as I write this I know that I am. This experience is worth it though. As the thru-hiker mantra goes, "No pain, no rain, no Maine."
The next for sure town I will be in is Damascus, VA some 125ish miles away. I might need to pop into Elk River to re-supply, but we'll see. To anyone hoping to get a phone call from me, I'm not getting cell service in Erwin so you will have to wait. Sorry. But I am planning on taking a few days off in Damascus so I can hopefully catch up with everyone then. Lot's of love!
Thursday, April 12, 2012
The Smokies
Hey everyone! Last time I checked in I was in Fontana Dam, NC gearing up for my hike through the Smokies. The Smokies were by far the prettiest part of the hike thus far. Smoky Mountain National Park is the most visited park in the country, so it was a bit crowded. Permits are required in order to stay in the park, and everyone is required to stay at the shelters to help minimize the impact on the environment. Section hikers and weekend warriors are required to make reservations at the shelters, luckily thru-hikers are exempt from this. I was a bit hesitant about the mandatory sheltering, as up until then we had mostly been stealth camping in the woods (my tent is much more comfortable than the shelters-check out the photo of the sleeping arrangements in the shelter and you will understand).
Our first day in the Smokies was a slow start, mostly due to the last minute swim Hollywood and I decided to take in Fontana Lake, and then the subsequent sitting around the lake all day that followed. Hollywood, Ranger Steve (formerly Kobe) and I didn't head into the park until 3:30. Tired and dehydrated, we made it about 4 miles before we stopped at the first and only campsite in the park. The next day we made it a little over 10 miles before it started hailing on us and we set up shop in Spence Field Shelter. Camping on our own for so long and then being thrown in a tiny shelter with families and children was at first awkward (thru-hikers and children don't seem to mix), but after a never-ending game of Ninja (don't ask me to explain) and a push-up contest we quickly became friends:)
Our fourth day in the Smokies we climbed up Clingman's Dome, the highest peak on the AT (6643ft). Unfortunately is was also insanely cloudy so we couldn't see anything. It was also full of tourists. This was another weird interaction as the clean, fat tourists who drove to the top of Clingmans (well to the parking lot 1/2 mile below, at least they make them walk a bit) gawked at us dirty thru-hikers like we were a zoo exhibit. While 6 of us were sitting at the base of the observation tower, a women walked by, took one look at us and yelled back to her husband "Give these hikers some jerky!" Afterwards we were invited down to his truck in the parking lot for some Bud Lights. As I was skipping down the hill I realized I was about to walk a mile out of my way for a can of Bud Light. I don't even like Bud Light. Not only was I walking a mile for a Bud Light, I was REALLY excited about the Bud Light. It's amazing the things that get you excited when you've been exisiting off of hiker food and water for so long.
The Smokies is also where our hunger really started to set in. Everyone is always hungry all the time. The hunger took over when we were in the parking lot drinking our beers when a guy offered to hitch us into Gatlinberg in the back of his truck. We spent 30min in a truck bed in the rain and were transported to the tackiest town I have ever visited. Hollywood, Ranger Steve and I accidently spent 2 nights in the home of Dollywood USA. The second night was so that we (meaning I) could recover from the first night. The only good thing about Gatlinberg is that Ryan (re-named Pac-Man) re-joined us after being off the trail for 10 or so days resting his knee. Some trail angels shuttled us back to the top of Clingmans so we could continue our trek through the Smokies, which was gorgeous and beautiful the entire way:)
The four of us started hiking with another small group, Daystar, Gribly and Pants on Fire and we are currently in Hot Springs, NC after a few below freezing nights on the trail. We pulled almost 20 miles to get to town last night to avoid sleeping in the cold again. And also we were hungry, of course. This is my favorite town so far, the trail actually walks right through it, down it's main street. Daystar and I are staying in an old Victorian mansion that has been converted to a B&B while the boys do work-for-stay at another hostel. I feel rested, clean, healthy and excited to start getting into bigger mile days. My back is pretty tore up from my pack but other than that I'm still in pretty solid shape. I have accepted that I will be permantely sore the entire trip.
I'm also ready to start doing bigger mile days to get farther north.......I have finally hit that Bill Bryson wall where I no longer wish to be in the south. I will preface this by saying that everyone I have met has been extremely sweet and nice, and you really can't beat how gorgeous it is here. But, the bars don't sell liquor, there are bibles EVERYWHERE (just today I found one in the bathroom at the diner, and in the doctors office. Not the waiting room, the office) and I have been craving sushi like crazy and I'm not sure they know what that is. But unlike Bryson, I will not skip ahead, I will simply smile and walk away the next time a complete stranger whose employer I am certain does not offer dental walks up to me to inquire if i'm a Baptist. The trail has been flirting with the NC/TN border for awhile, but we are about the head into Tennessee, and then it's off to Virginia!
I've got 273.9 miles down, 1910.3 to go!
PS. I added a couple of other hikers websites as well. Be sure to check out Ryan's (Pac-Man) site, instead of journaling he is drawing a cartoon of his hike as he goes and it's awesome:) He also made all of his own equipment. I can't even sew the hole I tore in my sleeping bag during a minor freak out when I thought it was trying to strangle me.
PPS. If you were wondering, my trail name is Tater Tot. This is what happens when one explains tater tot hot dish to a bunch of southerners. People were also calling me Deep Fry for awhile after a State Fair discussion, but Tater Tot won the vote.
Our first day in the Smokies was a slow start, mostly due to the last minute swim Hollywood and I decided to take in Fontana Lake, and then the subsequent sitting around the lake all day that followed. Hollywood, Ranger Steve (formerly Kobe) and I didn't head into the park until 3:30. Tired and dehydrated, we made it about 4 miles before we stopped at the first and only campsite in the park. The next day we made it a little over 10 miles before it started hailing on us and we set up shop in Spence Field Shelter. Camping on our own for so long and then being thrown in a tiny shelter with families and children was at first awkward (thru-hikers and children don't seem to mix), but after a never-ending game of Ninja (don't ask me to explain) and a push-up contest we quickly became friends:)
Our fourth day in the Smokies we climbed up Clingman's Dome, the highest peak on the AT (6643ft). Unfortunately is was also insanely cloudy so we couldn't see anything. It was also full of tourists. This was another weird interaction as the clean, fat tourists who drove to the top of Clingmans (well to the parking lot 1/2 mile below, at least they make them walk a bit) gawked at us dirty thru-hikers like we were a zoo exhibit. While 6 of us were sitting at the base of the observation tower, a women walked by, took one look at us and yelled back to her husband "Give these hikers some jerky!" Afterwards we were invited down to his truck in the parking lot for some Bud Lights. As I was skipping down the hill I realized I was about to walk a mile out of my way for a can of Bud Light. I don't even like Bud Light. Not only was I walking a mile for a Bud Light, I was REALLY excited about the Bud Light. It's amazing the things that get you excited when you've been exisiting off of hiker food and water for so long.
The Smokies is also where our hunger really started to set in. Everyone is always hungry all the time. The hunger took over when we were in the parking lot drinking our beers when a guy offered to hitch us into Gatlinberg in the back of his truck. We spent 30min in a truck bed in the rain and were transported to the tackiest town I have ever visited. Hollywood, Ranger Steve and I accidently spent 2 nights in the home of Dollywood USA. The second night was so that we (meaning I) could recover from the first night. The only good thing about Gatlinberg is that Ryan (re-named Pac-Man) re-joined us after being off the trail for 10 or so days resting his knee. Some trail angels shuttled us back to the top of Clingmans so we could continue our trek through the Smokies, which was gorgeous and beautiful the entire way:)
The four of us started hiking with another small group, Daystar, Gribly and Pants on Fire and we are currently in Hot Springs, NC after a few below freezing nights on the trail. We pulled almost 20 miles to get to town last night to avoid sleeping in the cold again. And also we were hungry, of course. This is my favorite town so far, the trail actually walks right through it, down it's main street. Daystar and I are staying in an old Victorian mansion that has been converted to a B&B while the boys do work-for-stay at another hostel. I feel rested, clean, healthy and excited to start getting into bigger mile days. My back is pretty tore up from my pack but other than that I'm still in pretty solid shape. I have accepted that I will be permantely sore the entire trip.
I'm also ready to start doing bigger mile days to get farther north.......I have finally hit that Bill Bryson wall where I no longer wish to be in the south. I will preface this by saying that everyone I have met has been extremely sweet and nice, and you really can't beat how gorgeous it is here. But, the bars don't sell liquor, there are bibles EVERYWHERE (just today I found one in the bathroom at the diner, and in the doctors office. Not the waiting room, the office) and I have been craving sushi like crazy and I'm not sure they know what that is. But unlike Bryson, I will not skip ahead, I will simply smile and walk away the next time a complete stranger whose employer I am certain does not offer dental walks up to me to inquire if i'm a Baptist. The trail has been flirting with the NC/TN border for awhile, but we are about the head into Tennessee, and then it's off to Virginia!
I've got 273.9 miles down, 1910.3 to go!
PS. I added a couple of other hikers websites as well. Be sure to check out Ryan's (Pac-Man) site, instead of journaling he is drawing a cartoon of his hike as he goes and it's awesome:) He also made all of his own equipment. I can't even sew the hole I tore in my sleeping bag during a minor freak out when I thought it was trying to strangle me.
PPS. If you were wondering, my trail name is Tater Tot. This is what happens when one explains tater tot hot dish to a bunch of southerners. People were also calling me Deep Fry for awhile after a State Fair discussion, but Tater Tot won the vote.
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