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!