Filling in the back story--PA edition

So my last post was a quickie. I don't have phone during my time in PA so nothing to really show, but there is a story and this is it:

I left the hostel I was at in Maryland and hiked into PA that day through Pen-Mar park crossing over the Mason Dixon line. I was shocked to find this is an actual marked line with markers every mile or so along the PA border.  I hiked into the park with a ridge runner from MD. This is a paid position where the guy hikes up and down the AT in MD multiple times a week to keep the trail clean and enforce the rules of the trail in the state (ie no alcohol). He isn't a ranger or anyone with authority to ticket you, but he will call in enforcement if needed. He told me about an interesting breakfast idea that I started using after my next resupply. More on that later.

So PA was the worst place to not have a camera.  There were some awesome views that I hope to experience again some day. There was one view I specifically came upon that I'll never forget. It was a beautiful scene of mountains, farmland, roads, technology and some industry...a perfect mix of American culture. In my head it is the perfect picture of this country.  All I could do when I saw it was quote from Team America the movie and say "America &@$# Yeah!" I wish I had a picture. 

I spent a total of I think 8 days in PA. This state had the most weekend warriors or section hikers I've seen other than in the Great Smokey Mountains.  This provides unique experience. It means one night I was with some rowdy boy scouts and another I was with a group of people my age that brought way too much food a mile into their campsite.  The boy scouts made a huge fire and were interesting to watch and listen to as they teased each other. The group of 4 I had to assist with the fire but was offered a hotdog, bratwurst, small piece of steak, fruit (I so miss fruit) and a drink. It was so nice! PA was a great state for trail magic.

I was very fortunate on day last week as well. It started raining one night around 8pm as the sun was going down. It rained all night and all the next day. I was in a shelter for the night and stayed dry. The next morning was difficult, but I was able to convince myself to get up and hike the 14 miles into Duncannon, PA. I stayed at The Doyle in town, a 109 year old hotel that is now used as a hostel and restaurant. It was run by an old couple who owned it. I loved my time there as the wife was very feisty as she served the customers and the husband who cooked all the food was so good natured and laid back. It was an interesting combination. I was able to dry out my stuff in Duncannon making the rest of my trek through the state a nice one other than the lack of water sources due to somewhat of a dry summer.

I finished the state by staying at a church hostel in Delaware Water Gap, PA (DWG). I got new phone there and spent the day setting it up with music and apps. I also bought new shoes.  I woke up the next morning and hiked across the Delaware into NJ.

One last thing about PA. The state has a bad reputation for being rocky. This is somewhat of a bad reputation.  It has a lot of times when you need to rock hop (meaning you step from rock to rock for quite some time) but it wasn't any worse than other states. There was one section between Wind Gap and DWG where for miles and miles you had nothing but sharp pointy rocks that you couldn't rock hop because the rocks were too small and you couldn't avoid the rocks because there were too many of them. This was extremely annoying.  I actually stopped early on my last day before DWG and put up my tent instead of making it to the shelter because of how bad the rocks were and how frustrated I was at the time. I slept well for a few hours until I woke up and found I was sleeping under a flight path for what I'm assuming was international flights considering the time the planes were coming through, the size of them and the extremely loud noise they made...I was not very happy that night haha.

Well that was PA. My last major post talked about all my woes getting back on the trail. It didn't mention that I found out my debit card was skimmed so I had to have that canceled. Also when I left the hostel I hiked a reasonably short day to allow my shin a little more time to recover.  The next day I took off and felt great. No pain. I was 6 miles into my hike and was stung or bit by a bug right in the middle of my bad shin. I hiked the rest of the day in pain...The next day was better again and so ended my 2 straight weeks of woe! I have been a much happier hiker since then.

Another update covering NJ and NY should be coming in a few days! That one will have pictures!

NY bound!

I just entered NJ today. It's a short state on the trail. I hope to be in NY in a day or two. Not too much to post about for the last 2 weeks. I hiked, I hurt, I got better. Now I'm feeling good and getting the miles I expect! I did get 62 miles in 2 days through PA which is the first time I've done two consecutive 30 mile days. 

This is a short post cause I'm only taking a short morning break and heading on for a 25 mile day. Here's what I'm looking at while I'm typing this entry. Enjoy!

First post back

So this is my first post since getting back on the trail.  I've been back on the trail for 9 days now, so you know this will be a long one.  I'll keep it as short as possible though.

I got to Waynesboro, VA on Saturday night late.  I wanted to stay at the brand new long distance hiker pavilion in town.  Unfortunately I was looking at an old map that had the tenting area for hikers located right behind the YMCA, which now is a concrete parking lot, not the best place to set up a tent.  I ended up sleeping next door at the library under an overhang until about 3:30am when it started to rain.  I packed up and sat in an alcove while I waited for the rain to stop.  During that time I was able to find a current map and I located the pavilion.  It was a nice place with a solar charging station and plenty of places to tent or hammock over night. There were two hikers there, but I never met them because I was ready to go at 7am and they hadn't moved from their tents.  Since I got in so late and it was still too early, I didn't call any of the possible trail angels for a ride and walked the 4 miles to the trail.  I then hiked a nice 20 mile day into the Shenandoah National Park.

The Shenandoahs are the reason why I went back and hiked from Waynesboro instead of getting on the trail at Harper's Ferry where JD and I got off.  I am glad I did that.  The woods were beautiful in the Shenandoahs and the overlooks along skyline drive were breathtaking.  I took plenty of pictures!  I even saw a few bears!  The first bear I saw made some noise to the left of the trail.  I stopped and looked for what was making the noise, but didn't see anything.  Then all the sudden a bear goes sliding down a tree like a fireman on a pole.  Literally just slide down the tree with no stops.  He got to the ground and took off running away.  I also saw a mama bear and a cub cross the trail.  It was the cutest thing ever to see the little cub only about 10 inches tall when on its hand and feet go running. 

So hiking was going well the first day.  The second day my knee started acting up a little bit.  I took some "Vitamin I" (Ibuprofen) and was fine.  After a day or two though I knew I needed to get into town.  The brace I had wasn't sufficient enough for what I needed and my knee was killing me.  I was hoping to resupply in Front Royal, VA, but ended up getting off the trail 50 miles earlier in Luray, VA.  There I was able to get a brace from Walmart and stay the night with Sparkle Pony taking a chance to recover from the pain in my knee.  Sparkle Pony and I went around town and did the normal resupply and eat.  We found a nice little diner/bar, the only one in town and had some food and drinks.  We started walking back to the hotel and made a pit stop at the 7-11 that was on the way.  When we left the 7-11 Sparkle Pony asked a girl if she could give us a ride the rest of the way to our hotel.  She told him sure, we hopped in and got back to the hotel.  When we got back to our hotel room, I realized my phone had fallen out of my pocket in her car.  Sparkle Pony didn't have a phone and the room phone wouldn't dial long distance, so I couldn't call my phone.  I stayed in town another day trying to track down my phone but to no avail.  I am now phoneless and 3 days behind schedule.

The next few days I was able to keep a normal pace.  My right knee feels better, but isn't 100% yet.  Unfortunately my left shin is swollen.  I didn't realize it until yesterday, but it had been hurting because I was favoring my right leg because of the knee pain and I didn't realize that there was actual swelling.  I took an easier day than I planned because of the swelling and stayed at a really cool little campsite that was just off the trail near a spring.  I'd have taken a picture to share but the whole no phone thing kinda kills that.

Today I hiked another short day, about 18 miles into a hostel at Bear's Den Gap.  This is just past the middle of a section known at "The Roller Coaster" because there are 10 ups and downs in a span of 13.5 miles.  There are very few good views in this area.  I am icing my shin and eating a nice dinner while I sleep in a comfortable bed.  I hope this will help to get back on track!

Tomorrow I plan to hike just before Harper's Ferry.  It's another short hike (like 17 miles) so I hope that will help me to recover as well.

Look for more updates in the weeks to come!

The requested update!

So this is why I didn't want to start the blog, I'm not one to post regular updates of my life. Sorry everyone for the lack of an update but this is where things stand now.

So JD and I left Waynesboro, VA via the Shenandoah river.  This is known as aquablazing. Basically instead of following the trail by foot, we followed by water. To do this we bought a canoe and all the required equipment to paddle down the river.  This was an amazing experience!  Within the first 30 minutes of being on the water we flipped our canoe in some very small rapids. It was slightly embarrassing how easy the rapids should have been. Regardless, we flipped and everything went floating down river. I captured our packs and the required life jackets. JD caught the paddles. Unfortunately, we also were carrying a cooler which had food we needed over the next few days that didn't start down the river until we started to get back in the boat. JD dropped everything in his hands and went down river to get the cooler. When I finally get the boat turned over and empty of water JD is walking towards me up the river with cooler in hand. We get situated in the canoe again to realize we have no paddles...

Luck was on our side though. We started again down the river with no paddles hoping to find them. We found one and have no clue where the 2nd one went. We weren't entirely screwed! Of course paddling a canoe with one paddle isn't the easiest thing in the world. This led us to the 2nd time we flipped over. During this occasion we flipped and again our gear went floating down river. I went this time to catch it all.  JD stayed behind with the boat which was stuck against a rock with the river flowing into it. I made it about a mile down the river before I was able to get all our hiking gear. It took him some time for JD to get the boat unstuck but he managed.  We met up on the side of the river with our hiking gear, the canoe, life jackets and no paddles. I didn't see the last one float by and JD didn't notice it when he was catching up to me. At this point we were literally up a Creek without a paddle. I start to look around on the shore for something, anything that could be used to keep us going just to get to a road so we can either get new paddles or get off the river.  JD had other plans though. He walked away from the river onto a goat farm just over the ridge.  The farmer was there drinking a beer (this was about 10 am on a Thursday) and tending to some fallen branches from a storm the previous night. JD asks the man if he had any canoe paddle and if we could buy them from him. Luckily the guy was extremely nice and didn't immediately yell at JD for trespassing.  Unfortunately the man didn't have any canoe paddles. He did offer to give us some extremely old row boat oars for free. He referred to them as antiques.  They were sturdy and wooden, weighted about 10 pounds each and definitely old, but most importantly they were free and could be used to get us where we needed to go!  We gladly accepted them! This is probably the best trail magic JD and I received during our journey! 

We flipped over one more time on the first day. Again the canoe got pinned against a rock due to the current of the river. This time we were smart enough to tie all of our equipment down so nothing went down stream. I unhooked all our stuff and JD took it all to the side of the river while I struggled with the canoe. It took some time but we finally got free and continued on our way. The first day of aquablazing ended early, around 3pm at a dam. The company we purchased the canoe from was based at this dam. They drive our boat around the dam and let us camp on their site for free. Additionally we were only a few blocks from a laundromat which allowed us to dry all of our gear that was by this time soaked. This included my phone which despite being in a zip lock bag decided it wanted to join in on the fun. This is one of the reasons why an update was delayed. 

We got back on the river the next day and had a much better day. We learned from our mistakes and individually bagged all of our gear.  The day before we bagged our packs with a trash bag and only important items in zip lock bags. After everything got soaked I bagged my tent, extra clothing and sleeping gear separately in trash bags which kept everything dry! We also strapped our bags to the canoe so that we weren't loosing items down the river. We only flipped once that day. We ended up camping for the night at a place with picnic tables and a privy. It might have been private property but there were no signs and no one caught us so we were good.

The rest of the trip was pretty uneventful.  We did decide to be stupid on our last day on the water.  We knew there were no serious rapids and we knew we only had a few more miles to go before we finished, so the last day out we did "night canoeing." This was stupid as we could not see anything on the river or shoreline.  We went over a few rapids but luckily nothing dangerous.  We ended up finishing the night at watermelon park just outside of Harpers Ferry, WV around midnight.  This was the first night we both "cowboy camped" which means we just slept on the ground with no tent. In the morning we sold our canoe back to the people we bought it from. JD and I then took a bus from Harpers Ferry to Washington DC. I left the trail here for a friend's wedding.  For the past 4 weeks I've been off the trail. I went to the wedding and then went to NYC while I waited to hear back from a job I applied to.  On Friday July 18 I finally heard back from the job. They decided to go with another candidate so I am heading back to the trail!!

I will get back on the trail in Waynesboro despite the fact that I have already canoed past here. I plan to hike in the Shenandoah park which should help me to get back in hikers shape. I plan to get back on the trail on July 27. I will continue to post after that! I can't wait to get back on the trail and finish! Stay tuned for more updates!

PS.  Because my phone went for a swim during the aquablazing session I have no pictures. I have attached some pictures of my time off the trail during the last few weeks.

PPS. Sorry for the long update, this was part of the reason why it took so long as well, I knew the entry would take some time!

 

Brent And Tammy's Wedding

   

Couldn't ask for a better view for July 4

Hedwig and the Angry Inch a Broadway show with Neil Patrick Harris.  I won lottery tickets to this while in NYC.

 

Neil Patrick Harris signing autographs after the show! 

 

I don't remember what this is, but it looked cool! 

Sick in Daleville

So an update over the last few days.

Not too much to report hiking wise. On the AT there is something known as the "Virginia Blues." This is because a high number people drop off in VA. By this time the newness and excitement of hiking has wore off and it's a lot of day in and day out of the same things. On top of that VA is probably so far been the most boring part of the trail. There haven't been many great views and there aren't a whole lot of difficult ups and downs. To top it off there hasn't even been much trail magic to speak of in VA. I can understand why people wouldn't like Virginia much.

On Thursday afternoon this past week JD and I arrived in Daleville. JD went grocery shopping and I checked into the motel room we reserved. I had some food and dried out my tent and clothing from the rainy day earlier in the week. By the time JD got to the room with his food I was not feeling too well. I think I had Norovirus which is common on the trail and equivalent to food poisoning. I'm not gonna elaborate on my symptoms, but I will say it usually lasts between 12 and 48 hours. Knowing this is took Friday off and stayed in town. JD stayed as well because we have been eating and drinking from the same places and he wanted to be sure he was not going to get sick as well.  Lucky for him he was fine.

Unfortunately this put us in a very tight schedule.  It was 134 miles from Daleville to Waynesboro and we had 5 days to make it in time for our aquablazing reservation. Our original plan gave us 5.5 days with extra time to prepare. Coming off of being sick, I didn't think it was smart to push myself as hard as it would be required to make our schedule. JD took off in the morning on Saturday for the 134 miles, I got a shuttle to Glasgow,  VA and cut off about 57 miles that I can go back and do at a later time. Of course as things would work out, I was able to easily knock out the 77 miles I had in under 3 days meaning I could easily have made the full 134 miles in time. So now I have 2 days in Waynesboro to get ready for aquablazing and kill time. Right now I am enjoying myself in Panera with some coffee and wifi. I can't wait to get on the Shenandoah river on Thursday! More information on aquablazing still to come! Maybe I'll put info on that tomorrow since I'll have time then too!

Meanwhile enjoy the pics!

Rainy night update

So it has been a crazy couple of days, which is now to be expected on the trail.  Leaving Pearisburg JD and I planned a casual 12 mile day to a water source and camp area outside of town. We were able to get some water about a mile before we planned to stop. Neither of us filled up as we had enough water to make it the remaining mile.  We get to the camping area but were told that the site was just a little farther down the trail as the description of the area did not match what the book said. Another mile down the trail it is 7:00pm and we came to a point where we could verify we were now a full mile away. So as any good hiker faced with the decision to walk back 1 mile to stop and camp or continue on another 7 miles with no water and in the dark to stop and stay at or near the next shelter would do...we hiked on.

3 hours later we arrive at the shelter, exhausted and ready to set up camp or crash in the shelter. The only problem is every campsite we can find is full and the shelter is filled as well. We fill up with water and continue on another half mile until we can find a suitable place for 2 tents.

The next day wasn't too bad. We got a much later start than usual (left about 8:30 opposed to 6:30 as normal). It wasn't a bad day. Only 2 major uphill treks. Of course during the day I find myself as I do most days in my head just thinking about things. At one point I realized I had not seen any of the required white blazes that signify you are on the correct trail for quite some time now. I hike on a little further paying extra attention to ensure that I just didn't notice them, but was on the correct trail...no such luck.  I ended up hiking about a half mile uphill down the wrong trail. It was so demoralizing. I made it where we planned though!

Today we woke up in rain. It was a hard short rain, just enough to get everything wet. We also had planned our hardest day in VA. The first uphill was immediately after our campsite. I got a late start and struggled up the hill about 3 miles straight up.  I arrived at the first meet up point and JD had already been there about an hour. He waited a little while with me so we could discuss the plan forward.  I ate, filled up with water and left as the rain came coming down. Again just long enough to soak everything.  The rain stopped as I hit the next major up hill, this one about 5 miles of continuous up.  The sun is out and everything is extremely humid. I am soaked from sweat.  I meet JD, we discuss our final plans and take off for our last uphill battle for the day, another 5ish miles, some of the most difficult inclines we've seen so far in VA. Of course I'm about midway up the climb and a thunderstorm rolls in. It lasts like the earlier ones just long enough to make everything wet and the air humid.

JD waits for me prior to the final summit, known as dragon's tooth, and we hike it together. It is a little rocky but or the most part not too bad. The decent on the other hand wad deadly. So many steep wet rocks, one wrong move and your hike is over. It took us almost an hour to go downhill about 1 mile. Our normal average pace is 3ish mph.  We are now camping outside of Catawba, VA. The rain was so bad for a while it woke me up and I'm struggling to get back to sleep. So here's a long update.

VA has very few cool pictures. Below is a panorama I took just after one of the shelters yesterday.

Pearisburg, VA for the night

Spent last night in Pearisburg, VA.  From Erwin JD and I hiked a couple of solid 25 mile days to get near enough to have an easy 16 mile day into town. It was awesome to be done by noon!

Two nights ago we stayed at Wapiti shelter about 16 miles from Pearisburg.  It was very cool because we were with a few older section hikers from Atlanta. One guy was a doctor who was planning to section hike the trail, another was a Chick-fil-a executive of some kind and the last guy was involved in construction.  The conversations were great and funny. It was especially an interesting night when the doctor gave a mini exam to one of the hikers who was having some issues. Everything seemed okay with the guy but without the proper equipment the doc suggested he go into town and get checked out. I found out today that the doctor was able to assist last night at a shelter with someone who thought he was having a heart attack. They were able to get 911 to come out and assist. The guy luckily wasn't having a heart attack but he was taken off the trail as his oxygen levels in his blood was low.

Today we plan on a short day. Looking forward to it! I'm also looking forward to aquablazing from Waynesboro to Harpers Ferry! Yes, it is as cool as it sounds!  More info on that later.

Enjoy the pics!

Update from Atkins, VA

Just a quick update for those following me on the trail. I got back on the trail at Damascus, VA and met up with JD. I skipped the part from Erwin, TN to here. I'll plan to do that some other time.

My wonderful mother hiked the trail with me for about half a mile and then dropped me off at about 3:30pm to continue on another 15.5 miles to the shelter where JD was staying. I got in about 9 after dark. There was just enough light that I didn't need to put on my head lamp which was nice.

The next day was dark and dreary. The sun didn't come out till late in the day. To top it off we hiked over one of the best views in VA and we couldn't see a thing! On the mountains we were hiking through clouds which always slows things down, so it was a slow 23 miles.

Yesterday we hiked a solid 25 miles in 10 hours, which included stopping for lunch and other breaks during the day. Not much to photograph that day but we did go by lots of cows, wild ponies and steer. We were able to finish the day at the Mount Rogers visitor center where we ordered pasta from Pizza Hut!

Today we are midway through our hike and it's not even 11. We are currently stopped in Atkins, VA enjoying 2 two litter bottles of mountain dew and ice cream.

Enjoy the pictures!  (Chalkboard of an older school closed down in I believe the late 1800s try to find JD & Manalive on there, JD in front of the school,  lunch in Atkins)

Update from Atkins, VA

Just a quick update for those following me on the trail. I got back on the trail at Damascus, VA and met up with JD. I skipped the part from Erwin, TN to here. I'll plan to do that some other time.

My wonderful mother hiked the trail with me for about half a mile and then dropped me off at about 3:30pm to continue on another 15.5 miles to the shelter where JD was staying. I got in about 9 after dark. There was just enough light that I didn't need to put on my head lamp which was nice.

The next day was dark and dreary. The sun didn't come out till late in the day. To top it off we hiked over one of the best views in VA and we couldn't see a thing! On the mountains we were hiking through clouds which always slows things down, so it was a slow 23 miles.

Yesterday we hiked a solid 25 miles in 10 hours, which included stopping for lunch and other breaks during the day. Not much to photograph that day but we did go by lots of cows, wild ponies and steer. We were able to finish the day at the Mount Rogers visitor center where we ordered pasta from Pizza Hut!

Today we are midway through our hike and it's not even 11. We are currently stopped in Atkins, VA enjoying 2 two litter bottles of mountain dew and ice cream.

Enjoy the pictures!  (Chalkboard of an older school closed down in I believe the late 1800s try to find JD & Manalive on there, JD in front of the school,  lunch in Atkins)

Quick update

So it's been a few days since an update as occurred, but this one will be short.  Not too much to say in regards to trail activities.

I left Hot Springs on Friday after a delicious breakfast as the local diner.  JD, Mike and I all hiked a short 11 miles to the closest shelter north of Hot Springs.  We were fortunate to get in around mid afternoon.  The shelter was an older design and fit only 5 people.  Most shelters you can squeeze a few extra people in, this one was so old that there were holes in the flooring and could only fit exactly 5.  Since we caught the bubble entering Hot Springs there were many people forced to tent that night.

The next day we picked up the pace again and put in 20 miles.  The plan moving forward is to hit a minimum of 20 mile days as anything less at this point seems to short. Nothing major to report on this day, it was a pretty bland day.

 Sunday and Monday is when things took an interesting turn on my trip.  Sunday started out pretty cold.  JD, Mike and I all planned to hike a 20 mile day which would put us about 16 miles from Erwin, TN, our next resupply point.  The planned day started with a strenuous uphill climb followed by about 3 short peaks that needed.   Mid way through the hike, as I crossed under I-26 I was blessed to see more trail magic!  A group of Geocachers set up a table with burritos, hard boiled eggs, cokes, beers, and many other delicious items.  Mike was unfortunately too fast in the morning and missed the magic.  JD was right behind me and was able to enjoy some of the amazing food that the people brought.  We both sat, ate and chat with the group for about an hour then took off to our destination.  Unfortunately after such an amazing meal, JD was able to convince me to continue hiking past our planned stop.  We ended up hiking a 25 mile day and camping about 11 miles from Erwin, TN.  Oh yeah and there was the snake (pictured below).

Sunday evening I texted my mother to let her know where I was going to stay for the night.  After I texted her, my phone started blowing up with text messages, a voice mail and emails for a job opportunity that I applied for while in the NOC (yes, I skipped telling you all that part).

Since the plan was to be in town on Monday, I didn't have to change any plans.  Since JD is from Sweden he wanted to be in town early anyway so that he could Skype with his parents.  We got up at 6am, packed, ate and hiked a quick 11 miles into town by around 10:30am.  I returned the phone call for the position.  They wanted me to interview on Thursday this week.  Since this blog is focused on the trail, I'll make this part quick.  My brother Chad picked me up from the trail on Tuesday.  We drove to MS and I cleaned up, shaved, and stayed the night at my parents.  Wednesday I flew out of Memphis to the interview location.  Thursday I interviewed.  Today I met with a rental consultant to tour the area.  Tomorrow I fly back to Memphis.  Sunday I prepare my stuff.  Monday I'm heading back out to the trail.

It'll be another month before they plan to fill the position I applied for, so I won't know anything until later, that's why I'm not mentioning location or company.  I'm debating on going back to Erwin and starting where I left off or going up to Damascus, VA where the group I've been hiking with should be.  If I don't get the job and am able to finish the trail, I will go back and finish the section that I've skipped.  I think the decision I make will be a game day one made on Monday as I get back on the trail.

Enjoy the pictures!

Update from Hot Springs, NC

So sorry everyone for the lack of an update!  3G access with Sprint is limited on the trail so it's hard to post frequently.

So I did decide to stay the night in NOC after having all my troubles going into the center.  Unfortunately all 65 bunks were full, which included their overflow area.  I was luckily able to find a cabin just outside of the NOC that was $20 a person for 4 people.  Turtle and myself got together with a guy trail name Nebraska (named for his home state) and Mike (no trail name).  It was awesome to have a somewhat private place to stay for not much more than the cost to stay at the NOC!  We were also able to purchase and cook Digiorno pizza!  It tasted so good!

The next morning I got a late start.  I met up with a group of about 12 people for breakfast.  Sunshine, Six Slash, Pockets, Turtle, Jake, Sunshine's Mom, Wing It and many others were there.  We all ate and had great company!  The best part came at the end of the meal when Sunshine's Mom told us she had already paid for everyone's food!  It was the best trail magic so far!!  After a late start, I hiked another 15 miles and met Mike at a shelter.

Mike and I started hiking together after that.  We took and easy 12 mile day into the Fontana Dam Shelter, also known as the Fontana Hilton.  It sleeps 24 people with a running bathroom and shower available, LUXURIOUS! 

The Fontana Hilton is about 1 mile before the start of the Great Smokey Mountain National Park (GSMNP).  The next day we entered the park and hiked a strong 16 miles into the park and stayed at Spence Field Shelter.  It was a grueling hike starting out with 7 miles straight up hill for over 3,000 feet elevation change.  To top it off, the first half of the day it was raining!  I made it to the first shelter which was 10 miles in the Smokeys and decided to put on my rain jacket.  After about 5 minutes the rain stopped and I continued on in my hot rain gear...very annoying.  Two other people from the Hilton made it to the Spence Field Shelter.  Animal and Cat both hiked in with Mike and I.  We all decided to continue through the Smokeys together.

The next day we planned a 13 mile day to the Double Gap Shelter.  When everyone arrived by 2PM, we all agreed to push on to the Mount Collins Shelter for a 19.9 mile day, the longest day for any of us!  We arrive by 5:00 and each had a nice dinner.  We also had a "hiker's high" by that point and we were all just laughing so much.  Such a great time!  From Mt. Collins, we hiked on to Tricorner Knob, a 20.1 mile hike, again surpassing our longest day.  Three straight days of increasing mileage!

On Tuesday we all agreed to take an easier day.  Animal, Cat and Mike all stopped at Davenport Gap Shelter for the night for a day that was just shy of 15 miles, also the last shelter in the GSMNP.  I pressed on about 3 miles further to a hostel outside of the park so that I could get some food, as I had planned to stop in Gatlinburg, but was convinced to skip it by my hiking group.  Most of the team had a little too much food and did not mind giving me some of their overage to reduce their pack weight.  I had enough food, but I haven't been getting enough calories lately, so I was hoping to get another pizza!  I weighed myself at the Hostel before dinner and it said that I had lost 30 pounds since I left for the trail barely over 2 weeks ago.  That is too much.  I am working on increasing my calorie intake.  Eating a full pizza that night helped!

From the hostel, I planned to hike a decent 20 miles to Walnut Mountain Shelter.  The day was amazing.  I went over Max Patch in NC which is a mountain top that had been cleared many years ago to allow cattle to graze.  The views from the top of this mountain were breathtaking.  The views of the Smokeys were particularly great.  I arrived at Walnut Mountain about 3:30 in the afternoon.  I was feeling great.  I did the math and found out that if I could hike an additional 5 miles, I will hit on of the best personal milestones on the trail very early.  100 miles in 5 days is a feet most people don't even dream about getting and those who do usually don't hit that kind of mileage until Virginia.  I made a quick dinner for myself and chatted with JD (JD = just Daniel aka Daniel), Archangel (aka Gabriel) and Motown (aka Kris).  They were also considering going on to the next shelter that was 10 miles away.  At that point it was settled, we were hiking on together.  The four of us left Walnut Shelter with the intent to stop 3 miles outside of Hot Springs, making it a 30 mile day for JD and myself and a 24 mile day for Archangel and Motown.  A 30 mile day is also something unheard of for most people before Virginia, but JD and I were feeling pretty good about it.

We neared Deer Park Shelter and realized that the shelter was full.  Additionally with the coming rain we knew it would be miserable to wake up and hike into town the next morning.  Without much thought or discussion we all put on our head lamps and hiked the additional 3 miles into town hoping to stay at the hostel just off the AT at the southern edge of town.  We arrived in town around 9:30PM to find out that every hostel bed in town was full as over 100 hikers were in town.  The four of us hit our first "bubble" of hikers.  After some frantic searching, we were able to find a cabin that sleeps 4 on the other side of town, a full 1 mile down the AT.  The day was finished!  JD and I hiked 34 miles that day, we both left the Fontana Hilton at the same time making our 5 day total 108 miles and a 2 day total of 52 miles.  Archangel and Motown also had a 2 day total of 52 miles and were just shy of the 100 miles in 5 days as well.

Hot Springs is a small town.  It is beautiful, but on a Wednesday night everything is closed by 10PM.  We all had to cook our last hiking meal and then crashed.  Today all of us took a zero day.  No hiking at all!  It has been nice to let our bodies heal.  Breakfast was at a local diner and was probably one of the best, most filling breakfasts I've ever had.  After that we did our laundry and sat in the Hot Springs for which the town is named for.  We plan to finish resupplying and exploring the town for the rest of today.  Later this evening the town offers a free dinner for all Hikers.  It is a potluck thing they do every Thursday rain or shine, such amazing trail magic!

Tomorrow the plan is to have a nice breakfast and take off mid morning to early afternoon for a nero day (nearly zero).  It'll be good to have one last meal before leaving, but also to get a small hike in!

Sorry for the long post today!  It's been such a busy 8 or so days since I updated.  I'll try to update more frequently!  Enjoy the pictures!

Pictures below, 1.  Cheoah Bald, 2.  View in the Smokeys, 3.  Sunrise from the famous Rocky Top Mountain, 4.  Max Patch, 5.  Areal view of Breakfast in Hot Springs!

Day 11 update

So its been a crazy few days here. First, on last week Tuesday I stayed at Tray Mountain Shelter in Georgia.  This is a shelter about 4300 feet on the top of a mountain where winds do not stop at night. I should have known something was up when I saw that the shelter had tarps hanging at the entrance. This was to protect hikers at night from the ever blowing wind. That night it also went below freezing which meant that I had to get my rain gear out and wear it all night to stay warm. I don't think I've ever been so cold.

Sometime after Tray Mountain I crossed the GA/NC line. It was a nice spot in the middle of nowhere.  I sat down and had lunch and relaxed sitting on the border. I had covered about 75 miles by this point!

I planned a zero day in Franklin, NC on Monday. I ended up arriving in Franklin a day later than planned because I was sticking with my hiking buddy Turtle (aka Sam). After getting into town before noon and seeing the hostel I decided against staying for a zero day. I restocked my food, bought some new hiking supplies that I needed, and rested. I decided to not post that day just because of how crazy the day was.

I had a nice 15 mile hike yesterday where I was able to try out my new gear like my new hiking poles. I can't believe how much those help relieve stress on your knees! The poles were probably the best $80 I spent for this trip so far!

Today though has not been my day! I rolled my right ankle twice, left ankle once, slid down a rock and tweaked my knee, and I ran out of water while hiking to the Nantahala Outdoor Center (NOC). All of that was in a 12 mile section of the trail. I'm currently eating lunch here at NOC. I'm debating on continuing to the next shelter that is 7 miles away as planned or just staying here for the night. I think my left ankle is telling me to stay, but the rest of my body feel up to continuing.  I'll make up my mind after I finish lunch...probably gonna stay.

~~Manalive~~

Neels Gap Hostel

For those following me where I'm on the trail, I hiked from Woodys Gap to Neels Gap today. It started out as a moderate 7 miles and became strenuous the last 4 which included conquering Blood Mountain, the highest elevation in GA. I would suggest doing a Google search and seeing some of the beautiful views that I missed.  This is the second time I've hiked the mountain and the second time that there has been no visibility due to weather.  At least I didn't run into any rain.  Oh well, guess I'll have to come back!

I've met up with another hiker named Sky Walker (aka Joe). We've decided pair up for a little bit as we're going about the same pace. We hike together to start the day and then take rests a different times so that we can still hike alone which is nice. It's good to have company but not be obliged to stay with them the entire time.

I also ran into 2 wonderful people as I was finishing my day. They were Teacher and Snacktime, a grandmother and her grandson out on the trail for a home schooling activity. They had some questions for me and the other hikers passing through. They also were kind and gave out a little bag of "trail magic" which included some candies and toilet paper among other things. It was a nice gift.

The day got even better when I arrived at the hostel. I was able to check in and take a shower (a luxury in the middle of the wilderness). The warm water felt great as it washed the salt off my body. I met a few of my fellow hikers who planned to stay the night, all of whom are various ages and all very interesting. The best part of the evening came when a family from a local Baptist Church in Cleveland, GA stopped by with dinner for us. The dinner tasted amazing and it was a lot of fun to hang out with them for the hour and a half they were here. The hospitality and fellowship tonight was just amazing.

I was able to restock some supplies here with some food that some section hikers from Florida left. I had passed these guys on the trail earlier in the day without much talking. They finished their planned hike today and left some wonderful dinners for us to take.

The rest of the night was spent hanging out with my fellow hikers. We had a TV,  but it stayed off all night as the company was far better than anything we could put on. Bedtime came around 9pm. It's just before 3am now and I'm gonna go back to sleep.

Continue to keep me in your prayers!

(Photos are of the sign at Blood Mountain and the view from Neels Gap)

Hello, my name is...

"I'm afraid I've lost touch with my old friends.  The greatest friend I ever had was as school, a fellow named Smith.  It's odd you should mention it, because I was thinking of him today, though i haven't seen him for seven or eight years.  he was on the science side with me at school, a clever fellow though a little weird, and he went up to Oxford when i went to Germany.  The fact it, it's rather a sad story.  I often asked him to come and see me, and when I heard nothing i made inquiries you know.  i was shocked to learn that the poor Smith had gone off his head.  The accounts were a bit cloudy of course.  Some saying he had recovered again, but they always say that.  about a year ago i got a telegram from him myself.  The telegram, I'm sorry to say, put the matter beyond a doubt."

 "Quite so," assented Dr. Warner stolidly; "insanity is generally incurable."

"So is sanity," said the Irishman, and studied him with a dreary eye. 

"It's a shame to joke about such things," Said Inglewood, in his honest, embarrassed way; "the telegram was Smith's illness, not Smith.  The actual words were, 'Man found alive with two legs."

This is an excerpt from the book Manalive by GK Chesterton.  I have selected Manalive as my trail name for my trek northbound.  Trail names are selected by the hiker or given by fellow trail mates. No one knows where/when the tradition was started but it is now expected that hikers have one. 

I selected this name for a number of reasons, but the biggest one is that I am carrying that book with me. It is also one of my favorite books. Additionally, when I read the part of the book above, I laughed because I received a similar response when I told people I was quitting my job to hike the AT (short hand moving forward for Appalachian Trail). Finally, being on the trail makes me feel alive! The pains and joys all make this a great experience. 

The book is a great read and very short. I'd definitely recommend that everyone read it! My copy is only 127 pages long, so get on it!

~~Manalive~~

Day 1: Amicalola Falls

So this is my first blog entry from my phone. It's the entry that let's everyone know I am hitting the trail today!!! I can not explain how exciting this is.  After a great Friday night and short Saturday in Greenville I am thrilled to be starting the trail at about 9:00am.  My mom plans to hike the first half mile with me which is great! 

So far today I've had an amazing continental breakfast consisting of liquid eggs and rock hard biscuits.  At least the banana was fresh and a little under ripe! 

My mom took a picture of me at the start of the trail. Please keep me in your prayers as I start this adventure!!!!

I found some reception while I eat lunch so I'm posting now! More to follow!

Final Preparations

The final preparations have been made!  I have my backpack packed!  I have food for the first leg of my trip!  Water is ready to go.  I have finalized my preliminary schedule! 

I have purchased my permit for the Great Smokey Mountains. 

Currently my pack weighs about 38lbs.  This is a little heavier that what I hoped, but I'm not disappointed.  I'm fully stocked with more food than I need for the leg.  I will fine tune by food intake after a few days and the pack will be much lighter.  I also have a tent that is a little bigger than what I need for 1 person, but I feel the extra space will be nice.

I have decided to move my start date up almost a week as I am ready to go now.  Additionally, I hope to make it to my friend's wedding in June and I need to be in town a day or two earlier than I had planned as my buddy who is picking me up and is in the wedding needs to get me earlier than I had assumed.  Sunday is the day!  4/27/14!  only 3 more days!  I cannot explain the excitement that I am feeling right now!  I will soon be on the trail carrying everything I need to survive on my back!

I will update with some pictures on Sunday as I leave!  Stay tuned for my updates!

WHY!?!?

So the first question people ask me is why do you want to do something like this?  It's not a judgmental question, but one more of curiosity and excitement.  Instead of answering the same question for everyone, I figured I'd take a short cut and post to my blog.

I first decided that I wanted to hike the entire trail about 6 years ago.  I first hiked the trail with my friend Ryan when I graduated college.  I loved the physical and mental challenge of hiking.  I also loved the scenery and people along the way.  I fell in love with the trail then.  I spent only a week on the trail and traveled about 120 miles, and at that point I knew I wanted to hike the entire thing.  Ryan and I discussed the possibility of hiking the trail after he graduated.  I even discussed with my manager at work the possibility of taking a Leave of Absence in order to do this.  Unfortunately, Ryan took an extra semester to graduate and the idea of the trip went away as it is extremely difficult to hike the entire trail in a single summer.  Additionally, it was never a good time to get away from work, family, friends or responsibilities.  

The desire to hike the trail remained, but the idea of doing it was subdued.  I still went for weekend trips during the next few summers with various friends, and each time the desire was reignited, but the execution was always an intangible or indeterminate goal, much like when you run into that old friend from high school and you both say, "we should get coffee sometime and catch up!" but nothing ever materializes.

I finally decided to go for it in June 2013.  I went mountain biking with my friend Daniel and his brother in Virginia.  We ended up biking the Virginia Creeper Trail which intersects the Appalachian Trail at various points.  I left the trail riding back with Daniel to SC and told him about how I always do something like mountain biking and am reminded about my desire to hike the Trail.  He asked me, "Why don't you just do it?!"  At least 100 excuses went through my head.  They were good excuses too, but they were all excuses.  When I really thought about it, there was nothing that was preventing me from going other than me.

Next came the how.

While hiking on the trail the first time I met a former thru hiker who was a fellow engineer.  I asked her, how she was able to hike the trail with a full time "professional" job.   She explained that she went up to her boss with 2 letters, on for an LOA and one for her resignation.  I made the decision that I was going to do the same thing by asking for an LOA from my company this summer.  I also made the decision that if that LOA was denied, that wouldn't stop me from going...I was prepared to leave much like her.  Unfortunately, the LOA was denied and I submitted my letter of resignation.

I have been planning my trip since January.  The more I plan, the more I feel confident that this is where I am being called to be.  I don't know what I'm doing after the trail, but I trust that God has a plan.  I look forward to figuring out that plan while on the trail or even afterwards!

At this time I start my hike on May 1!!!  I can't wait for it!  Stay tuned for more updates!

Craig

Welcome to my blog as I hike the Appalachian Trail!  More information to come.  I'm not sure how often I will post, but I hope to update during my trip!