Day 100: Da Smokies Part 2 Run Away!!!

Today i got the heck out of dodge... or should i say the smokies.  I did 15.6 miles to Newfound gap where i met my grandmothers friends Vicky and Steve who offered to take me in.  It is a blessing from God that they were around to help me because otherwise I would have been in life threatening conditions.  We had this arrangement planned for about a month it just so happened to work out with this storm.  God sure does have a plan and if you put your faith and trust in him it is amazing how things will work out.  Vicky and Steve live about an hour from Newfound gap at a much, much lower elevation than the smokies.  They were kind enough to drive me to a local outfitter where i purchased some nano spikes to put on my shoes and a pair of heavy duty merino wool socks which i will need for sleeping.  They also took me to the grocery store for resupply.  Here is the reason i purchased spikes: there is rain coming before the snow hits.  That rain is gonna pool up on the AT like it does (aka the Appalachian River) and is gonna freeze solid then get a ton of snow on top of it.  Hopefully they pay off because they weren't cheap and there will only be a couple days i actually use them.  I cannot emphasize how grateful i am to Vicky and Steve for taking me in.  This really is a lifesaver and having a bed to sleep in and hot food to eat is soooooo much nicer than risking hypothermia at 6000 ft.  I will never forget Vicky and Steve helping me and this is the number one trail magic i have ever heard of.  It looks like i will be zeroing here tomorrow and hitting the trail if the road is open on Sunday.  I still have a goal of finishing the 9th but i will admit it will be a challenge because i will have to average 26 miles per day if i am able to hit the trail Sunday.  Here's one cool thing is i will get some awesome pictures of the Appalachian "Winter Wonderland" trail.  Also, i got some cool pictures at Charlies bunion today so check those out on my photo account. 

The weather forecast: 14 inches of snow

That's right folks, 14 inches of snow predicted between the night of 10/31 and the afternoon of 11/1 on the ridge in the smokies.  I don't know about what you are thinking right as you are reading this but that's a lot of snow.  Did somebody tell mother nature its only November 1st!  I mean what the heck this is gonna be a dad gum blizzard on the trail.  Can you imagine temperatures at night with that wind in the smokies?  Thats gonna be some insane conditions and i will be praying for all hikers trapped in the smokies during this storm.  I got to give a big shout out to Vicky and Steve for taking me in y'all are the ultimate trail Angels.  Here is another figure for you: the low on Sunday for Cherokee, NC is 18 degrees.  If you ever want to know the low for 5000+ ft on the trail drop that temperature 10 degrees from the nearest town.  That means single digit lows for the trail in the smokies.  In the smoky mountains the AT traverses about 70 miles of ridge line all from approximately 5000 ft to 6600 ft.  To be honest i do not have the equipment to tackle hiking or sleeping in the conditions that will be present for a few days. 

Day 99: Da Smokies Part 1

First things first, this morning, before i entered the smokies, i saw the biggest buck of my life.  It was a 12-14 point buck maybe even 16 point.  I have never ever seen anything like it the rack was so broad and massive.  I was able to sneak so close to it i could have shot it with a bow.  Uhhhhhh the torture the AT is putting me through.  Today was a fantastic day for hiking after that cold front passed through last night.  Last night got down to about 35 degrees and there were two others in the shelter.  To be honest that was one of the best nights sleep i have had on the trail.  It is hard sleeping on a pad every night in the open air but that 35 degrees and dry air was perfect.  It was a good day and i did 25 miles.  At mile 7 i hit I-40 which is a very low point at 1500 ft.  From there its a 16 mile climb to 6330 ft!  Holy cow thats a long uphill!  2 miles into the climb i hit Davenport gap which is the north end of the smoky mountain national park.  To be honest i kinda disdain the smokies because what started this year is they charge 20 bucks for thru hikers to hike through the park and i do not feel like the AT was designed to be a pay to hike system.  Its almost like the AT has its own personality that i have come to know (lets face it, its a love/hate relationship) and i do not feel like thru hikers should have to pay.  On the other hand i understand that the park needs to make money and you figure 20 bucks x 2000 thru hikers (est) = 40,000 bucks.  Thats a good chunk of change for the National Park Service.  My other issue with the GSMNP is you have to sleep in the shelters unless its completely full and if a section hiker shows up to a full shelter they take priority and can kick out a thru hiker.  I shouldn't have an issue because i am a SOBO and there aren't as many people out but that definitely affects NOBO's; many of which dont carry a shelter of their own.  Can you imagine getting kicked out of a shelter right around sunset and being told to sleep in the dirt or have to night hike to the next shelter?  That would stink.  What i do like about the smokies is the incredible scenery, impeccably well maintained trails, and good smelling forests that i think are spruce trees but i am not sure.  To be honest i could bust 40s no problem every day if the entire AT were as well built/maintained as the section in the smokies.  I was doing 4mph without even trying to go fast in the park today.  All shelters in the smokies are rated for 12 people but could easily hold 16+.  There are 4 others here tonight.  Its gonna be cold tonight with temps in the 20s. 

Day 98: 10/29/14

It was hard to leave the hostel when its raining but that's kinda life on the AT.  I did 26 miles.  The only noteworthy thing to mention was Max Patch which is a grassy bald that was cleared a long time ago of trees for cattle grazing.  Right as i was climbing to the summit the cold front passed, the clouds lifted a little, and the views opened up.  It was spectacular to see and my 4th favorite spot on the AT.  I felt like i was scuba diving with the solid gray cloud layer up top as the ocean surface, the mountains were like the reef sticking up from the ocean floor, and the little poof ball cotton ball looking clouds were trapped between it all kinda like schools of baitfish.  The picture here on the blog is that view. 

Day 97: Hot Springs, NC

I guess i never mentioned it but i have been straddling TN/NC since roan mtn.  Hot springs is a cool little town that the trail goes through.  I stopped at the outfitter where they let SOBO's use a computer to print out their smokies permit.  I ate at the smoky mtn diner a huge dinner.  I also stopped by the P.O. to get my 2nd mail magic from the Larkin family.  The last one they sent was in Fort Montgomery, NY.  I appreciate their support greatly and everybody that writes comments on the letters inside the package.  I did 20 miles today.  I promised myself from before i started that the one town i would stay in was hot springs so i am staying at the hostel at laughing heart lodge.  I am the only one at the hostel yet again.  Its nice not having a ton of other smelly thru hikers running around but it sure is a total different experience doing a sobo thru compared to a nobo thru.  There just is nobody ever around for the most part going south.  Its almost absolute isolation unless you are hiking with somebody.  One thing i would like to mention is that TN/NC is very tough.  The climbs are very steep and long with no switchbacks south of Erwin.  My black shirt is covered in soooo much sweat.  I haven't done laundry since kincora hostel.  Everybody south of there charges 5+ dollars just to do laundry which i dont want to pay.  Also, since i brought up the "mental challenge" of an AT thru hike everybody i talk to on the phone has been worried about me.  I said in that post that this is normal and unless you absolutely love living in the woods and hiking with a pack every day this is probably tough for you.  Yes, for me it is tough getting up every day and doing this because i dont have to be here i am choosing to put my body through this.  Yes, it has been mentally tough for majority of the hike and no i am not going to quit.  I never have been remotely close to the point of convincing myself that it i am going to quit.  I have hiked 1911.4 miles... 273.9 left to go.  That 2000 mile mark will be a sweet moment.

Day 96: 10/27/14

I slept under a blanket of stars last night.  The air wasn't all that cold but the wind was howling.  This morning i woke up with first light at 7:15 am and watched the sunrise at 7:45am.  That was a cool experience indeed cowboy camping up there.  Today was hot with a high of 78 degrees but it felt hotter.  My black shirt is turning white from all the sweat buildup.  It was a very tough day physically with hard terrain and i did 30.4 miles.  I had to night hike until 8:30pm to get to the shelter and when i got here nobody else was here which is nice.  I dont like being rude and waking others up by coming in late.  It just happened that i was on a very rocky exposed ridge that is 1 mile long when the sun was setting so i got an awesome sunset again.  The first picture below is the sunrise and second is sunset from the ridge.  Hot springs tomorrow!

Day 95: Life is short so live it to the fullest

I only made it 18 miles i think.  The town shuttle wasn't until 9am so by the time i got situated it was really late.  It was all uphills today and i got to the top of Big bald at 6:00pm.  I was gonna keep going and night hike but i decided to cowboy camp it up here.  I am on a huge grassy bald with 360 degree views at over 5500 ft.  How cool is that?  I dont want any regrets that i should feel the need to do something over and sleeping on top of this mountain was something i felt like i would regret if i passed up.  Its gonna be really cold though with this insane wind blowing.  I wrapped a trash bag around the foot of my sleeping bag as a wind blocker and set my pack and food bag up to block the wind at my head.  If it gets too cold i can always pack up.  The sunset was stunning and as good as it gets.  Im sure the stars will be cool tonight and the sunrise will be sweet to wake up to.  I changed plans and am going to finish on the 9th of November.

Day 94: Erwin, Tennessee

Blue skies and warm temperatures were present today.  The only downside was that at one point i noticed i had lost my buff, you know the thing i wear on my head.  So i dropped my pack and backtracked until i found it a mile back just sitting there on the trail.  That little detour cost me valuable hiking time.  I did 25 miles regardless and made it to Erwin, TN at 6:30pm where i am staying at Uncle Johnnies hostel.  I didn't want to stay here i wanted to just resupply and keep hiking on another 6 miles but that setback earlier held me up from getting here earlier.  The hostel does free town shuttles so they said they would take me to the grocery store in the morning.  Tomorrow will be a long day with basically all day being uphill.  The first forecast for winter is coming.  November 1-3 its supposed to rain and snow each day/night.  I am not concerned about snow its the rain mixed with below freezing temperatures at night that means ice on the trail and really cold socks/shoes.  Hopefully i can keep pushing the big miles and make it through the smokies before it hits.  I killed a mouse last night with a broom.  They were all over that shelter; i have had very few mice infested shelters so far but that one last night was one of the worst.

Day 93: Roan Highlands

Breakfast at Mountain Harbor is The Bomb!  Ohhh man was it good.  Today i did 25-27 miles i cant remember exactly how far it was.  Today i crossed over Roan mtn, round bald, jane bald, hump mtn, and little hump mtn.  All of which are grassy highlands that you have panoramic views and with partly cloudy skies it was a great day to be up there.  Roan mtns elevation is over 6200 ft and boy was it cold up there.  There is a shelter at the top which is the highest shelter on the AT.  The roan Highlands are officially my 3rd favorite spot on the trail.  1st is Katahdin and 2nd was Franconia ridge in the White's of NH.  Round and jane balds would be a great day hike if you are ever in the area you can park at carvers or carters gap cant remember what it was exactly and from there its about a mile to the summit of round bald.  Very cool.  You can drive to the top of roan i think.

Day 92: Hostel Hopping

Its always tough leaving a hostel especially when its warm and cozy inside and hovering around freezing outside.  But today i had to do 25.2 miles to get to Mountain Harbor Hostel so i had to get going.  If i would have gone past the hostel it would have been a 34 mile day and i needed to buy a couple things at the grocery store so the hostel was the best bet.  I hit the trail at 8am and did the 25 miles by 4:15pm!  Holy cow thats fast considering lunch break, snack breaks, water filtering breaks, etc.  The sun didn't come out until 11am and then it warmed up a little but a very nice day overall.  This is the firs time i have seen the sun in a few days.  The forecast is for sunny and warmer days for a while so that will be nice.  Mountain Harbor Hostel is also a bed and breakfast.  The hostel is situated on top of the barn which is cool.  There are 3 horses in the barn so i got to talk to them a little which was nice.  The main reason i wanted to stay here was because i have heard about the place since Maine because they are known for having the best breakfast on the trail.  So that has my name written all over it.

Day 91: 10/22/14

Yesterday evening the 4 of us staying in the shelter all agreed we were gonna sleep in because of how cold it was going to be and the wind didn't help.  I was the first up though and didn't leave the shelter until 9am which is really late.  Everyone else was just getting out of there sleeping bags when i left.  I was in no rush though because i was only doing 18 miles to Kincora Hostel which is a donation based hostel run by Bob Peoples.  He is famous on the AT for building switchbacks which i love switchbacks.  The suggested donation is 5 bucks and you get laundry, a shower, and bunk. I rode with some section hikers that just finished up there hike and had a vehicle so we went to town for dinner (i went to McDonalds and subway).  I bought a 12" sub and a burger plus sweet tea and milkshake for dinner and 3 more burgers to pack out for lunch tomorrow.  There is a wood burning heater so the hostel is nice and toasty compared to a shelter if i had kept going.  I saw a beautiful waterfall today called Laurel Falls.  Its not advised to go swimming around the falls because there is a whirlpool and people have died there.  I layed in my bed this evening and went through all my pictures i have taken while out here.  I can name almost every view or mountain like i was just there.  Thru hiking the AT may be a very big challenge mentally and the toughest thing i have ever done but has been worth it and i have enjoyed being able to live in the woods for so long.  The statistic i said in "The mental challenge" blog post about 2 out of 3 days are low moral days was wrong.  Yes, there have been a lot of bad days but its not 2/3 days except probably in NY/CT.  One thing i have learned about the cold is i dont like living in it 24/7 .  Its one thing waking up in a heated house with a hot pot of coffee and being able to carry lots of layers.  Its another living in an open aired shelter or tent and having to unzip my sleeping bag to freezing cold air, then pack my stuff up, then hike and i cant carry a ton of layers because clothes are heavy and they take up space in a pack.  That initial getting up and going is very tough in the cold.

Day 90: 3rd month the trail

It rained last night.  I hardly slept a guy had a dog and the thing was going haywire last night.  It would stomp its paws on the wood floor every 5 minutes and once every 15 minutes bolt out of the shelter then his owner would call him back and the process repeated all night long.  The owner said he had never seen the dog act like this and i mentioned that the shelter had a bear problem so maybe there was a bear around last night and the dog knew it but we didn't.  Today was a gloomy day with either being fogged in or overcast all day.  Plus a strong wind and being up on a ridge the entire day it was cold.  Moral was good despite the heavy pack.  My new diet of wraps i am making are delicious so i think that helps.  Easy day though for me and i did 22.7 miles.  Its gonna be super cold tonight the wind is blowing straight into the shelter with this cold front that is moving through.  I am really cold right now so i am going to bed and zipping up my mummy bag so that only my nose is exposed.  I wont leave my cocoon until morning except for when i have to take a leak at night.  Asleep by 7:07pm.  Hiker bedtime.  Ohh yeah check out the cool view from behind the shelter.  Its not often there is a view from a shelter.

Day 89: Entered Tennessee Today

Today i slackpacked the 18 miles from where i got off trail yesterday back to the hostel.  I grabbed lunch at Pork Bellies bbq joint.  Then i hit the trail with a heavy heavy pack.  I have enough food to hopefully get me to Erwin which is a long stretch.  I did 10 miles from Damascus to a shelter so 28 miles hiked today.  It didn't rain at all last night or today.  Moral was good especially since i got to slackpack and eat town food.  A few miles after leaving Damascus i crossed the VA/TN state line.  Thats pretty cool i only have 3 state's left. 

Shelter Life

I am doing this post to show you what life in the shelters is like.  Very first thing i do when i get to a shelter is inflate my sleeping pad and put my sleeping bag on it.  This reserves my spot in the shelter.  Then i go and gather water from the water source for the shelter.  Next i make dinner.  Then i brush my teeth and hang my food bag on a mouse hanger so the mice dont get it.  Then i curl up in my sleeping bag and study the guidebook for what is ahead of me.  Then i read the bible on my phone if i have enough battery.  Then i sleep.  I am usually asleep by 7:30pm.  Sunset at the moment is 6:45pm but gets darker sooner due to the mountains.  I personally dont want to live by an alarm clock while out here plus i turn my phone off at night so i dont even have an alarm clock so i usually wake up with first light.  I think this is around 7:30am.  The days are short right now and only getting shorter.

The Mental Challenge

This post is to discuss the level of mental difficulty an AT thru hike is.  There is a common saying that a thru hike is 80 percent mental and 20 percent physical.  I also once heard there are 2 kinds of people that successfully complete an AT thru hike: those that love living in the woods and could do it for the rest of their lives and those that are stubborn.  I am stubborn like most others.  It is not easy waking up each day and hiking day in and day out for 2,185 miles.  It doesn't matter if the terrain is easy or hard each day is tough.  In my case usually 2 out of 3 days are low moral days.  I just put my head down and do my best to make some miles.  When moral is low it is also hard to hike fast.  On good days 3.5mph is typical; on bad days (most days) just trying to do 3 mph is tough.  I also will admit it is tough to enjoy the trail on low moral days.  Like today i was in Mt. Rogers and Grayson highlands areas which are phenomenally beautiful but i had a hard time taking it all in.  I just kept moving pretty much.  There aren't many things that can cure low moral either.  Its like this pretty much all the time since the very beginning.  The constant battering and bruising on the body, wet feet (my nemesis), sweaty days, cold nights, loneliness, sleepless nights, fatigue, etc are all things that wear on us thru hikers.  To be honest I am just plain flat out tired.  Ive been tired since Connecticut that i can remember.  The trail has worn me out and I am ready to be done although i have less than 500 miles still to go.  Non thru hikers often ask me if i ever want to quit and the answer to that is every second i want to quit.  I feel that is a very generic response among us "stubborn" thru hikers.  But i wont quit.  I will keep putting one foot in front of the other as long as i am able until i reach Springer Mountain in Georgia.  I once had a dream and made a goal to thru hike the AT.  No matter what gets me down I am going to do my best to accomplish that goal. 

Here is an example of a really, really tough day i had mentally recently.  This was the day i got to woods hole hostel and Pearisburg.  There was a reroute in the AT this year and the guidebook didn't have anything to say other than mileages and locations of things between two points will be different than what is listed.  Well 1 mile into it there was a woods road and no blazes for SOBO's to know which way to go.  Great....  So i looked at the back of a tree and saw a NOBO blaze so i knew which way to go.  Meanwhile there were no blazes at all for SOBO's and no indication of where the trail got off the road.  I walked for 2 miles before i figured i must have missed it, i turned around, and i finally found where it was when i saw the NOBO blazes.  The trail was hidden out of sight for SOBO's along the road but marked impeccably for NOBO's.  Ohh yeah the roadwalk was only supposed to be for 0.2 miles i guesstimate... not 2 miles.  I broke down and cried my eyes out but continued to hike for about 45 mins to be honest.  I was so sick and tired of the trail and all the B.S. out here like the trail not being blazed for a southbounder that I put up with every day.  If you ask yourself though what in life is not full of B.S.?  Its usually really petty just like this situation and normally wouldn't bother me but i have noticed that things affect you more out here.  The AT is a rollercoaster of emotions and truly is a journey not just a 2,185 mile hike.  There is something about this trail.  One thing you have to think about is I am not getting paid or compensated or directly benefiting at the moment in any way to put up with this stuff i.am actually spending money to be out here.  Its stupid stuff like this that after being out here for so long makes me snap and I am only hanging on by a thread.  Ohh well i got through it.  Hopefully i return to normal after i am done with the AT because i dont like hanging on by a thread. I've come 1,701.0 miles so far and i have 484.3 to go.  I guess i will have to keep putting my feet in front of each other one by one a little bit longer.  Ohhh yeah here is my finish date: November 10th. 

Day 88: Ponies!!!!!!

It rained all last night.  By the way i dont mention this for you guys but so when i am done i can count how many days it rained while i am out here.  I may be in a shelter but with the rains it soaks the leaves, grass, mud, etc so my shoes/socks get soaked regardless of whether i was actually in the rain.  The mice were active too.  I had one crawl across my feet of my sleeping bag and one lady had her toilet paper chewed up.  I think they mostly stayed on her side of the shelter even though she had a dog that didn't do squat to chase them off.  It was cold too.  This morning a ladies thermometer read 35 degrees.  Brrrrr.  I reek and so does my mummy bag.  The sun didn't come out until 10:30am but it was perfect timing right as i entered Mt. Rogers recreation area and Grayson Highlands State Park.  I did get to see a herd of wild ponies.  Wooohoo!  That was my goal to see a pony.  But the Mt. Rogers area is gorgeous and i am glad it was a sunny day.  At 5:00pm i met a gentleman that said he owns Woodchuck hostel in Damascus and offered to drive me there and shuttle me back to the trail.  So i only did 22 miles but i got to resupply, a shower, laundry, and a warm bed.  That is much wanted since tonight in the mountains it will be below freezing.  In the morning i will get shuttled back to the road i got off at and will slackpack 14 miles back to Damascus then pick up my pack and keep going.  I really needed a town stay moral has been really low and i am tired.  Hopefully i feel better tomorrow.  I am glad i met woodchuck on the trail today because the way my miles were gonna work it would have been to short of a day tomorrow to stay in Damascus so i would have kept going which would have meant smelling horrible longer.  Plus i like slackpacking.

Day 87: 10/18/14

Today I did 24 miles.  It was a gloomy day with no sun all day and it was cold too.  My motivation levels were low today and it was hard to get my pace going.  Its gonna be cold tonight.

Day 86: 10/17/14

It rained yet again last night.  I sure was glad to be in that stone cabin shelter out of the wind it was blowing.  One guy had a thermometer and it was 40 degrees inside the shelter i would hate to imagine what it would of been outside.  Today I did 34 miles.  At 4:30pm i got to Atkins, VA and there is a restaurant there called The Barn that has a 16oz hiker burger for 7 bucks.  I ate it like it was nothing along with some sweet tea and a peach cobbler with ice cream desert.  I was hungry again within 2 hours.  I didn't get to the shelter until 10:15pm so it was a long day.  I met a man leaving sodas at a road crossing as trail magic today.  His name is lumbermack and he thru hiked i think he said in 06'. 

Bye Bye Minnow

I will see ya in less than a month Minnow!  It was fun hiking with you and zeroing in that shelter was cool.  I hope your feet and ankles heal up.  Thank you for teaching me how to change settings on my phone camera so that the pictures i take pick up the fall colors. 

Day 85: The Adventures of Minnow and Sharkbait Part 4

Minnow left today.  It rained all last night yet again.  We didn't go to trubrits like planned.  She called a friend last night and this morning that just happened to be in Tennessee and he said he would come pick her up from the road crossing 1.2 miles from the shelter we were at last night.  Her feet were killing her; i firsthand know what its like hiking with blisters in the spots she had them as well as having ankle pain.  So we agreed that this was probably the best plan even though she didn't get to hike near as far as originally planned.  I ended up doing 24 miles to a shelter on top of a mountain at 4400 ft elevation.  It was a rainy, dreary day but at least it wasn't hot.  The shelter is a stone cabin with bunks inside so i am not in the insane wind that i can hear howling outside.  It is clouded in up here so I don't know if there will be any views in the morning.  A-bomb caught me today.  It was really good to see him after i left him back in northern PA.  I figured with minnow joining me for a while and me slowing down for that some people would catch me.  He has a tent so he isn't forced to shelter hop like i am so I'm not sure how long we will see each other.  There are some weird distances in shelters coming up.  For example, tomorrow there is a shelter at 9 miles, 27 miles, or 34 miles over difficult terrain (lots and lots of mountains).  So i am planning 27 miles.

Day 84: The adventures of Minnow and Sharkbait part 2

(Minnow) didn't really do much today. Much nicer hike today then it was yesterday for my feet. Sharkbaits definitely the best older fishbro a minnow could ask for. Tomorrow will be my last day on the trail and ill be back on saturday. My ankles and feet make even the easiest parts painful every step.  Have i mentioned beef jerky tastes amazing?
Anyway I'm glad to have met all these thru hikers.
Dear Appalachian trail section....ILL BE BACK....eventually...

(Sharkbait) Today was a beautiful day with highs in the 60s and partly cloudy.  Last night that big front moved through and it dumped more rain.  We did 9 miles today and finished at 2:45 pm.  Tomorrow we will go 9 miles to a place called Fort Bastian which is a hiker hostel run by a guy called trubrit.  From there on Friday morning Minnow is going to be getting a ride to where her car is parked.  She is not in the proper physical condition to be able to hike through the terrain that is upcoming.  On a scale of 1-10 the terrain we have been on over the past couple days is a 1-2 but will get harder after trubrit's place.  It doesn't help her shoes dont fit right so she is getting foot pain, rubbing, and blisters.  Her ankles are a lot better after the zero but still hurt.  So unfortunately her hike is ending short but i have and will continue to enjoy the time we spend together.  She is tough and i think she is learning first hand at how hard life on the trail is.  She has expressed interest before in one day doing an AT thru hike also.  I am not sure if that interest still exists after this trip but i believe its definitely been an eye opener.  A cool thing we saw today was a cow horn buck.  I was stopped waiting for Minnow to catch up when i spotted the deer about 50 yds away in the woods.  When minnow got there i whispered to her and pointed out where it was.  I did some buck grunts and it came over about 50ft away and was looking at me like "what the heck that human is making a grunt like me?"  I could have shot that thing with my bow it was so close.  Us deer hunters use the grunt to stop a moving deer in its tracks so you can shoot a still target rather than a moving one.  Well i have gotten a lot of practice while on the trail because of how many deer there are so im pretty good at it now i must say.  I have been asked to do a post on what i have learned or will take away from the trail.  I am not doing that post until the end so you will have to keep following this.

Day 83: The adventures of Minnow and Sharkbait part 2

(Minnow) We zeroed in a shelter today. Its supposed to rain soon and there's a tornado watch but at least the leaves are pretty to look at. I messed up my ankles pretty bad yesterday so it was nice to zero. Sharkbait doesn't smell so great either especially his sleeping bag. My ankles are feeling a little better at least except for uphill. It sucks to have to leave early but its good to spend some time up here with sharkbait.
Minnows don't swim upstream and neither do i! Leave that to the salmon's!

Minnows words of wisdom: if you think you're gonna go swimming getting that water resupply....dont.

(Sharkbait) I never mentioned that i saved Minnows life yesterday she fell into a raging river trying to fill her water bottle.  The bank was clay and she couldn't get out so she called for me and i rushed down to pull her out.  She didn't have her pack on fortunately which would have been a bad situation.  She is a tough gal though i will give her that.

A Thru Hiker Diet

Ok, I know i said weeks ago I would do this post.  I am still changing my diet all the time so what do i write about?  I guess i will provide examples of things i eat.  My typical resupply is 3-4 days.  I actually eat so much i do not have enough room for more than 4 days food.  The picture is of a 3 day resupply

Breakfast:
Pop-tarts
Honey buns
Oatmeal
Example meal: 4 packets of oatmeal, a packet of pop-tarts, and another packet pop tarts or honey bun

Lunch:
Always 2-3 tortilla wraps with something in it, examples follow
Pb&j
One tuna packet per tortilla(if i have mayonnaise i add that to).
Summer sausage, pepperoni, and sharp cheddar cheese (mayonnaise also)
Another thing i am going to try is a mix of hummus, spinach, smoked turkey, pepperoni,  peppers, and anything else that sounds good

Dinner:
2 packets ramen
Pasta side

Snacks:
Granola bars (nature valley are my favorite)
M&M's
Werthers caramel candies
gum
NO protein bars (ex: cliff bars) they are disgusting.  After eating a bunch in Maine because i figured i would need the protein i want to puke if i see one

I am going to be changing again by eliminating my stove and cook pot which i am sending home with my sister.  This will save me weight and space.  I will have to eliminate oatmeal and noodles but thats fine.  I am going to be switching to gourmet style wraps using tortillas and anything i can think of.  Like that veggie, hummus, turkey wrap.

Just to clarify something i do not do hot chocolate, tea, or coffee.  This is a thru hike not a camping trip.  This may sound like a shock also: i have not made a single camp fire this whole trip.  After hiking all day the amount of miles i do the last thing on my mind is gathering wood and tending a fire.

Day 82: The adventures of Minnow and Sharkbait Part 1

It rained all last night and a little this morning while we hiked but other than that it was a nice day to hike.  Minnow chose a good section to come hike with me because the terrain is going to be the easiest i have seen in all of Virginia.  We made it to the first shelter 7.5 miles into the day at 11:45 am.  Minnow felt like she could keep going 14.5 more miles to the next shelter and the terrain was going to be literally flat for a long time so we pushed on.  One thing any hiker does is roll our ankles a lot every day.  The AT isn't a paved path and i had warned Minnow of this beforehand because she has had ankle problems in the past.  Well she rolled her ankles and fell a few times today and was really hurting.  I helped her out as long as i could (about 14 miles) by frontloading her pack.  It felt miserable and eventually i had to stop carrying it because old injuries like shin splints were hurting so bad.  It was slow going with Minnows ankles hurting but we finally made it to the shelter at 8:45 pm.  I actually have cell service and data at the shelter so i will keep working on blog posts as well as uploading pictures.  I am aware of this nasty cold front coming and i dont think we can make it to the next shelter before it hits tomorrow with how bad minnow is hurting.  We will double zero at this shelter and hike out Thursday the 16th.  I brought a little extra food in case of emergency like this so we should be fine for now.  From where I am at now i have 599.5 miles left.

Day 81: Family Visit Day

Today was October 12th, 2014.  This morning the group of us SOBO'S got shuttled back to Pearisburg and we slackpacked 10 miles to the hostel.  The hostel is half a mile off the trail way up in the mountains so its a very secluded spot.  It poured rain all last night and this morning again.  There has been so much rain i was walking in shin deep water on the trail today in some spots.  Thats why the AT is often referred to as the Appalachian River.  When i got back i warmed up with a hot shower and sat around for my family to arrive.  Thats right i got to see my mother, grandmother, and sister today!!!!  This was the first time in months i have seen a familiar face.  My sister is joining me for 11-14 days to Hampton, TN.  She parked her car there and my mother drove her car up to Woods Hole to drop Summer off.  My mother and grandmother also went to visit family in NC so thats why they came all the way up here from Florida.  We then went out to eat for lunch and they took me to walmart for resupply and to get some shoes.  My last pair fell apart in the past few days i believe because of how wet its been.  The padding in the heel just disappeared so my heel got scraped up.  I paid 30 bucks for some shoes so we will see how long they last.  One of the SOBO thru hikers here at the hostel named Twinkle gave my sister the trail name Minnow so that is Summers new name while with me.  We will hike out in the morning.

Day 78-80: Four Pines to Pearisburg

Rain, rain, and more rain has been happening.  Sorry it took me so long to get posts up.  With rain and poor cell service when not raining its been tough to find time to do this.  The stretch of trail from four pines hostel to Pearisburg, VA was very difficult and the toughest i have seen in a long time.  On day 78 i did 22 miles, day 79 i did a mid 20 mile day, and on day 80 i did 20.  I passed some cool things such as the Dragons tooth which is a giant rock that sticks out of the top of a mountain like a tooth.  I also stayed at a shelter called Sarver's Hollow shelter.  In the vicinity of the shelter is an old community.  Im not sure how old it wasn't but the big chimneys weren't built with stone and mortar; just stone.  So i figure it must have been very old.  There were a few kinda intact derelict  buildings left that i peeked around in but no pictures because it was getting dark.  The shelter water source was one of the many old wells in the small village which is cool they are still serving their purpose after hundreds of years.  I ended up meeting a group of 5 SOBO'S that caught me on day 80.  Most of them i had passed back in PA but one girl started on August 1st.  She is the first true unsupported thru hiker to ever pass me.  I guess she is on a time crunch though and has to be done November 10th to go to Africa on some internship deal.  She admitted she wasn't getting to enjoy the trail like she would like due to the time crunch.  She has only taken two zero days this whole time.  Thats where i am going fast but still not too fast so that i dont feel any regrets about not hiking this trail right the first time.  I dont want to feel the need to come back one day and do this again.  But the group of 5 and i got shuttled to Woods Hole hostel which is a really cool place.  It's a working farm, bed and breakfast, and hostel deal.  They do community style dinners and breakfasts that everybody pitches in to help prepare.  Everything from the bread to ranch dressing is homemade and/or comes from there farm which was cool to see.  Plus the food tasted amazing.

Day 77: 10/8/14

Today I did 16 miles to Four Pines Hostel.  At the hostel was a mail drop aka mail magic from my aunt kitty and uncle jim.  Thank you so much the goodies inside are great!  I passed several noteworthy areas including tinker cliffs and McAfee's knob.  This hostel is a donation based 3 bay garage a guy converted into a hostel with beds, cots, couches, a stove, microwave, toilet, and shower.  The hot shower felt great.  I did laundry in the utility sink and hung everything on the fence to dry.  I got here around 2:45 pm so i got to dry my sleeping bag and shoes to in the sun after that downpour last night.  The hostel owner even has an old Chevy Astro van that he lets hikers take 0.7 miles each way to the local convenience store to resupply.  Convenience stores stink for resupply because they are super expensive and have limited options.  Driving for my first time since i started this trip felt awkward i must admit.  Its so much different than hiking i actually have to pay attention to other drivers, watch for deer, watch my speed, and stay between the lines.  On the trail all i do is look at the ground in front of me all day and just make sure i don't trip on anything.  Adjusting to life after i am done with the trail is going to take some time i think...

Day 76: 10/7/14

Today I did 20 miles.  It rained all last night and I got a late start out of the shelter.  Around the 11mile mark the trail passes through Daleville, VA where I ate lunch at Bojangles.  I then did 9 more miles to a shelter.  But 6 miles before the shelter rain started falling and eventually it was outright pouring on me.  This was the first time since Vermont that there has been so much rain recently that the trail was a stream or should i say a lake.  But getting soaked wasn't the issue.  It was the lighting, it was everywhere.  With nowhere to hide or take refuge i just hauled butt to try and get out of the storm asap.  At one point the lighting was so close that i was hiking bent over in an attempt to make myself shorter and less of a target which i'm not sure if that works or not but hey im still alive.  One lesson I learned today is this: when stuffing your sleeping bag into a garbage bag in your pack to keep it from getting wet make sure you stuff it in the garbage bag and not to the side of it.  My down sleeping bag got wet with the rain.  Thats not good because down has no insulation value when wet.  So i layered up and hoped that by zipping the sleeping bag all the way up my body heat would dry the bag and sure enough by the morning of day 77 it was dryer. 

Day 75: 10/6/14

I did 21miles today.  I got to a shelter just before the first wave of a cold front hit so i didn't get wet.  So for the people that i talk to on the phone and are commenting on the blog where did you get the idea that i want my tent back?  I have no desire to have it back.  By not carrying it i am saving myself the misery of carrying 1.9 extra pounds.  I like sleeping in the shelters and will do this until the end of the hike.

Day 74: Enjoying the Trail

Today's mileage was 26.  It was a beautiful day with a high of 60 and low in 30s.  This morning i got a ride going out of Glasgow in the bed of a little Toyota pickup and froze my tail off during the 5 mile ride down a windy, mountainous road.  It was in the 30s during the ride; i wonder what the wind chill temperature with a 45mph wind would be?.  I guess its just another part of this adventure.  If you look at my photos you will see a boulder wedged between two big rocks.  That is the guillotine and the trail goes underneath which is purdy cool.  I've really been enjoying Virginia a lot.  It is a beautiful state although it seems to be the same terrain throughout it.  I enjoyed New England a lot (except Connecticut).  I did not enjoy the Mid-Atlantic states much.  But Virginia southward i feel i have been and am going to enjoy.  These mountains are fun to hike through and beautiful in my opinion.  The people here in the south are so much nicer than those in the Mid-Atlantic and New England too.

Day 73: 10/4/14

Today was another quick day with only 20 miles to Glasgow, VA.  There was a ton of uphill but i was flying at like 3-3.5mph consistently.  It felt good to have my full strength and the burning fire inside me these past 2 days which is what helps me hike really fast all day long.  Its days like today i could have done 30 miles no problem.  When i got to the road i hitched into Glasgow.  It was kinda funny a guy in a nice pickup truck went by without signaling with his blinker he would pull over like most do.  He ended up driving past and stopped 150 yds down the road and i just happened to look behind me to see him do this. Then he reversed all the way back to where i was and gave me a ride.  He said he picked me up because of my buff and he figured i had to be a fisherman from Florida because you dont see buffs up here.  He was going to set up a deer stand but he said he designs rod holders for boats so he is fishing in FL all the time.  Here in Glasgow i resupplied and am staying at a free town long distance backpacker camp.  It was created as an eagle scout project in 2010 and has a shelter with some bunks, power to charge stuff, a hot shower (it was too cold to take a shower without a towel so i didn't use it), and a porta pody.  Thank you to the town of Glasgow for maintaining it.  That cold front last night is the first big cold front of the season and its supposed to frost tonight!  Brrrr its gonna be tough to get moving in the morning.  But it should be another incredibly awesome day to hike tomorrow. 

Day 72: 10/3/14

Hmmm i wonder how often i am going to say this.  It rained again last night all night long... actually until 8am.  There was no chance of rain either.  Thats 2 nights in a row the meteorologists didnt forecast rain and it rained all night.  But this afternoon and night it is supposed to rain with a big cold front coming.  So my choice for hiking between storms was 10 miles, 15 miles, or 25 miles.  I originally wanted to do 25 but because it rained so long this morning there was no way i could leave the shelter until it stopped so i didn't have enough time before the front to do 25.  So 15 miles it was.  I cranked them out really quick and got to a shelter at 1:54pm.  I ate lunch, gathered water, took a nap, it started raining at 4:00pm, i ate dinner, and went to sleep in that order.  The nap felt awesome!  With all this rain that should really help at least the streams flow.  Or at least provide some puddles to scoop water from. Tomorrow i will get to the town of Glasgow, VA for resupply.

Day 71: 10/2/14

Last night it poured down rain all night even though it wasn't forecasted to rain.  Weird, but hey i am glad i was in a shelter.  Plus maybe it will help create some puddles to drink from.  Today I did 20 miles.  These were the toughest 20 miles in a long time.  This morning i started with a steep climb up Three Ridges Mountain and then a huge descent all the way to 970 ft of elevation.  Then there was a 4 mile climb up to over 4000 ft of elevation which brought me to the summit of The Priest.  That was one hard and very, very sweaty climb.  The views from the top were incredible and in my opinion the best since New Hampshire.  I figured out how to do a panorama picture too now so you will start seeing more of them.  I wish i knew how to do that back in Maine and The White's i would have some incredible pictures if i could of done that.  At the top of The Priest is a shelter and it is tradition to write a confession in the shelter register.  If you look at my picture gallery you can read mine and a couple other people's.  Sorry, i couldn't hold it any longer... (read my confession to understand).  I carried 2 liters of water today and didn't get dehydrated so thats good. 

Day 70: Hiker Monday's

Hiker Monday's are the day of/after a resupply.  Going into town your food bag is so light which makes your pack light it is nice.  Then i go and spend money on food and the pack is heavy again.  Grrrrrr.  I usually do a resupply every 3-4 days.  This morning I called a local trail angel and got a ride back to the trail after spending some time unsuccessfully trying to hitch out of town.  According to the guidebook you would think Virginia was the land flowing with milk and honey there are so many water sources listed.  Well almost every spring and stream was dry today.  It was like being back in New York.  I was able to do 20 miles though to a shelter and God answered my prayers because there was a spring barely trickling with a puddle just big enough for me to fill up.  I did get dehydrated today but i survived.  Tomorrow I will carry 2 liters rather than 1 so I decrease my chance of running out of water again.  Last night at that long distance hiker camping area i slept on a picnic table which is another first that i have done during this adventure.  I didnt want to sleep in the grass which gets wet at night and i dont have a tent so the picnic table worked.  Tomorrow I get to climb this giant mountain called The Priest.  It is gonna be one heck of a climb with 4 miles of uphill.