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.