A Snake and a French Broad

Day 20 - 4/30/10
That's what I saw today. I passed over the French Broad to get back on
the trail. That's the name of the river that runs through Hot Springs.
I had you going for a minute there, didn't I?

I slept farely well, but woke up later than usual, I'd say
8:00-8:30ish. I had some breakfast and while doing so I asked Marcus
if he ever watched the Simpsons over in Germany. He said yes, but not
recently. I ended up telling him about the one where the German
businessmen buy the power plant from Mr. Burns (season 3). He liked
that.

I packed up my stuff then walked to town. Marcus is taking a zero but
wanted to mail some things from the PO so he came along too. We also
stopped at the library to do some e-mailing and the outfitter to pick
up some things. I bought a pack cover for $20. I thought it was
pricey, and that was their cheapest one! After that Marcus and I said
farewell and I headed off. Hope to see him again soon, he was very cool.

Within 15 minutes of hiking I saw a snake right in the middle of the
trail. It was black, at least 4 ft. long, but not as thick as a
rattler would be. I thought it might have been fake since I was still
so close to town, but it looked very real. I tried making it move by
throwing some rocks near it, but it wouldn't budge, so I decided to
just walk far around it. That's when it decided to wriggle away down
the hillside in the opposite direction. I then knew it was real. I
also saw about 3-4 lizards and jumped every time.

As far as the hiking today it wasn't the inclines that got me, but the
heat! Man was it a scorcher. I heard it even made it into the 90's
here. I only did 11 miles, but with the heat it felt like such a long
day. Plus the flies were terrible. I think the heat really brought
them out, and they wouldn't leave me alone for one second. If you sat
still your head would be swarming. So it was a little rough today, but
I made it to Spring Mountain Shelter at 4:30. I got here right at the
same time as Not Worthy, so we set up camp in the same area. I quickly
did up some food, had coffee and mashed potatoes with bacon bits. Oh
yeah. It's about 7:30 now and the bugs are still terrible. I'm hoping
tomorrow they lighten up, and I've heard there will be afternoon
showers so that may get rid of them.

I haven't decided where I'll go tomorrow, I may try for 20+, but with
the rain who knows. At the very least I'll do 15.

Random things that I've been thinking about nonstop (aside from the
obvious ones, i.e. Jen, family, etc.) Volume 1:

-Lord of the Rings (movies)
-Tenacious D songs
-Beer
-Bridgton House of Pizza

Total miles: 282.8

Living large in Hot Springs

Day 19 4/29/10
I suppose it seems strange to you readers that I would stop and stay
in a town after ranting a bit about how it leads to tough hiking the
following day. But if you were me it would make sense.

I left Walnut Mountain Shelter at 7:45 and chomped on two clifbars the
first 20 minutes. I now prefer cold breakfast because you can get up
and go much faster. And no clean up either. The mileage for the day
was 13.1, not a tough day, but I wanted to make it into town early
enough to make phone calls. Unfortunately when I got to Hot Springs I
had no service so I couldn't call anyone. Sorry Jen, I will call you
as soon as I can. I was able to use the Internet at the library a bit
at least.

Anyway, the hiking was nice today, a couple steep ups and 1 steep
decline right into town, but I've definitely gotten my hiking legs at
this point so it's all good!

When I got into town I went to the first hostel but it was full up,
which ended up being a good thing because I went up to this B&B called
the Duckett House that has a 4-room bunkhouse for hikers ($15
including shower) and I was the first one there. I knew Marcus was
behind me and wouldn't get a room at the other place so I met him at
the trailhead and told him about Duckett. He came up and it ended up
being just him and I here.

We went into town and used the library, then went over to this
restaurant Rock Bottom (not the same chain as the one in City Place)
at 5pm and got some, you guessed it...burgers. I probably had 6 Dr.
Peppers too. It really hit the spot. Then we did a small resupply at
Dollar General. I bought a 1/2 gallon of milk and box of cereal
because I've been missing milk a lot. We brought it back up to Duckett
and hung out on our little porch entrance to the bunkhouse, drinking
coffee and talking about a bunch of different stuff. I like talking to
Marcus because he has a really cool outlook on life, work, this trip,
etc. Basically he says you can't really plan too much because you
never know what can happen. You'll always be able to find work/a job,
so just go with the flow more. Don't stress. It's nothing new, Ive
heard similar things, but being on this hike and hearing it is
different. It has certainly expanded my perspective on things.

So after some coffee I started eating the cereal and milk, and I
didn't know when to stop because I ate so much I ended up throwing up.
Whoops. It was all good though and we had a laugh. Afterward we just
hung in the bunkhouse and did misc. chores like reorganizing gear,
something you do a lot of out here. Marcus ended up making some hiker
grill cheeses later on (well after I puked so I was able to eat again)
and they came out great for the limited supplies he had. Now it's bed
time, 10:30, a late night. Oh, I got to do my laundry here too, in a
real washer and dryer this time! All is well and I feel good. Probably
going to do a 15 or so tomorrow, might be starting a little late though.

Total miles: 271.8

Another 20

Day 18 - 4/28/10
I was sad to leave Standing Bear after having such a good time there,
but I think I learned a valuable trail lesson. When you stay at a
hostel or town and experience all the nice amenities it has, it makes
the next hiking day a little rough.

I left at about 8-8:30 with Marcus. I've been hiking with him for a
week now and it has been very enjoyable. We don't actually hike
together often, he's like 6 ft. 6 or something (not sure exactly
though because he always uses metric system) so he's mostly way ahead
of me, but we meet up throughout the day and end up at the same
shelters or campsites, so we've become friends. I enjoy his funny
Germanisms.

After he went ahead I hiked by myself all day, and as I said earlier
all the luxeries I had at Standing Bear sort of made the hiking today
feel like a chore. I wasn't having a very good day, my head just
wasn't in it or something. But I still made my goal and did another
20.3 mile day. Maybe I should have shot for less, but now that I'm
here I'm feeling much better. Plus the whole day wasn't spent feeling
crummy. I stopped for a break at this awesome bald called Max Patch
and talked with Marcus for a bit, told him how I wasn't feeling all
there today. After we talked I had 6+ miles to go, and my mood did
like a 180 degree change. I was energized and felt much better and had
a nice ending to my rough day. I made it to Walnut Mountain Shelter at
6:20

I quickly set up my tent (I hadn't had an opportunity to dry it out
since it got drenched the night of the 25th) and let it air dry in the
fading sunlight. That should also lighten my pack weight because now
I won't be carrying around a waterlogged tent. After that was done I
cooked up some soup and chicken and then Not Worthy, Marcus, and I
started up a nice big campfire. We hung by that for the rest of the
night, talking and having a good time. I've decided I'm going to stay
in Hot Springs, mostly because I want to wash and dry my clothes. I
haven't really done a load of laundry since Gary did it for me back at
the Blueberry Patch. But I'm not going to try for a 20 day after my
stay. I'll take it slower and learn from today's struggle. Goodnight!

Total miles: 258.7

Through the rain to Standing Bear

Day 17 - 4/27/10
It rained throughout the night but by 7:30 when I woke up it had stopped. It even looked like the sun might poke through. Wrong!! I was out by 8:15 and within 2 hours it started pouring again. Man the Smokies just wouldn't quit. I only had about 9 miles left of them, but they didn't want me to leave without a memorable farewell.

I hiked with Not Worthy most of the morning, but when we hit Davenport Gap Shelter he stopped and I pressed on. I didn't want to stay in the rain longer than I had too. It was only about 1.5 miles to I-40, so when I got there if felt kind of strange crossing near an area where cars and tractor trailer trucks are going 60 miles an hour down the road. After I-40 Standing Bear was only a mile up the trail, but it couldn't come soon enough. I was beyond soaked, after 2 days of solid rain there was no way I wouldn't be. Finally I see the sign and run up the hill to the hostel.

Standing Bear is great. I've been here for over 4 hours now and I'm happy to say I'm dry, clothes are cleaned and dry (I washed them on one of those old timey washboards myself!), I'm full (people are sharing all this awesome food, one guy made amazing potato/bacon soup), and relieved. The smokies are behind me, and according to the forecast the next 3 days should be sunny, which means the trip to Hot Springs (the next town--30 miles away) is sure to be a great time. I haven't been able to air out my tent yet, but I will hopefully be doing so tomorrow somewhere along the trail.

A few last things. My maildrop was awesome! All these great snacks and food! I haven't had this much stuff in my foodbag since Springer. Thanks Mom! Standing Bear Farm Hostel is grade A gold. If you are going through this way, stop in. The guy who owns it set up this sweet little grocer/resupply place in a shed. It's decked out with food, snacks, smaller end gear, hygenic supplies, etc. It's really handy. I actually bought a 1.00 nailclipper and trimmed my nails for the first time since I left Maine almost 3 weeks ago. Ian, I tried the stuffing recipe at my house before I left for the trip and I loved it. I made it once while on the trail, but haven't been able to get all the ingredients together since. I will hopefully be making it again soon. If you have any other trail recipes, let me know. And I saw that Nemo is now sponsoring your PCT trip. Sick! I do have to say at first my tent was a little difficult to set up, but man I love it now. So much space, so light, and set up has become a sinch. Thanks for steering me toward that purchase.

Anyway, that's all from me. My time on the comp is up. Not sure where I'll be tomorrow, just know that I'll be back on the trail. Can't wait.

Total miles: 238.8 (not sure if this is right, I don't have my book handy.)

The most challenging--

Day 16 - 4/26/10
Long day. Not the most fun. It rained for more than half of the 20.3 miles I hiked today.

I woke up and my tent was wet. Inside and out. I didn't really have any other option than to roll it up wet and put it in my pack. I may be able to air it out tomorrow at Standing Bear. I started around 7:30 and made it to the first shelter (7+ miles) at 11:15. It was a really nice leisurely morning, taking my time and more breaks than normal. I wish I hadn't. As soon as I started toward the second shelter it began pouring, and then continued to do so the rest of the day.

Fog and smoke made for no visibility and no views all day. I just trudged through the rain. I made it to Cosby Knob Shelter at 5:20, soaked and hungry. Made myself some pasta and broccoli cream soup, but burned it. I think I know what went wrong, so I'll try again in the future and just prepare it differently. It has the potential to be very good.

I'm cold and tired, but I did my first 20 day. I can't wait to pick up my maildrop tomorrow. That's one thing that kept me motivated to make all those miles today. And I now know why so many hikers quit in the Smokies. I had fun in them, but I can't wait to get out tomorrow.

Total miles: 228

It's all downhill from here...

Day 15 - 4/25/10
Really it's not, but I did summit the highest point of the AT
(clingman's dome) so in a way it kind of is.

There were a couple things I forgot to mention in yesterdays post. One
was about that last 1.7 miles on the windy ridgeline. It was so smoky
and foggy that you couldn't see more than 5 ft on either side of you.
That whole last stretch looked like it dropped off into an abyss on
both sides. It was neat. The other thing I forgot to mention was that
Marcus gave me a clove of garlic and I cut it up into pieces and put
it in my rice/tuna/bacon bits medley. It made that meal, so much so
that I'm going to start buying garlic when I can for future dinners.

Anyway, it was an interesting night after everyone went to bed. I was
actually pretty warm considering how wet I had gotten, so I fell
asleep fast. Sometime in the middle of the night I was woken up by
pouring rain and bright flashes in the sky. I was on the second level,
and this shelter had clear plastic roofing that acted as a skylight,
so I could see all the lighting. I can't remember how much there was,
I just know it was a lot and I was counting after each flash to check
the distance. I was a little paranoid because in 1980 two hikers died
at that shelter after being struck by lightning. Of all the nights I
had to stay there! Thinking about that plus doing the counting game
kept me up for quite a while. But I did manage to get some sleep.

Hotfoot, firefox, Marcus, and I all got up at 6 because we knew we
wanted to get into Gatlinburg, and there's a free shuttle in at 8:30,
12:30, and 4:30 provided by the NOC, who just opened a new outfitter
store there this year. We were aiming for the 12:30 and therefore had
to get up early. We were out by 7 and made it to Clingman's dome
around 9. Unfortunately it was still smoky skies from all the rain the
night before so we couldn't see anything. I'll just have to go back
some day to see what I missed. It was a pleasant hike to Newfound Gap,
the place where the shuttle gets you, nothing to strenuous. One thing
I did notice a lot alongside the trail were these 10 ft. tall walls of
dirt and rock and roots formed out of fallen trees. The tangled roots
ensnare lots of rocks and sediment, and even though they fall over it
all stays intact, making it look like a tall earthen wall. I tried to
snap some pics to show later, but they don't really do it justice. I
don't think my explanation does either.

When I pulled up out of the ridge into newfound gap I was shocked how
many people were up there. At least 100. Bikers, tourists, hikers,
etc. Way more than I'd imagined. I also got my first taste of trail
magic there. This guy named Jason who thru hiked a few years back had
set up a small card table and had all sorts of goodies on it for us
weary hikers. PB and jelly, bread, soda, chips, cookies, apples,
bananas, and cookie dough! I pigged out, esp. on the cookie dough. I
had run out of food earlier that morning so I was really hungry,
having only eaten a snickers and a Danish for 11 miles worth of hiking.

Soon the shuttle showed up and us 4 went down to Gatlingburg. Not as
wierd as I thought it'd be, but I only saw the edge of town, I didn't
go down the whole strip. I took a FREE shower at the NOC, bought my
resupply at a small store across the street, and then went out for
pizza with the other 3. We went to this place called The Best Italian,
and started with these awesome garlic Parmesan rolls. I had a
pepperoni pizza as well. I ate half then took the rest with me to have
for dinner up on the mountain because I wasn't going to stay in town.
Marcus and I said goodbye to hotfoot and firefox, and then we hitched
back up to newfound gap. I got a ride with a guy named Bill from S.
Carolina. He was really cool and we talked all about the Smokies on
the way back up the mountains. We actually had to stop for a traffic
jam because a bear was down this hill off the road and everyone was
stopping to snap pictures of it.

Bill dropped me off, and as I was prepping to head back on the trail
at least 3 or 4 different couples stopped and asked me where I was
going. When I said Maine they were all super impressed. It was fun
fielding all the questions and it made me feel like a rock star. Some
just couldn't believe I had come from Springer. I did another 3 miles
to icewater spring shelter, and it was packed when I got here.
Absolutely no room in the shelter. Marcus and I had to set up our
tents up a hill, which honestly I don't really mind. I had my pizza,
went down and hung by the fire a bit, and signed the shelter journal.
I'm about to go to bed now, I'm trying for 20+ tomorrow so I need my
rest. What a day. I couldn't ask for a better one.

P.s. If anyone wants to send me some
Nutella and several packs of those starbucks via instant coffee mixes
(not decaf!) in a care package that would rock. I've heard nutella is
like gold out here on the trail and those SB via packs i've had before
and really like. I miss drinking coffee.

Total miles: 207.7

Strange Days...

Day 14 - 4/24/10
I was the first to leave the shelter, and had my rain gear on and my
pack covered because it was sprinkling in the morning. Within 15 min I
stripped down to my t-shirt and shorts because the sun came out and it
was turning into a really nice day. When I got to rocky top there was
a great view of the lower mountains and I could even see Fontana lake
still. I felt great and was highly considering going for a big 20 mile
day to get over Clingman's dome.

I continued on by myself, and noticed around 11 that the wind was
picking up. And it was getting darker. I didn't like that. So far the
weathermen had been wrong and I was very much enjoying their
inaccuracy. After I passed the first shelter and before the second one
was when the wrath of the gods came. Zeus threw down his mighty
thunderbolts (4 that I counted) and Poseidon whipped up a hurricane
storm of 40mph wind gusts and torrential rain. I only saw one bright
flash of lightning, but a huge booming crack! filled my ears a second
later. That was scary.

When I got to the second shelter I met another hiker named Lawdog. We
were going to make coffee, but I decided to move along because it was
only 1.7 to the next shelter and at this point I was soaked so I just
wanted to get 13.5 miles and be done for the day. The hike there was
actually really fun, even with the rain. Most of it was along the
ridgeline so there were these crazy wind gusts, like a last challenge
from the gods. I almost yelled out, "Is that the best you can do?" but
I didn't want to tempt them. I made it in to Double Spring Gap Shelter
about 4:30 and cooked up some dinner. Rice with tuna (I'm starting to
really like this combo) and bacon bits. Man was it good. Nice and hot.
Now I'm tucked into my sleeping bag trying to keep warm. I'm going
into Gatlinburg tomorrow for a 3 day resupply that should last me till
the Standing Bear Farm hostel. I'm also going to get some pizza,
haven't had any since I started the trip. German Marcus says he may
join me. Tomorrow I'll summit the tallest peak of the AT. Clingman's
Dome. 6643 ft. I'm at 5505 right now.

Total miles: 193.9

I saw Smoky in the smokies

Day 13 - 4/23/10
What a day. I usually get mad when the weathermen get forecasts wrong,
but I can't complain today. There was supposedly going to be afternoon
showers, but it was sunshine all day, with only a few clouds later on.
Perfect hiking weather.

I was up about 7:15 and got out on the trail around 8 I'd say. The
first half mile was crossing the Fontana Dam, which was really neat. I
took some pictures on it and one next to the smoky mountain entrance
sign that came after the dam. Then it was all uphill most of the day.
I did maybe a mile with Gravy and Kentucky, but soon shot ahead of
them by myself. It stayed that way the rest of the day until about 1PM
when I met another hiker named Not Worthy.

I talked with him all the way up to the first shelter called Mollies
Ridge. I guess he lived in Maine for six years and was in the coast
guard. I told him about my grandfather being in the coast guard and he
said the Brewer name sounded familiar, so maybe you know him Far Far.
I don't know his real name though, sorry. When we were at Mollies Not
Worthy went down the hill for some water, and a minute later he yelled
something up to me. I couldn't hear what he said so I gave him a half-
committal grunt. He spoke again, and this time I understood. "There's
a bear down here." Whoa. I hopped up and grabbed my camera, and then
went down the hill to where Not Worthy was and sure enough there was a
bear hanging by the creek. It looked at us, kind of like it was saying
what's up? and then sauntered off. I couldn't get a good picture
though because I didn't want to get too close.

After that I went on past another shelter and there was a guy passed
out in there. He had a bandage wrapped around his head like he had a
toothache or something. Kinda strange. Now I'm at Spence Field
shelter, and I've met some new hikers I haven't seen before. One of
them, Poodle, gave me a second dinner so I'm really stuffed tonight.

Some other cool things today was I went up to the top of this fire
tower on Shuckstack Mt. and had an amazing view of the dam and Fontana
lake. I also saw a wild turkey out here, plus millions of squirrels
and chipmunks. Big day for seeing animals. And not that I'm keeping
track of this, but according to my guidebook I now have less than 2000
miles to go. Pretty neat.

I also wanted to clarify something. When I said in an earlier post
that everything is dry and dead, that was inaccurate. When you get
below a certain elevation things start becoming much more green. Like
when I went down to the NOC, that place was below 1700 ft. so
everything was green and alive. Up here I'm at 4900 ft. and you hardly
see a bud on these trees. You can actually guage your elevation based
on the level of green around you.

Also thought I'd mention the beard is coming along nicely. Can't
imagine what it'll be like at the end of this.

Chance of rain tomorrow is 70%, so I probably won't make it over
Clingman's Dome, but let's hope the weathermen are wrong again.

Total miles: 180.4

The great equalizer

Day 12 - 4/22/10
Had a solid day today. I was aiming for Fontana dam and the shelter
there because it's called "the Hilton" but here I am sitting in my
tent up the hill away from the shelter. Although the hilton was nice I
really prefer the privacy and quiet of my own space. No snoring to
keep me up either.

I got up about 7:00 and was out early today at 7:45. The hiking was
nice all day except at the end when there was about 2.5 miles of steep
downhill. Two weeks in and I now very much prefer going up. It's
easier on the body, only making me winded, whereas the downhill kills
my feet and knees. Blisters are doing okay, my right foot is in great
shape but my left has several that won't quit. I've mostly gotten used
to them. I met a couple new hikers today, chainsaw and navigator, two
cool older guys, and T-trick, another older guy but not so nice. A bit
strange actually.

I made really good time, although I never know how good because I
don't have a watch. I did 12.7 miles and got in no later than 2, so
that's more than 2 miles an hour, which is what I've been aiming for.
I went into town with some other hikers, yumyum and herro from
yesterday were also riding with me, and I hung at the store for a
solid hour and a half. I probably walked the food aisles 20 times, and
it was a tiny place, so I was looping around that place nonstop. I had
a basket and everything, and ended up with fuel enough to make it to
at least Gatlinburg, TN. I've heard there's a free shuttle in from
Newfound Gap, and it's a bizarre tourist town, so it'll be a fun stop.
Plus Dollywood is there I think. Oh yeah!

I got a shuttle back to my campsite from this lady named Cathy who
said she's been doing it for years, and she was old so I believe it.
She actually said something really neat, calling the trail "the great
equalizer", because no matter who you are or where you come from, the
trail is the same for everyone. I liked that.

When I was at the store I tried to make a quick post on the computer
they had because I thought I wouldn't be able to at the campsite, but
I was lucky enough to get a signal. So tomorrow I'm shooting for a 16
day, but i've heard there's a chance of rain, so that could slow me
down. I'll just have to see what happens. Smokies here I come!

Total miles: 163.7

Got my trail name--

Day 11 - 4/21/10
So I got a trail name today, but I'll get to that in a bit. I ended up
having a really good night with a bunch of other hikers at the NOC,
drinking beers, meeting lots of new people, and even celebrating one
guys birthday. I hung mostly with Keith, city squirrel, and lady
slipper (she's a really nice older lady hiking up to Hot Springs) and
we sat around trying to think up trail names because it stinks not
having one (Keith and I both know this well). You can't really force
it though and the best we could come up with was pretty crappy.

Anyway, I got up about 7:30 today and left the NOC an hour later.
Before I left a german guy named Marcus who is doing the hike was
talking to me about the outfitter store. We were both complaining how
it opened at 10, and I was saying how I needed to buy another fuel so
I'd have to wait around till they opened. He ends up offering me one
of his, and I say no, I can't just take it, so I payed him the 7 bucks
for it. It was really nice of him to hook me up, but that's what
people do out here on the trail. It's about being generous and helping
out when someone's in need. Another example is the birthday we had for
that guy. Some other hiker cooked him up brownies in the community
kitchen and he shared them with everyone. Good stuff.

Anyway, I had 6 miles of uphill to start the day. It was a 3000 ft
rise in elevation, so it was a long slow process. I hiked by myself
mostly, but about halfway up I met a woman hiker from Florida named
serentina (serenty-na) and I chatted with her a bit. She told me
stories about going on mission trips to costa rica and stuff. She was
really cool so I hope to see her again down the road.

Later on after the 6 miles of uphill I hiked some with firefox and
hotfoot, who I think I mentioned a few days back. Apparently they're
both firefighters so they told me all about that, answering all my
questions I had. Then they asked me where I was from and I told them
Maine, so they asked what animals we have exclusively up there. I
started to tell them about the Maine coon cat, and then hotfoot said,
"well how about coon cat for a name?" I thought about it and the more
I did the more I liked it. So I'm coon cat. I like the connection to
Maine, which is something I was hoping for in my name. Plus Daniel
boon wore a coon (cap) and so on. I think it fits me.

The rest of the day was pretty nice, but the last mile was this really
steep mountain that wasn't fun. I pulled into the shelter after and
decided to call it a day after 16 miles. I met two other hikers who
were eating dinner here, Yumyum (girl from NJ) and Herro (guy from
NY). I set up my tent in the shelter after they left, but some other
hikers came in so I feel a little odd, using up a lot of space. One
guy here, Halfmoon, is from Boston. He's thru'd before and he had some
wise words.

One little random story I want to tell is about this beagle dog on the
trail. You see a hiker with a dog maybe once a day, so clearly not
many people do it. This dog and his owner were also staying at the NOC
last night. All the dogs I've come across don't have trail names, but
this beagle does. Its name is Sneaky Little Bastard. I guess he loves
to run off the trail and away from his owner. Anyway, one day SLB and
his owner were on the trail, and SLB ran off. His owner couldn't find
him, so he's yelling out the dogs name for two hours, but the dog
isn't coming. Finally he just says screw it, he can't wait any longer,
and so he leaves. A mile and a half up the trail is the next shelter,
and there sitting at the shelter waiting was Sneaky Little Bastard. I
think the name suits him. Anyway I'll be going to bed in a bit.
Tomorrow I'm resupplying in Fontana dam. Good night from the trail.

Total miles: 151

Rain, rain, go away...

Day 10 - 4/20/10
Had a pretty good nights sleep, even though it was cold. I think I'm
realizing the most important thing in getting good sleep is being on
level ground. I was last night and it seemed to make a difference. I
broke down camp at 7:15 and was out by 8:15. Pretty early on the rain
came and I had to hike in it all day. 11.5 miles worth. I finally got
to use my rain gear though!

The motivation to move quickly came from the thought of a nice warm
bed at the NOC, so I made pretty quick time. I didn't stop to admire
much, which you really couldn't do anyway, but there was one point
where I made it over this rocky section and got to the top of one
mountain. It was a great view from up there, even better with the rain
I'd say because you get to see all these lush, green mountains with
dense fog and cloud coverage swarming around them at different
altitudes. It was really cool, straight out of Lord of the Rings or
something. But other than that there wasn't much to see so I huffed
it, making it to the NOC by 1:30. It's a really cool place right next
to this river with rapids that you can white water raft and kayak on,
and there's a couple food places and other stuff too.

Keith got here a little before me, so when I rolled in him, City
Squirrel (she's a thru from NYC) and I went into one of the places and
grabbed some lunch and a beer. It was only PBR draft, but man was it
good, and I felt pretty buzzed after only the one. Must be because I'm
so deprived or something. We had a good time, I had a burger (my town
food of choice I guess) and then I did a small resupply at the general
store to last me to Fontana Dam.

I had a chance to talk with my mom and Jen a bit after all that, and
now it's 5:45 and I'm all showered and about to go share some more
beers with Keith and city squirrel. Oh, they were calling me "come
slowly" today when I rolled in, a potential trail name because I
always roll into camp or a shelter late. Maybe I'll use it, we'll see.

Some random things I thought I'd mention are tunnels and characters.
The last 3-4 days there's been these really cool tunnels made of
arcing rhodedendron plants every so often, so it feels like your
walking through a tunnel. Plus it's good cover from the sun, or rain
like today, although not as much. I tried to snap a photo but it
didn't come out too great.

The second thing I wanted to mention was the characters. You meet some
real randoms out here. Like Kentucky, who I saw today again for the
first time in 4-5 days. Or this other guy I met a couple days back who
started on March 10th, and who had only done about 80 miles. But he's
also hiking without shoes! And there was another hiker named Wanderer
who's from Japan. He has very limited English and often says funny
things because of it. Anyway, there's just lots of characters out
here, and it's been fun meeting them. It really is like a community
out on the trail. That's it for today, not sure where I'm headed
tomorrow. Hopefully no rain though.

Total miles: 135

Ramblin' on

Day 9 - 4/19/10
I forgot to mention yesterday that I was going to try sleeping in the
shelter again, something I hadn't done since my first night on the AT.
I wish tented out again instead because I slept next to a guy who
snored like a chainsaw. Not my best nights sleep. I still made it out
of camp by 8:15 though and got a good jump on the day. I wasn't sure
if I was going to try for another long hike again, but I knew if I did
do it I could be at the Nantahala Outdoor Center (NOC) by the next
afternoon and maybe get a bunk there.

I was pretty much alone most the day, but toward lunch time got passed
by a kid named Ben, who I ended up hiking with later on. It was still
an enjoyable day even though I was by myself for most of it. I saw
some pretty neat balds on the tops of some mountains, and stopped at
this old stone building with some amazing views of the valley. All in
all it was a good day with some tough ups and downs, but manageable.

So I pull into the second shelter from rock gap, Wayah Shelter, at
around 4, and it's pretty full. That was 14.8 miles from Rock gap, so
I'd already put in a solid day, but I decided to go for it and push to
the next shelter, making my daily total 19.6, almost the exact same
distance as yesterday. Ben happened to be at Wayah when I got there,
but he wanted to move on too, so we left about the same time and hiked
the last three miles to cold spring shelter together. The last mile
was especially tough because it was the last uphill push of the day,
and it was steep. But we finally made it in at about 6:15 and promptly
made dinner. I was pretty starving, so I had rice with tuna. I was
surprised how easily I ate it, I'm not much of a tuna guy, so I might
have to start eating it more often on the trail.

I was going to sleep in the shelter, but changed my mind and went for
this tenting spot up the hill, setting my tent up just before dark. I
didn't want to risk another snorer, I need a good sleep, or as good as
I can get at least. Hopefully I'll sleep well. I have a pretty flat
spot for once so I know I won't slide. After I was done setting up the
tent some other hikers and I built a small campfire near our area and
then sat arounding telling stories about bears and people and some of
the better tales we've heard along the trail so far. It was a good
time with lots of laughing.

Now I'm in bed, frigid and tired. I'm going to resupply at the NOC,
and I have the whole hike down there to decide if I want to get a bunk
and stay the night too. I've heard it's going to rain tomorrow, so
that may also impact my decision. We'll see what happens.

Total miles: 123.5

100 miles down--

Day 8 - 4/18/10
The gods must be on my side because the weather was perfect again. I
don't know how much longer this can hold up, but I'd love it the whole
way!

I was up and out of camp by 8:15. I didn't sleep well at all because
it was freezing windy and I was on an incline that kept making me
slide downhill, but I was moving around pretty well in the morning
anyway. I did a really nice 4.5 miles with Keith, but then we split up
for most of the rest of the day until the afternoon when we met back
up. We decided to shoot for a shelter 19.7 miles away from standing
Indian called rock gap shelter, and which would be my longest day yet.
It was actually a really nice hike all day, just lots of graduals
except for a few steep sections, so we made good time. Wish I knew our
MPH though.

We made it here and I cooked up some dinner and then hung up my food
bag. I'm beat so hopefully I'll be getting to bed soon. Not sure if
I'll shoot for another 19 tomorrow with Keith, my feet are pretty
sore, but we'll see in the morning.

One other cool milestone today is that I passed the 100-mile mark on
the AT. It's crazy to think I've gone this far. Time for sleep. Good
night.

Total miles: 103.9

Goodbye Georgia, Hello NC

Day 7 - 4/17/10
Another great hiking day with an exciting victory I'll get to later. I
didn't sleep well because I was really cold all night (wish I had
slept with my sleeping bag) so the morning started off a little
sluggish. Got my stuff all together then it was breakfast time. Gary
and his wife made the six of us who stayed the night pancakes with
blueberry syrup, biscuits and gravy, scrambled eggs, and sausage. Wow.
It was fantastic. The biscuits and gravy were by far my favorite though.

After that Gary dropped us at the gap I had hitched from a few days
earlier and I started my hike with a days rest in me. Man I felt good.
My feet were tip top except for one blister on my left heel. I was
moving along really well. Plus I hiked with another guy named Keith
for quite a bit so that helped pass time. He's 27 but we had a good
time chatting about all sorts of stuff. He's a really chill guy,
traveled all over the world and stuff. Maybe we'll do up some more
team hiking tomorrow, but he's an early riser.

So the victory came around 2:15 when after busting some serious miles
we crossed the border over into North Carolina. What a rewarding
moment. I took some pictures and then went up the hill a bit to this
gnarled tree that's really famous and ate lunch with a couple others.

A couple hours later @ 4:30 Keith and I made it to a shelter we could
stay in, and which would put our miles for the day at 11.8. Decent
considering our late 10AM start. But we said let's keep going and
pushed an extra 5 miles to the next shelter.

It was a nice afternoon hike, not too many tortuous ups and downs. We
made good time and were in by 7 I'd say. I had some dinner, then we
had a terrible time trying to tie up our food bag. I don't want to get
all into it, but it was bad enough where people were laughing at us.
But hey, we both just did 16.7 miles for the day, which is now my new
record. Anyway I'm in my tent now and want to sleep. Sorry I couldn't
post this on the real night it happened. No service up here tonight.
Oh the name of the shelter we ended at is called standing Indian,
which is also the name of the mountain I'm on. Good night.

Total miles: 84.2

I've got hiker's hobble...

Day 0 - 4/16/10
Took the zero day today, just to give my feet another day. I'm a
little bummed because I'm missing out on gorgeous hiking weather and
I've heard tomorrow might be my first rainy day, but I'm sure there
are more sunny days to come. I guess it'll give me a chance to test
the rain gear too.

I woke up at a leisurely 9 am and took another shower. That's two days
in a row, almost like a regular person. Got dressed, went to the lobby
to see when check out was (11am) and saw some food from the hiker box
that looked good so I helped myself. A hiker box for those that don't
know is just a box or large container of some sort that has food and
supplies other hikers have discarded. It's nice to be able to grab
some freebies here and there. I got two things of instant potatoes and
a couple hot cocoa packets.

After that I went down to the PO to drop off some stuff and then hit
up the grocery store nearby for a resupply. Place was called Ingles.
Had never heard of it, but it was plenty big. I got back to the Inn
just in time to get my gear out of Hot Wings (Davy's new trail name)
and my room, and then his Dad who was visitng brought me 7 miles down
to the blueberry patch hostel.

Walked in and there were 3 other hikers here, all stayed last night
and decided to stay 1 more. 1 of them was Buddha Jim, so I snapped a
photo of him. The other two already had gnarly beards so they didn't
start with a clean slate like I did. Slates covered now though! I also
learned a new term from them today. I was walking around all gingerly
and awkward and they said, "Oh, you've got hiker's hobble." Made me
laugh.

Anyway the owner of this place, Gary, is a real nice guy. Friendly,
generous, and accomadating. He showed me around, told me the rules,
and then did my laundry for me! Now that's hospitality. I walked
around his property a bit and took some pictures of his jackasses
(there's two here and no I'm not one of them) and the goats. They came
right up to me, probably thinking I had food. Then I had some time to
talk with my Dad for a few, then my friend Davin who will be meeting
up with me later in June. I'm eating lunch now, having helped myself
to two ramen noodle packs from the hiker box here at blueberry. I'm
starting to really like these hiker boxes.

It's been a few hours and now I'm sitting in the parking lot of a
Hardee's waiting for another hiker named Tickspit to finish up eating.
Gary let tickspit and I drive his Jeep down to town to get a few
things done. See what I'm talking about when I say generous? I'm going
to give him a good size donation for all his kindness. Anyway it's
almost 7 pm now so when we get back I'll probably be heading to bed
soon and then it's back on the trail for me! I'm really excited about
tomorrow morning because Gary cooks up a big breakfast of blueberry
pancakes, sausage, and eggs for all us hikers. Can't wait.

Big C, thanks for your posts bro. I like hearing about current affairs
stuff every now and then so keep that up whenever you feel like. And
throw in some Sox news too. For views there's been some pretty epic
ones from the tops of the 4000+ footers. You can see all the other
mountains you've just climbed and how vast these forests really are.
I'm waiting for some real eye poppers in the smokies though.

Also it seems like many are interested in if I'm eating enough, so
here's a typical day.

Breakfast @ 7:30AM: oatmeal with raisins and brown sugar, two poptarts
or a cereal bar and some dried fruit. (Usually my oatmeal portion is
so large I have trouble getting it all down.)

Snack @ 10:30/11: A snickers or two and some gorp.

Lunch @ 1:30/2: bread or roll with PB or hard salami, gorp, dried fruit.

Dinner @ 6-7PM: instant mashed potatoes or noodles, salami, gorp,
candy bar.

That's all for today. Don't expect too many posts that are this long,
I just had some catch up time because of the zero day.

Staying at the Inn

Day 6 - 4/15/10
You cant beat this weather. Another gorgeous day, probably at least
mid 70's. I wish I could've hung my tent on my pack while I walked
because when I woke up this morning it had condensation all over it. I
even had it all over my sleeping bag. It all worked out though because
now it's sitting in the sun at the Inn I'm staying at, drying out. But
let me back up.

I probably got started around 8:15, quickly becoming my usual start
time. I was pretty much alone the whole day it was a lonely one
actually. I did pass some other hikers here and there, or they passed
me, but no buddies today. I met two other hikers kind of early on,
names were hotfoot and firefox, but only stuck with them a little bit.
Then the rest of it I was alone.

Last night I had said I wanted to head to haiawassee, and I ended up
making it. I feel like I'm passed the hardest part now because for the
last 4 days I've been saying, "make it to haiawassee, make it to
haiawassee." I knew once I got here my hike would start going much
better because tomorrow I'm ditching some extraneous weight so I'll be
able to make better miles. And my feet and back won't be so dead.

Anyway, I made it to dicks creek gap and two other thru's, Mohawk and
Buddha Jim, were there trying to catch a ride into town. I started
sticking out my thumb with them and eventually a guy going the other
way swung around and picked us up. Real nice older guy named Gary from
Florida. His wife was with him too, and their basset hound spanky. So
they drove us the 11 miles into town and now I'm showered and full. I
just ate a giant double cheeseburger with fries and a Pibb soda at DQ.
Might go for a blizzard too. Cheesequake!

I'm splitting a room with Davy at the hiawassee inn. It's nothing
special, but it feels like paradise to us. A shower, some beds, small
TV, a gas station right next door for snacks. So convenient! There's
some other hikers I know staying at the inn who I'm probably gonna
have some beers with later. It'll be a nice relaxing evening. Tomorrow
I'll probably take a zero day up at a nearby hostel. That's it from
me. Had a great day, still having tons of fun.

Total miles: 67.5

I walked by a cheesecake factory today.

Day 5 - 4/14/10

Just kidding, but I did pass a campsite called the cheese factory. I
guess some old settler guy used to have a dairy farm there or
something. All it did was make me crave some buffalo blasts.

Got another good jump on the day. Out by 8:00. It was beautiful
weather again, but not as hot as yesterday, which was nice. Plus
today's hike had a lot more shade.

I started alone and ran into a southbound hiker pretty early. I asked
when he started and he said he started up in Quebec last June, so he's
been hiking for 10 months! I was impressed. He's doing something
longer than the AT, taking him all the way down to the keys I think he
said.

After about an hour I caught up to two guys and stuck with them for
quite a bit. One was a thru hiker and the other was heading to NC.
They're names were Rob and Mike, no trail names yet like me, and it
was actually really nice to have some company while hiking for once.
Someone to talk to aside from yourself. Hopefully more opportunities
like that come up in the future.

We eventually got split up, they were hitching to a town anyway, and I
continued on. I decided to go for a 15 mile day to Tray mt. because
there's a shelter up there and if I made it then I could be in
hiawassee by tomorrow and get myself a nice bed.

The last 4 miles were tough but I made it. Cooked up some dinner and
hung around the camp fire with some other hikers. I was surprised how
packed it is up here. Anyway in hiawassee tomorrow I'm planning on
staying at this inn with another thru hiker named Davy who I met on
the trail. He's from New Market, NH.

The wildlife isn't all that great Mom. Everything is so dry and dead.
Most trees only have tiny leaf buds right now. You'll see some
occasional small clumps of flowers, but nothing spectacular. I have
seen a good amount of wild rodedendron plants though.

Anyway, gonna go to bed now. Good night, tomorrow a town!

Total miles: 56.5

Comments!

Just so you know I try to check comments when I can and have service.
I appreciate them all and will try to respond when I can.

Tired. Go figure.

Day 4 - 4/13/10
Very tired. Blogging is tough after a days worth of hiking, but I'll
try to give an account of the day.

I didn't sleep well again. Partly cause I was parked on a steep
decline and kept sliding down all night. The other reason was some
local hicks that lived right next to mountain crossing decided to play
on their homemade bucket drumset in the middle of the night. Lame.

I woke up early again and was out by 8:15. I decided to do a shorter
day and thank god I did. I only went for 10.8 miles but the sun was so
brutal it felt like twice that. Some guy I passed said it was over 80
degrees. I don't doubt it. Plus there's no tree canopy which means you
have pretty much no cover from it all day. It makes you down water,
which actually caused me to run out, but I was only 3/4 mile from the
next shelter with water, and it was all down hill, so I was lucky.

Nothing too exciting to report today, met some new people, took some
pretty good pictures, so all in all it was a good day. A guy who
camped near me last night is at the same shelter as me tonight. His
trail name is Kentucky. I only mention him because he is hilarious.
He's about 50-something, and tells some funny stories.

Side note: One thing I've noticed is that every red leaf I see looks
like poison ivy and every curvy stick in the trail looks like a snake.
I think I'm paranoid. But some guy only a hundred yards or so behind
me saw a rattle snake. I guess I just missed it.

I'll be going to bed soon so I'll say good night. I miss everyone back
home and the feeling of being clean. I guess I'll just have to get
used to it.

Total miles: 41.5

Civilization!

Day 3 - 4/12/10
Well I went for it and made it to Neels Gap, the first place you go
through with a store and hostel. Unfortunately it was full when I got
here so I'm camping up the hill. But it's okay by me. I took a shower
and ate a big meal of spaghetti and salad.

The day started out great again. I got up early again and after
forcing down a big breakfast (it's been very hard to eat as much as I
need) I was on my way. Pretty early on I took off my jacket and went
with just a tee, which felt good walking but now I have sunburned arms.

As the day wore on I was tossing around the idea of going to neels. I
really wanted the shower more than anything. So at like 4:15 I'm at
the base of blood mountain and decide to push it. Up to blood was 1.3
miles and an incline of about 900 ft. It was tough. When I finally
made it up there, it was 5:15. I really wanted that shower, and
because neels was all downhill from blood I really pushed it. This
would bring me to 15.6 miles for the day. My longest yet!

It was a great decision because I'm currently laying in my tent full,
clean, and happy. My feet really hurt again, and I've got some new
blisters, but the moleskin and duct tape from yesterday seemed to work
so I've got that going on again. Tomorrow I'm going to take it slow,
maybe just a 10-miler. My feet need that.

I also forgot to say yesterday that it was Jen and I's 3 1/2 year
anniversay so I wanted to wish her a happy anniversary.

And 1 other thing. I'm not getting great service so I'll try to make
posts when I can. I did 3 days worth of posts tonight. Not sure how
well AT&T will work up the trail.

Total miles: 30.7

Very tired.

----------------------
Day 2 - 4/11/10
I don't think I'll sleep in shelters very often. It was a big mistake.
The reason: snoring. There were at least 2 people snoring, and add to
that an uncomfortable hardwood floor and you get not much sleep. I
woke up very tired, but got a good start on the day, leaving before
8:30.

It was another great day. Made it to gooch. It was tough though. My
feet are starting to get blisters and hurt more. But it's all part of
the process. I'm trying to take care of them with moleskins and duct
tape.

As far as the hike went today, there were lots of ups and downs, but I
got through it. I think today was harder because I was so tired. I set
up my tent here in the hopes that I can get a better sleep. But
there's a lot of others camping out too, plus a packed shelter. I'd
say there's upwards of 20 here tonight.

Tomorrow I'm aiming for Blood mountain shelter. It'll be my first mt
over 4000 ft. It's 13.2 miles from gooch which would bring my total to
28.3. It'll be another big push but Im banking on my body being
stronger. Wish me luck.

Wow.

--------------------------------
Day 1 - 4/10/10:
What a day. Great weather. Lots of friendly people. Solid miles. I
started on the approach trail, which is 8.8 miles from springer mt. I
ended up stopping at stover creek shelter which is 2.8 miles after
springer making my total for the day 11.6. Although technically the
approach doesn't count toward the AT. Anyway, mom and Mary saw me off
in the morning, after I had signed in at the visitor center and
weighed my bag. It came in at over 50 lbs. Yikes! I definitely need to
work on lowering that. When it was time to go, I'll admit things got a
little emotional, but in sort of a strange way. We were all laughing
and crying at the same time. A mixture of joy and sadness I suppose.
The day went well, nothing to exciting or memorable except the high I
felt from it being my first day. Here at the shelter everyone is
really cool. There's 6 other guys who started THRUs today too.
Everyones excited and tired, including me. I'm going to be. Tomorrow
my goal is Gooch mountain shelter. 12.3 miles away. It'll be a push
but I think I can do it.

On the eve--

Well it's the 7th of April, the night before I leave to drive down to Georgia. I wasn't sure if I'd actually be leaving tomorrow because of some debilitating health issues, but I'm happy to say I've recovered and feel ready to leave and get started.

My bag is fully packed, stuffed to the brim with food, clothes, and shelter. It's heavy, heavier than I would have liked, but I should be able to handle it. The food will diminish rapidly and so I'll keep that in mind while I'm lugging it up the mountainside. I'm eager for my first day, to see how hungry I get, how tired I will be, and how badly my body will ache. In some ways I'm looking forward to the pain, seeing what my body can take.

I also want to put all this new equipment to the test. I can't say it was easy getting it all together, but I do have to give a shout out to one person who made it much easier. Ian, or Dusty as he is known on the trail, was someone I contacted with a wide range of gear and logistical questions. He completed an AT thru-hike last year and without his helpful answers to my many questions I don't think I would be where I am today, about to set off on my own hike. If anyone comes across my blog and reads this be sure to check out his website, www.thedustycamel.com. After his trip he and his hiking partners were inspired to start a non-profit, so definitely go check it out for more information. He's a great guy and extremely helpful, so don't be afraid to ask him anything about getting ready for your own trip. I know he loves to talk equipment too.

Anyway, I'll probably be heading to bed soon, waking up early to make the drive down to Virginia first and then Georgia the next day. In a few days I'll be climbing up to Springer, making my first post from the trail. And then from there it'll be one step at a time.

Testing the mobile

This is my tent. It's not the greatest picture but it gives you an idea of the proportions. The red thing is my sleeping pad. The main reason I'm sending this is to test out the mobile blogging I've set up. This picture was taken and is being sent all from my phone straight to the blog.