Category: Appalachian Trail

Been awhile. My battery pack ran out of juice and I didn’t want to waste too much battery power.

So far I have done 109 miles of the Appalachian Trail. I got into Franklin, NC yesterday. Over that time, we skipped Hiawassee, GA because we had enough food to go through to Franklin for resupply. However, at one of the parking lots/gaps, a man by the trail name Atlas was with another man who was doing trail magic. I had 3 cookies, a banana, an oatmeal cream pie, and, because it was St. Patty’s Day, a PBR. All of it was delicious.

We continued to trek on to the shelters. Tuesday night we stayed at Rock Creek shelter where I met a group who had been together for awhile. One man, Jason (44), was a mobility trainer. I had explained to him that the lateral part of my right knee was in so much pain. I had just accepted it as life for the next 2000+ miles but he gave me some exercises that would help stretch it out. He also recommended a foam roller called The Orb from REI. I also met a girl whose trail name was Woodchuck, a teacher from Denmark named Johana, and a 20 year old from Ohio named Gunner. All excellent individuals.

The next morning I left early for Winding Stair gap to catch a shuttle into Franklin NC. Instead, I met a man named Thirsty Boots who was hitching a ride. Thinking it was more likely that waiting for another 20 minutes for the shuttle wouldn’t be a big deal, he got someone to stop to get a ride. He took us into town and dropped us off across town from where we wanted to be. In the parking lot of a Dollar General, we were studying a map when another man came and offered to take us to where we wanted to be.

Thirsty Boots (Jeff) and I ate at Shoney’s for breakfast. Thirsty Boots was a 66 year old man from Vermont who was doing his 3rd thru-hike of the AT. He retired at 50 years old and has since done the AT twice, the PCT twice, and the CDT twice. Pretty amazing. He didn’t have any real philosophical advice other than, as long as you can keep walking you can do the trail. We had an entertaining breakfast and then he went to Ingles to resupply and head back to the trail.

I decided to walk across town to a brewery called The Lazy Hiker. While walking, a car stopped to pick me up. It was Atlas! I would say small world, but he seems to just be around the trail and try to help out hikers as much as he can. He took me to a hostel that several hikers were staying at where I got to meet other hikers. Then I went to the brewery. It was really nice to get to meet with other hikers and have a few drinks. While at the brewery, I met the mayor of Franklin. He was super super nice!

I was there from 1 PM to 6 PM when my buddy from Asheville, Joshua, came to pick me up. With my knee pain and now knowing the stretches I need to do, I decided to take today and tomorrow as zero days for some rest.

I do love Asheville. We have had a blast and I got to meet his 17 month old daughter, Emma.

I wish this post were longer. My days are essentially wake up, pack up, walk, get to a shelter, boil water, eat, set up the hammock and get to sleep by 7:30-7:45 when the sun sets. I’m trying to come up with a better way for pictures. Also, I guess any questions or anything that anyone would want to know might help me gauge what to write about.

Today was a 15 mile day in a lot of silence. It was exactly what I needed today. Day started out cold and never really got to a comfortable temperature. I don’t think I’d ever find myself in short sleeves in 40 to 50 degree weather.

We encountered two sets of trail magic. One was a box filled with freeze dried meals, olive oil, ramen, etc. So nice but I didn’t need anything so left it untouched.

Second was a group of people (2-4 families) who were anywhere from 2 to 4 hours away. They set up canopies and had fruit, chips, cookies, pulled pork sandwiches, beef stew, hot chocolate and sodas. Apparently they only come out one weekend a year. How fortunate! I had a Pepsi, Coke, hot chocolate, doritos, and beef stew. I didn’t even realize they had pulled pork until after the fact! After chatting with them for 30 minutes, I hit the trail.

On my way up to Tray Mountain, I met a man from Albuquerque named Steve. He talked about participating in the Dallas cup as a referee. Turns out he knows people in the Dallas community that I know. Very small world!

1. Made it to the shelter. Drank water. Ate dinner. And now in my hammock ready for sleep!

The weather cleared up to be a spectacular day! It started out dreary with rain until about 10.

We had an excellent breakfast sandwich and Gary and Susan made us sandwiches for the trail. We headed into town and resupplied and got to Neel Gap by 12:45.

I actually learned I have a cousin in Blairsville as well! He called and apparently neither of us knew of each other’s existence until this morning when my mom called!

I bought a spoon at the outfitter and we were on our way by 1:05. Several ups and downs today; I’m sure that’ll be the norm.

We finished our 11.4 mile hike by 6:30 which I felt was good pacing. Campsite and shelter are packed. I had to go to my bear bag 4 different times… It made me feel like a doofus. But. Happy trails.

We’re supposed to have great weather for the next week and I hope to be in North Carolina by Tuesday!

Wow. 3 days down. No time to post. Apologies.

Tuesday started really terrifying when I went to the gym and thought my pack weighed ~60 pounds. It really disheartened me. Couldn’t really believe it could be that heavy. But, Will and I still headed to Amicalola.

Unfortunately my buddy bailed on me last minute but, I’m here and I’m ready to do this.

We get to the park and register. They weigh your pack. I didn’t want to know and be embarrassed.

With food and water my pack weighed 25-27 pounds. Quite literally a weight was lifted off my shoulders. After some pictures, I headed out on the approach trail.

Those who don’t know, blazes are paint marks on trees. The Appalachian Trail’s are white while side trails are blue.

I looked up and saw a blue blaze. “Oh no… I am literally feet away from this arch and already messed up.” But, remembered I’m on approach so it’s actually the correct color.

Amicalola was beautiful. The approach trail is notorious for its steps. On the steps, I met a man named Steven who was stopped midway through. We chatted. He was out there because of depression and his dad passing away. He and his dad wanted to do the trail together. I tried to encourage him to keep his head up and keep moving but I think he probably turned around.

Got to the top of the stairs and met a kid named Matt. He’s 21 from Long Island. He wanted to hike the trail just for the sake of it, it seemed. His pack must have weighed 50-60 pounds. We decided to hike together and when we stopped for water, he said he had 4 fleeces, 3 hats, and a huge fuel canister. It was crazy! I tried to give suggestions on places to improve but ultimately he was going to either have to mail his stuff home or throw it away. Matt opted to throw it away. Matt did end up falling behind unfortunately.

Next I met Mark from Massachusetts. He was a machinist recently retired. It was his lifelong goal to walk the AT. He was extremely talkative.

Eventually Matt caught up to us after his rest and he had found another partner, Amanda. We all hiked to Black Gap shelter where Matt said he would stay. Mark, Amanda, and I continued on the approach trail.

We finally hit Springer Mountain which is the southern terminus of the trail! 8.8 miles of walking before even getting on the trail was rough. Mark stopped at the shelter on the mountain while Amanda and I continued to Stover Creek Shelter making our day 11.6 miles. Later on, Matt arrived! Super proud of that kid’s spunk.

A man by the name of Jeremy was already there when we arrived. He’s from Wisconsin and was a farm hand. Good guy!

Day 2, we started towards the Gooch Mountain shelter. Volunteers told us it would be tough at just under 13 miles, and they were right. Sassafras Mountain on the way was no joke even at just 600-700 feet elevation gain. However, we made it and were met with a full shelter! It was a blast hearing stories and getting to meet these people. There is a family of 4 on the trail from Tennessee who were hilarious!

We did get some bad news with the weather taking a turn today (Thursday, March 14). Some opted to shuttle to a hotel. Matt and others took a zero at Gooch Mountain. Amanda and I had no idea where we were headed.

We started to hike this morning at 8:15. Our original intent was Jerrard Gap to camp just before bear canisters are required. We got there by 1. We debated about going to Blood Mountain shelter and eventually decided to go even without the canister. We heard it’s an $85 fine if you get caught. As soon as we got to the shelter, guilt fell on us and we decided to push to Neel Gap where resupply and hostels are. We called the hostel and they said they were filling up fast with the weather. Amanda reached out to her friend’s parents who live 30 minutes away. They were more than happy to host us for the night. They are our first trail angels.

Gary and Susan live on a beautiful 4 acre property in Blairsville, GA. They prepared a delicious carb loaded dinner and I got to tour the property. They let us do laundry and shower… That was an amazing shower. Currently, I hear the rain slamming on the roof and thunder. Glad we’re not outside. We’re waiting for the storm to pass tomorrow before going back out on the trail. Resupply is at Walmart!

I’m arriving at Amicolola on Tuesday. It’s getting close. And terrifying.

Posts will probably be shorter now as I’ll be posting on my phone. They’ll also probably be more broken thoughts than anything.

Will and I drove up Florida today from my parent’s place in Miami Beach. We enjoyed an amazing cruise with the family this past week and stayed the night with my parents. Enjoying the time with them and a place to sleep. This morning, we had a great homemade breakfast and left for Ocala National Forest.

We made it. We have our site set up. Now we’re hanging out until bed time.

Of all the preparation I could muster, I hadn’t prepared for the farewell from Lilly for 4-6 months. We knew this time was coming. I don’t think either of us could have prepared for the goodbye adequately. The past 48 hours have been tough and the trail hasn’t started.

I reflected a bit last night about something I posted when asked how Lilly feels about my leaving.

We’ve been together for 8 years and did distance during college since I graduated two years before her. While it’s been some time since college, distance is not something we’re worried about.

 

She knows how important this is to me. I’ve also told her if there is any doubt on me doing it, that our relationship is more important and if the timing isn’t right, then I can hold off.

 

We’ve been extremely open about our aspirations in life and if either of us sees an opportunity to fulfill a goal, we communicate and plan a way to make it work.

 

That being said, my departure date is literally a month away… and it’s becoming very very real. So it is scary. But having that support on the back end is helpful and reassuring.

 

I’m trying to come up with ways to keep her active in the hike. Not just sending pictures but also sending post cards or trinkets. We’re big into breweries so a mug or two while on the trail.

That’s more or less testing the media function but it is, I feel, a good picture of us.