Hut to Hut in the beautiful Whites

So I am currently updating this blog from Gorham, NH which is the last major town in New Hampshire as well as the northern border of the White Mountian National Forest. The whites (as they're called) are known as the hardest section of the trail; many say that north bounders still have half the work of the trail to do even though there are only a few hundred miles left. So needless to say I am very glad to have them behind me. That being said, the whites were far and above the most beautiful section of trail. Every hard climb is rewarded with gorgeous mountains that look like they could be the back drop for a movie. I keep feeling like Frodo or Bilbo on an epic journey as I hike these mountains. New Hampshire quickly rocketed to first place as my favorite state on the trail, and I cannot help but feel like a huge chunk of my hike has passed me by. At the same time, being in Gorham (the last town in NH) means I am only 17 mile from Maine....the last border crossing. All through the trip when wide eyed day-hikers have asked me how far I am going, my answer has been "to Maine". Now I'm there. Less then 300 miles to go. Over and over again I have heard people say New Hampshire and Maine were their favorite states so my expectations are high. 

By far my favorite day on the trail is now the day we walked Franconia Ridge. The day started with one of our steepest and longest climbs yet. Two and a half miles and nearly 3000 ft gain in elevation. When I reached the top the ridge stretched out to the north punctuated by several peaks, all above tree line. The day was perfect, a little too warm in the valley, but nice and cool on the mountain tops, and barely a cloud in the sky. I posted a picture of Easy Rider walking in front of me on my Instagram if you want an idea of what it looked like. That night we stopped at Galehead Hut and do "work for stay" for a warm place to sleep and hot meal. 

The AT in the White Mountains are maintained by the Appalachian Mountain Club (AMC), one of the oldest hiking organizations in the country. Throughout the whites the AMC maintains the "High Huts" or just huts. Each hut is kind of like a full service hotel for hikers; they offer bunks, meals and bathrooms for those willing to pay the steep price and get on the reservation list. These huts are truely in the wilderness; there are no roads to them. They were initially built via helicopter and are now completely resupplied by the staff (called the croo) bringing everything in on their backs. Several times a week croo members make the climb, up several miles and thousands of feet in elevation to provide a meal for the guests. These also means that all the food has to be eaten and there can be no trash because otherwise the croo would have to carry it back down as well. All the huts have limited electricity from both solar and wind, and running water from wells dug deep into the mountains. The huts, especially the two way above treeline in the presidential range (Lake of the Clouds and Madison Spring Hut) also provide important emergency shelters for when the weather turns bad on the mountains. The presidential range, including the famous Mt. Washington, is renowned for its bad weather. A simple storm in the valley can be extremely dangerous on the Presidential Range. There are no trees for more then 20 miles on the presidents; this brings the two problems of extreme wind (Mt. Washington has the record for the highest surface wind speed observed by man) and no place to camp. The AMC huts also provide a service for thru hikers called "work for stay" basically the deal is a small group of thru hikers, usually 2-4, are allowed to sleep on the floor in the dining room and eat dinner with the croo. In exchange the croo has the hikers do some chores around the hut. Most huts will only except work for stay hikers between 4 and 7 o'clock, so there is often an interesting game played among hikers of timing the huts just right. Since everything that isn't eaten has to be packed out, there are often left overs available to thru hikers as well.

During my trek through the whites I went to all of the huts expect for one. In order from South to North, the huts are: Lonsome Lake, Green-Leaf, Galehead, Zealand Falls, Mitzpah, Lake of the Clouds, Madison Spring, and Carter Notch. I got pancakes at Lonsome Lake, Zealand Falls and Madison Spring. I missed Green-Leaf hut because it was a mile downhill off the AT, and just got water at Mitzpah. Galehead was just after Franconia Ridge and in exchange for doing TONs of dishes we slept on the benches in the dining room. I got to Carter notch late after a long 20 mile day (this used to be a normal day but in the rugged terrain of the whites it was on the hardest days yet) but was able to sweep up the dining room and sleep on the benches again. The day I started into the Presidential Range there was a storm with " damaging winds, large hail and frequent lightning" predicted for the area. Luckily when we got the Lake of the Clouds hut around 3:30 (typically too early for work for stay), they knew of the bad weather and didn't turn us away. I strung up my hammock in the dining room in exchange for doing a question and answer session with the other guests of the hut. Between the huts and some awesome trail magic from Mama and Papa Chef (Iron Chef's parents) in the form of a ride to town and BBQ, Ice Cream and Breakfast (thanks again guys), we only had to camp in the cold mountains a few times.

We've also been seeing more and more South-Bound through hikers. One night at a shelter just into the whites, there were more then 10 of them there. We told them about the 1800 miles ahead of them and they terrified us with stories of the whites ahead of us. Having since gone through those whites it has made me reflect of the different types of challenges of the trail. Here in the whites the challenge is physical; there are steep uphills and dangerous slippery downhills. But everything is also rewarded with beautiful vista, huge expanses of pine and birch forests and crystal clear water. Back in the Mid Atlantic States the challenge was much more mental. The terrain was relatively easy but that just meant doing more miles and spending more time walking. The forests in the Mid-Atlantic states are lovely but they don't have the same views or feeling of expanse as in New Hampshire or Vermont. It's kind of like having a job that you love and working really hard at it compared to a job that isn't that hard and is really kind of boring. 

I am only 298 miles from the peak of Mt. Katahdin and I feel like I can almost see the finish line. While I love being in these beautiful mountains, I am getting weary. I often dread having to wake up in the morning and hike again. Its not that I am starting to hate hiking, but I am ready to be done already. I may make another post before the end but more likely I will just do one at home to wrap things up. Tomorrow I will finally be in Maine!!!!!

Don't Worry I'm not dead...just all the way in vermont.

Hey everybody! If anyone still reads this.... the good news is I'm not dead, and I haven't quit the trail; I just haven't updated this in a really long time. My last update I believe I was in West Virginia, well now I am halfway through Vermont and a TON has happened. I have a few good excuses: Battery power for my phone is like gold on the trail, listening to music/podcasts are sometimes necessary to get those last few miles in and I always need to keep some in case of emergency.  Blogging on my phone is battery intensive which means I really only want to do it when I am in town and have access to an outlet. When I'm in town though there's a million and 1 things to do to make sure I have everything ready for the trail again; laundry needs to be done, showers need to be had, dinner of course, and then an early(ish) bed time. The hard truth of the matter though is that while I like updating all my friends and family to my adventure, blogging really feels like a chore to me. So for the most part I think I will be done blogging. There may be one or two more posts but I am also really getting down to crunch time and consequently there may not be many (or any) more zero days. However, as a consolation prize I have started an instagram account for posting AT pictures. I know the pictures are alot of peoples favorite part and it will be easier for me to post these from my phone with little detriment to my battery. So if you like you can follow me (or whatever the instagram vernacular is) at rocky_at_2014.  By the way, it was brought to my attention recently that I haven't mention my trail name yet: Rocky, because Pennsylvania is infamous on the trail as being the Rockiest section. Also if you would like some writing, Sparky has been hiking with me for all but a few days on the trail and most of our experiences coincide, you can find here blog Here on the appalachian trials website.Sparky writes for an actual website so its much better writing, hope you enjoy it!

Right now on the trail I am at Killington Vermont, mile 1697, meaning I have less then 500 miles to go. Actually though we are taking a zero-day at our friend Spark's parents house in Burlington VT, have been picked up from the awesome Inn at the Long Trail in Killington yesterday afternoon. Since my last post I have passed through 6 different states: Maryland, Pennsylvania(HOME!), New Jersey, New York, Connecticut and Massachusetts. There are only 50 miles left in Vermont and then two more states, the challenging but beautiful New Hampshire and Maine.

Ever since leaving Virginia the trail has felt less and less wild. The long ridges of Pennsylvania have very few views making you think your deep in the woods, but when it opens up there are clear views of farms and towns. Not that this isn't very picturesque, but it is definitely a different feel from the endless mountains of the south. Pennsylvania also has loads of towns right near the trail. This combined with the fact that we had some awesome slackpacking trail magic from Iron Chef's dad (Papa Chef), led to a little too much fun in this state. Slackpacking is when you either leave your pack at a location and get driven back there after hiking all day, or have your pack driven to where to hike to at the end of the day. Papa chef slackpacked us for two days(which was AWESOME), and we also spent two days visiting my family. In addition we were able to stop in towns and stay at hostels or hotels many times (often lured in a by a few drinks and the bar, and kept there by a few more drinks at the bar). One particular town of note was Palmerton. The town is only a mile or so from the trail and gets quite a few hikers every year. To accommodate them the old jail house is set up as a bunkroom with showers for hikers to stay in.

The next state New Jersey was really an unexpected treat. While the foot crushing rocks of PA didn't completely stop, they definitely weren't as bad, and the terrain remained relatively easy and there were some surprisingly beautiful views.  The trail also passes through some great state parks with lakes for swimming. These things combined made New Jersey one of my favorite states on the trail so far.

New York. I hated New York, or the first half of it anyway. The terrain gets suddenly extremely difficult but instead of long challenging mountains leading to great views, there are steep ups and down over and over again. On top of that the bugs suddenly went out of control. Ironically one of the best parts of New York was our excursion into the Big Apple. Two of our trail friends Ferris, and Easy Rider, had a common birthday. Since Ferris had lived in NYC during college we decided to hop on a train and head into the city to celebrate. The last few days in New York weren't nearly as challenging. In addition little deli's stocked with Boars Head lunch meat sandwich started popping up everywhere which led to what a lot of thru hikers affectionately called deli-blazing or food blazing.

After New York we finally entered the New England states. Connecticut was really short, I think I only spent two or three days there and not much was different from the last part of New York. We had heard a few horror stories of people from CT being not to friendly to hikes. However, I am happy to say that was not my experience at all. I stopped in two towns, Kent and Falls Village. In Kent I was greeted immediately by a local store owner who let hikers camp in his back yard and take a shower (really just a hose behind currents but to hikers this is glorious). At this time I was separated from my trail friends but was able to find a few hikers at the local sports bar in time to see the entire America v. Belgium world cup game. The days in CT were also terribly hot, temperatures reached the upper 90's and the humidity was near 100%. In the middle of the day I was often so sweaty that I couldn't use my phone; the screen was wet with sweat and there was not a single dry spot on my clothing to dry it off on. The day I went into Falls Village a terrible storm came through with possible tornadoes. I practically ran down the mountain so I wouldn't have to struggle with downhill wet rocks (some of the hardest terrain). I got down just before the rain and waited out the initial under a bridge and munched on junk food from my bag...one of several times I have felt like a hobo on this trip. After the rain I crawled out and started the 1.5 mile road walk into town (the is often on roads for a little while especially when crossing rivers). On the walk a state trooper pulled me over and offered me a ride into town, mentioning that the storm was about to get really bad. He dropped me off a another local business, Toymakers Cafe, who lets hikers hang out and camp in his back yard. When I got there several other hikers were already on the porch waiting out the storm(the cafe was closed). As the storm worsened the shop owner who lives upstairs came down and unlocked the store so we could wait it out inside. We ordered a pizza and when the storm passed set up camp out back. That night two of my good friends from home Dan Coll and Dan Luczka met me at the cafe (actually they got there so late due to traffic that they just slept in the van and I didn't see them until morning.)

Dan and Dan hiked with me for the next couple of days and crossed the border with me into Massachusetts. We spent the night at a shelter on top of a mountain with the trees cleared in front for a great view of the next ridge and valley. Another huge storm rolled through and we had a great time watching the lightning and hail from the safety of the shelter which we had all to ourselves. The next day was tough to begin with, as they included what locals affectionately call the "mini whites" due to the good views and difficult terrain. On top of that we had heavy rain all day long and the trail was quite literally a stream. Some sections of the trail that included sharp rock climbs looked exactly like water falls. We also had to ford a river, the swollen water reached passed my waist at one point and was actually a little scary. That day would have been much more miserable had it not been for Dan and Dan who kept the lighthearted conversation going and cranked out pretty good mileage. Thanks Guys! I left them and did a few more miles and was able to rejoin with my trail friends after nearly a week apart. Iron Chef who had left the group way back in Pennsylvania(after the rest of the group took and unplanned zero)  had caught some sort of stomach bug and was in the hospital in Great Barrington MA, he is fine now but just needed some fluids and rest. We all met there and the next day sparkys mom and aunt came down from VT and did some awesome trail magic (beer and lunch) and slackpacked us so we could stay in Great Barrington another day. We soon climbed Mt. Greylock (the tallest peak in MA) and finished out the state.

We finally made it to Vermont, where two of my trail friends chef and sparky are from. By now we are back in really mountainous areas and it feels good to climb and mountain and get a view of actual wilderness again. They call the mountains in Vermont the Green Mountains and it is definitely fitting. Everywhere you look there seems to be 100 different shades of green. Our first day into Vermont we spent the night in Bennington and made up our own Trail Challenge. We all love the movie super troopers and quote it often on the trail. The movie is set in Vermont and there is a scene where the characters chug maple syrup. So when we got into Bennington we immediately bought some good beer and real Vermont maple syrup. 1600 miles, 16 fl oz, 1600 calories. I felt terrible the rest of the day but it was totally worth it! The people all over vermont have been extremely friendly and this combined with the awesome views are quickly making this my favorite state of the trail. My only complaint is the aweful mud which is unavoidable on most of the trail in this state.  I will be back on the trail tomorrow and hopefully finish out Vermont in a couple of days.

Sorry about the increasing detail as I go on but it is what I most vividly remember. I will try and make at least one post for each New Hampshire and Maine, especially as these are supposed to be the most breathtaking states on the trip.

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Sparky's blog: http://www.appalachiantrials.com/author/ellie-b/

Harpers Ferry WV

That's right West Virginia.  Coming into Harpers Ferry means that I am finally done with Virginia.  More then a quarter of the AT is in Virginia and it has taken more then a month to complete so getting through the state feels like a major accomplishment in itself. Many hikers talk about getting the Virginia blues just from not seeing any state changes and the increasingly monotonous terrian.

Harpers is important for more reasons then just the end of Virginia though. To begin with it is the spiritual midpoint of the trail ( the actual midpoint is in another 70 miles or so at a random stream crossing in pa). The two traditional through hikes are either north bound or south bound but every year there are also a few people who flip flop at Harpers ferry. This can be done in several ways but an example would be starting at springer hiking to Harpers driving to Katadhin and then hiking to harpers. Additionally Harpers ferry is home to the headquarters of the Appalachian trail conservency (ATC). The ATC and it's regional chapters is in charge of maintaining the entire trail.

There have been several major events since my last blog post. The first of which was trail days. Trail days is a giant gathering of current and previous thru hikers who come to see old friends and check out the dozens of gear manufacturers that set up around town. Every year tens of thousands of people invade the small town of Damascus Virginia and basically have a giant party. Since we had passed Damascus by more then 200 miles we had to hitch hike all the way back. It took us 10 hours, 5 separate hithes, and several real scares of getting stranded but we finally made it down there. Once there a friend of ours new some people in town who let us set up tents in their lawn just across from "tent city". Tent city is a large area including several sports fields and a large portion of woods where the vast majority of people camp. As you would suspect this is where the majority of the partying goes on and is very loud all night long so it was nice to be close enough to walk to the giant bonfires and drum circles but still be able to sleep when we were done with them. I also got a new backpack at one of the gear vendors as my old one was heavy too big for all my things and had some slipping straps, but mostly heavy. The new pack is a hyperlite mountian gear windrider 2400. After trail days we participated in Hard Core, a two day event dedicated to Appalachian trail maintenence in Tennessee.  A group of about 75 people spent two days building a half mile of new trail. I spent all day moving giant boulders into just the right place to act as steps or water bars. Others hacked at thick rhododendron roots or shoveled dirt. At the end though, as thanks for the help from current thru hikers, the organizers connected us with rides all the way back to where we were so we wouldn't have to worry about hitching again.

Another major part of this section was shannendoah national park(SNP) My feelings toward SNP are somewhat mixed. On the positive side I saw plenty of breathtaking views and for the most part had great weather. I also saw 8 bears, which is a first for this trip. On top of that we were able to stop at a wayside (a kind of convince store/gift shop) every day of the 4 days we were in the park, and buy blackberry ice cream burgers and beer.  On the negative side the AT follows pretty closely skyline drive all through the park and so it wasn't often that 30 minutes would go by without hearing an engine. The AT also crosses skyline dive several times a day and that bring loads of day hikers to the trail. Normally we don't mind day hikers but sometimes in SNP the trail felt almost crowded. All in all I was glad the trail went through SNP but I was glad to be out.

Finally we've had some great trail magic. The best of which, as an anecdote, was minty. Full Minty was the name (hash house harrier name....Google it if you dare) of the first driver to stop for us hitch hikers after a 35 mile dash in the rain to Waynesboro virginia, right before SNP( day before we had done 30 and 28 the day before that so we were quite tired). All we had been talking about for several days were margatitas and Minty takes us right to an authentic Mexican place we unwisely gulp down margaritas in our dehydration. He then invites us to stay at his house where he has two extra bedrooms and a shower, we later find out that he even has a sauna in the basement. We decide to take a zero (or two) and he ends up letting us use his car while he is at work (message therapist) to drive to nearby Charlottesville (home of UVA) where we would have access to all the fun activities of a college town. Thanks minty!!!

During this time we've also passed dozens of milestone and famous landmarks such as McAfee's knob, the most photographed spot on the Appalachian trial and spy rock, a large dome to know on top of a mountain offering 360 degree views. We've also had personal accomplishments such as doing our first 35 mile day (and before dark so we could hitch into town).

Post script:
I'm actually finishing this post in Pennsylvania,  just past Waynesboro, but I'll have another post on that in a few days.

Bland to Perisburg

Another short section this time. We had originally planned on going from Marion to Pearisburg but stopped in bland to take care of bobcats leg. The weather has been scattered thunderstorms for several days now and we started out in the pouring rain. By mid afternoon though it had cleared up and me made it 20 miles to a campsite near dismal waterfall. In the middle of the day we hit the 600 mile mark. It seems like only yesterday we were at 500 and 400 doesn't seem to long ago either. The next day we did 23 miles into pearisburg. Construction going on nearby though means all the hotels are filled up. Luckily some friends from the trail had parents in town and we're able to give us a ride to the next town over. We'll have to hitch later this morning back to the trailhead.

Marion to Bland

Short post because not much happened but I promised I would do better to keep up with these.

The day we left Marion was probably our best town to woods reentry mission yet. We made 26 miles before stopping although we had to night hike for about an hour in complete darkness. The gorgeous sunset right as we came over a ridge into a valley was worth it though.

Our Israeli friend Bobcat and a new friend easy rider have been hiking with us for the past few days. Bobcat hiked a crazy amount of miles to catch up with us. I think it was almost 70 is 2.5 days. Unfortunately now he's got shin splints. We pulled into the town of Bland VA so he could go to the clinic. He got a couple of steroid shots but will be taking a few days off the trail. Luckily his parents were driving to his brothers graduation in new England any way and we're able to pick him up.

Anyway that's the reason we decided to stop here and after taking care of all of that it was late so we ended up staying. Next stop is pearisburg VA which is a pretty big town (at least as far as AT towns go.)

Hot Springs to Marion.

So I am now in Marion Virginia at mile 532 and I've realized it's been a while since my last blog post. Hot Springs was mile 270 something so almost half trip has passed without a post. Whoops. I'll try to sum up as best I can and hopefully pictures can fill in some too.

As I mentioned in the last post I met my parents in hot springs and it was so great to see them. We ended up spending several days in hot springs which is an absolutely awesome town. Bones had to meet his parents in Erwin and had to leave early, we still haven't caught up to him. From hot springs we next went to erwin. Since its been so long I'm just going to list highlights and maybe later I'll go back and fill in the stories behind them. If you want one of the stories in particular let me know and I'll do those first.

The amazing fantastic good luck charm gumby.

Mom's grocery store/abandoned shack/old moonshine ditillery.

The 25 mile hitchhike for waffle house and beer.

Erwin shenanigans and hot tubs.

Chicken anus PBR. With friends!

A dog name luger.

Boys scouts and barns at over mountain shelter.

Filthy hikers eating breakfast like kings at mountain harbor hostel.

The amazing cider salad and beer saga.

The Holy cow burger.

Communal tree climbing 101.

Waterfall shows and thunderstorms.

Norrovirus or just hungry? At kincora hostel.

My firstborn child is for Bob Peoples.

Hampton to Damascus two day sprint.

Damascus: hiker paradise.

Th amazing gumby part 2.

Ponies Gone Wild: Grayson Highland edition.

The first 30 day. Ugh.

It's a Cinco de Mayo miracle!

Milkshakes and rat meat at Marion.

Of course there have been countless mountains and experiences that need no explaining and were just beautful. Roan mountian Mt. Rogers the Grayson highlands 300 400 and 500 miles marks, just to name a few.

Looking back at this list it doesn't involve much hiking. In reality my whole life is walking. Most days I eat a brief cold breakfast and start hiking at 730. And most days I walk until I'm literally ready to sleep with brief stops to shovel food down my throat.  Set up my hammock eat dinner sleep wake up hike repeat. The stories above are the exceptions not the rules. And while that may sound boring I love it. Again sorry for the long break I'll try to keep up this time.

Fontana dam to gatlinburg to hot springs

It's been a while since my last post so I won't give a day by day report. There's way too much to tell and the days have started to run together. I'll make up for it with more pictures though.

Fontana dam is the beginning of the great smoky mountians and the first day is one long hike up onto the ridge. The smokies are governed a little differently then the rest of the trail, as they are part of a national park. We are required to obtain permits for 20 dollars at fontana dam and have to carry them with us whenever we are in the park. During my hike through I was stopped by a ranger twice to see my permit. The rumor is if you don't have it the ranger will fine you and hike you to the nearest border of the park. By the rules of the permit we must sleep in a shelter every night and tenting is only permitted if the shelter is overfull. Every night we are in the smokies the shelters are overfilled. Additional section hikers can reserve shelter spots and can force thru hikers out if there is no room. So my initial imprison of the smokies is less then stellar.

The southern half of the smokies is, for the most part, very similar to the rest of the AT so far in terms of views and flora. The day we go into Gatlinburg ( the approximate halfway of the smokies) we summit clingmans dome. The highest point on the entire AT. At the elevation the trees change from mostly deciduous to entirely coniferous and are even stunted making clingmans dome seem much more mountian like.

After clingmans we hitch into Gatlinburg in the back of a pickup ( on a nice day there is no better way to travel, especially in the mountians, I highly recommend it.) If you've never heard of gatlinburg it would suffice to say it was like a mini Vegas ( at least to us coming out of the woods). It has the reputation of being a huge tourist trap and sometimes traps thru hikers for several days. It's not exactly my type of place but we manage to have a good time.

We catch a shuttle back to new found gap and start the northern. Have of the smokies. The north en half of the smokies is almost one entire ridge walk and it is absolutely gorgeous. We have perfect weather 70 degrees and cloudless. The mountians here are much more daatic and one could easily mistake the area for the rockies. These are easily my favorite days at least in terms of hiking so far. The shelters are crowded though and all in all not as nice as the shelters we are used to. We have decided to pick up our miles again as well and hike two 15 mile days to get to the edge of the smokies, Davenport Gap.

We camp just inside the border and hear of bad weather coming in the next few days. Hot Springs has a reputation as a lot of people's favorite town on the whole trail and it is 37 miles away. We decide to try for in two days.

The next day is cloudy but still warm and it starts raining around one oclock. By the time I max patch it is stormy and pouring. Max patch is the top of a mountian that was once farmed and is now a giant grassy field on the top of this huge mountian. It has a reputation of being a lot of fun in the sun and summer but I am miserable when I get there in the wind and rain so I take a quick picture and leave. By the time I get to the shelter it is full and I am drechned. Luckily I am able to hang my hammock from the rafters and discover a new awesome way to camp at night. There is rumors of snow the next day and we all decide to try for hot springs.

The next day turns out to be the hardest day on the trail and physically one of the hardest things I've done in my life. The day starts with rain and about 45 degrees. We have to got straight up two mountians and cover just over 18 miles. By the time I reach to top of bluff mountian the rain us starting to freeze and the wind is literally pushing me side ways. The switch backs off the mountian alternate between the windward and leeward sides of the mountian.  Every time I go back into the wind I am sure I am going to freeze to death and the hike is less then half way done. By the end of the day it has snowed, rained, frozen rained, sleeted and hailed. All in huge gusts of wind. I get to hot springs by two o'clock, 6 hours exactly a steady 3 miles per hour up and down mountians.  I am the last to arrive in our little group; bones does the hike in just under 5 hours, insane.

Within a half an hour of arriving in hot springs I have a hot shower a beer and a large hamburger, worth it.

Today we 0 in hot springs and the day is beautiful but freezing cold. Hot Springs is everything I'd hoped. A tiny mountian town nestled between two rivers and many large mountians. There is a welcome center for hikers with an awesome porch on the river (where I am now) and free fresh baked cookies all day. The town has an outfitter and two taverns. Everybody has the southern mountian friendliness and all love hikers. We eat breakfast at a tiny convince store/grill and it may have been the best breakfast I have ever had. I never knew what real grits with cheese was, but here they are amazing. We are checking out the actual springs later today to soak and tonight I get to see my parents!

NOC to Fontana Dam

Day 13 NOC (again)

Took a 0 day. There was a thru hiker festival in town, the weather was calling for thunder storms and we were all still pretty beat up. Can't say we did too much all day.

Day 14 NOC to locust Cove campsite.

The hike out of the NOC is the reverse of what we did downhill into the NOC so I am going up hills pretty much all day. In total there was more then 2500 feet of elevation gain to reach cheoah bald. The campsite was crowded as the first shelter was too close and the next was too far.

Day 15 locust Cove campsite to cable gap shelter.

Not much to say. Hiked 12 or so miles today...it kind of all starts to run together.  It poured rain on that night so I slept in the shelter.

As an after thought Jacobs ladder was today which is just a really steep uphill.

Day 16 cable gap shelter to Fontana dam.

Short day ( 6 miles) into re-supply. It is still pouring when I get up so I start the hike in the rain. The hills bring us above the clouds and I race a cloud bank for a while. The steep downhill to Fontana Dam is slippery and treacherous. By the time I reach the road I have fallen a few times and am covered in mud. The store to resupply is a tourist trap and expensive so I only get enough to reach Gatlinburg in three days. The word is that a few groups took zeros here and that the shelter is full so I split a cheap room with my friends for 15 bucks. Finally doing laundry and taking a shower is nice also. Tomorrow we head into the smokies. We plan to resupply in Gatlinburg but not stay the night so it may be a week or so before I have a chance to update again in hot springs nc. The smokies also means I will be entering the third state, Tennessee. The appalachian trail is the border between NC and TN so I will still be in the second state as well. The next state is Virginia which contains more then a quarter of the trail and by the time I am done the state I will be halfway to katahdin.

Franklin NC to Nantahala outdoor center.

Day 10 franklin to silar bald

We all decide to start taking it a bit easier at least until we reach the mid Atlantic states. I still have Resupplying to do so I miss the 11 o'clock shuttle back to the trail head. I hitch a ride from a local who has retired in the area. When we get to the trailhead he turns around and heads back to town. He has driven 10 miles each way out of his way to drop me off. Since we get a late start we only do 5 miles but it is all uphill to silar bald which is a large grassy area on top of a mountian. From the top I can see the smokies; they are still snow covered. We stay at silar bald shelter which is .5 miles off the trail bit it is the nicest camping area yet with a large grass lawn for tenting. The night is clear so I leave my tarp off and fall asleep to the stars.

Day 11 silar bald to cold spring shelter.

12 miles today not to tough. As usual we decide on a place to stop but hike seperarely. I leave first and spend the first part of the day walking alone. We summit wayah mountian which is famous in the area and I run into tortoise who I had met before franklin. She is yellow blazing a bit and has skipped ahead to this section to rejoin her friends. A 1930's CCC stone tower is at the top and we can see all the way to Albert mountian, which we climbed about 20 moles ago. The day is hot and dry and ends on a steep up hill. The campsite is on top of a ridge though and we have more great views.

Day 12 silar bald to NOC

They call for rain tonight so we decide to sleep at the bunkhouse at the Nantahala outdoor center. The day is tough with a strenuous uphill in the morning and then 6 miles of continuous ous steep downhill to get to the Nantahala river. We dexlscwnd from 5040 feet to 1760 feet and my knees are killing me. The NOC is a large complex with all sorts of outdoor activities; kayak in rafting zip lining and training of all sorts. This one of the main training centers for white water rafting guides. We buy beers and ice cream and sit by the river until we can check in at the hostel. The hostel is actually a series of buildings built into the hill each containing 4-5 rooms for 4-6 people. Inside it is simply painted particle boards and wooden bunks with plastic matresses. There is a festival for thru hikers starting tomorrow and we are considering taking our first 0 day.

Hiawassee to Franklin Nc

Day 7 Hiawassee to muskrat gap shelter

We start the day with a complimentary breakfast at the hotel. After lolly gagging around we start trying to hitchhike back to the trailhead. Luckily tigger ( who we had met at Gooch gap, and had come off the trail at different spot then us) had parents in town and spotted us with our thumbs out and gave us a ride back to the trailhead.  It has been raining all day and is only worse in the mountians. Visibility is only around 20 feet and makes climbing mountains a chore. After about 8 miles we reach the ga/Nc border and by now it's a steady downpour. After a quick picture we all hurray on. At this point my knees are killing me and I am cold and wet so I stop at muskrat Creek Shelter after 12 miles. My friends have all gone on to standing Indian shelter 4.5 more miles away. The shelter is jammed full so I have to set up in the rain and everything is damp. That night a storm rolls through and I hear later that wind gusts reached 60 mph. It also snows that night.

Day 8 muskrat gap shelter to Carter gap shelter.

We wake up to an inch of snow and everything including my boots are frozen solid. Luckily it is sunny so I hike on with wet things. I stop at a sunny clearing to dry things out and take a nap. It reaches sixty degrees in the afternoon. I consider doing a 20 mile day to catch my friend but by carter gap my knees hurt so I stop for the night. Here I meet southbound (his trail name not direction).

Day 9 carter gap to Franklin Nc

The day is absolutely gorgeous and reaches a balmy 68 degrees. We climb Albert mountian today which is famous for its steep incline and scrambling as well as being exactly 100 miles into the trail. On top we meet lefty over drive downhill and their dog dobby. Over drive has done the trail in 2012 but this year they are all doing just a section. I mention my knee problems and overdrive suggests I slow down and worry about miles in the mid Atlantic states. I originally plan on doing only twelve miles but my spirits are lifted with the sunshine and I crank out four more miles to get to town. I finally reunite with my friends at the budget it where they already have a room. Southbound and I split a room. A trail angel takes us  to a bbq restaurant and end up paying for all 11 of us. We buy beers and hang around outside drinking till midnight.

Amicalo falls to Hiawassee, GA

Day 0 - Airport to hostel

After arriving at Atlanta airport I met Jesse "Iron Chef" and Ellie at the train station while waiting for the hike hostel pickup. They are both from Vermont and met at the Vermont airpot. Lee, from hiker hostel, picks us up and the drive is about an hour and a half. With us are also two guys from germany, Marcel and Johanus,  who have decided to hike the AT after their brief stay in NY city. The hiker hostel is a modern looking cabin in the hills of northern georgia. Here we meet francesco, Lauren, and slim Pickens who are starting at springer mountian.

Day 1 - Amicalola falls to Stover Creek Shelter 11.6 miles.

After showers and breakfast we leave around 930. The Germans are starting the next day while waiting for a few pieces of gear. I will not see them again, at least in this section. Since we are a small group we are able to take the suburban which will supposedly be less bumpy. In the car are ellie, iron chef, slim Pickens, Lauren and francesco. The ride is about an hour on dirt roads up the mountian to the parking lot for singer mointains. The actual start to the AT is about .9 miles south of the parking lot so Lauren, SP,  and francesco will have to backtrack a little. Another hour or so and  Iron chef (still jesse at this point), Ellie, and I are dropped at Amicalola state park. We each weigh our packs on the official scale and sign the first register.  My pack is 29 lbs. The falls are beautiful but start with many many steps to the top. The rest of the day is mostly ridge walking and uphill until we reach springer mountain; the official start of the AT. The wether calls for rain but we have nothing but blue skies at the beginning. We have hiked 8.8 miles before the start. Spinger shelter is only .1 miles away but the weather has turned windy cold and foggy so we hike another 2.7 to Stover Creek Shelter.  This is our fist 3 miles on the AT.

Day 2 Stover Creek Shelter to Gooch Mountian shelter. 13 miles..

The night was bitter cold but the day is sunny and warms up. I start to develop blisters on my pinky toes and we stop at hawk mountian shelter so I can neosporin and duct tape them. I will continue to do this ritual every morning during this section. We stop at Gooch shelter where we see francesco Lauren and slim Pickens who have done two short days. Here we also meet bones, Canada (now true grit) Hawkeye and her dad, tigger, Alex, grizzly bear, and a whole bunch of others I can't remember. After today bone hikes with us also.

Day 3 Gooch shelter to needs gap. 15.9 miles.

Tough day. Rain starts around 4 am but turns to mist by morning. The day ends with the infamous blood mountian. There are really strong wind gusts and driving snow as we go up the mountian. The downhill is brutal and my blisters re- blister. I arrive at the little shop and scramble to find a place to sleep with a freezing cold night ahead. I am invited as the fourth in a 3 person cabin by carver who is basically a hobo on the tail. Although he looks rough carver is one of the nicest and truest people I have met. I buy some microwave food and candy bars for dinner.....

Day 4 neels gap to blue mountian shelter. 18.something miles.

We originally plan to stay at low gap shelter. Our hiking pattern has been to all hike seperarly but meet up for rests and camping. I leave first around 745 but am overtaken by bones and iron chef. I am the slowest of our group which I blame on my sore knees and feet. The morning is freezing cold and extremely windy. The tube to my hydration bladder freezes as I walk. We reach low gap around 230 all within 20 min of each other and decide to pound out the last 7 miles to blue mountian. The shelter is crowded so we all camp outside of the shelter.  This is the coldest night so far and I sleep only a little.

Day 5 Blue mountian to Addis gap. I think 15 miles but I'm too lazy to look right now.

This is the hardest day so far for me. There is a steep downhill first thing but there is trail magic at the bottom at a a road crossing. A church group all the way from Alabama has brought warm food just for us. Another steep up and down hill and there is more trail magic from a few doctors who Thru hiked previously. After that it's up tray mountian and we eat lunch at tray shelter. Only 6 more miles after this but I struggle as I have completely wrecked my knees. Addis gap is not a shelter, just a campsite but we still have a little bit of company.

Day 6 Addis gap to Hiawassee 5.5 miles.

We are doing a Nero (nearly zero miles) today. The shuttle for the motel picks up at Dick Creek gap at 9 and 11 so we get up early to try and make the 9 o'clock pick up. It is pouring rain and we hike in the rain and the dark. Rain always brings mist here so we cannot see too far up or downhill. I miss the shuttle by minutes but bones waits for me and we hitch hike into town. My knees are extemely painful today. In town we resupply, eat at an all you can eat buffet ( ayce) buy beer and hang out.