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This post will read weird because I wrote it throughout the days.

4/24, we made it into Marion. 14 miles from 7 to noon. Felt real good.

Another part of our bubble was at Wal-Mart while we were there. It was great to see them! I’ll try to get pictures of them later.

I bought too much at this resupply. My pack weighs so much more than it has this entire trip… Its what I get for not eating before resupply. Oops.

After, we went to Sonic. Sharktooth had never been to one. Delicious.

Finally, we ended the day doing another 4ish miles and ending just before a mountain.

4/25, we hiked. That was about it. We did eat at a restaurant called The Barn. Good food and large portions but anything that isn’t mashed potatoes mixed with Ramen is good food.

The backpacks in front of the restaurant were hilarious.

There was also an old school house that has consistent trail magic. Had a nice cold coke.

We ended up camping near a road in a camping area. Rain came in hard last night and throughout the day today. Thankfully I stayed dry all night.

During a lull this morning we moved to a pavilion to hang our stuff up. We decided to take a zero because it is going to rain until 5:30 today… Supposed to be beautiful tomorrow though.

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Wow. What a week!

I wanted to go through day by day and describe what’s been happening but it’s really been just a lot of walking.

Some exciting things have been happening! I have a new phone but it has to be unlocked. My current phone is inconsistent at best at working.

We made it to a hostel called Uncle Johnnys where my phone would not charge. That was frustrating. Then it started rebooting randomly. Then it would constantly reboot unless it was plugged in. Very weird but apparently rather common with the LG G4.

Back to the trail.

After my phone charged at Uncle Johnnys, I started hiking. That was at 9:30 pm. I was surprised at how awesome night hiking is. Creepy a bit but still fun. We went a mile up and camped for free vs $15ish at Uncle Johnnys.

The next day we did 21 miles and camped on an old dirt road. Not much happened this day.

The next day, we planned 23 miles to get to Overmountain Shelter. I started later than a majority of the group. I passed them while they were at a shelter slightly off the trail without realizing it. I got to Roan Mountain Shelter and heard thunder. I got to the shelter 5 minutes before the rain just started pounding. This shelter is at the top of Roan Mountain; it’s chilly. It is a kind of house that can host 15 people to sleep. After 20-30 minutes, the rain stopped and the sun came out. I decided to push on.

I made it to Overmountain Shelter which is an old remodeled barn. It was an awesome shelter! It’s also the only shelter in TN that has a privy (if I remember correctly).

That night we heard winds that shook the barn. The next morning we went over two balds with 60 mph sustained winds and rain. We were walking at angles. I’ve never been in such weather and it was amazing. It was also demoralizing.

After 9 miles in pouring rain and winds, we made it to TN19 near Roan Mountain. I had to pick up my new hammock from Dream Hammocks at the station on 19E. It is truly amazing what a shower can do to morale.

We made our way down to the bar at The Station where our first beer was provided by an online stranger who prepurchased a beer for a thru hiker. Thank you, trail magic! Also, what a genius concept.

The next day we camped at a beautiful pasture because the shelter was facing the wind and it was cold. The pasture had water 200 feet away with a piped spring. It was awesome! We also hit 400 miles! That was Monday.

Tuesday we had a short day to stay at Boots Off Hostel. I resupplied and we had a good time at Lake Watauga. A bit cold for swimming but still enjoyed the sun.

Wednesday we did 21 miles and cowboy camped in front of a barn.

Today, we hiked 21 miles and made it to Damascus, VA. Turd got a hotel room. I picked up my package from Lilly and proceeded to eat two bags of candy in minutes.

We will be taking at least one zero due to weather and experiencing Damascus.

We have gone 170 miles in 9 days. Turtle and pup are now off the trail unfortunately but spirits remain high.

Sorry for the sporadic posts. The inconsistency in this phone plus weather plus lack of cell signal have all contributed to that. I’m also going to try real hard to actually reply to comments…. I do read each one and the support is extremely helpful! Thank you everyone!

Currently, hitting VA is exciting but going to be tough. There are 550+ miles in VA and the Virginia Blues are a real thing.

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Last night stunk weather wise. Rained essentially all night. My hammock and underquilt were against the tarp so almost everything got wet. *ugh*

Woke up and things were wet. Put on my wet clothes. And started hiking. Around 10:30 the sky started to open up and it stopped raining! It made my day go from a 0 to a 40. I was still soaked but not getting more wet… Then it happened.

Trail magic. 100. Heather and Eddie from Michigan made burgers and sides… Beer. Coke. Delicious.

We finished the day and did around 20 miles today. I’m in a bubble with a bunch of people and really enjoy everyone! So camping tonight has been a blast!

Supposed to be a beautiful day tomorrow!

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Today was physically challenging. It was 15 miles of perpetual uphill. Every time I thought I was at the top, more uphill…

I started my day at the NOC leaving around 10 AM. A late start to the morning but got a great night’s sleep and a good warm breakfast. So many people last night were headed to sassafras shelter which around 7 miles, I had to get further since I have a reservation at The Hike Inn for Wednesday. So I made it to Brown Fork Shelter.

I met a man at stecoah gap named Lonnie giving out fruit. He said he owns a hostel in town and had really good prices ($25 per bed for a real bed). I accepted the fruit, declined the hostel.

I arrived at brown gap by 7 PM. It was steep and difficult.

Set up the hammock. Cooked dinner. Hung my bear bag. And now in bed.

The next day, I stayed at The Hike Inn in Fontana Dam, NC. Lilly shipped me a package that included a sleeping pad and resupply for 5 days of food. The package was delayed. Due Monday for delivery, Wednesday and Thursday, the package was still not there.

I gave myself 5 minutes to be frustrated, mad, and upset at USPS. Then I decided to roll with the punches. I went into Robbinsville and resupplied on food.

The rationale for this mail supply was the fact that I started the smokies this week. The smokies are heavily regulated and you are required to sleep in a shelter if there is room. Because I sleep in a hammock, I don’t have a pad to insulate from the ground. The pad is for both comfort and warmth. Because usps delayed my package, I was without this integral piece of equipment. The first day into the Smokies I walked my furthest – 19 miles. And I slept on the wood platform without any pad. It was uncomfortable to say the least. But I’m a person who follows rules.

The next day, I went 13 miles and the shelter was full. I slept in my hammock. Today I walked 10 miles to newfound gap and got a hotel in Gatlinburg. I passed the 200 mile mark of the hike. I also passed the highest elevation on the trail at clingmans dome. I got a picture in front of the fire tower but the clouds and fog made it impossible to see anything until later in the day when it cleared up.

In the smokies, I met two individuals from Vermont, Turtle (38) and Shark tooth (27). I’ll probably join their trail family for a bit as we seem to pace and do mileage similarly. They’re super wonderful and great to be around. It’s a big turnaround from two weeks of walking in silence/podcasts/audio books.

Yesterday, even, I got really in my head and thought I was done. With the help of Lilly and support of everyone, I knew I couldn’t leave the trail because of a bad day.

Gatlinburg is kind of a wild town. Getting into town was an absolute hoot. 4 hikers waited 30 minutes for a shuttle. She came about 10 minutes after we got to newfound gap (15 miles out of Gatlinburg). We snatched a ride with the lady in her minivan. Estimated weight of people, animals, and gear was almost 1800 pounds. We’re not sure the minivan was supposed to have that much weight in it.

Joshua was meeting me at the hotel I rented. Turtle and shark tooth were still looking for a room. The shuttle driver said that she had space for $70 which is the cheapest you’d find in town. She let me do my laundry at her apartment and fed all of us… It was really nice. Joshua and I hung out for the remainder of the evening and enjoyed the weather. As I finish this post, rain is starting to fall and should continue until noon.

Some posts I’m planning: food/water on the trail, daily planning/intraday planning, wildlife. So, some pretty interesting topics for those who don’t hike (I think).