Erwin, TN to Damascus, VA 3/21/2009-3/28/2009

Photos: http://outdoors.webshots.com/photo/2794972420104728652XbaGGl

3/21/2009 8:00 PM - Curley Maple Gap Shelter - 4.2 mi today - 344.1 mi total



Harley woke me up at sunrise. Everyone else was getting up then as well. Got dressed and sorted out my bounce box and food bag with Dad. Steamboat, Flo, Dad, and I went to the Huddle House for breakfast. Omelette was excellent. Hit the post office on the way back. Packed up my bag and hung out with Dad and Flo for a while. Got a burger at Sonic for lunch. Dad and Flo left for New York. Took it easy in the afternoon. Harley napped for a while in the sun so he probably won't sleep much tonight. Chilled with Wally and Pacman for a while. Cool kids. Finally decided to hit the trail at 4:30 PM. My pack was loaded! Probably close to 40 lbs with all the food and water. Nice 4 mile hike through the woods. Met three section hikers at the shelter. All local high school band teachers. Nice guys to hang out with. Made ramen with canned crab. Cut a whole in the can and attached it to a string from the ceiling (This is supposed to prevent the mice from crawling down the ropes into food bags. Not sure if it actually works, but they are at every shelter). Improves the shelter and makes less trash for me to carry out. About to hit the sack now. Looking forward to a good long hike tomorrow.



3/22/2009 - 9:15 PM - Greasy Creek Gap - 20.1 mi today - 364.2 mi total



Harley was up early and moving around a bit. Having only hiked 4 miles yesterday, he was well rested. Got up and made breakfast. The section hikers were still in their sleepin bags when we left camp. Got a good start and hit the trail at 8:45. Pleasant walk to begin. Took a break after two hours. The climb up Unaka Mountain was pretty steep. At the top, the trees were all evergreen and it looked a lot like Maine. Steamboat and I found a nice spot for lunch at the top. Met a trail maintainer. Headed down the hill and pumped water at Cherry Gap Shelter. We decided to shorten ou day and head to the Greasy Creek Friendly. Tough hike towards the end. I fell over for the first time, but didn't hurt myself luckily. When we got to Greasy Creek Gap, we had to walk half a mile down a forest service road. There were no sign posts, so we hoped we were walking down the right road. Luckily, we were right. Got to the place and met CC. Very nice lady. Aparently, she has a crazy neighbor that runs a lawnmower all night long so the "hiker trash" can't sleep. Haven't heard it yet, so maybe we'll be lucky. Amazingly, Harley was still running around with lots of energy, despite the long hike. I don't know where he gets it. That dog food must be like jet fuel. Mike and I split a pizza for dinner and watched the end of the basketball games. Syracuse is in the sweet sixteen. Woohoo! After dinner, I showered and sat in the house chatting with CC and Sheperd (the work-for-stay guy). Aparently she's writing a book. As she says, there's never a dull moment at Greasy Creek! We watched My Name is Earl and then Steamboat and I realized that we don't have enough cash to cover the bill. Yikes! I hope we can work it out with her in the morning. Maybe she takes credit cards. Not looking forward to that. At least I have a warm bed tonight.



3/23/2009 - 9:00 PM - Overmountain Shelter - 14.8 mi today - 379.0 mi total



Got up really late. Surprisingly, CC's crazy neighbor wasn't very loud last night. At 2AM, he honked the car horn for a couple minutes, but that was all I heard. I saw his lawn mower in the front yard, but he didn't run it for some reason. Went inside at 9:00 for breakfast. Explained our lack of cash situation to CC, and she was nice enough to accept an online check. Once that got sorted out, she made us a nice breakfast. I had cheese grits for the first time. Yum! We also ate scrambled eggs, turkey bacon, and toast. Really good! After breakfast, we packed our bags and took a couple pictures. CC also performed two songs for us with her big cat Nemo. First was "Fat cat, fat cat, wacha gonna do? Whacha gonna do when they come for you?" Second was "Oh I wish I had CC's cat!" It was quite entertaining. Harley didn't know what to make of it. I've had those songs stuck in my head all day (and all week!). We got a hug each. As we were leaving, at 11:30, Wally and Pacman showed up for lunch. They had heard about the crazy neighbor and wanted the full experience. Steamboat, Harley, and I sluggishly made our way back up the hill to the trail and headed North. Took a break after 2 miles at Clyde Smith Shelter. Picked up the trash there and packed it out. It's annoying when people leave their trash in the woods, but I guess we increased our hiker karma. Also found a good luck message from Grumpy in the shelter log. He's 5 days ahead of us, so he is likely in Damascus now. From there, it was a couple miles to Hughes Gap where the accent of Roan Mountain begins. In 2.6 miles, we climbed 2160 feet! Halfway up, the dog showed me his new trick. It's called "play dead." He flopped over on his back and pretended he was dead. I got a video of it:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ghSl9rAP2Kc
Very funny! At the top, we had our lunch at the site of an old hotel. This is the last time we will be above 6,000 feet until Mt Washington in New Hampshire. Again, the evergreen trees reminded me of Maine. Descending from there, we reached Carvers Gap, where there was a real road. I thought there might be a trash can, but no such luck. From there, we walked over three balds in a row. I got a video from the middle one:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WKiwxEyOiok
Pretty views, but there must be a forest fire in NC because there was a lot of smoke that way. From there it was mainly downhill to the shelter. A lot of the path was covered with leaves which really sucks because they hide all the roots and rocks that will trip you up. Quite frustrating. Got to the shelter at dusk. Saw a nice sunset from the last ridge. Pacman and Wally must have passed us at lunch because they were already here with Wiz kid and 3 section hikers also. Shelter is an old barn that has been set aside for hikers. Looks out over a valley. Should be a nice sunrise. Steamboat and I are upstairs. Tons of room. Had mac and cheese for dinner. Yum. Now looking forward to an 18 mile day tomorrow. We will also officially leave North Carolina and cross into Tennessee. Thank goodness. Its annoying when you don't know what state you are in!




3/24/2009 8 PM Mountaineer Shelter --18.0 miles today -- 397.0 miles total


Woke up a little too late to see the sunrise. Apparently it wasn't that good anyways. Wiz Kid had already left. Made cold oatmeal for breakfast. Cinnamon flavor was pretty good. Steamboat and I got on the trail at 9:15 a little behind the Brits. Hike over Hump Mountain was spectacular. Great views, took a bunch of pictures. There was a government SUV at the top and the guy didn't get out to say hi either, it was a little strange. The descent started out nice but soon we were shuffling through leaves again. It is frustrating when you can't see the obstacles you are about to trip over. Took a snack break at Doll Flats and celebrated our official entrance into our third state, Tennessee. Since I started the Smokies the left half of my body has been hiking in TN, now the right side has decided to join. We should hit the fourth state, Virginia, in three days. Had lunch at Apple House shelter. Meet a couple of trail maintainers and an Australian guy that was looking at his elevation profile upside down. He was pretty frustrated that he had a long uphill ahead of him instead of a long descent. Crossed 19E, pretty major road with no crosswalk. Pretty pleasant walk from there. Saw Jones Waterfall, which was really cool. Took a video there:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pt935sAIhtM
The dog took a nap. Steamboats legs were hurting him pretty bad. My knee is much better than it was before the Smokeys but still give me pain now and then. Ibuprofen helps a lot. Walked along Elk River for a bit. Daffodils were in bloom. Got some pictures for Mum. Reached the shelter just after 6. Nice and new, built in 2006. Water source is at the top of a small waterfall. Cooked Goulash for dinner, which was excellent. Sharing the bottom level with Pacman and Wiz Kid. Steamboat is upstairs and Wally is in the loft. Feels like it might storm tonight. Hoping the rains come overnight so we don't get wet on the walk to Kincora. Looking forward to meeting Bob Peoples. He is a legend on the trail. Must get there by 6 so we can catch the shuttle for AYCE chinese. We'll have to leave the dog behind. We'll see how that goes. Only 15.6 miles tomorrow. Elevation doesn't look bad either. From there hoping to hit Damascus in a two day run. Still having fun and the dog is behaving himself most of the time. I did wake up at one point last night to find myself pushed off the sleeping pad with him sitting on it. He leans into me pretty hard at night. Hope he wakes me up early tomorrow so we can get to Kincora in the early afternoon.


3/25/2009 10 PM Kincora Hiking Hostel -- 15.6 miles today --412.6 miles total


Didn't sleep well last night. Tossed and turned and listened for the rain to roll in. Of course it didn't start raining until sunrise, convenient! Everyone slept in to try and avoid the rain. Finally got up and made breakfast. Hit the trail at 10. Boring hike. Rain dampened my mood considerably. Wore all my rain gear but still got soaked because I was sweating so much. Had lunch at Moreland Gap Shelter. Some section hiker had a fire going but the smoke and ash were blowing into the shelter. Ate and left. Last 6 miles were pretty boring as well. Got to Kincora at 4:30. Nobody was there because the shuttle had left at 4 0'clock. There was another dog at the hostel that didn't behave himself very well. Section hiker couldn't control it. Felt better after a shower and a phone call home. Ordered 8 large pizzas for 7 people. Yum. We'll have leftovers for breakfast tomorrow. Met Bob Peoples. Really cool guy. Wish I had more time to chat with him but I have to keep moving. Got my mail drop. Thanks Kat for the orange juice. Got all packed up and ready for tomorrow. Need to get moving so we don't run out of sunlight. Weather looks terrible. Yuck. At least I have a warm dry bed tonight and all my stuff is clean and dry. Looking forward to Damascus but the next two days are going to be tough. There are 12 people here tonight and everyone is heading for the same 6 person shelter. Steamboat and I are the slow ones, so we will likely be tenting tomorrow. It is going to be tough to tent with a wet dog. Guess I just have to put my head down and crank out the miles.


3/26/2009 10:15 pm Double Springs Shelter -- 31.9 miles today -- 444.5 miles total


Wow what a long day. My longest by far. Steamboat and I woke up at 6:30. We set our alarms for 6:30 so we could get a jump start on the group. He promptly went into the kitchen and knocked over some pots and pans. Our plan was foiled and everyone was up in 15 minutes. Still managed to be the first two out the door, which drew surprised looks from everyone as we were usually the last. Hit the trial at 7:30 am in dim light. Overcast and a bit humid to start. First couple miles were quite fun as we walked past Laurel Fork Falls. Got some good pictures. From there it was up and over an 1800 foot mountain that we easily could have walked around. The people who planned that part of the trail must have been laughing about that little trick. Churt and Grizzly Adams passed us at the top while we took a snack break. From there we went back down 1800 feet to Watuaga Lake. Steamboat and I stopped at the shelter for lunch. Wiz Kid and Zack stopped as well. While we were eating Wally and Pacman and Spirit Fingers also passed us, but Steamboat and I figured we would still have a spot in the shelter as long as Churt and Grizzly Adams tented, which they usually do. Crossed the dam and headed up the ridgeline lading to Damascus. The trail literally follows the ridgeline 35 miles to Damascus. So there aren't any big climbs or descents to spice up the journey. With landmarks few and far between the hike was pretty dull. Caught up to everyone at the Vandeventer Shelter but Steamboat fell behind with a shin problem. We also discovered that Wooden Spoon and Wooden Duck were also ahead of us heading for the same shelter. Having not seen them since Hot Springs, there is only one way they could have passed us...YELLOW BLAZING! This pissed me and Steamboat off because it meant they would be taking our two spots in the shelter. The last 6 miles to Iron Mountain I debated my options. The weather was crappy and I didn't want to set up my tent in the rain. The closer I got to camp the better my legs felt. By the time I got there I made up my mind that I was going to push on and turn my 24 mile day into a 32 mile day. The Shelter was overful with Wally, Pacman, Spirit Fingers, Wiz Kid, Zack and the Wooden Duo. I gave Harley his dinner and announced my plan to move on. That drew quite a few shocked looks. With about 45 minutes of light left Harley and i hit the trail again. I tried to push myself to make use of the limited daylight. The dog lead the whole way. Once it got dark I used my headlamp, but Harley knew where to go. Before I knew it we were crossing a road at the half way point. Soon the fog rolled in and I really couldn't see anything. I got worried that I might get lost in the fog, but then I would pass a white blaze, Harley really is amazing on the trail. We hit the handicap accessible half mile and walked across the field. Harley stopped and started to growl at one point. I banged my poles together and whatever threat he sensed subsided. We continued without issue. Crossing the field was probably the scariest part because I had no clue if I was on the trail or not. Once again the wonder dog came through. I really must change his trail name because Kneecaps doesn't do him justice after this performance. We rolled into the shelter just before 10 oclock having hiked the 7.6 miles in 2 hours and 20 minutes. We found 4 section hiker sleeping and Harley woke them up. They graciously made a spot for me and gave Harley a well deserved belly rub. I unpacked and jumped in before having dinner. Harley promptly began to snore. I didn't care at all because he had earned his keep. Still can't believe I broke the 30 mile barrier, we'll see how the legs feel tomorrow.


3/27/2009 11:30 pm Damascus, VA -- 18.5 miles today -- 463.0 miles total


Woke up around 7:30 and chatted with my shelter mates. Nice group of people. Answered a bunch of AT questions as I packed my stuff and ate breakfast. Hit the trail at 9 oclock for an "easy 18". Found some trail magic at Low Gap, sodas and Snickers. I loooove trail magic. It really makes your day. Got to Abingdon Shelter around noon for lunch. Weird to eat alone. From there it was 10 miles to down. Pretty boring walk and it started to rain. Harley is a weenie when it starts to rain. He tried to hide in Rhotodendrum bush. Didn't bother to put my rain jacket on so I got soaked. Crossed into VA at 3 pm. Took a video and pictures of Harley:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_IyqBhF_pY0
Got to town and arranged a two night stay at Dave's Place Hostel. Pretty basic, but adequate. Too late to get to the post office. I showered and toweled off the dog. He has to sleep outside tonight :( Bought some post cards and wrote them on the porch. By 6 oclock everyone was in town including steamboat who was pretty hopped up on pain killers. He said he is going to the medical center tomorrow to get his shin checked out. Grizzly Adams, Churt, Wiz Kid, Pacman, Wally, Spirit Fingers, Steamboat, and I went to the pizza place for dinner. MMMM mushroom pizza. They had live music going. A violin and a guitar. Afterwards I hit the Dollar General and got some supplies. Came back to the hostel and relaxed on the porch for a while. Everyone was telling trail stories. We have so many to tell now that we have come so far. Really good group of guys. Late now so I have to hit the sack. Harley is pissed that he can't sleep next to me tonight. I think I'll sneak him inside the hostel tomorrow.

Hot Springs, NC to Erwin, TN 3/15/2009-3/20/2009

Photos: http://outdoors.webshots.com/photo/2992940430104728652mEltxp

3/15/2009 9:00 PM - Spring Mountain Shelter - 11.0 mi today - 282.8 mi total

Dad, Flo and Harley arrived at 6:30 yesterday (Check out the video of Harley's arrival here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xgXywoG7rWI). Great to see them. Had dinner at Smokey Mountain Diner. Excellent. After, we all went to Steamboat's cabin so our families could meet. Steamboat officially named Flo "Florence Gump" (Gump for short). Nice to hang out and watch basketball, though Syracuse lost in the Big East final. Bummer. Spent a long time organizing Flo's stuff for hiking. ried to upload some more pictures, but still have a load to do. Got up this morning in time to make it to breakfast at the Sunnybank Inn. Really good food and nice people. We were there for about an hour and a half eating and talking. Went back to te room and packed the bags and made adjustments. Hit the outfitter on our way out of town. THe four of us walked up the first hill out of town, and then Dad turned back. Flo, Harley, and I continued on. Harley was great! We let him off the leash as soon as we were away from traffic. He walked about 20 yards ahead of us all day and kept checking back every 30 seconds. He was adorable! Flo had fun as well, though she got hot spots (precursurs to blisters) in the first mile. We'll check them in the morning. Felt longer than 11 miles today. We were all beat when we rolled into camp. Luckily the rain held off most of the day. Just kind of foggy, so everything is wet anyways. Sharing the shelter with one other section hiker. He was already in bed when we arrived at 6:45 PM. Thats over an hour before sunset. Flo and I pumped water, and got the stove going. Made arroz con queso, which was delicious, but huge! Flo ate about a quarter of it, but I polished it off. Harley is in the shelter with us tonight. Can already hear the mice running around.

3/16/2009 8:30 PM - Little Laurel Shelter - 8.6 mi today - 291.4 mi total

Woke up a couple times last night. The dog was moving around a bit. He went out of the shelter around 5. I got up as well and found the section hiker sitting outside in the dark shaking hands with Harley. He was complaining about too much sleep. Thats what happens when you go to bed that early! Brought Harley back inside and snuggled with him for a bit. He was ready to go and didn't want to settle down. Flo slept like a log. That's what college does to you. Got up at 9:30 and everything was wet. The fog had soaked everything through. Showed Flo how to get the bear bags down from the cables. We decided to do a hot breakfast and made oatmeal. Usually, I eat cold breakfast, so it was a nice change. Also had to pump water because we were low. Finally got going at 11:4 and it started to rain. It was expected, so no big deal. Wasn't too hard. Flo and I took it easy today. She got blisters yesterday, so I didn't want to push her. We treated them with moleskin and duct tape. Had lunch when the rain broke. Timed it perfectly because it started raining hard when we left again. Played some alphabet games while we walked to help pass the time. We really suck at naming countries. Flo also conveniently left the summer sausage out of her pack at lunch, so I was carrying an extra 12 ounces this afternoon. Last hour in the rain was tough. The dog looked mopey and Flo didn't enjoy it much either. Glad to see the shelter. Arrived at 4:45 and changed into dry clothers. Cooked dinner (chicken rag out) which was better than expected. Another couple from Knoxville arrived, so we made space for them. Plenty of room for all, though with wet clothes hanging everywhere it looks like a laundromat. Hanging the bear bags was an adventure. No bear cables here, so I had to toss my own line. Of course with food for two people and a dog it was too heavy for one line. Decided to cut the cord in half and hang two, which actually worked. Took about a half hour, and a little help from our shelter mates, but I now ave two perfectly hung PCT bags. Woohoo. Harley decided he likes my sleeping bag more than his fleece blanket. He curled up on it and went to sleep while we were eating dinner. I had already toweled him off, so I didn't mind. Now he is sleeping between Flo and I. He's chasing a rabbit in his dreams I think. His paws are twitching and he's snoring softly. He is great on the trail, it's just going to be a lot to handle when it's raining out. I can't wait for the rain to stop. Still, I'm having fun and glad to have Flo and Harley.

3/17/2009 9:00 PM - Flint Mountain Shelter - 12.7 mi today - 304.1 mi total

Woke up a little after sunrise today. The dog slept much better last night. Didn't move around as much, which was a relief. Ate my granola and chatted with our shelter mates. They are a really nice couple, and even offered to pack out our trash! Harley was getting impatient with us. He was ready to leave, but we had to pump water and pack the bags. Major uphill out of the shelter. It was tough putting on wet clothes in the morning, but they dried out fast. We got a great view from White Rocks Cliff. We took a long snack break and snapped a bunch of pictures. From there, we were walking along an exposed rocky ridge. It was quite fun, but slow going. The dog did really well, and was constantly having to wait for us. There was only one spot where he got wedged in between two rocks. He's still not used to his wingspan. We decided his trailname is "Kneecaps" because he isn't used to his new wingspan and is constantly bumping into people and clipping Flo's knees. We did a video from the top, which you can watch here (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3XCRREadWDY). Today is St Patricks Day. What a change from last year! Had a really nice lunch at Jerry Cabin Shelter. Sunn and warm, so we laid out all the wet stuff to dry. We hiked over Big Butt, which was the 300 mile mark. Woohoo! The last mile and a half was very steep downhill. Glad we didn't have to hike up it. First ones to the shelter at 6:15. Flo and I are getting the system down. I pumped water while she cooked. The dog took a nap after his dinner. He'll sleep well tonight. He's already snoring next to me keeping Flo awake. Steamboat arrived as we were eating dinner and Wizz-kid (got his name because he urinated in his water bottle one night and didn't rinse it out very well the next morning) was right behind him. Glad to see familiar faces and meet new people. Pretty chilly night, but great for stargazing. Not sure of tomorrow's destination, but it should be fun.

3/18/2009 8:00 PM - Hogback Ridge Shelter - 8.8 mi today - 312.9 mi total

Got up at first light and retrieved everyone's bear bags. Made Flo breakfast in bed. She doesn't know how lucky she is. The dog was ready to go in 5 minutes. We took a little longer. Hit the trail at 9:45, which was our earliest yet. Walked with Steamboat all da. Flo set a quick pace to begin and we hit the first 2.7 miles in 45 minutes. The got us to Devils Fork Gap where we had to climb up a set of steps to cross a fence. Got a picture of the dog doing it. He really is excellent on the trail and a lot of fun to walk with. My only concerns are how to deal with him in the rain and in towns. Not all towns are dog friendly and I would feel bad tying him up somewhere while I run my errands. If it was a short backpacking trip, there is no question that I would bring him, but it gets really complicated when you have to resupply every few days. I'll talk it over with Dad o Saturday and make a decision then. Right now I am 50/50, but I really do enjoy walking with him. Back to today. After Devils Fork Gap was a serious uphill! I hadn't looked at the elevation profile yet and wasn't expecting it. Of course Harley was in the lead wondering why it was taking so long. Had lunch halfway up. I really enjoy a hearty lunch. The rest of the hike wasn't too bad. Flo's blisters are looking bad. I'm running low on duct tape from having to treat it everday. She says her legs feel fine, its just the blisters that hurt. She's definitely in better shape than I was when I started the trail. Wizz-kid was already at the shelter when we got here. Guess he had taken a long lunch and then decided to stay. We got in around 3 so we had tons of time to do everything. Flo got a little bored and was wanting a book to read. I talked to Rachel on the phone and was hoping to make my March Madness picks, but she was in Disneyland and couldn't take them down at the time. I'll have to make them Friday and avoid hearing any results before then. Dinner was clam chowder which was good. Glad to get rid of the can of minced clams No more canned goods. Period. They weigh too much! A bunch of people rolled into camp after us. I already knew Wes, but met Pacman, Wally, Grizzly Adams, and Chert. We had a lot of laughs over dinner, especially when it came time to do bear bags. Pacman may have giardia. Yikes! I'm glad I haven't been risking it with my drinking water. I'm tenting with Harley tonight just to test it out. He's snoring again.

3/19/2009 8:00 PM - Bald Mountain Shelter - 10.1 mi today - 323.0 mi total

We were supposed to take it easy in the morning because it was only a 10 mile day. Harley didn't get the message. I didn' mind though because I was ready to get up. Steamboat and Gump were not. I made Gump breakfast in an attempt to sprun her on. Harley gave her a good morning kiss. We were the last group to leave as we had to triage Gump's feet. Ran out of duct tape and had to borrow some of Steamboat's. Whoops. Hit the trail at 9:15, our earliest start yet. Found Wizz-kid's camera about a quarter mile out of camp. Gave it to him when we met up at I-26. There was a wanted poster at the trailhead by the interstate. Hope we don't run into that guy. There was also a trash can at the parking lot. It's the little things that really make your day. Between there and Big Bald wasn't all that memorable. We stopped for lunch at a spring and rehydrated the hummus that Mom had sent. It turned out really well. We saved half for tomorrow. Harley took his lunchtime snooze. We also broke out the Easy Cheese. Steamboat, Gump, and I played the alphabet game between lunch and Big Bald. Gump lost. Big Bald was great. Views were good, though the clouds looked menacing. A couple from Indiana took our picture. Harley rolled around in the grass. Easy hike from there to the shelter. We thought it would be a full house, but it was empty. We moved the table under the overhang to avoid the rain. Good thing we did. After we pumped our water, the rain came. We managed to stay dry as we cooked. Mac and cheese with turkey and peas were excellent. Gump's favorite dinner. Afterwards I made hot chocolate for everyone and then broke out the cheesecake mix that I had saved for Gump's last night on the trail. It was great hanging out with just the four of us (Steamboat, Gump, Kneecaps, and me). We read a lot of the old entries in the shelter log and just chatted. The rain has stopped now, so we are hoping that it will hold off tomorrow as well. Shooting for Erwin, which will be Gump's longest day at 17 miles. Will also be a test for the dog, though he has beat us up every hill so far. Pretty sure I'm going to keep him with. I'm willing to deal with whatever extra obstacles I meet in town and in the rain. It's been fun hanging out with Flo this week, despite her foot problems. Hope she had a fun relaxing time. Looking forward to eating in town. Steamboat and I are planning to get from Erwin to Damascus in sevenn days. Should be a good 120 mile push. Just have to take it one day at a time. Living the dream!

3/20/2009 11:30 PM - Erwin, TN - 16.9 mi today - 339.9 mi total

Staying at Uncle Johnnys tonight, but haven't had a chance to write my journal yet. Heres the summary: Good hike. Flo is a trooper for putting up with her blisters. Made my March Madness picks. Went to a sports bar with Dad, Steamboat, Flo, and Old Man River. Got to watch some basketball. Syracuse won! Came back and hung out with the rowdy Nascar fans. Managed to upload all of my pics and videos! Here are the links to all the videos on Youtube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Julheyy-le0

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pH_V5iaE-LU

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VnpTTqpAokY

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3XCRREadWDY

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RYxvQ0l0Rfo

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xgXywoG7rWI

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q7N2nvmK2kg

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AXNGpUZTlp8

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KcvIUwgTQbw

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9A1uz4catfA

The pictures are all on my webshots account. Here's the link: http://community.webshots.com/album/569839690UGnCpG?vhost=community&start=0

I'll add my entry for today when I get the chance. Thanks for following and please leave me comments!

UPDATE: Here is the full journal entry for 3/20/2009.

Woke up to catch a nice sunrise. Got moving fairly quickly, though it was cold when we got out of our sleeping bags. Camelbak tubing was frozen. Taped Gump's heels and hit the trail at 9. Mostly downhill today, but still got a couple views. Had lunch at No Business Knob shelter and ate up the last of the food. I almost lost my SPOT down a steep hill, but was able to rescue it. Called Dad as we got close to Erwin. He met us about a mile up the trail. Gump was a trooper and carried her pack the whole way, despite the blisters. Turns out its a Nascar weekend in Erwin, so all the places in town were fully booked, including Uncle Johnnys Hostel. For $8 we were allowed to tent on the grass. Showered and set up camp while Dad went to Walmart to buy himself a $21 tent. That thing is a piece of crap. After showers, I made my March Madness picks and we went to Johnson City to go to a sports bar. Watched basketball and enjoyed nachos, quesadillas, burgers, and beer. Excellent food. Got back to Uncle Johnnys and found a rocking Nascar party. Free beer was nice. Some of the guys were pretty hammered, especially the guy that works here. I'm convinced this guy just jumped out of a pirate movie. I went to the bunkhouse to warm up and update the blog and upload pictures. The people who reserved the bunkhouse didn't show up. That's annnoying. It was really warm in there. Five day forecast looks very good. Steamboat and I will hit the trail tomorrow after a grocery run. I've decided to keep Harley on the trail. I really enjoy having him, though he needs to stop snoring. He's pretty loud!

Davenport Gap to Hot Springs 3/12/2009-3/14/2009

Photos: http://outdoors.webshots.com/photo/2615870070104728652kERaFp

3/12/2009 9:30 PM - Walnut Mountain Shelter - 20.3 mi today - 258.7 mi total

Woke up this morning around 9. Tried to quietly pack my stuff so as to not wake the others. Paid Curtis (the owner) for my stay and signed the guestbook. Gave out my blog address. I should make up business cards to hand out like Steamboat. Hit the trail at 10 AM. First 4 miles were pretty serious uphill. 2400 feet gain in 4.7 miles. At the top was an FAA radar facility. Had a snack there and got really cold. From there we hiked to Groundhog Creek shelter for lunch. Chowed down until we got cold and hit the trail again. Steamboat and I were chatting the whole way today. Really helps to pass the time when you can get lost in conversation. As we crossed Max Patch Road, we came across some trail magic. Someone had left two sodas and Snickers in the stream. It was amazing! I love trail magic. We suspected the Jerky Girls left it there on their way to Hot Springs. Whoever it was, thank you! We decided to save the sodas for dinner, but ate the Snickers immediately. At that point, we realized that we could stretch the day into a 20 miler as we were feeling good. From there it was a short hike up to the summit of Max Patch Bald where we met Frank the painter. With 360 degree views of beautiful mountains, he had a lot to paint. I introduced myself as Jolly Rancher for the first time and gave him one as I celebrated summiting Max Patch. He offered me GORP in exchange, which I politely declined. In addition to my normal supply, Steamboat's sister also sent me some so I now have GORP coming out of my ears! Took some pics on Max Patch, but I doubt they will compare to what it looks like in person. As we continued down the trail, we found some more trail magic... cans of baked beans with a fire ready to light. We decided to leave it behind for other hikers to enjoy as we already had loads of food and it was getting late in the day. Stopped by Roaring Fork Shelter to sign the log book and pushed on from there as it was 5 miles to Walnut Mountain Shelter. Got lost once, but backtracked and found where we went wrong. Last couple miles were tough and we were losing daylight. This area supposedly has a bear that steals bear bags that are hung too low. Knowing that somewhere in the woods was a hungry bear made us hike a little faster. Reached the shelter as it got dark and bumped into the Wooden Boys. They left within 10 minutes of our arrival as they were planning to night hike to the next shelter. Tried out my new stove and it worked perfectly. Glad I got that sorted out. Peanut butter chicken was excellent. Now I'm just going to try to ignore the mice and get some sleep. Today was a great day!

3/13/2009 11:30 PM - Hot Springs, NC - 13.1 mi today - 271.8 mi total

Woke up to a really strange noise coming from the side of the shelter. Think it was the sound of a dying mouse. I spilled some rice as I was making dinner, and I'm pretty sure the little guy ate it overnight. They say you shouldn't throw rice at weddings because it kills birds. Guess you should always spill a little rice at AT shelters. Steamboat and I were pretty lazy getting up. Pumped water and hit the trail around 10:15, one of our latest starts yet. Today's 13 miles felt a lot longer than yesterday's 20. It always seems to take a long time when you get close to a town. It also doesn't help that you have to descend into towns. My legs were killing me on the downhills. They wanted vacation a day early. We ate lunch at a campsite about 6 miles along. Only saw one group of hikers today. They were going the other way and smelled nice. Must have been their first day. We stopped in at the shelter 3 miles out of town to sign the log book and prepare for the final descent. That hurt! By the time we got to the bottom of the hill, we were groaning like old men. The AT literally goes right through Hot Springs, so we had a nice flat walk into town on the sidewalk. I checked into the Sunnybank Inn (Elmer's Place). I was greeted by a nice girl named Ren. She gave me a tour of the house and showed me my room. Originally, she was going to put me in with another hiker that seemed a little wierd. She changed her mind and gave I have a nice private room with a queen sized bed. After I dropped my stuff, Steamboat and I went to pick up the key to the cabin that his family was renting. We walked through town, which took all of 20 seconds because everything was closed for the day. After getting the lay of the land, we hit the Smoky Mountain Diner. I ordered the "Hungry Hiker" (3/4 pound cheeseburger) with onion rings, hush puppies, and baked beans. MMMMMMM. Excellent! After dinner, we hiked up the hill to check out Mike's cabin that looked a lot like a trailer. It was pretty nice inside and had a tv so I got my ESPN fix. Syracuse beat Uconn in 6 overtimes last night! What an amazing game. I am really going to miss March Madness. At 7, I headed back to the hostel to shower and organize my stuff. I gave the Wooden Boys my old stove as I didn't need it anymore. The new one is perfect. After making my phon calls, I went back to Steamboat's cabin to meet his family and watch the Syracuse game. Jen (Steamboat's girlfriend) sent him a sweet cookie cake that said "You smoked the Smokies" and had the AT symbol. It tasted awesome. It was really nice to meet his family and sit on the couch with the dogs. Did my laundry while I watched the game. Cuse won in OT over West Virginia. Great game. It was fun to watch a game again. I really miss sports. Hoping to catch up on all my teams at the library tomorrow. Dad and Flo are leaving Ithaca in the morning, so I will take a "zero" (hike zero miles) in Hot Springs. Have to do some chores before they arrive. Also looking forward to pancake breakfast at the hostel. Nice to sleep in a warm bed.

3/14/2009 4:45 PM - Hot Springs, NC - 0 mi today - 271.8 mi total

Woke up at 11 AM today, so I missed breakfast. That was the best sleep I have had in a while. Checked out and signed up for breakfast tomorrow morning when Dad and Flo will be here. Met Steamboat in the outfitter. Bought a couple things and had lunch with his family at the Iron Horse restaurant. Checked into the motel as they were the only place that allowed dogs and had vacancy. Now I am just using the computer at the outfitters. Nice people here. Great day to take a zero as it's pretty rainy. Looking forward to seeing my family in about an hour. Tried to upload my pictures. Looks like I have about 200 now. Check them out. I'll hopefully get to upload more from Dad's computer tonight.

Nantahala Outdoor Center to Davenport Gap 3/5/09-3/11/09

Photos: http://outdoors.webshots.com/photo/2812404750104728652AdfdMj

3/5/2009 6:48 PM - Brown Fork Gap Shelter - 16.0 mi today - 151.0 mi total

Yesterday was very relaxing. Mike and I got double chesseburgers for lunch at the River's Edge Restaurant at the NOC. Wow that was good. We watched the world go by as we chowed down. A couple white water rafts floated past. After lunch I went back to the outfitter to fill my fuel bottle and buy a couple postcards. It was so nice and sunny out that I sat by the river and wrote home. It was nice to be able to let my feet air out. They appreciated the time off. When the sun dropped behind the mountains, I went back to the room to organize my purchases and get my bag ready for the trail again. I also called home and gave everyone the update. Everyone seems to be adjusting to the new routine. At 6, Mike and I returned to the restaurant (only one in town) for pizza and beer. We couldn't quite finish a large meat lovers between us so we saved the leftovers for breakfast. Hit the sack around 9 though we could hear the rafting guides partying for a while after. Woke up this morning at 7 and hit the trail at 8:15. The climb out of the NOC is major! Over 8.1 miles we gained 3340 feet in elevation! That's almost an 8% grade. THere was a great view back to the NOC from Jump-Up Lookout. We met a SOBO (southbound thru-hiker) halfway up. Nice guy but pretty overweight considering he had already hiked over 2,000 miles. Granted he took the holidays off. We pumped water at Sassafras Gap Shelter and found that Grumpy stayed there last night. He must have passed through the NOC while we were in the showers. Had a massive lunch on Cheoah Bald. Here is what I have had to eat today:
Granola w/ carnation instant breakfast = 500 cal
slice of leftover meat lover pizza = 300 cal
slim jim = 150 cal
2 oz cheese = 225 cal
bagel w/ honey = 350 cal
1/3 bag of teddy grahams = 325 cal
kashi bar = 150 cal
fruit by the foot = 100 cal
fiber one bar = 150 cal
GORP = 600 cal
Gatorade mix = 200 cal
3 bean chili = 400 cal
3 Muskateers bar = 250 cal
Jolly Ranchers = 50 cal
TOTAL = about 3750 calories
I can't believe how low that is. I pigged out today and still only broke 3500 calories. THey say that thruhikers burn somewhere between 4,000 to 6,000 calories per day, so I am still at a calorie deficit. Not sure if I have lost weight yet. Maybe I'll have Dad bring the scale down when he drops off Flo next week. Beautiful view at lunch. Temp was in the 50'sand the sun was out. The afternoon started with downhill. My left kneecap was especially sore from the downhill. I took 3 ibuprofen to get the pain to a manageable level. We passed a trail maintainer midway through the afternoon. Nice guy, but when you see a guy walking down the trail with a machete in his hand and a chainsaw slung over his shoulder, it can be a little unnerving. Glad I was walking with Mike. Last 2 miles of the day were intense. We had a very steep climb that resulted in a pretty poor view. When you work really hard on the uphills, you tend to expect a view. It pushed us past the 150 mile point, though, so we had a Jolly Rancher each. We reached the shelter at 4:45 to find it empty. Pumped water and cooked dinner. Had a nice sunset and are now getting into bed. We can already hear the mice getting ready to party. I made sure that all of my food is in the bear bag so hopefully I won't be bothered. I also hung my shoes so I won't find droppings in the morning. Tonight shouldn't be too cold. Looking forward to getting an extended forecast at Fontana tomorrow. This time tomorrow I'll be at the "Fontana Hilton." Smokies here I come!

3/6/2009 7:40 PM - "Fontana Hilton" - 13.0 mi today - 164.0 mi total

Woke up and the wind was blowing on an overcast day. I went to use the privy and was amazed at how basic it was. Most privys have walls on three sides and a roof. The nice ones have a door. This one offered 360 degree views. It was just a throne with a holey roof. I took a picture. Had a bagel and a granola bar for breakfast. Wanted to get moving to get to the Post Office so we left camp at 8 AM. Started out slow but got going towards lunch. Mike snapped one of his hiking poles and faceplanted in the morning. The opinionated Leki salesman at Neels Gap did say that "them are girlfriend poles!" Guess he was right. I also had a stumble as I stupidly grabbed the root of a blowdown (tree that has fallen accross the trail) while trying to maneuver around it. It snapped off and I almost went tumbling down the hill. Luckily there was a small tree that caught me and I only came away with a fresh coat of dirt in my hair. Pigged out at lunch again. Tried to eat everything before my mail drop. Really started to kick it after lunch. Did 2.9 miles in the first hour and then shifted into low gear the rest of the way into town. Mike fell behind as he had to tend to a blistered toe. On the downhill, my knee was throbbing again and in the last half mile my left foot hurt too. I don't know what is going wrong with my left leg, but hopefully it won't slow me down in the Smokies. We have an ambitious schedule to keep to. Got to the road at 1:15 and Mike soon caught up. We decided to try our luck hitchhiking the two miles to the village. No luck with the first car. 2nd car was a Range Rover and we sarcastically stuck out our thumbs. To our utter amazement, the lady pulled over! We threw our stuff in the trunk and off we went. Turned out the lady pick up hikers quite often. She drove us straight to the Post Office. It was amazing! I don't know why I was so worried about hitching. Got my food drop from the post office. It weighed a lot! I went through and replenished all of the stuff that was running low (namely ibuprofen and toothpaste). Rachel also sent me a letter with a small roll of toilet paper. How sweet! I charged my camera and tried to call home, but everyone was unreacheable. When I sent along my "bounce box" (a box full of extra gear that you send from town to town as you hike along) we headed back to the trail. We walked about a quarter mile before two veterans in an SUV pulled over and gave us a ride the rest of the way. They had metal detectors in the trunk and had evidently spent the day "hunting." They were quite impressed when Mike said that he had found Civil War shells in his backyard. They also complained about how the such-and-such Archealogical Act of 1979 had really hurt metal hunting. It was quite hilarious, though I really had nothing to contribute to the conversation. They took us right back to the trail and from there it was about one mile to the "Fontana Hilton" (the nicest shelter on the AT). Mike and I had the place to ourselves, besides the mice. We cooked dinner and admired the view of Fontana Lake, which is currently low. After dinner, I tried to call home from the visitor center, only to find that the payphone was broken. Tomorrow we start the Smokies.

3/7/2009 - Russell Field Shelter - 13.5 mi today - 177.5 mi total

Woke up in a thick layer of fog. It looked like it had rained last night. Two other people must have arrived after we fell asleep because they were heading out as we were waking up. Got up slowly and sluggishly put the stuff in my pack. My knee was already weary and complaining about another day of hiking. I popped 3 ibuprofen to get it to shut up. Started out with rain pants, shirt, and rain jacket on. That didn't last long. Once we crossed Fontana Dam and entered the Smokies, it started to heat up quickly. Mike found a good replacement stick as we started to climb Shuckstack Mountain. Within the first ten minutes, I lost the jacket and changed into shorts. Shuckstack was a serious climb! We went up 2100 feet in 4.4 miles. Thats even steeper than the climb out of the NOC. The sun was quite hot and I was huffing and puffing all the way up. There was a nice observation tower at the top that had a beautiful view of Fontana Lake. Climbed to the top and enjoyed the last of the Thin Mint cookies that Mike's sister sent me (Thanks Kat!) A mile down the trail I was out of water and had to pump from a spring. It was muddy, so it clogged my prefilter. I ended up getting half the water I needed and dropping my cup in the mud. Frustrating! Got back to the trail and took it slowly. We share this section of the trail with horses, so you have to be careful where you step. Had lunch on Doe Knob. Not really much of a view. Stuffed my face with pepperoni, cheese, crackers, granola bars, fruit rollup, and Crystal Light. After lunch we took it easy as well. My feet definitely appreciated the change of pase from yesterday. At one point, I think I saw two bear cubs. They were down the hill running between the trees, so i didn't get a great look. Pretty exciting at the time. Met a ridgerunner (guy who counts thruhikers for the ATC) at Mollies Ridge Shelter. From there it was just over an hour to Russel Field Shelter. Two locals named Possum and Kitchen Sink were already making a fire so they could grill their steaks. I got by with soup. One of them let me borrow his cell phone which was very much appreciated. as I hadn't been able to get through to the people at home yesterday. Now I'm just trying to ignore the mice running around the shelter. Aparently Possum and Kitchen Sink are notorious for snoring. They were bragging about it before bed time.

3/8/2009 8:00 PM - Silers Bald Shelter - 14.7 mi today - 192.2 mi total

Didn't sleep well last night. Possum and Kitchen sink snored like crazy. That didn't really bother me though. I just had a hard time getting comfortable. Daylight Savings made us turn the clocks an hour forward this morning. Funny how when you live from sunrise to sunset, you really don't lose an hour of sleep. Had granola and Carnation for breakfast. Pumped water as we were anticipating another hot day. Began day 2 of our 8 day push to Hot Springs at 9:30 AM. Mike and I both want to get there by next weekend to meet family, so we are trying to cover the 100+ miles in 8 days. It's doable, but we'll see what the feet say every morning. It was pretty windy early. Funny how yesterday we started in the fog and climbed out of it while today we started below the clouds and climbed into them. After .8 of a mile, we drew the number 2000.0 in the snow and took a picture of it. Only 2,000 miles to go! Did some pretty serious climbing in the morning and summitted Rocky Top, the mountain the University of Tennessee fight song is written about. Didn't have any views because we were in the cloud. Ate some GORP on Thunderhead Mountain. Second half of the morning dragged by. Mike fell back because of knee pain. Ate lunch at Derrick Knob Shelter. Met a couple spring breakers that wanted to know more about thruhiking. Treated me like I was an expert even though I'm less than 10% though. Popped some more ibuprofen at lunch and continued down the trail. Mike fell back again, so I took the time to do some thinking. Guess I'm not good at multitasking because Mike caught up to me. Focused on hiking after that. Arrived at Silers Bald Shelter to find it empty. Decided to stay because the shelter log made it seem like the next one would be pretty full. Dinner was excellent (chicken and mustard sauce). Tomorrow is Clingmans Dome. As of today, our daily mileage average is over 12. We are moving!

3/9/2009 9:15 PM - Icewater Spring Shelter - 15.5 mi today - 207.7 mi total

Tossed and turned a bit last night as well. It rained at one point, but passed by morning. When I went out to get the food bags, there was a deer about 15 feet from the shelter. He wasn't easily spooked and hung around as we ate breakfast. Ate my granola and packed the bag. Got a hole in one in the woods. Hit the trail at 9. Took it nice and easy to start. Took a break at Double Spring Gap Shelter after an hour. The terrain changed pretty dramatically from deciduous trees to evergreen between there and Clingmans Dome. It was nice to have a change in scenery. Got up to Clingmans Done around 11:30. Took pictures and video to celebrate the accomplishment (highest point on the AT). It was worthy of a Jolly Rancher. As we decended from Clingmans, the path was really icy. It was like trying to walk down a frozen stream. It was at least 4 inches thick. In the sunny spots, the ice had melted and made for some really muddy hiking. There were miles where you would literally be trudging through mud the whole way. We had lunch nea the side trail to Mt. Collins Shelter. The shelter itself was half a mile off the AT, so there was no way we were going to walk there for lunch. The weather was beautiful all day long. Sunny and warm. As we kept hiking we noticed a lot of downed trees. More than usual along the AT. The guidebook told us that this is due to a combination of pollution and balsam wooly adelgid. I felt like I was walking through a graveyard at one point. Quite saddening. There were a lot of trees that had uprooted themselves as they fell over. Some of the root balls we passed were 12 to 14 feet across. I've never seen a treet from that perspective before. I think the death of the trees contributed to the muddy conditions on the trail. Eventually, we reached Newfound Gap which is where you can hitch into Gatlinburg. Mike and I had decided to skip that as we are pushing through the Smokies quickly. We did take an extended break there and talked with a couple people at the parking lot. It was wierd exited the woods into a parking lot. It felt so foreign and unnatural. There was a busload of high school kids. There were Americans of every description enjoying the view. Most didn't stray more than 100 yards from their car. There was a sign that had AT mileage (1972 miles to Katahdin). As I was taking a picture of the sign, a man asked his young daughter how far they should go (1.7 miles or 1972.0 miles). I said "I'll take the far one if you take the short one." He was amazed by the whole thru-hiking concept. Also talked to a couple guys from Cincinatti that were impressed as well. After a short while, Mike and I noticed a couple other groups of people pointing at us. Talking to people in the parking lot helped me to realize what a monumental task this is and how cool it is. I've already hiked over 200 miles in 17 days and three states. That's not even 10% of the AT (we'll reach that accomplishment tomorrow) but it is still an awesome accomplishment. Leaving the parking lot and heading to the shelter three miles away, I felt rejuvenated. It's so easy to get caught up in mileages and pace and elevation. Talking to non-hikers helped me to put it all in perspective. The last three miles also included a 900 foot climb, but I hardly noticed the hill. I was caught up with AT fever. When I got to the shelter around 7, I met Rail and three guys from New Hampshire on spring break. All were really nice and fun to hang out with. Mountain Hopper came a little later after hitching to Gatlinburg and back. He brought Skittles and Starburst to share. They were great! Made curried vegetables for dinner. Yum! I'm really glad Mom and I did food prep for the hike so I don't have to eat ramen noodle every night. Shelter is nice, though I saw a mouse scurry out of my backpack after dinner. Luckily he didn't get into my food bag. Hung out chatting by the fire until around 9. Really enjoying myself out here and my knee felt good today. It's still a little swollen, but the Ibuprofen really helps. I have officially thru-hiked farther than Bill Bryson. He started yellow blazing from Gatlinburg (Thru hiker lingo for cheating. White blazes are found on trees and you have to walk to see them. Yellow blazes are found on roads and you can see them from a car). Weather is supposed to be good tomorrow. May strive for 20 miles. We'll see how the legs feel in the morning.

3/10/2009 10:00 PM - Cosby Knob Shelter - 20.3 mi today - 228.0 mi total

First 20 mile day! Legs don't feel too bad either. Woke up around 8 and had chocolate granola for breakfast (my favorite). Hit the trail at 9:15. The first little bit was another frozen stream. It was pretty slippery going down. Was rocking a pretty steady pace early. Got some great views from Charlie's Bunion. Made it to the first shelter in just over 3 hours. Met a family of section hikers. They asked me if I had a trailname yet. I told them not yet, but that I was open to suggestions. As I was walking away, they said that I should be Mountain Banshee, but didn't really have a reason why. I don't even really know what a banshee is, but it does sound pretty burly. I tried it on for size today and might stick with it when I get a solid definition. I asked around for what it meant and I got answers ranging from female hyenna to ghost to hairy mountain beast. We'll see tomorrow when I can ask wikipedia. Caught up with Mountain Hopper for lunch with an awesome view. He's a really cool guy. Sucks that his section hike ends tomorrow. I hope he gets to do his thru-hike someday. He's just one of the many awesome people I hope to meet along the way. After lunch, we headed out and made it to the second shelter around 3:30. We picked up another cool guy named Nick who will be starting his thruhike as soon as his semester ends in May. The four of us made the push for 20 miles. Tough going and I had to take 2 breaks to get through, but I churned out the final 7.7 miles in under 3 hours. I was really happy with my performance today. Today rewarded us with the best views of the Smokies. Anyone looking to do a nice section hike should really consider Newfound Gap to Davenport Gap. Pulled into camp at 6:30 with plenty of time to cook dinner. The shelter was full tonight (12 people) with a bunch of spring breakers. Met some cool kids that just graduated from Ithaca High School, Wooden Spoon and Wooden Duck. Mountain Hopper shared his banana and I shared my freeze-dried ice cream. Yum! Overall a great day. First 20 miler, made some great friends, and might have gotten my trail name. I'm living the dream. Looking forward to a shower tomorrow.

3/12/2009 2:21 AM - Standing Bear Farm - 10.4 mi today - 238.4 mi total

It's really late at night, so I should be in bed. Haven't written my journal entry yet tonight, but here's a quick summary. Took an easy day. Mainly downhill. Piled 6 people and 6 packs into Nicks car. Drove 15 miles down a really windy road to get lunch at a gas station. Amazing food! Good times. Walked the last two miles to the hostel through a smoldering wildfire (happened last night, but was safe to walk through. Got some cool pictures). Mike found a pair of Leki poles on the trail (TRAIL MAGIC!) Met the Jerky Girls at the hostel (really cool). Found out that banshee is a female ghost. Dropped that name really fast. Sat around the campfire for a long time. Mike officially named me Jolly Rancher (woohoo! I finally have a trailname). Been typing since midnight and am ready to hit the sack. Unfortuntaly this computer sucks so I can't upload any pictures. Hopefully I'll add some when I get to Hot Springs on Saturday. Hope everyone is having fun reading this. Please leave comments. I love to read them :)

UPDATE! HERE IS THE FULL ENTRY FOR MARCH 11:

Was the first one out of bed at sunrise. Had granola and enjoyed a bit of a sunrise (a little cloudy). Within a half hour, everyone was out of bed. Chatted with Mountain Hopper and Steamboat about the descent to Davenport Gap. Nick offered us a ride to a local restaurant, so we set a meeting place and everyone left camp to hike at their own pace. Steamboat and I were the caboose. The Wooden Boys (Duck and Spoon), Mountain Hopper, and Nick were much faster at the descent. We met up with everyone about halfway down at a nice vista and took a load of pictures including some group shots. Used my gorillapod for the second time. Hope to use it more. Steamboat and I chatted about our dogs on the descent. We are both looking forward to seeing our four-legged friends this weekend (Harley, Brinkley, and Molly). At the bottom of the hill, we all met up again and piled 6 stinky hikers and 6 dirty packs into Nick's SUV. It was pretty cramped. Wooden Duck was in the back under two packs. We then drove 15 miles down the windiest road imaginable. By the end of it we were all pretty sore or car sick or a combination of both. We found a restaurant called Mama's Kitchen that was part of a gas station. It looked like a hole in the wall place. What a great find! Our waitress was excellent. I apologized for out stench and she said "Don't worry. It's all a part of livin'!" There were old pictures of men making moonshine and some "redneck windchimes." I ordered a double cheeseburger, grilled cheese, onion rings, and cornbread. It was amazing. The waitress said "Y'all haven't seen real food in a while, huh?" No ma'am! All that food only cost $12. It was great! After we were all full, we piled back into the car and took the interstate back to Davenport Gap (much less windy). When we got back to the trailhead, Steamboat, the Wooden Boys, and I hopped out and got ready to hike again. We said our goodbyes to Nick and Mountain Hopper as they both had to go back to school. Hope they had safe travels and many more happy hikes. From there it was a short hike to Standing Bear Farm as we passed under I-40. As we were climbing the hill away from the interstate, we met a Forest Service worker who had thru-hiked in 2000. It's great to talk to trail alumni. I could see how envious he was that we were just beginning our journey. He also told us about how there had been a wildfire around the trail the day before, but it was contained and safe to walk through. He had gone through and cleared the trail for us, which was very nice. Great guy. As we approached the burned area, Steamboat stumbled upon some awesome trail magic... a set of Leki poles! One appeared to be broken, but after some tinkering, we managed to fix it and he now has two perfect poles. It was a bittersweet moment, though, because it meant that he had to leave his wooden stick behind. We left it in the middle of the trail for another hiker to use. It lasted throughout the entire Smokies, so it was a great stick. As we walked through the burn area, there were still smoldering logs and a good amount of smoke. There was one tree that was burning but still standing. Got some cool pictures. From there it was a short walk to Standing Bear Farm. The hostel was really nice. Met Rock Hound who is the handyman around the place. They have a cabin and a bunkhouse for hikers to stay in. Steamboat and I decided to stay in the loft of the cabin. Met the "Jerky Girls" (Sweet n Tangy and Hot n Spicy), Stallion (SOBO), and Graham (SOBO). Did all my chores, including washing my clothes by hand (they didn't have a washing machine). Luckily they had a drier so we didn't have wet clothes. Rockhound got a nice fire going. Steamboat and I split a pizza and we sat around the fire chatting with everyone. Eventually it got down to just the Jerky Girls, Steamboat, and myself. We sata around the fire until close to midnight. The Jerky Girls are both Marines and are really fun to hang out with. They had some crazy stories to tell. Wish them the best. They also let me try some of the moonshine they had bought from Rock Hound. It was pretty good. We also decided that my trailname should be Jolly Rancher for obvious reasons (had to scrap banshee because it means "female ghost"). I like it. Glad to finally have cool trailname. After everyone went to bed, I hit the computer and updated my blog. Really enjoy reading all the comments. Thanks everyone for the support!

-Jolly Rancher

Winding Stair Gap to Nantahala Outdoors Center 3/2/09-3/4/09

Pictures: http://outdoors.webshots.com/photo/2104530870104728652IIKBZQ

3/2/2009 4:03 PM – Siler Bald Shelter – 3.7 mi today – 111.4 mi total

Really cold! Temperature is somewhere in high 20s now. Supposed to drop to 12 degrees overnight in town. Should be even colder in the mountains where we are. Got up at 8 this morning. Showered and got packed up. Had breakfast at Wilson’s Restaurant. Little old lady server was funny. Went to Ingles for small resupply. Went back to motel and had a bagel for lunch. Went to post office and sent home about 1 lb of clothes. After I caught the shuttle to the trail. I walked about 4 miles to the shelter. Got here around 2. Ate beef Lo Mein for dinner and got into sleeping bag. Hoping to survive the night. Too cold to write anymore. It is gonna be a long night.

3/3/2009 6:35 PM – Wesser Bald Shelter – 17.9 mi today – 129.3 total

Wow it was cold last night. After an hour of lying in my sleeping bag with all of my clothes on and double thick socks my toes finally warmed up. It was weird being in bed so early. Meet a guy named Kabar who was supposedly in a 0 degree bag and still cold. That being said it was a Coleman bag that was likely bought at Wal-Mart. Not to be a gear snob, but there is no way a Coleman 0 degree bag is going to keep anyone warm at a temp below 20 F. I managed to fall asleep sometime around 5:30. Mike didn’t and said that the conversation turned to a description of the Senate and the House of Representatives for Kabar among other things. Glad I am a heavy sleeper. I managed to sleep through most of the night. I probably woke up around 5. Being in the torture tube for so long, I had to pee really bad. At the first sign of light, Mike and I got up and made breakfast to go. The temperature was around 10 F when the sun rose at 7 am. Who knows what it was overnight. We hit the trail at 7:15 and it took a while to get fully warmed up. We saw our first bald from a distance, Siler Bald. After about an hour we hit Wyah Gap and got some funny looks from passing cars. From there it was a long uphill to the top of Wyah Bald. There was an old stone observation pallet that offered us good views all around. We could see Mt. Albert to the south and Clingmans Dome to the North (highest pt on AT). It was nice to have such a clear view after 3 days in the fog. We had lunch at the Wyah shelter and by the time we left it was still before noon. We decided to shoot for Wesser Bald Shelter and make it a long day. Powered through the next section, mainly flat until 1 pm when we encountered our first trail angel (people providing free services to AT hikers). His name was apple and offered hot chocolate and reese’s PB cups. He also had a massive orange tent which he allowed thru hikers to stay in over night. Mike and I were his second and third customers of the year. Last year he helped 333 hikers. He was a really nice guy and the food/drink was very much appreciated. It really helped us get up the next hill. When we passed Cold Spring Shelter at 2 o’clock we still had 5.8 miles to go. It was tough to leave the shelter behind, knowing we could easily stay there after a respectable 12 miles. Hard work pays off. The down hill to Tellico Gap wiped out any inkling of getting to the NOC today (24 miles) as the pounding really started to ache my knees. Climbing out of Tellico Gap we summitted Wesser bald and were treated to an even better view than earlier in the day. We got our first look at Fontana Lake, the gateway to the Smokeys. We should reach there by Friday. Manzanita, another thru hiker, was already cooking his dinner at the shelter when we arrived at 4:45. I made chedder brocolli rice which was Okay. It was nice chatting with Manzanita. He is a triple crowner, so he has a lot of backpacking experience (hiked all off AT, PCT, CDT). As we were getting into the sleeping bags a stray dog came up to the shelter. Mike tried to get it to come inside but it didn’t trust us. I wonder if we will see it in the morning. Not as cold tonight, but still chilly. Tomorrow will be a short day to the NOC.

3/4/2009 12:30 PM – Nantahala Outdoors Center – 5.7 mi today – 135.0 mi total

Mike and I decided that today was going to be an easy day and we wouldn’t get up too early. 6:50 am rolled around and we were up making breakfast before the sun rose. It is tough to break the early rise habit. As soon as it gets light out you feel the need to hit the trail asap. I didn’t pump enough water last night, so I had to get some more from the spring. That adds an extra quarter mile to my day. Temp 25 after sunrise. It was pretty chilly, but compared to yesterday morning it felt tropical. Hit the trail at 8. No sign of the dog from last night, hope he found his way home. Most of today’s miles were downhill. We descended greater than 2500 ft over the 6 miles. It was really tough on the knees. Vitamin I helped to dull the pain. We got to NOC just before 11 am. I bought body glide, another pair of liner socks and a small Platypus to use as a fuel bottle. We also got laundry soap and quarters. Checked into the hostel and dropped the stuff in the room. 2 bunk beds and a wooden floor, simple but effective. Hit the shower and it felt great. Now we are just waiting for the laundry to finish before we get a bite to eat. Hope that some of our friends catch up today. Making sure I take full advantage of the rest as we hope to hit Fontana Dam by Friday afternoon. Need to get there to pick up the mail drop. Feels weird to not be hiking in the afternoon. Looking forward to real food at the restaurant.

Dicks Creek Gap to Winding Stair Gap 2/27/2009-3/1/2009

Pictures: http://outdoors.webshots.com/photo/2559336470104728652lYWYhD

2/27/2009 7:30 PM - Muskrat Creek Shelter - 11.8 mi today - 79.3 mi total

Spent a great night in the bunks. Woke up around 7:30 and organized my stuff. At 8:30 we were invited into the house for our cooked breakfast. It was amazing! They had cheese biscuits, sausage, pancakes, and homemade blueberrysyrup. Everything was delicious. I especially appreciated the orange juice. I really miss that on the trail. The guys suggested I take the name Juice as my Trailname. We'll see if it sticks. After breakfast, we loaded 6 people and 5 packs into the Jeep and drove to the trailhead. When we got there, I saw Tater again, the guy I met on top of Springer. Everyone had their rain gear on as we started out. It wasn't really raining at the beginning, so I shed my jacket after 5 minutes of climbing. Of course that meant that 5 minutes later it started raining pretty hard and I got soaked before I could put it back on. The rainy hike was misurable. I definitely had a tough time with it. I was walking solo and just had to keep thinking positive thoughts as I plodded through the mud. I caught up with everone at Plumorchard Gap Shelter for lunch after 4.5 miles. I was tempted to stop there for the night as I didn't really want to go back out into the rain again. Luckily, it eased up in the afternoon and made for some good hiking. We passed a stuffed bear the held a good luck sign. It read "Boo Boo wishes y'all good luck thru hike." Not the best grammar, but appreciated all the same. I got a picture. At 2:45, we hit a major milestone as we crossed from Georgia to North Carolina. I got my picture taken with the sign. The rest of the hike was pretty steep as North Carolina gave us quite the welcome. We pulled into camp and got set up to make dinner. I had alfredo pasta with some summer sausage mixed in. The major adventure of the day was hanging the bear bags. "Grumpy got to the shelter before us an hung his "PCT style" as we were cleaning up. Of course this led to us trying to do the same and failing miserably. Mike and I both had trouble even getting our ropes over tall enough branches. It was a pretty hilarious time. Eventually we got it all figured out with some assistance from Grumpy. I have hung s many bear bags and I still manage to screw it up most of the time. It was a great way to end a tough day. Hope the rain isn't too bad tomorrow.

2/28/2009 7:05 PM - Carter Gap Shelter - 12.5 mi today - 91.8 mi total

Woke up to rain. It had rained all night and didn't look like stopping. Jeff had spent the night in his tent and aparently got soaked through. He left camp at 7AM as we were just waking up. Grumpy followed him out around 8AM. Dan was next. Mike, Wes, and I took it really slow. It was tough getting out of a wam dry sleeping bag to plod through the wet cold mud all day. I eventually departed camp at 9:30. Mike and Wes soon followed. I took it really easy in the morning. There wasn't much elevation change, so it was a pretty smooth walk. I stopped at noon for lunch at Standing Indian Shelter. Wes and Mike came in about 10 minutes after me. I departed quickly, but still got cold. After lunch was the only real hill of the day, which enabled me to warm up. The rest of the afternoon was pretty slow. At one point, I thought I felt my first hot spot developing on my big toe. Not wanting to drop my pack, I was somehow able to balance on my right foot as I took off my left boot, outer sock, and liner sock, apply duct tape, and reverse the process without getting my foot wet. I earned a JOlly Rancher for that little trick. I use Jolly Ranchers as a reward for different accomplishments on the trail. It goes back to my days hiking with Troop 8 in California. This morning, I had to give myself one just for getting out of bed. There were some cool parts to the trail today. I crossed a couple streams balancing on a log. I pulled into camp at 4 and cooked some Spring Onion noodles with summer sausage. Yum. I also had much better luck with the bear bag today. Got it on my first try and nailed the PCT method. Its supposed to get really cold tonight. I might hit Franklin tomorrow. That would be a 16 mile day. Will break 100 miles easily.

3/1/2009 8:30 PM - Winding Stair Gap - 15.9 mi today - 107.7 mi total

Woke up around 7 today and got moving. Had a quick breakfast of Nature Valley bar and honey. No cleanup required. It had rained most of the night but didn't turn to snow. Hit the trail at 8:15 with Mike. Cruised for the first couple miles and knocked off 5 miles in under 2 hours. Major hill of the day was Mt Albert just before lunch. As we were about to start the accent, it began to snow. Steepest climb yet. Had to drop the poles at one point so I could use my hands to climb. Got to the top and snow was falling thick and fast. Stopped at Big Spring Shelter for lunch. Ate quickly but still got cold. Snow had layered everything by the time we left the shelter. Kicked it into gear after lunch. Really muddy for a while. Slipping and sliding a lot. Got to "old ROute 64 but decided to hike the extra 3.1 miles to "New Route 64." Those were tough miles. I was beyond tired by the end. As we reached the parking lot, a van pulled up and it was the motel shuttle with Tatonka and Dan inside. Perfect timing! By 3:00 we were heading into Franklin, NC. Van driver said that over 150 people left Springer Mountain this weekend! Glad to be ahead of the pack. Staying at the Budget Inn tonight. Split a room with Mike for $20 each. Took a nice long shower and got the laundry done. After walked a half mile in my flip flops to find out that the AYCE Mexican was only a lunch deal. Went to Cody's Roadhouse instead. Had a mushroom cheeseburger and a cold beer. Tasted great after a long day! Weather Channel is predictinf tomorrow's overnight low at 13 degrees. Grumpy, Jeff, Dan and Tatonka are taking a zero tomorrow to avoid the cold. Mike and I are thinking about it. We'll se what the morning weather report says. Hopefully the SPOT will work better over the next couple of days. The fog has been blocking the signal.