"To the Smokies and beyond!"

It is hard to believe it has been 14 days since Franklin. So much has happened in the past 2 weeks, but almost at the same time not a lot has changed. 

What has not changed is this: we are still living in the woods, we still hike over 10 miles a day, we still are eating about the same food although Marly is tired of peanut butter, we still are cold at night, our knees still hurt, we are still singing as we walk, we still crave pizza and chocolate, and we still are having fun!

What has changed? Well it has been 2 weeks of hiking so we've been getting some good miles down everyday. We past through the NOC which was fun because we ran into a fellow hiker G-walker and his wife Linda. They bought us breakfast and we had a good time chatting with them. It was a rainy day with lots of fog and we hiked out of the NOC up a very long steep hill. When I say hill I really mean mountain! 

That night we stayed in a 16 person shelter with 18 people in it. It was crowded but very warm! The next day we went over the dreaded Jacob's ladder in the fog and rain again. Out plan was to only go 9 miles to the next shelter, but when I got there and all my friends had kept going I decided to hike the extra 6 miles as well to the next shelter. 

I have this reoccurring sequence of events happen, granted it's only been twice, but it feels like a lot. My knee and leg will start to really hurt me as it did this day, I call my mom upset because I think I have really hurt myself this time, I then call my physical therapist and he tells me to rest, ice, and stretch and that I will be fine. So through the pain and reassurance from my PT I managed the next 6 miles and had some happy friends unexpected to see me. 

The day after that was 6.6 to Fontana Dam plus 1.1 to the shelter where we found one of our favorite people there, a trail angel named Fresh Ground! We saw him back at the beginning of our hike but this time was so much better. We had 3 incredible meals with him and have never been so full. It was beautiful at the shelter looking over the dam and the sun was out too! We also got to take showers! 

Our next adventure was the Smokies. We all set out the next day ready to concure and so we did. We put in the miles and crossed over the highest point of the AT Clingmans Dome. We made it to Newfound gap by Friday afternoon where a wonderful woman who might have been my mom picked us up and took us to Gatlinburg, TN. 

When we got there the guy at the check in desk to our hotel have us warm chocolate chip cookies, we might have screamed in excitement. We got to take showers before going into a glorious hottub that made us feel so much better. That night we went to Bubba Gumps for some great food and entertainment. But it was off to bed pretty quick after that. The next day we went to Mellow mushroom for lunch and walked out after to live bluegrass and free shots of moonshine. We also might have met the guys from that show Moonshiners, I didn't know who they were but Marly walked right up and introduced herself and I followed having no idea what was going on. We had some pretty incredible beds to sleep in and got some great sleep. 

Back to the smokies we go through the rain. The next day was beautiful and sunny, but cold. We made it to the last shelter in the Smokies and that night we got a little bit if snow. The next morning we walked just a mile down to Davenport gap where we found ourselves some trail magic! Such an awesome couple who gave us a good resupply, hot chilly nachos and coffee. Out of the Smokies we felt a lot more relaxed and just a few days to Hot Springs. 

Well that day it started snowing and that snow got pretty intense. We ended up walking through the snow storm. It was fine because most of it was a slow uphill, but once we started going down it was really slick. I ended up slipping and sliding down the side of the cliff not once but twice. Thankfully the snow was there for a soft landing and I didn't hurt myself. I got to the shelter at about 5:00 and by the time I set up my stuff and ate dinner everyone was in bed sleeping because it was so cold out. 6:00 bedtime is pretty early, but considering it was that cold there's really nothing to do but to go to sleep. 

The next morning was really rough because it was so cold. We didn't want to get out of our sleeping bags so instead we snuggled up in the shelter and ate food until about 10:30. The hike that day was through the insane snow in some places piled up to 1.5 feet. So for me it got up to my knees. It was hard walking through but thankfully we only went 13 to the next shelter. We got to go over this place called Max Patch. It is my favorite view so far on the trail. The scene was so beautiful and all of the hills were covered in snow.

That night was cold as well but we knew that we would be in Hot Springs the next day. This day ended up being beautiful and sunny. A little cold at the beginning but it warmed up and we had a beautiful walk down into Hot Springs. The local community center provided a potluck dinner for hikers and had some live music too!

A few photos!

A rainy morning

Winter wonderland of ice

Rock stair case up Blood Mt

Coming down Blood Mt on sheets of granite

Pretty view

Yup

Hiking friends on Albert Mt

Home sweet home

Ups can be hard but the downs hurt

Back on the trail again after a good night sleep in Hiawassee. We only had 6 miles that morning but it was a little bit harder getting back in the groove. We got to stay in a beautiful shelter that night and watched both an incredible sunset and sunrise on Tray Mt. 

The next day was to be our biggest mile day yet of 12 and a big portion of it was downhill. Some would think that downhill is great, but in the hikers world we would rather have uphill then down. This is because of most humans weakest bodypart...the knees. When you go down mountains there can be large angular steps and small rocks that roll under your feet and slick roots that twist the ankles funny. With 11 miles downhill and a lot of pressure on the knees it was a very painful day. 

I caught up to Marly which never happens because one of her knees was really hurting. I gave her my knee brace because mine were holding up at the time. We finally got one big uphill and found a man named Tater handing out sodas on top of the big hill. It was only 11:30 and had 6 miles left. It should have been really easy, but those downhills caught up to my body and the pain in my left IT band and knee was intense. Some weekend day hikers passed me limping down the mountain and asked if I was alright. They were so kind and gave me a whole bottle of IB proffen and an ace bandage. They even offered to carry my pack down the hill to the next gap. I couldn't let them do that but I took the painkillers and ace bandage. 

I did make it down the mountain and Marly was waiting so patiently for me. We then hiked 1.1 more miles to the next campsite on a beautiful mountain. It was a bit windy but we managed not to blow away. 

Day 9 we got to cross our first border!!! Back in my home state of NC goodbye Georgia. It was not a bad hike to the border of about 8.5 miles but I did go really slow to not push my leg. Marly waited for me at the border and we took some good pictures. After that only 3 miles to the shelter, but 2 very steep hills to climb to get there. 12.5 miles that day!

We have been making some great friends along the trail and a lot of then were there that night. We make fires every night and have been having some great times around the fires. 

Day 11 the plan was to hike 8.5 and then 7.5 the next day into Franklin, NC. But all of out friends were doing 12.1 to Rock gap and then 3 ish the next morning. So we changed our plans which turned out to be great! 

This day we climbed up the intense peak of Albert Mt and at the top was our 100 mile marker!!! We hung out on the top for a while 1 because of the great view and 2 because these nice spring break hikers gave us food! We made bagels with tomato sauce and cheese slices and salami for the meat eaters. What an awesome lunch! The 6 miles down to the next shelter were not too bad but the knees started to hurt toward the end of the day. 

It was the warmest night yet on the trail and all we had to do was hike 3.5 to Winding stair gap (which didn't actually have any winding stairs...). It was raining a little but at least it was warm. We got up early and started to hike in order to make the 11 free shuttle to the Budget Inn. When I arrived (last of the group) all my hiking buddy's were missing. Turns out they were sitting on the shuttle bus waiting for me. I got there at about 9:45 and the 9 bus had stopped for my friends who arrived before me and the bus was fine waiting for me to arrive too! 

What a nice shuttle bus driver! When we got to the Budget Inn we ran into some of our other hiking friends who are a day ahead of us! It was such a wonderful reunion and we were so glad we got to see then again.

It has been an interesting community of people on the trail. Everyone is so nice and you are instant friends. You end up spending 2 or 3 nights with the same people and you feel like best friends. You hike and cook and sleep with the same people and get really close really quick. It doesn't matter how much you really know about them because you know what you have shared together. I have learned and gained so much already from the folks around me on the trail and we are only on day 13. I can't imagine what I will learn in the next weeks to come and I am stoked to find out! 

Next adventure is the Smokies! Can't wait to see what these beautiful mountains will bring us! 

100 mile marker

100 miles down!!

It's a bit chilly up in the mountains

As it turned out the next morning we woke up to everything covered in ice. The zippers to our tents were frozen shut, the buckles to all our gear our frozen, and our food bags were frozen in the tree. Getting the food bags down was pretty funny, but taking tents down was painful on frozen fingers. 

Once we started walking we noticed how beautiful everything was covered in ice. Marly and I started singing "walking in a winter winderland" and stopped to take many pictures. It stayed really foggy unfortunately because we summits Blood Mt. our tallest peak so far of 4,458 ft! The climb up was not as difficult as I was preparing myself for, but goodness the climb down was rough. 2 miles of large rock steps down and jagged rocks going down switchbacks. I slowed down so much it got really cold and had to sing my way to the bottom where our first reapply at Neal's Gap was. 

Everyone was there hanging out in the large outdoor store. I got a new water filter and Marly got some gloves. Just another 3 miles to our campsite and a welcome 8 pm bedtime. 

We woke up the next day to the sum shining!!! What a beautiful day to be outside hiking. The walk was not too bad but my one knee and leg were starting to really hurt me from the descent the day before from Blood mt. It was a painful climb down the mountain to the next campsite, but as I was walking I was keeping my spirits up by singing and did not notice another hiker behind me. When I finally realized he was there he thought it was so great! He decided that my trail name should be Canary because I was singing nicely like a canary. 

The next mornings walk was super quick and easy and we had 7 miles down by 12. Only 2.4 more to Unicoi gap where we got picked up by a shuttle and taken to Hiawassee. A shower, clean clothes, Mexican food and a night sleep in a real bed. Glory hallelujah!

And so it begins

Hey out there! You all feel really far away from these woods we have been climbing through. These woods are pretty spectacular and ever changing. We have now made it to day 4 and our first resupply stop! 

The first day was wonderful with my parents, Marly's parents and our two friends Lindsey and Bex. They hiked with us to the top of Mt Springer and we took many pictures which I can't wait to see. After getting to the top of Springer we realized we had to go back down to the parking lot to continue our hike. We were actually sent off from there not the top of Springer. 

The first day of hiking was a lot of fun. We spent a lot of it moving through tunnels of Rhodadendrums (my closest spelling)! Up some small hills, around a waterfall (that we never actually saw), over another hill and down a long stretch when we made it to our first campsite at Hawk's mt. 

It was fun setting up our tents for the first time and going to get water at the near by stream. There were a lot of people there that night who all started the same time we did. We sat by the fire with them until about 8 pm when most people including us were hitting the tents for a god night sleep. Unfortunately it wasn't the best night sleep as we found out that we were on an incline and both of us were slipping and sliding down to the bottom of the tent and I kept sliding off my sleeping pad. 

The morning was quick with breakfast and packing up and setting off at the same time as this girl we met named Lee. Since then she has become our new hiking buddy! The second day consisted of big uphills and downhills (which hurt my knees), singing as I walked in beautiful weather, lunch by a stream, and getting to our second shelter with plenty of daylight left. A early dinner and a fire built by Marly and I kept us occupied for the remainder of the night and an 8:15 bedtime. 

It ended up raining that night, but thankfully by the time we were getting up it had stopped. Things were only slightly wet and put away in our packs. We set off with Lee again and spent the day hiking through the fog. With only one big hills and some pretty slow down slopes it turned out to be a easy day of 8.5 miles. Best surprise ever though was getting to Woody's gap by a road and having our first Trail Magic!!!!! This guy named Fresh Ground had a table full of food and drinks!!! He had coffee, hot chocolate, cool-aid, fresh fruit, donuts, and best of all BANANA PANCAKES!!!! It was incredible. Once well fed we had to keep moving because it was getting cold. The next 3 miles seemed like nothing and our campsite seemed to come really quickly. The temperature has dropped a bit and once we stopped moving my cold caught up to me a bit. I set up my tent really quick put on all my layers and crawled into my sleeping bag. 

After a while I got warm enough to venture over to a fire someone had built. I was able to stay mostly warm. Marly thought it stated to sprinkle after getting dark so we decided it was bedtime. As we were walking I nothing flakes of snow reflecting off of my head lamp. Of first night in snow!