Day 39, 4/22; Hot Springs, NC to Spring Mountain Shelter
Yesterday in Hot Springs was wonderful! We had a local, all you can eat spaghetti dinner which was tasty. And we wandered around town a bit.
Yesterday in Hot Springs was wonderful! We had a local, all you can eat spaghetti dinner which was tasty. And we wandered around town a bit.
The first day out of town is usually hard. Today was no exception. A full resupply (today's is for 7 days) is very heavy, and two days of town food and not going far or fast makes me feel a little sloth-like. However, we shocked ourselves on our sluggish hike out today when we got a Gap we new was 6 miles from our start in only 3 hours and 20 minutes! I couldn't believe it! So naturally because we'd made great time the first half of the day, I had an excuse to take about a zillion breaks in the second half. We made it to camp around 530, finishing an 11 mile day in good time, and splitting camp chores quickly to try to finish before the rain. The new Sawyer filter works beautifully (and oh so quickly--thank you gravity!), So I took it and the bottles while Erik put the tent up. We were just about to with on dinner when the sky opened. There was a lightening/thunder combo that literally made me scream. Thankfully the thunder has moved farther away, but I think the rain may be here to stay. BUT, the tent is up and we are dry! It's the little things in life!
U-Turn and The Colonel stayed in Hot Springs another night, as"Momma U-Turn/Mrs. Colonel" came for a visit. This gives us an excuse to zero in a week in Erwin while we wait for the tramily!
My feet are still an issue, so we plan to try for some new shoes in the near future and see if that helps.
We're also having some major issues with this Verizon Pre-paid phone. Such a pain in my royal behind...I can't wait to visit the store in Erwin! The help info on the website is useless, I have to call customer support for hello, but the phone won't call (one of the major issues), and the online support people can't help because they don't support pre paid. Gah!
Largely uneventful day.
Day 40, Sunday 4/23; Zero at Spring Mountain Shelter
An absolute Bust, today was! We got the tent up last night before the rain came in, and then it rained all night. Not little rains either. Big, fat, heavy rain drops. So when I woke this morning to the same, I decided that if Erik wasn't opposed, we were staying put. The forecast called for up to an inch of rain today, and I think we got it. Tomorrow brings a chance, but only up to a tenth of an inch, so we'll certainly be on the move. We're currently dry in our tent after a relaxing (boring) day of quiet listening. We did some reading, talked a bit, napped some. It was actually kind of nice. We don't get as much rest on town days as our bodies need. Only down side is we now have to make up the time in the coming days. Here's to long miles.
An absolute Bust, today was! We got the tent up last night before the rain came in, and then it rained all night. Not little rains either. Big, fat, heavy rain drops. So when I woke this morning to the same, I decided that if Erik wasn't opposed, we were staying put. The forecast called for up to an inch of rain today, and I think we got it. Tomorrow brings a chance, but only up to a tenth of an inch, so we'll certainly be on the move. We're currently dry in our tent after a relaxing (boring) day of quiet listening. We did some reading, talked a bit, napped some. It was actually kind of nice. We don't get as much rest on town days as our bodies need. Only down side is we now have to make up the time in the coming days. Here's to long miles.
U-Turn and Colonel just arrived. I know because I can hear U-Turn. Excited to have them back for tomorrow's miles!
Day 41, Monday 4/24; Spring Mountain Shelter to Little Laurel Shelter
What a good day after so much rain! We had clouds, and we stopped sorry of it 10 mile goal for fear of rain, but it held off for us! We had a few muffled views of Spring Green through the thickening foliage throughout the day, which were very much enjoying watching! And we're pretty proud of our progress in our daily work. Hiking is getting a bit easier each day. Now I didn't say "easy," but "easier." The goal tomorrow is 14 miles which will be our longest day yet. The terrain looks very doable after the 1500 foot elevation gain in the first mile of the day. We forward to some sunshine and hitting 300 miles, and we're enjoying our time out here!
What a good day after so much rain! We had clouds, and we stopped sorry of it 10 mile goal for fear of rain, but it held off for us! We had a few muffled views of Spring Green through the thickening foliage throughout the day, which were very much enjoying watching! And we're pretty proud of our progress in our daily work. Hiking is getting a bit easier each day. Now I didn't say "easy," but "easier." The goal tomorrow is 14 miles which will be our longest day yet. The terrain looks very doable after the 1500 foot elevation gain in the first mile of the day. We forward to some sunshine and hitting 300 miles, and we're enjoying our time out here!
Day 41, 4/25; Little Laurel Shelter to Flint Mountain Shelter
MUD! That's what today was. We walked through mud as deep as our ankles. It was absolutely a mess! The rain there last few days has just made a royal mess of the trail to the point that we were walking through what seemed like a stream for part of the day. I meant to take a photo, but the wet and mud coupled with very dense fog means the camera didn't come out. Really, though, it was a pretty great day. 14 miles down, knocked off our goal. We hit 300 miles, as well, which means we've got fewer than 1900 miles left to go! I know this send like a ridiculous thing to celebrate, but every mile walked means a mile less to go. We're excited to rest tonight, and since we've now proven to ourselves that we can accomplish some moderately big miles, it may be hard to settle on fewer. We'll see how the next couple of days go trying double digits, and then resupply in two days.
MUD! That's what today was. We walked through mud as deep as our ankles. It was absolutely a mess! The rain there last few days has just made a royal mess of the trail to the point that we were walking through what seemed like a stream for part of the day. I meant to take a photo, but the wet and mud coupled with very dense fog means the camera didn't come out. Really, though, it was a pretty great day. 14 miles down, knocked off our goal. We hit 300 miles, as well, which means we've got fewer than 1900 miles left to go! I know this send like a ridiculous thing to celebrate, but every mile walked means a mile less to go. We're excited to rest tonight, and since we've now proven to ourselves that we can accomplish some moderately big miles, it may be hard to settle on fewer. We'll see how the next couple of days go trying double digits, and then resupply in two days.
My feet are getting stronger. They hurt today, but more from fatigue, I think than actual ache. I just keep repeating, "I think I can, I think I can..."
Day 42, 4/26; Flint Mountain Shelter to .5 miles before Sam's Gap
Our first night stealth camping. Today was a pretty great day. The climbing was hard and seemed to never end, but the sun was shining and we were in good company. We visited Laurel Hostel, which we choose not to resupply at because two different phone numbers were wrong and disconnected. It turns out the current owner, Tim, is in his first season of ownership. We're certainly glad we didn't plan to resupply as all he had today was frozen foods and soda. We thanked him and gave him some pointers on hiker food. I hope he'll take them to heart as he's got a great location!
Our first night stealth camping. Today was a pretty great day. The climbing was hard and seemed to never end, but the sun was shining and we were in good company. We visited Laurel Hostel, which we choose not to resupply at because two different phone numbers were wrong and disconnected. It turns out the current owner, Tim, is in his first season of ownership. We're certainly glad we didn't plan to resupply as all he had today was frozen foods and soda. We thanked him and gave him some pointers on hiker food. I hope he'll take them to heart as he's got a great location!
After snacks and a chat we continued on. We had a big climb to look forward to, and though it thoroughly sucked, we hit multiple stream crossings and a beautiful waterfall! Had we not just stopped for a snack we would have stopped at the stream to soak our feet, snack, and take in the sound of the falls. We continued to climb and it continued to suck. But then we came into what I dubbed "The Emerald City." We had started calling Hot Springs, on our way in, The Emerald City because we were so excited to get there. But as green as the mountainside was today, I think we may have to recycle the name. It was a sea of green growth splattered with flowers in whites, yellows, purples, and an occasional red, and it was so beautiful! I was frustrated from the very uphill day but couldn't help but be grateful at what we're seeing out here. It's just such a treat to watch Spring spring. The flowers and birds, butterflies (Nancy, I always think of you when I see one), insects, moss.... It's all so spectacular when considered a tiny spec in an entire ecosystem!
Late in the day, we hit the nearest shelter to get water, as we wanted to go about two more miles and knew there wouldn't be more water before making camp. Well, I'll be darned if we didn't walk a half mile each way to the water source! We don't like situations like this because it takes a lot of time and energy to accomplish, and we need both of those to get through the day. But, we walked the two more miles to camp, found stealth camping for 5 tents (on private property, apparently), made camp, are and promptly went to bed. Tomorrow is an 11ish and Erwin in Friday for resupply only.
Day 43, 4/27; .5 miles before Sam's Gap to Spivey Gap
This morning as we headed out of camp, I was thinking to myself, "this will be a 'not much to report day.'" And largely it is. However, we started our day at 8 this morning, began pretty easy, reached a giant climb to the top of Big Bald Mountain, summited (finally!), had ok but not great views, got pushed around by the wind (it was CRAZY windy!), took a couple of photos and a video, realized we had to climb Big Bald part 2 (not nearly as bad as Big Bald part 1 except for the insane wind that was literally pushing us), and finally found our way to the shelter where we got it if the wind to take a break for lunch. This was all before 1PM. Please recall Max Patch and make note that we've decided The AT does not wish us to enjoy balds. On the flip side, we ran into U-Turn and The Colonel at lunch. We hadn't seen them since camp so it was great to have a friendly face. Sweet Tea, however, was nowhere to be found. We were worried because we have seen him in quite a while, and I knew he was going to be frustrated with the climbs.
This morning as we headed out of camp, I was thinking to myself, "this will be a 'not much to report day.'" And largely it is. However, we started our day at 8 this morning, began pretty easy, reached a giant climb to the top of Big Bald Mountain, summited (finally!), had ok but not great views, got pushed around by the wind (it was CRAZY windy!), took a couple of photos and a video, realized we had to climb Big Bald part 2 (not nearly as bad as Big Bald part 1 except for the insane wind that was literally pushing us), and finally found our way to the shelter where we got it if the wind to take a break for lunch. This was all before 1PM. Please recall Max Patch and make note that we've decided The AT does not wish us to enjoy balds. On the flip side, we ran into U-Turn and The Colonel at lunch. We hadn't seen them since camp so it was great to have a friendly face. Sweet Tea, however, was nowhere to be found. We were worried because we have seen him in quite a while, and I knew he was going to be frustrated with the climbs.
We saw an interesting sign today: about 2 miles into the AT from a major road crossing was a wooden sign denoting a "nature trail." We'll, if The AT isn't a nature trail, I'm not sure what is...
We trucked through the rest of what turned out to be a 12.9 mile day, stopping for a break at the campsite we originally planned to stop at, and continuing on another almost 2 miles to where we wound up. Still no Sweet Tea. I felt awful and hoped he'd keep following until he found us. He did and we were so glad to have him back!
Camped with us tonight are Morning Glory, a couple called Amber and Andrew, Mishap, and a guy who will remain nameless. He's nice and I think quite harmless, but boy is he irritating! I think he would have a discussion with a rock. Seriously. U-Turn and I think he may have some sort of delay.
Erik and I plan to get up very early and get moving so we can make it into Erwin for a resupply, shower, and laundry, and get out at a reasonable time on Saturday. I'll let you know how that goes tomorrow.
Day 43, Fri 4/28; Spivey Gap to Erwin, TN
We made it to Erwin. Update coming after some R&R.
We made it to Erwin. Update coming after some R&R.
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