Reddit

Ama

New Hammy

Man I'm so pumped for the White Mountains in New Hampshire! Tomorrow I climb Mt Mooselauke, tallest mountain I've hiked in about 5 states. It's a 6 mile climb over 3,600 feet elevation... pretty intense but I hear the summit is well worth it. Tomorrow is also the 120th day on trail. This adventure has been everything I expected and much more! The end is nearing and I'm psyched to go home and finish but at the same time this has been an awesome lifestyle and I will be sad to see it come to an end. I've reunited with some guys I haven't hiked with since Tennessee. I'm with a very solid group and I think we will be together until the end. Tarzan is about a day ahead of me and I doubt I'll see him on the trail again. He is a cool dude to hike with but he linked up with Raider and they want to push big miles in the Whites. We just dipped under 400 miles left I can quite confidently say I'm going to be finished in about 20 to 25 days. Wow!

Hanover, New Hampshire - Dartmouth college

2 More States

Vermont has been one of my favorite states to hike in so far. When we walked into Vermont the weather opened up and the sun came out for the first time in 3 days... the temperature was perfect! We're starting to climb some big mountains now, elevations we haven't seen since Virginia. Yesterday and today we got some serious rain, hardest I've walked in. Sunday Tarzan, Tosh, and I walked to Killington, Vermont because it was very close to the trail and there was an outfitter we needed to get stuff at. We ended up calling G's mom who lives near by and she offered to let us stay the night. We hiked with G for hundreds of miles through the smokies and to Tennessee until she had to get off the trail for a while due to an injury. We stayed in a renovated barn behind a cottage on a lake. It was so nice we took a zero the next day to relax:)  G's mom and dad were such nice people and we ate the best food. I was super thankful they took us in for a couple days, it was one of the best days off I've had on the trip and a great experience. Today I am 5 miles away from the New Hampshire border!! That means 2 more states to walk through to get to Mt. Katahdin. The White Mountains are coming up so soon. This is a part of the trail that has been talked about since Georgia. The toughest part of the whole trail but also has the coolest scenery. I'm so excited to hike this section. Best part is when your done with The Whites your in Maine, and that's just super exciting. I'm looking forward to this part of the trip, I've got all the best sections right in front of me then I get to go home and see my friends and family.

Rock piles

 

Under 500 to go!!!

 

Messing around on our day off at Gs lake house. 

 

 

Lots of rain the past 48 hours. 

 

 

Vermont

We finished off Massachusetts climbing Mt. Greylock, the highest point in the state. 10 miles after that we were in Vermont, three states left baby!!  I've been in Vermont for 3 days now and it's beautiful. The elevation of the mountains is way higher than what we have been seeing in the states just south. I'm so excited to get to the White mountains in New Hampshire. I should get there in a few days. I can see the light at the end of the tunnel.  I don't want this to end. I'm having so much fun. I've got about 520 miles to go I should be finished somewhere around July 25. I miss my friends and family but this has been the greatest thing I've ever done and seeing it end will be very bitter sweet.

Mt. Greylock 

View from Greylock

Awesome sunset

Vermont baby!!!

Rainy days

After taking way too many zeros at Tarzan's house in New Jersey, we decided to leave early and do 26 miles to a monastery pavilion where we could camp for free. It was a rough leaving the comfort of a bed, looking out from underneath my blanket I could see out the window that it was raining hard, at a steady pace. Tarzan, Ross, Pack Rat, Nate, and I packed up and headed toward the trail. The rain continued to fall all day. We had to rush through the exhibits at a zoo the AT runs directly through... the cold rain quickened our pace. We finally made it to the pavilion around 7:00, ate a quick dinner and went to bed early. The next day we had another 26 mile day planned and the weather was looking much better. The trail was pretty muddy but at least it wasn't raining. We got an early start the next morning and hit the trail at 7:00. 19 miles in, there was an awesome shelter that you could order pizza for delivery. I was starved! I wimped out of the 26 miles, stayed at 19 and emjoyed my pizza. Ross joined me. An hour or so after eating my pizza, Tarzan and Nate came running up to the shelter without their packs and asked us if we wanted to to go to some guys house and then to a bar to watch a band. Seven of us went with Nate and Tarzan. A random guy posted a sign 3 miles ahead of the shelter saying that he was boarding hikers and driving them to a bar because his buddy was playing in the band that night. He was recruiting an audience. Turns out this guy, Bill, through hiked in '06 and bought a house 0.2 miles from the trail. They gave us some beers, we hung out got a bit and then headed to this pretty trendy bar in Cool Springs, New York. We rolled with seven hikers... none of us showered after a full day of hiking and we all looked like bums. The place was packed but we got lucky and snatched a table right by the band. I guess people could smell us because a waitress walked by and discretely sprayed Febreeze towards us. Bill, his wife and kids got hit in the face by the spray. He got ultra pissed at the owner of the place and had to change his shirt. It was hilarious because about ten minutes later, the same waitress brought us all ice cream. It was delicious! After a night of drinking a few beers and going to sleep late, we all woke up pretty late in the second story of Bill's garage. Bill's wife made us waffles. They were so good! Turns out Bill has skydived like 74 times and works for a skydiving company. Tarzan went with him that morning to skydive, super random but he said it was badass. It would have been cool to skydive for the first time in the middle of a through hike. That night, we stayed at a landscape business that allows hikers to pitch a tent on their property. There was a fantastic deli down the road and I smashed a huge pastrami sandwich. The tent space was between a road and some train tracks so it was a loud night. Today we woke up early and got out before 7:00. We were heading for Mt. Algo Shelter, in Connecticut!  It was a shorter day, around 16 miles. I really wanted to get to the shelter early so I could avoid the afternoon showers. I got rained on for about 2 hours but it was lighter rain and felt good. I'm excited to be in another state and only have 5 more to go. Tomorrow ill go through Kent, Connecticut to get a small resupply. Still having a blast :) 

New Jersey!!

Got to the New Jersey border on Wednesday 5/29. I am still hiking with Tarzan so he was excited to get to his home town. His sister, who temporarily got off the trail because of her hurt knee, picked us up at a road crossing and drive us to his house in Glen Rock, New Jersey. We stayed at his house and took a zero the next day. It was awesome to hang around his home town and hang out with his friends. It's making me miss home and all my friends, but we are making good time and should be at mile marker 1300 in a couple days. I'm still having a lot of fun and I'm thinking I'll be at Mt. Katadin by mid July. We are planing on doing some day hikes with light packs and spending the night at his house for the next few days.

New Jersey is also very rocky. 

Long hair!! 

New Jersey is awesome! 

We're movin now!

So far the terrain after Harpers Ferry has been incredibly easy. We hiked out of Harpers Ferry on Friday, May 17th and almost immediately hit Maryland. We did a 16 mile day on Friday and a 25 mile day on Saturday and we were out of Maryland. I love how fast I went through two states after being in Virginia for over a month. I've been hiking with Tarzan for the past few days. He was meeting his mom in Pen Mar County Park, PA on Saturday. She hiked a couple of days with us and invited me to stay with them on Saturday night. We left her car at Pen Mar Park (the AT goes through it) then Tarzan, his mother, Roswell, and I hiked 8 miles on Sunday and 9 on Monday. We ended up at a road where Tarzan hitch hiked back to the park to get his mom's car. We drove to a hostel that was 19 miles further down the trail and stayed at a hostel. We ate at an Italian restaurant. On Tuesday we left all the stuff that was in our packs in Tarzan's mom's car, she drove us where we got off the trail, and then slack packed 19 miles back to the hostel where Tarzan's mom was offering trail magic of hot dogs and sodas. The day went by real quick since our packs were so light. Once we got back to his moms car, we loaded our packs again and hiked 7 more miles to the shelter. We stayed with Tarzan's mom for a few days... she is super cool! She was extremely helpful and was very nice! Wednesday and today we did 26.3 miles. It was easy because we did 12 miles to Boiling Springs, PA and then it was 14 miles of no elevation, truly flat terrain to Darlington Shelter. We took a long break in Boiling Springs because it was a very nice little town. We got lazy and ended up leaving at around 4:00. It got late really quick. At around 6:30 it started raining pretty hard. Now that it's hot outside, the rain isn't that bad. We were 7 miles from the shelter at 6:30. We got there at around 8:20... just before the clouds made it nearly impossible to see the wet rocks under us. Tarzan wants to make it to his house in NJ as soon as possible so I'm doing big miles with him. I want to do the second half of the trail way quicker than the first.

Half Way There... Harpers Ferry

After leaving the family on Mother's Day weekend, my foot started to give me problems. I had to start doing lower mile days so I took a little longer to get to Harpers Ferry, WV. I got in to town on Wednesday and stayed in a hostel. Ross left that same day. I woke up in the morning with a stomach ache and was not feeling ready to hike so I took the day off in Harpers and sat around the hostel until I recovered. I got a text from Tarzan that he would be in town on Friday and I was pretty pumped to hear that. I had hiked about 400 miles with him and his sister until she got hurt in Pearisburg, VA and he stayed behind with her. It's been about a month since we've hiked together. I'm leaving today and going into Maryland, officially leaving the south soon. I'm pretty sad about that. I've walked a total of 1,019 miles. I can't believe it.

Mother's Day Weekend

I was originally trying to make it to Harpers Ferry, WV which is the AT's unofficial halfway point to meet Mom, Pop, and Sofia for Mother's Day weekend. After a couple of high mile days my feet were really starting to hurt and I couldn't hike as long as I thought I would. They picked me up about 40 miles from Harpers Ferry at a hostel. We stayed at a Homewood Suites in Falls Church, VA. I had a very nice and relaxing weekend. I got some new gear at REI and we drove through Washington DC to see the monuments. I was very happy to see the family, I missed them a lot. I'm hitting the trail today and passing the 1,000 mile mark tomorrow. Mom, Pop, and Sofia are going back to Roswell but my journey to Maine continues.

Pops got me a Kindle... Awesome!

It's been a long time...

My last post came from right outside of Pearisburg, VA at mile marker 630. Since then I have traveled almost 300 miles. The trail has been awesome and I have not gotten sick of the 500 miles that lie within the state of Virginia; it's been the best state thus far. I have made a lot of new friends and had tons of fun. I've gone through Pearisburg, Daleville, Big Island, and Waynesboro VA. It was sad to say goodbye to Nate, Ben, Coffee Pot, and Tarzan after Pearisburg. They all stayed back because they had minor injuries and were taking breaks. Shortly after that Dirty Mike and Matt went ahead of me and Ross because I had a headache and did some lower miles and they pushed on to meet a friend. For the past couple hundred miles it's been Ross and me hiking together. We have also made new friends like an older group of guys named Mott and Punkin Pie ( he spells his trail name Punkin not Pumpkin ). We also traveled with Gummi Bear and Roswell for awhile. In Waynesboro I met up with Wito and Wita from Miami and they stayed a night with me. It was great to see them, wish I could have hung out with them longer. In Waynesboro, Ross and I decided to Aqua Blaze, doing a section of the trail on a canoe down the Shenandoah River. We were excited to do it but after a night of rain and all of our gear getting soaked from rapids that were a little too intense for a big canoe we got off after 2 and a half days on the river to Elkton, VA where I am now. I'm trying to make it to Harpers Ferry, WV by Friday the 10th to meet with Mom, Pop, and Sofia. I'm super pumped to see them. It's been a long time. My trail name is now Patches because my beard is coming in and it's not much of a beard at all but I'm not shaving and I'm excited to see what it becomes.

April 18th - Day 48

We woke up feeling refreshed but sore. We had another fantastic breakfast but there was a lot more people there this morning so the portions were a little smaller, still good though. The gang was pretty sore also doing two 20+ plus days in a row. They wanted to do a short 10 into Pearisburgh, Virginia. Even though I took the day off yesterday I still did 45 miles in 24 hours. I could use a short day. We started late, hiked the 10 in before 3:00 and hit up a Chinese buffet.

April 17th - Day 47

The coolest thing about Woods Hole Hostel is that it's also a farm. All the meals they prepare are made from ingredients they grow on their farm. The breakfasts were famously delicious. Even though we rolled into bed at about 5 in the morning, we woke up in time for 8:00 am breakfast. I grabbed a cup of coffee and helped set the table. They served stuffed French toast casserole. It was so good! They also prepared bacon that came from their own pig. That was the best bacon I've ever had. After breakfast we all went right back to sleep for a few hours. I chose the hammock, napped for a little woke up and ten read some. It was a very relaxing day. After hiking 45 miles we needed it. Eventually all our friends came in and were pretty impressed we actually made it. Dinner was fantastic... pasta and pizza all homemade. I retired pretty early to catch up on sleep.

April 16th - Day 46

The original plan for today was to hike 24 miles to Jenny Knob Shelter. After hiking for about an hour, 4 miles, we ran into Fresh Ground!!! This guy has been giving out Trail Magic from the beginning of our journey on the AT. He's cooked me hotdogs and gave me soup 4 times before today. He is a real Trail Angel! Fresh Ground really out did himself this time because he made us bacon, eggs, and pancakes. We hung out and ate until about noon and we still had about 19 miles to go. We said our thank you's and goodbyes to Fresh Ground and we were off. We all hiked together for about 9.2 miles and took a break. The next shelter that we were staying at was just under 10 miles away. The terrain was super easy all day so we got to the shelter pretty early, around 6:30. I was still feeling really good so I wanted to keep going. I  also wanted to push on because we were going to stay at a really cool hostel the next day and we were 21 miles away from it. I was scared I wouldn't have a spot. Tarzan, Dirty Mike, and I decided to eat dinner and start hiking again at 8:30. Before we left we all looked at each other and told ourselves we were going the full 21 that night, no matter what. We had already done a 24 mile day and it was 8:30 at night and we were planning to do another 21 miles, no excuses. The night hike went really well. There were more animals out and the weather was great. Once 2:00am hit, we all hit a wall. Ou pace slowed down quite a bit but we made it to Woods Hole Hostel at 4:43am and we got in minutes before it started pouring outside. All because of Fresh Grounds awesome breakfast.

April 15th - Day 45

Woke up to a foggy, rainy day. It was not a great day to hike. We weren't feeling it... When we got to the first shelter that was only 10 miles into our hike, we convinced each other that 10 was enough. We stopped hiking around noon and took a long nap as the rain was lightly falling on the tin roof of the shelter. It was super relaxing! After we napped a lot of people started showing up at the shelter. Tarzan and Coffee Pot caught back up with us after visiting their aunt and uncle. The crew was back together again.

April 14th - Day 44

The other group of people we shared the campsite with were up super early packing up their stuff.  They made so much noise we woke up. I take a little long packing up when I tent so I was the last one out. I turned on a podcast and just zoned out at my own pace all day. We took a break at the first shelter. This break turned into a 2 hour nap time in the middle of the day. It was too dang hot to hike. We woke up and noticed heavy clouds moving in. We pushed 9.1 miles pretty quickly to the shelter we were staying at that night. It was the best shelter ever. It had 4 walls instead of just 3... it even had a door. We were lucky because those clouds we woke up too from our nap turned out to be hard rain. It rained all night long. We stayed warm and dry, thank goodness.

April 13th - Day 43

Leaving Partnership Shelter my group took their time. We didn't hit the trail until about 10:00. The plan for the day was to hike about 11 miles to a motel that was a couple hundred yards from the trail on a road crossing so Nate and I could get our packages. There was also a good burger joint close to the road crossing. After getting my awesome package from Mom and Pop we headed over to smash a huge burger. The campsite we were going to was only 3 miles past the burger place so we took our time. After eating we set off to the campsite and after about an hour of hiking we got there only to see that it was a terrible spot. We pushed another 3 more miles and by this time it was almost dark. Finally we got to another nicer spot and noticed that there was already about 15 tents set up. There was room for all of us but we kind of had to squeeze. Tent City baby...

April 12th - Day 42

The rain continued lightly the next morning. It wasn't cold so I didn't wear my rain jacket and knew I would be able to dry my shirt when I got to the shelter. We hiked a very fast 10 miles. The terrain in Virginia is noticeably easier making our pace much faster. We got to the shelter at around noon and this is a very nice shelter that is located on the grounds of the visitor center for a national park near by. The shelter is about 300 yards from the street in to Marion, Virginia. After setting up our clothes to dry we tried our hand at hitch hiking and got picked up after a while. We got lunch in town and resupplied. We got a ride back to the shelter and saw that the shelter had about 25 people either in it or camping around it. It was packed but we knew everyone and it was a good time. A pizza place delivers to that shelter so I shared a large with Tarzan. It was a great time!

April 11th - Day 41

From Wise shelter the plan was to go 20 miles to Trumpi shelter. We heard it was supposed to rain that night so it was a dash to the shelter to try and get spots. We took a break 9 miles out and hiked in a big line for about 6 miles. As the group broke up I noticed I got in front of the group by a little. After about an hour of hiking by myself I made it to the shelter and happened to get the last spot. Doing 20 miles we came up on a lot of section hikers that did less miles. Everyone else tented and the rain fell hard. Some tents leaked and they got a little wet but we were only going 10 miles the next day to a really nice shelter called Partnership Shelter. I was happy I lucked out and got a spot in the shelter.

April 10th - Day 40

Today I walked 18 miles from Lost Mountain Shelter to Wise Shelter which is at mile marker 500. Sleeping at the 500 mark was very satisfying. I'm very proud of myself... I've gone this far and I can't wait to speed up my pace and make it to Maine soon.

Wise Shelter, Grayson VA. Made it 500 miles. Wow!!

April 9th - Day 39

We woke up in Damascus, VA and planned for a late start since we were having breakfast in town before we hiked out. We had breakfast with a lot of friends who were staying another night in Damascus and my group that was rollin' out after breakfast. We started at around 11:00 and set off to Lost Mountain Shelter, 16 miles from Damascus. The weather is officially great and the heat of spring has come out, for now I'm enjoying it. We stayed at the shelter and I was happy to hike with Dirty Mike, Matt, Ross, Ben, Nate, and two newer friends Tarzan and Coffee Pot. They are brother and sister from New Jersey.

April 8th - Day 38

Woke up comfortably, started resupplying food and gathering all the goodies Mom and Pop sent me. There's always so many tasty things that my food bag ends up weighing a ton... worth it though. We had the continental breakfast at the hotel and went back up to the room  so I could finish packing. When I was all done I got Wito and Wita to drive me to a pizza place down the street where I knew Ross, Matt, Michael and Tosh were. I had a little pizza and went with them while they resupplied at the grocery store next door. We went back to a hostel where a bunch of our buddies were staying and they told us they were going swimming. We took a bike trail to a swimming hole. The water was incredibly cold but it was very hot outside so it felt good. We had a group of about 12 people all just hanging out. I did my laundry, ate dinner and was in bed early.

April 7th - Day 37

The 10 mile hike to the Virginia border went by so fast. After that we only had 6 miles to Damascus and the trail went directly though the middle of town. I knew the grandparents from home were coming to spend the night with me and I was super excited to see them. The hype for Damascus was incredible, so I had big expectations. We rolled in around one and it was a very small town. We hit the Blue Blaze Cafe to eat a Philly Cheese Steak and I waited for Wito and Wita to show up. I went to the hotel room early to take a shower and a nap. They came in and woke me up. I miss the family so it was very nice to see them. We had a great dinner at Crackle Barrel and I called it an early night. I was excited to take a zero the next day.

April 6th - Day 36

Being 2 days from Virginia was super exciting we only had to do a 14 mile day and a 15.9 mile day and we're in Damascus, Virginia. Woke up early and hit the trail. It was a great day! The terrain was pretty easy and we got to the shelter around 3:00. I tented because the shelter was full but we're all happy with the weather so I was pumped to do it. It was a cool night with a nice breeze that kept me comfortable. We built a huge fire and stayed up pretty late. We all know each other and we're starting to become good friends. It seems like every night you know everyone that was at the shelter with you. It wasn't the same people every night but we have all met and the warmer weather allows us to be more social. I'm having tons of fun!

April 5th - Day 35

Woke up in the hostel, in a comfortable bed and was pretty reluctant to wake up early. I decided to wait until there was plenty of other people awake making noise to get out of bed. We all took our time packing up and making breakfast. By the time we were ready it was almost noon. We did the tough climb for the day and stopped at Watuga shelter after 11 miles of hiking. It was a short day but it was a fantastic shelter and still had 2 days to get to Damascus so we weren't worried. It was sunny and in the 70s. I think spring is starting to come!!

April 4th - Day 34

We decided it was best to take a chill 15 mile day and hike to cheap hostel because we heard it was going to rain and it would give us the opportunity to dry our gear. After hiking for about 10 minutes, it started to rain. It wasn't that bad because it was light rain. As the rain picked up I noticed the temperature was going down. After about 6 miles or so it was 29 degrees with steady rain and all the trees around me were freezing over. I didn't notice for a while but after touching my hair I noticed that it the water was freezing in my hair. I had frozen drops coming from the luscious bangs. It was quite uncomfortable! Ae all hiked as fast as we could to get to the warm hostel. We got there around 3:00 and it was the coolest hostel I've stayed at so far. It's run by an awesome older man named Bob People's who loves to hike and was full of stories he liked to share with the younger hikers. The hostel had all the amenities most hostels have for a 5 dollar donation. All I wanted was a shower and laundry. Luckily it had both. We stayed for the night and had a great time with the other hikers we hadn't seen in long time.

April 3rd - Day 33

After waking up at Overmountain Shelter Ross, Ben, Coffee Pot, Tarzan, Smuggles and I left around 10:30 (another late start) to Mountaineering Shelter. It was an 18 mile day but we knew there was a lot of people in front of us that were heading to same place. The shelter slept 15 so we thought we would have space. Today's hike was very enjoyable. The weather was good; there was no snow; and we passed an awesome river that went along the trail for a few miles. The beginning of the hike was up some very scenic balds that were famous in North Carolina. You could see for mile. The day was calm and warm. For the past 100 miles or so we have been going across the Tennessee and North Carolina border spending a little time in both states everyday. However, today we left North Carolina for good. It felt great because it was another state we were done with and only had about 80 miles until the Virginia border. Right before the shelter we passed the 400 mile mark. I have walked over 400 miles in just over my first month. Thats a pretty good start. We got to the shelter relatively late and I was the only one to get a spot for the night. I slept on a 3rd story loft that fit 3 comfortably. It was a really well built shelter.

April 2nd - Day 32

While I was in Erwin, Tennessee I got a text from Michael telling us one of his buddy's father from home, Mr. Smith who helps maintain the AT, was going to hike in charcoal and burgers to an awesome shelter called Overmountain Shelter. Mr. Smith had already given us the best road side trail magic a couple days ago that included Mountain Dew, Snickers and other candy, and a cooler full of WHOPPERS. He showed up today with hamburgers right before a big climb and I was so happy, by far best trail magic I've received. It would be a 23.9 mile day to Overmountain but the hamburgers and the fact we heard it was a really cool shelter would keep me motivated. It was also the one month anniversary I have been hiking so I thought it was appropriate to have a big hiking day as a celebration. The day went by pretty slow. We had to do a long climb towards the end of the day that would take us over 6000 feet elevation, which meant that the snow and ice we thought was over was still very present. It was a long day, about 11 hours of hiking. I got to the shelter around 8:00 and there was a burger saved for me so I was excited for that. Overmountain Shelter is an old barn converted to an enormous shelter that could sleep around 50 (if we tried) but there were only about 30 people sleeping in there that night. It was the longest day I've done so far but it was well worth it. We were back in the big group that we had been in before and the shelter was very cool.

took this pic in celebration of one month on the AT

still haven't seen a bear

Overmountain Shelter, Tennessee

inside of Overmountain Shelter

another one of the inside, very cool

April 1st - Day 31

Ross, Ben, and I were planning on leaving relatively early to head for Cherry Gap Shelter from the hostel we stayed at the night before in Erwin, Tennessee. Leaving towns early has proven to be a difficult task because we always leave things for the last minute and it seems like I have a thousand things to do before I go. We left at almost 11:00 which was no where near the early departure we were hoping for but we were going to do a 17.5 mile day so we knew we would at least make it by dark. We are close to Damascus, Virginia and we want to get there as soon as possible. We are doing higher mileage days to get there in about a week or so. The day went by well. I am starting to feel like I'm getting in better shape and we had great weather.

crazy to think I slept in there, Cherry Gap Shelter TN

March 30th and March 31st - Day 29 and 30

Woke up on the later side because we knew it was only going to be a 6 mile day to Uncle Johnny's where we were going to meet back up with Super Fast Nate who did a night hike with his dad, Michael, and Matt. Michael and Matt pushed through Erwin, Tennessee where they were meeting a friend to take them to church on Easter Sunday. The hike was mostly down hill and was very scenic. It took about two hours and we were at Uncle Johnny's by noon. We obviously were pumped about a pizza buffet we heard was in town but once we got our bunks we found out the shuttle didn't leave until 3:00. That was a huge problem due to our hiker hunger. But... we found out the hostel rented these sweet blue bikes for 2 dollars a day. We all grabbed a bike and rolled out to the pizza joint where we smashed like 8 or 9 pizzas between all of us. The hostel wasn't extremely accommodating. It didn't have a kitchen or tv but we still decided to take Easter Sunday off and spend the next day in Erwin, Tennessee. Doesn't sound too exciting but it was a well needed break after all the gnarly snow we had gotten the days before. And Monday we were off to hiking again.

sweet ride!

Ross is ready to hit the town

March 29th - Day 28

We woke up at Bald Mountain Shelter. The group was Ross, Tosh, G, and I. G told us that her foot was very swollen and asked if instead of doing 15.9 miles in to Erwin, Tennessee, we could do a 10 mile day to No Business Knob Shelter with her so she could be with people she knows and then do a 6 mile day to Erwin the next day. We all agreed to hang with G. The day went by quick and the snow was starting to melt, thank God. I was starting to get super sick of the snow and at least today the sun was shining but it was still cold. We got to the shelter early and were the first ones there. We picked our spots and others came filing in as the afternoon progressed. The night was no where near as cold because we were at a lower elevation and the wind was calm.

March 28th - Day 27

Most of us had to get something at REI and they opened at 10:00 so we knew it was going to be a late start. We woke up at 8:00 am had a great breakfast at Michael's aunt's house and packed up all our stuff. We took pretty long at REI returning things and buying new gear. We ate lunch at a place similar to Moe's and finally made it to the trail at around 3:00 pm. We were only hiking 8 miles. The snow was starting to melt and the sun was out so the hike was pretty sweet. We got to Bald Mountain Shelter at around 6:30 pm, made dinner, and got in our sleeping bags. I think it's going to be real cold tonight (for a change:) Tomorrow we should be in Erwin, Tennessee where I might take a zero because everyone else is, not sure yet. We passed the 300 mile mark yesterday, only about 100 miles from Virginia so that's pretty exciting.

bald in NC

cool bald

March 27th - Day 26

Slept great in my tent. It me took a little longer to get ready... I started hiking at around 9:45 am. It has been snowing steadily now for 2 days and the snow was thick. Michael, Ross, Matt, Tosh, and I pushed 17.5 miles today, but it was a super rough day. We were hiking to Sam's Gap where there is a parking lot off of I-26 road so Michael's aunt could pick us up and take us to her house in Asheville to spend the night. The day went by incredibly slow due to the amount of snow on the mountain. There was over 3 feet of snow on the mountain tops that made hiking mad hard. You couldn't see the trail whatsoever. You just had to use the footprints of those before you. I finally showed up to Sam's Gap at around 6:50 pm and we all got a ride in to town. The rough day was quickly relieved by a hot shower, hot tub, and a super comfortable queen size bed I could spread out on. Michaels aunt and uncle were really nice hosts. His uncle cooked us a great dinner and I got to watch the Miami Heat game. It was a fantastic night after one of my toughest days so far.

this is what we were walking through

Tosh knee deep in snow. We were all exhausted!

this view makes it all worth it

8 miles to go... bumped into this Trail Magic. Wow! Burger King and Mountain Dew

done with North Carolina

March 26th - Day 25

I woke up in a very crammed shelter but stayed warm and slept comfortably. Nate guessed last night that we would have 10 inches of snow and I think he was right. It had snowed all night and in to the morning. We've seen snow like this so I wasn't very worried. The sun didn't look like it was going to come out today and the snow looked like it was going to fall for a while. We decided to hike a 15.4 miles. In good weather that would be a problem but the snow cover did make it a little harder. We are in a bubble of people all going at the same pace and staying at the same shelters so I knew the shelter was going to be full or close to it when I got there. I showed up a little before 6:00 pm and the shelter was indeed full. This meant I had to tent. It was going to be a very cold night so Tosh and I decided to sleep in my 2 person tent. Tosh's tent got all wet the night before and it would be warmer if he was in my tent. I didn't want to get snowed on so I pitched my tent half in the shelter so the door of my tent would be under the roof. We got more steady snow but I stayed very warm.

Check out the snow

March 25th - Day 24

I knew I was going to have a late start because I still needed to resupply with the things Mom brought me and I hadn't done it the day before. I woke up and had mom pick me up to get my stuff together. We had breakfast and went to the hotel where I took way to long figuring out what I wanted. After saying bye to Mom and the grandparents I was off to a very late start (around 1:00 PM). It was only an 11 mile day so I wasn't worried. All morning it was snowing a little in Hot Springs which meant it was going to get worst as I went up in the mountains. It snowed on me all day and it really picked up as I was about 2 miles from the shelter. I got in at around 5:00 PM. I thought for sure I was going to have to tent in the snow but they made room for me in the shelter. We currently have 7 people in a 5 person shelter so we are very cozy (if that's what you want to call it).

March 24th - Day 23

We woke up and it was raining so we stayed in our sleeping bags to wait for break in the rain to start hiking. We made it to Hot Springs in about an hour and ate at this awesome diner. After eating I met up with Mom and the Witos. I chilled with them for a while in their hotel room and got a spot at the Laughing Heart Hostel. I got my new trekking poles and they are super awesome, can't wait to use them! It was a really relaxing day and I was very happy to spend it with my friends and family. I had 3 great meals and shopped for some stuff at the outfitter in town. At 6:00 PM a group of us went to the hot springs which was basically a hot tub with mineral water instead of chlorine. It was quite relaxing except the water wasn't even that hot. It was disappointing in a way... "Come on Hot Springs, North Carolina, you had one job". After that I had dinner with Michael, Matt, G, Ross, and of course Mom, Wito and Wita. It was delicious! I had a great time in Hot Springs.

March 23rd - Day 22

Today was the day we were going to push 23.6 miles to Deer Park Shelter, this was my first 20+ day and I was pumped to get this under my belt. The day went by quickly and the terrain was a lot of steep climbs but it wasn't bad. I reached a sign that said the shelter was 3.3 miles away at 5:22 PM and I really wanted to push myself to see if I could make it there in an hour. This would be a tough pace normally and after already hiking 20 miles it made it a little harder of a feat but I wanted to see if I had my trail legs. I was eyeing my watch closely and really hustling. When it read 6:19 I saw the shelter but it was still pretty far away down hill. I started running. I really wanted to make it. I got to the shelter said hi to G and Nate and checked the watch. It was 6:22 exactly. I was super proud of myself for knocking out a 23 mile day and ending it off hustling real hard to make it before the hour had past. I went to bed knowing I was going to eat town food for breakfast the next morning being only 3 miles from Hot Springs.

March 22nd - Day 21

We started the day planning a 20 something mile hike but after leaving the Smokies and running into Fresh Ground about 5 miles in with a tarp set up making soup, coffee, hotdogs, and many other snacks we had to stop and eat up. Fresh Ground is an awesome guy that loves to give out Trail Magic to the thru hikers and our group has seen him 3 times now. He's the man! We took about an hour or so break there and I still hadn't gone by Standing Bear Hostel where my package was. The 20 mile day didnt seem too promising. We said our thank you's and byes to Fresh Ground and hiked another 3 miles to the hostel where my package was. They sold beer at the hostel so we took another hour to hour and a half break there and finally decided not to do the 20 mile day and just make it to the first shelter that was 10.5 miles from where we started and do a 23.5 mile day the next day to get us right outside of Hot Springs NC by Saturday. We would have a 3 mile hike in to Hot Springs on Sunday where we could hang out and stay the night. I was meeting Mom, Wito and Wita on Sunday so I was excited for that. Somewhere about 2 miles from the shelter I tripped over one of my trekking poles and went down. It wasn't hard and I didnt get hurt but I did bend the heck out of one of my poles. We got to Groundhog Creek Shelter relatively early and it was the first one we would stay at since we got out of the Smokies. It was tiny and we barely fit 7 people in it. We made a big bonfire and hung out until late, about 11:00 PM. It was super late for us so I went to bed quickly.

March 21st - Day 20

I woke up in the morning to check my watch to see the temperature (like I do every morning). The watch read 10 degrees. 10 degrees in the shelter! Dang it must be really cold outside. The shelter was usually a bit warmer due to the tarps set up on the open wall so wind won't come in and the body heat. I looked outside for the first time only to see thick fresh powdery snow, at least 6 inches. I packed my things and started hiking. About 15 minutes in I checked my watch for the temperature again and it read 2 degrees!! That's nuts... it was so cold and I didn't even really notice because I was constantly moving. It was a beautiful day. The snow was super thick and the sky was so blue, not a cloud in sight. It was cold but it was a very enjoyable day. I took many photos. We were starting to head out of the Smokies so as we went down in elevation the temperature started to rise above freezing and the snow was becoming thinner and more slushy. It was basically a 4 mile decent to Davenport Shelter which was about a mile from the end of the Smokies. It was our last night sleeping in one of the plush 12 person shelters with a fireplace. We had our full group of about 6 or 7 people and a group of spring breakers that loved to hear our stories of being on the trail for the last month or so. It wasn't a super cold night but we made a huge fire. The next day I was picking up a resupply box Mom and Pop sent me so that meant I got to eat all the food I could to make room in the food bag for all the goodies that were coming. I pigged out, read a little, and passed out before 9 PM like an old man.

March 20th - Day 19

Leaving a town in the morning to get back on the trail is always a little tricky. It's not easy to hitch hike to the trail head and if the motel doesn't have a hiker shuttle you have to get a taxi. We had people leaving in waves because some of the group had to get gear at the outfitter that opened at 10:00. Nickelodeon, Candyman, myself, and an older thru hiker split a cab and left around 9:30. The hike we planned was going to be a chill 15.6 mile day to Tricorner shelter. As we all slept in our warm, comfortable beds at the hotel, the weather was getting colder on the trail. The trail was covered in a hard snow that turned to ice, it was basically all ice. The cool thing about today was all morning there were helicopters flying with huge lines on them dropping cargo to places. The chopper flew over my head many times but I couldn't get a picture. As I got to the first shelter (only 6 miles in) to take a break there were some Rangers and a few Ridge Runners there telling us we had to leave in a couple minutes because the shelter was having the copter drop in some kind of package. I didn't ask what kind of package but I assume it was tools or something like that. I didn't stick around because this older volunteer was going to make me back track about .3 miles down the way I came if I wanted to watch it and I thought, screw that I'm going north. I didn't think too much about it until about 20 minutes later when I found myself hiking up along a ridge that had a cool view of the helicopter lowering these crates to the shelter. It was pretty impressive. Other than that the day was pretty normal. The weather was good and the terrain wasn't too tough. When I got to the shelter the temperature began to drop pretty quickly. As I was cozy in my sleeping bag once the sun went down I went out to pee before bed and saw it was snowing pretty hard, and sticking. I thought oh great tomorrow's going to be fun!

March 17th to March 19th - Day 16 to Day 18

March 19th -
As a group we decided a few days back that we wanted to hike to Clingman's Dome super early and watch the sunrise because a few of us watched the movie Trek about the AT. It had been raining the night before but we went for it anyways. We set an alarm for 5AM and we hit the trail a little before 6 AM. It was pitch black so we all had our head lamps on. The ground was very wet and quite slippery and my pace was a little slower. The hike was about 3 miles but it was a tough climb to the tower above the summit. We got there in time and the clouds did part. The wind was ridiculous and my watch read 11 degrees not accounting for the crazy wind. After a few pictures we got off pretty quick and hiked on to Gatlinburg, TN where some people were going to resupply. We also heard rumors of the temperature dropping in the single digits and it fueled us to want to get a motel room. Gatlinburg was going to be a short hike of only 6 more miles and it was before 9AM. The hike after Clingman's Dome was the scenery I was expecting from the Smokies, very thick evergreen forest with mad green moss covering every part of the woods for as far as you can see. The entire day was extremely picturesque, but my phone was dead so there were no pictures actually taken. I know, bummer! We got to Gatlinburg where I have been many times before with Wito and Wita. It wasn't really what I remember but it was a pleasant surprise. We got two cheap motel rooms and stuffed four people in each room for a fair price. As soon as that was done we went straight for the only "All you can eat" restaurant in town, Shoneys. We rolled in there 8 deep, all super hungry, you can definitely say they lost some money on us. We walked around the various shops the town had to offer then went back to the hotel to retire for the night, in a bed. How nice! It was an awesome day.

Sunrise at Clingman's Dome

March 18th -
The second day of the Smokies was much the same as the first, not as impressive as I was expecting. The day was going by pretty normally except we all knew it was going to rain sometime that day, no one knew when. It was one of my absolute roughest days and I'll tell y'all why, it was the end of the day and I was very close to the shelter with no rain yet. Then I hit a sign that had the name of another trail that joined with the AT. I was jamming tunes on my iPod and quickly read that I was 0.4 miles away from the shelter we were going to stay at; I was pumped to end the day and eat some food. Sometimes the shelters are off the trail a little on a side trail that gets you right to it. I thought this was one of those side trails and the shelter was 0.4 miles down the way. I was super mistaken. I went down a random trail that joined up with the AT and went off track 1.8 miles. I just thought it was a super long 0.4 miles. I hit another sign that said the AT was 1.8 miles in the direction I just came from and I was pissed. This meant I would have to turn around and do a total 3.6 mile detour at the end of the day with no water left... I was super pissed. It still hadn't rained until I took about 4 steps to head back to the AT and it started pouring. It rained so hard and it did not even think about stopping. It did stop raining though, the rain very abruptly turned to hail, large hail I was soaked and mega pissed. No water and very hungry and still more than 2 miles away from food and warmth. I would have been there if I wasn't an idiot. It took a while but I finally made it and my buddies got a good kick out of it but did say they started to worry for a bit when the girl behind me got there before me and didn't pass me. They thought it was pretty funny and one dude now calls me Left Turn Clyde. I deserve it. I will forever be cautious of all the signs. It was a miserable day.


March 17th - the beginning of the "Smokies"
After a zero at the Fontana Hilton I left with a somewhat new but familiar group, Matt, Michael, and Gummy moved on the day before so it was just Ross, Nate, G, Ben, Z, and I (yes we have a G and a Z in our group). We planned a 16.7 mile day to Spence Field Shelter, the distance wouldn't be a problem but the first climb going in to the Smokies was a tough 8.2 miles up to elevation. I was surprised how fast the day went by, the hike was very pleasant but the scenery was just the same as GA and the rest of NC. Once in the Smokies I thought it was a different game. I was mildly disappointed. The shelters in the Smokies were awesome, most likely due to the fee they charge hikers to walk through their park, very worth it though. They all sleep 12. I'm pretty sure we could fit 16 in some of them and have a dang stone fire place for the super cold nights. We all made it to the shelter before 5pm and the weather was great.

March 16th - Day 15

Today I took a zero at the Fontana Hilton. I woke up feeling pretty sick and didn't get any sleep last night so I decided to hang out at the shelter because it is free to stay the night and I had good company. We had a Trail Angel that hung out with us all weekend offering rides to town and giving us awesome food. Ross, Nickelodean, Super Fast Nate, and I got a ride to Robbinsville for a small resupply and Wendy's for lunch. All in all it was a very chill day with cool people. We will hit the Smokies tomorrow for sure.

On our way back from Robbinsville, NC. Ross and Fast Nate enjoying some fries. Wendy's hit the spot!

March 14th and 15th - Days 13 and 14

My hair is getting a bit unruly

Woke up after a nice hostel stay at the Nantahala Outdoor Center (NOC), always have to take advantage of a bed when it's available. I was excited to use the new watch all the grandparents gave me for the trail. We decided to push hard to make it to Fontana Dam, NC in 2 days which would consist of a 16 mile day and an 11 mile day. It didn't sound that bad. We were sad to hear that one of our group members we were with for a few nights was taking a zero and waiting for a friends. We said bye to G and went on. The first day was tough because we had a late start and we didn't get to the shelter until about 5:30. I was absolutely exhausted! The second day went by much faster and we got to Fontana Dam before 2:00. The shelter at Fontana Dam is super nice! They call it the "Fontana Hilton" because it sleeps 24 and is right on the lake.  Tomorrow we start the Smokies and are planning a 17 mile day. The terrain is very difficult but I want to push through it and see if my body can handle the miles. We found out that we are loosing another 2 people from the group today. Ross is taking a zero to let blisters heal and Tosh has to go home because of family problems. Ross is fast and will catch up with us soon but Tosh is going to be off for a couple of weeks and hopes to meet up with us in Virginia. The group is down to 4 but we're all still motivated to make it to Katahdin.

Driving to pick up the package that Mama sent me. Some random guy that picked us up while hitch hiking gave Ross the keys to his car so we could drive to Fontana Lodge to get my box. Nice guy but kind of sketch.

Resupply box from Mama and Pop. I'm sure it's full of real good stuff    

the "Fontana Hilton" at first day light