Author: jeff

I wanted to take this three months as a recognition to the support I’ve received. Photos are in no particular order and no photo means I haven’t taken one with you on the trail.

• Lilly has been my rock and support on this. The day I was ready to quit, she told me I wasn’t allowed to. It’s been tough being away but she knows how important this is for me
• Sharktooth – the first trail partner I had. She’s a hoot to be around and an outstanding hiker. I miss her company on the trail. She met me at my lowest and took me into her tramily keeping me on the trail.
• Turtle also was part of that decision and has given me a lot of knowledge to stop caring about civilization and appreciate the hike
• Coyote helped me change my mentality from hating hiking to making hiking the best part of my day
• Turd is a rock for me. I look up to him so much. The way he talks about his kids has changed my thoughts on a family. He’s someone I truly look up to.
• Nash, Chipper, Rosie, PYT, Rocket, Aspen – this group was with us for a long time. We didn’t hike together but we saw them at nearly every stop. Great group of people.
• Reader – carried 5 pairs of socks and when mine had a hole, he gave me a pair of darn tough socks.
• Gummy bear and Air Bud – my new hiking buddies. Keeping me social on the trail post wedding.
• Cosmo, Shaggy, Starboi, Little Blade, Professor Plum, Pukey – an amazing group I hung out with for a little over a week when I got back on trail. Such a great group.
• Skillet helped me learn to appreciate the sun sets.
• Tiffany and company – tons of fun. Keeps the crowd happy. Wish I knew him more.
• Rocket, Peanut, Pick Me Up, Peetree, Screaming Goat, Shotgun – new group that I’ve really enjoyed their company.
• All the trail angels. I wish I could remember everyone’s name. You make the trail bearable. It seems that the timing is perfect. Not every bad day but it seems that every time I need a pick me up, yall have been there. This includes hitches.
• Will – you drove me to amicalola, will drive me from Maine, and have been an overall support. Thank you.
• Family and friends following along. Each comment is read and loved. I appreciate all of the support!
• Joe- thank you for your support. You’ve given advice and made sure I’m getting through.
• Anyone I missed… I’m so sorry. This is mainly by memory…

I decided that the album today is dedicated to pictures of those addressed.

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Wow. The past few days have left me speechless.

First, we had the trail magic where the group rented an airb&b and provided a place for tents and then gave a great community and food. (More to come on that) Thank you Cook Doctor, Juju, Goose, and Amac.

The next day, after blueberry pancakes and sausage for breakfast, we ran into Stumbles and Texas. They provided us with chips, pulled pork sandwiches, pasta salad, beer, and great company. They did the AT a year or two ago and are giving back. Quite amazing.

Yesterday, two men approached a hiker, Tiffany and offered their cabin for the night. We had probably 15 to 20 hikers at this cabin. The two men provided beer, liquor, and food but left it to just the hikers being at the place trusting us to lock up… what an insane but also insanely awesome experience.

Today I had some unexpected trail magic. Yesterday my permanent retainer broke while doing the half gallon challenge (eat half a gallon of Ice cream). Today, I went to the dentist. They re-cemented the retainer and did not charge me. I was expecting a $100 to $200 bill but when I said I needed to check out and pay, the staff said, “You’re good. Go have fun on the trail!”

I cannot express the thanks for the amazing generosity flowing these past few days. I hope to give back in similar fashion in the upcoming years!

This is a side note because I was SO focused on the hospitality on the trail. We crossed into Pennsylvania and the shelters are extremely well maintained. We crossed the half way point, 1096 miles. I crossed into 1100 miles. Not sure how I missed the mile marker. So things have been pretty crazy and busy on landmark items going on.

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What a week.

We completed Virginia, West Virginia (4 miles), Maryland, and just entered Pennsylvania crossing the Mason Dixon line.

For how short Maryland is, it was truly beautiful. They had some amazing state parks that the trail runs through.

Harper’s Ferry in West Virginia was very pretty. We visited the ATC headquarters where they take a picture of you. I was NOBO 479 or something like that. Apparently Georgia has given out 3500 plus tags this year.

Pennsylvania has been just fine. We’re almost half way done with the trail (tomorrow some Bon Jovi will be playing)! I will attempt the gallon challenge and should be hitting 1100 miles either tomorrow or the next day.

Today was rough. I had a bit too much to drink last night. Around 11 at the hotel I finally sat up and said, “I’m not feeling any better. Let’s just go” and we left. Nothing better than hiking while hung over.

Towards the end of the day we ran into a cooler that had instructions for trail magic. A group of people get together every year and host trail magic for a week. We had chicken, corn, pasta salad, beans, and cinnamon cooked apples. So. Good. We spent the remainder of the evening chatting with our fellow hikers and the hosts reminisced over past years. It was quite the pick me up from this morning’s misery.

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Ive been having major tech issues lately… Phone on the Fritz. Just. Annoying.

Okay. So. The past week. Its been a blast.

I got into the Shenandoahs and it was an easy hike. Climb the mountain then ride the ridge. Super simple. It was fun at first but boring towards the end. No new scenery.

I only saw one bear. Boooooooooo.

I had my longest day at 26 miles to go into Front Royal. I got the creepiest hitch into town alone and met up with Gummy Bear and Air Bud. Now I’m hiking with them. Were working to catch turd and sharktooth.

We did the Roller coaster – a 13 mile up and down portion of the trail. Awesome.

We made it into West Virginia today (thank goodness). Visited the ATC headquarters and are staying in Harper’s Ferry.

I want to post more when I have the time… Will try tomorrow!

So I have been hanging out with a group of people this past week. They’re pretty nice and we all have similar humor which is good.

We kind of went brewery hopping the past two stops. First to Devils Backbone which was an amazing stop. Last two days in Waynesboro we spent at Basic City Brewing. That was also an awesome spot…

We hopped back on the trail today and did 21 to 22 miles to reach the first hut in the Shenandoahs. The shelters are called huts in the shannies.

Lilly said I should explain the confession. In every shelter there is a log book that you can sign. People leave messages about the day or say they’re stopping in for lunch. We’ve left messages for people behind us saying to catch up. Small stuff. Or big. Depending on what you want to do. I sign them some days and not on others… All depends on how I feel. The priest mountain shelter has two log books. One is an actual log while the other is a confession log. It’s tradition to confess your sins.

One such sin was from a hiker saying she had sex on the trail But no worries, they left no trace. (Leave no trace is a principle for hiking). Another was a hiker saying they pooped off a cliff (that’s definitely not leave no trace). Soooo yeah. That’s the traditional I talked about last post.

Hitting 900 miles tomorrow. Woot woot!

I’ve talked about writing this blog post for awhile.

When I started the Appalachian Trail, I was told that nearly all of my plans would be thrown out the window. Upon hearing that, I decided that if I got to Atlanta with no plans, I would be just fine… which is what I did. I knew how I was going to go from the start of the trail to Neel Gap (around mile 35-40).

Everyone handles their planning differently. My basic approach is, figure out where I’m next resupplying to get the mileage. Decide how many days that’ll take me. Then put the guide book away and start moving throughout the days.

I have two items that help me:

• Guthook’s App that uses your gps to tell you where you’re at on the trail and what’s ahead.
• AWOL’s guide book.

I use AWOL’s book to look ahead for towns. The book also has maps of the towns coming up which allows me to see what I’ll be working with resupply-wise.

Guthooks gives me elevation changes for the day and water sources.

Basically, I wake up and check Guthooks to see how many miles I want to do for the day. I check the water sources to see if there are any long spans of time without water. If there are, I know where I need to actually carry water. Throughout the day, I usually check guthooks just to see how much further I have. I’ve noticed that as I hike more, I check less and less and just know I’ll get to my destination between 5 and 6 PM. I don’t look at elevation nearly as much as others. I just pick the mileage I want to do and go.

A lot of people only use one source. I like having both. Guthooks is really convenient from the sense that you’ve got your exact mileage while the book is great to understand the town and what’s available. The book is also a great backup if my phone does die.

That’s pretty much. It’s pretty simple! The difficulties on the trail are a lot more mental than physical from my experience so far.

I can’t remember where I left off with pictures. I’ll probably have repeats in here.

Hiking was good last week. We had a day where we saw 5 snakes. That was intense but all of them were just rat snakes. So nothing venomous.

I almost hit 800 miles but had to stop in Glasgow, VA to  go to a wedding back home. I stayed at a hostel for 2 nights then took a car to Roanoke, VA. Stayed the night in Roanoke and visited three breweries/tap rooms — Deschutes, Big Slick Brewing, Old Salem Brewing.

The next day I flew home and have been home since. I got to see my sisters. See some college friends get married. Visit with Lilly’s family. And enjoy the luxuries of being home including lots of fresh fruit. I also got to surprise some of my close friends for the Game of Thrones finale. That was the reason for the radio silence on here.

While home, I’ve also exchanged some of my gear out. I’ve swapped my 0 degree quilts for 30 degree quilts. I have put my bugnet on my hammock. I threw my shoes away and got new ones — the Altra Lone Peaks lasted 800 miles… I’m extremely impressed with them! Bought some Darn Tough socks — these are a game changer in socks. Re-treated my clothing with Permethrin. Treated my new hammock with Permethrin. Re-treated my tarp and backpack rain cover with Scotch Guard.  I purchased a tarp and bivy from Borah Gear. That will take about 6 weeks to make it to me. I’ve been told that the Shenandoahs are really bad for tent sites. So keeping the hammock through the Shannies is a smart move, I think.

Needless to say, it’s been a busy week. I get back on the trail tomorrow where I should hit mile 800. Shark Tooth and Turd will both be way ahead of me and I plan to do some really long days to catch up. I still think it will take 2-3 weeks to catch up though.

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Just a quick update…

Lots of hiking in Virginia. It’s a lot of walking. That’s about it.

We did hear bears snorting one night. It was terrifying!

We stopped for a zero in Pearisburg. Had some delicious food and just a good time.

We hit 600 miles!

My shoes are going pretty fast… Gonna get a new pair soon. Also debating on going to a ground tarp for the remainder of the trip. It is just a thought. Not sure why I’m having trouble with my tarp and hammock… Been using them for a long time. Going to ground means I also only carry one quilt instead of two. Conflicted to say the least…

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