Animal traffic

Day 43 (5/19/14)

Starting Point: Elk Garden: 491.2

Ending Point: Big Wilson Creek: 500.8

Total Miles: 9.6

After a few days in Abingdon/Damascus we were ready to hit the trail again. Instead of paying for a shuttle to the trailhead about 25 miles away, we decided to embrace the free spirit of the trail and hitch back from Damascus. It didn't take too long before we were picked up by a local outfitter's shuttle taking section hikers out. I felt like a freeloader with a van full of  people who paid for this shuttle but they said it was okay and they seemed to enjoy hearing about our experiences on the trail thus far. Plus, he could only take us a quarter of the way to our final destination as they were going to a different trail head, so we weren't getting a full shuttle. We got dropped off about 10 miles outside of town, which meant we were 10 miles away from the city, in the middle of nowhere. Although we were closer, I was questioning if this was a good decision to get dropped off in the middle of nowhere on a street that didn't seem to get much traffic. Thankfully, we only sat there for about 10-15 mins until a local man on his way home from work picked us up. He couldn't take us all the way to the trailhead, only about 5 miles closer. It would take us about 2 hours to go five miles so we took it. So we get dropped even further from town in a more remote location, now I was really questioning our original decision to not take a ride all the way. It only took about five minutes until a really nice couple from Nashville picked us up. They were out doing a small section in the same park where we were hiking. It was nice sharing stories about home with them. 

Unfortunately, they weren't hiking from the same trailhead as we were, which we only discovered after getting there. We  were 7 miles north on the trail where we should have been. We couldn't ask them to take us to the other trailhead so we thanked them, walked away, looked at each other and asked, "what do we do now???" As we were standing in the parking lot trying to figure out how to get where we needed to be, another older couple came walking out of the trail and asked us if we knew where a certain trail was. We told them we probably weren't the best people to ask as we just got a ride to the wrong trailhead. It turns out he thru-hiked last year and he and his wife were driving up the trail stopping at all of the scenic spots he said he didn't get to truly enjoy while he was hiking and to show his wife the highlights of the trail. So he understood our predicament and offered to drive us to the right trailhead. 

Once we were finally on the trail we were greeted and sometimes blocked by the wild ponies in Mt. Rogers and Grayson Highland Park.

Ponies blocking the trail and Jessica clearly not happy about it.

"Hey! That's my wife, pony!!"

Day 44

Starting Point: Big Wilson Creek: 500.8

Ending Point: Trimpi Shelter: 520.5

Total Miles: 19.7

Today was a good, uneventful day of hiking although it was very rocky. Rocks = very sore feet. We did get to see more ponies. They were definitely the highlight of the day.

Day 45

Starting Point: Trimpi Shelter: 520.5

Ending Point: Atkins, VA: 542.7

Total Miles: 22.2 miles

Our original plan was to head into Atkins for a resupply and get right back on the trail. That plan changed when Jessica suggested to stay in a hotel tonight. Given they were calling for thunderstorms  that night and we were pretty ripe from the warm weather, I quickly agreed. 

On our way into town we definitely picked up the pace and covered our last 7 miles in 2.5 hours. We were also walking in farm fields and over streams which is a nice change of scenery from the usual "green tunnel." 

Once we got into town we headed directly to the Barn, a country restaurant located on the trail. I ordered the hiker burger, it was over 1 pound and delicious. We were pretty happy about our decision to push into town at that point.

The hotel was 4 miles away from the trailhead so we were hitching again, only this time we were going to end at the right spot. Jessica went into a gas station close to the trail to get ice cream. She also asked the lady behind the counter if the town was hiker friendly and if we'd have any problems getting a ride. The lady behind the counter asked one of the locals who was in the gas station where he was going, he said, "fishing at the lake." She told him to give Jessica a ride to the hotel. The man thought Jessica was alone and quickly agreed, he also offered to take Jessica fishing. Jessica then said, "I'm not sure if my husband outside wants to go fishing." He was very disappointed I was there but still drove us to the hotel.

Overall, it was a pretty successful day.

Day 46

Starting Point: Atkins, VA: 542.7

Ending Point: Crawfish Valley Campsite: 549.0

Total Miles: 6.3

After the back to back days of around 20 miles we were both feeling pretty worn out so we decided to make it a short day. We found a campsite we couldn't pass up and decided to set up camp around 3:30. We both took naps before dinner and felt much better by the end of the day. 

Day 47

Starting Point: Crawfish Valley Campsite: 549.0

Ending Point: Walker Gap: 567.0

Total Miles: 18 

It was a beautiful day, we couldn't have asked for better weather. We were also treated to two separate trail magics. One was peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, which I was extremely excited about and greatful for. The other was Oreo cookies. The best thing about the cookie was they were just before a five mile climb so the extra sugar boost was helpful in getting us up the hill.

We were also greeted and blocked again by animals on the trail. This time it was a large cow that I swear would have charged us if we had not decided to walk around her.

This was her trail, not ours and we were okay with that. It was a very large cow.

Day 48

Starting: Walker Gap: 567.0

Ending: Kimberling Creek: 588.2

Total Miles: 21.2

The night before we stayed on top of a hill that was extremely windy. I accidentally placed the wind shield too tightly around the stove while cooking which resulted in burning the stove and the seal on the fuel tank. Thankfully, we read in the guidebook you could get pizza delivered to the trailhead. Of the almost 600 miles we've covered, there were only two places we knew of where you could get pizza delivered to the trail.This couldn't have come come at a better time. It turned out to be really good pizza too.

This is livin'! Pizza on a semi trailer on the side of the road.

Day 49

Starting: Kimberling Creek: 588.2

Ending: Trent's Grocery (VA 606): 606

Total Miles: 17.8

Today we saw our second snake, thankfully it was not poisonous, it was a black rat snack. Even though they're not poisonous, they are very large, they can grow to 8 feet in length. I would guess this particular one was at least 6 feet long.

Jessica saw it first, as she was walking in front. She noticed it after walking by it and quickly told me to stop. It was less than a foot from the trail with its head facing towards the trail (you can see the head in the bottom left hand corner of the picture.) I casually walked by it and said, "that's a black rat snake, which isn't poisonous and typically wants nothing to do with humans." That's not true at all.

I stopped, backed up about five feet and was terrified to walk by it. I had no idea what kind of snake it was and if it was poisonous. So I did what any rugged, thru-hiking man of nature would do and pulled out my phone and Googled, "is a large black snake in Southwestern VA poisonous?" (Thankfully, we've had service on most of the trail in VA as it's typically along a ridge line.) The results said no it's not poisonous. So I put my phone away and casually strolled by it, admiring it's size as I slowly walked past it. That's actually not what happened at all.

Given its proximity to the trail, its size and the fact I couldn't have walked around it off the trail, I stood in place for several minutes trying to work up the courage to walk past it, even though I knew it wasn't poisonous. I decided the only safe way to avoid getting bitten by this snake was to run past it as fast as I can. So I backed up a several feet to get a running start, then I started running as fast as I could and added a jump right when I got next to it. The snake didn't budge. I haven't seen Jessica laugh that hard since we've started. I could only imagine how ridiculous I looked, but I lived to tell the story. :)

It probably laughed too when I leaped by it.

Day 49

Starting: Trent's Grocery: 606

Ending: Lane St., Pearisburg, VA 631.3

Total Miles: 25.2

Our longest day yet! As usual, our plans changed on the fly. We originally planned on getting into town the next day but given we had no fuel and our dinner would have been peanut butter sandwiches, the same thing we ate for lunch, the prospect of hot meal got us through the extra mileage. 

We ended up each getting a bed in the hiker bunks at the Holiday Motor Lodge. The hiker bunks is an old restaurant at the hotel they've converted into a hostel of sorts.  It was a bit nicer and cleaner than most hostels we've been to so far, so we were very happy about our decision to come into town early.

Birdseye view of Pearisburg.

I was expecting to see the Griswald's staying here.

 The hiker bunks. It was real fancy like.

Day 50

Pearisburg/Blacksburg, VA

Total mileage: Zero

We rented a car and headed to an outfitter in Blacksburg to get a replacement stove and resupply. We shipped back our cold weather gear. It was a total of 16 pounds between the two of us, which is huge. We also drove through the very pretty campus of Virginia Tech.

It was a good day off and we were happy to be able to rest. We are planning to make it to Daleville by Sunday to meet up with our first visitors on the trail! Our good friend James and Barbara Evans will be hiking with us Monday-Thursday of next week. We are very excited for the company.

Happy Trails,

Z & G

Virginia, Trail Days and Double Zeros

We are blogging today from Abingdon Virginia after having to take an unexpected (but welcomed) second zero. We had a pretty detailed plan on how we could gain enough mileage to get ahead of the crowd headed into Damascus, VA for trail days, enjoy some of the festival, and get back on the trail ahead of the masses. We failed to take into account Enterprise rental car (our transportation over the last two days) is closed on Sunday. Our ride back to the trail will have to wait until Monday morning. So we are still in Abingdon resting up and exploring this very beautiful city. Here is a recap of our last week:

Day 35 (5/11/13)
Starting Point: Mountain Harbor Hostel: 392.3
Ending Point: Kincora Hostel: 417.0
Total: 24.7
We started off the morning with a great breakfast from Mt. Harbor Hostel. They are known for having one of the best breakfasts on the trail and they certainly didn’t disappoint. During breakfast we ran into Gandolf and were able to coordinate a sharing the costs of a 24 mile slack pack for the day. The owner of the hostel drove our packs up to Kincora Hostel. Our plan was to pick them up there and spend the night. We were pretty excited about ending the long day in another bed!
We didn’t get on the trail until almost 10:30; a pretty late start considering the miles we were planning on putting in that day. Luckily, the weather was awesome and we knew the terrain was relatively flat. We hiked most of the morning with Gandolf, a thru hiker from New York that we have run into multiple times during our hike. It was nice to get to know him a bit better. Early during the day we passed a group of hikers that had been swimming in a river that was running close to the trail. They tried to convince us to go swimming but we knew we had to push on if we were going to make it to the hostel before midnight!
One of the biggest highlights of the day was crossing the 400 mile mark. This one definitely came quicker than I expected! It seems like hitting the 100 mile mark took forever. Hopefully we will be hitting these milestones on a weekly basis from now on.
We made it to the hostel by 8pm. Our packs were waiting for us on our bunks for the night. We were greeted with leftover dinner that was dropped off by some trail angels earlier that day and spent the rest of the night meeting new hikers and catching up with others that we hadn’t seen for a while.
Kincora hostel is run by Bob Peoples, a legend on the trail. He has a huge heart for hikers and the trail. He only asks for a $5 donation for people staying at the hostel. I had heard about him multiple times but it was great to meet him and experience his generosity in person.
Day 36
Starting Point: Kincora Hostel: 417
Ending Point: Vanderventen Shelter: 434.5
Total: 17.5
Possible title for today: “A dip in the lake and a rattlesnake”
We got an extremely early start on the trail today. We knew we would be pretty tired/sore from our long hike the day before, so we wanted to give ourselves plenty of time to complete our mileage. We were on the trail by 7:30 which is a new record for us! Early in the hike we crossed Laurel Falls, a beautiful waterfall that I really wanted to take a dip in! We actually ended up missing a turn in the trail and ended up right by the shore. It took us a while to figure out where we had taken a wrong turn but it also allowed us to take a quick break by the water. 

Laurel Falls

During our morning stretch/water break we found out we were only 3 miles away from a lake with beach access. We decided immediately to alter our lunch plans to include an afternoon swim! We definitely picked up the pace and made it to the lake around 1pm. We hung out with a new group of hikers who had gotten up at 4am and were planning on spending the day at the lake! They were kind enough to share a few beers with us while we were enjoying the water. The lake was amazing and it felt great to relax in the cool water. Unfortunately, we had to push on in order to make the shelter by night. It was definitely hard to leave!

Lake Watuga

A few hours after we left the lake we saw a guy in the middle of the trail about 100 yards ahead of us holding a 15 foot long stick! We couldn’t figure out what he was doing, I knew he wasn’t using it as his hiking poles. When we got closer he told us there was a rattlesnake right off the trail stuck underneath a rock. That made me stop in my tracks and make sure I kept a safe distance away. Apparently, another hiker had thrown rocks at the snake and instead of killing it, he just got it stuck and extremely pissed off (which is exactly how I would NOT want to encounter a rattlesnake)! The snake kept raising his head at us and opening his mouth. It was a pretty scary experience and at that point, I was very happy he wasn’t able to get closer. We decided to write a note and leave it on the trail to warn other hikers of the snake. I certainly wasn’t going to get any closer than I had to. As we were walking by the snake started rattling it’s tail. That made me pick up that pace and make sure I was a safe distance away!

Rattlesnake!! Look close, it's there! 
Thankfully, the last few miles to the shelter were uneventful. We made camp by 7 and had dinner enjoying the amazing view from the overlook behind the shelter. 

View from behind the shelter

Day 37

Starting Point: Vanderventen Shelter: 434.5
Ending Point: TN 91 445.9
Total: 11.4
We slept in a bit this morning because we knew we only had 11 miles to do before getting picked up by a shuttle at 3. Our plan was to get a shuttle into Damascus and then slackpack the remaining 22 miles into the town the next day.
The weather was amazing and its always easier to enjoy the hiking when you know your day will end with a bed! We ran into a few people while we were getting water who told us of a rumor of trail magic at the road where we were getting picked up. The promise of trail magic will make you walk faster with a smile on your face! Fortunately the rumor was true and the trail magic didn’t disappoint. We actually had 2 trail magic instances within .25 miles of each other. The first was a cooler on the trail filled with sodas and baked goods. It was left by a local church who keep the cooler full daily. While we were enjoying a few (maybe 3 or 4) treats from the cooler, we ran into Grant. He is a thru hiker we met at Mount Harbor hostel who rowed in college at Rutgers. It is always great when you run into people on the trail with common interests.
Shortly after we got back on the trail we got to the road where we were getting picked up and hit trail magic #2! This one was being put on by a former thru hiker who was in town for trail days. He had a grill going with chicken, hamburgers and a cooler full of beer. We enjoyed the food and company while waiting for the shuttle to pick us up to go into Damascus.
Once we got into Damascus we ran into Half Moon, Doc and Tex! Half Moon had a rental car for the weekend. He drove us to the grocery store to resupply and even offered to take us back to the road the next morning so we didn’t have to pay for another shuttle. We happily took him up on his offer! We checked into our B&B for the night and got to bed early!

Half Moon, Tex, Doc, me, Mike

Day 38
Starting Point: TN 91 445.9
Ending: Damascus, VA 466.9
Total: 21
We met Half Moon at 9am to drive us back to the road. We were able to get back on the trail by 9:30 and ran into another trail magic by 9:35! This one was run by a group of former thru hikers who had literally set up their tents on the trail so you couldn’t pass by. We stopped for a bit and talked to some hikers we knew. Fortunately, we were able to get out of there relatively quickly when they realized we had just gotten dropped off 5 minutes earlier.
We were making pretty good timing and had a goal to be done by 6 that afternoon. About two hours into the hike we ran into another trail magic (we were definitely getting spoiled by this point. All the trail magic is a result of people coming back into town for trail days in Damascus). This time we stopped. We couldn’t pass up 2 trail magics in one day! We sat at a picnic table by the side of the road and enjoyed chips, cokes and lots of cookies!
The rest of the hike was pretty uneventful. The highlight of the day came near the end of our hike when we crossed the TN/VA border. We have made it to our 4^th state! We said “goodbye” and “see you soon” to TN and happily crossed into VA! After crossing the border, we only had 3 miles to go to Damascus. It felt good to be in Damascus for real now!

We met up with Half Moon and took him out to dinner to thank him for his generosity. We ended up meeting up with Wolf who had done over 30 miles to make it into Damascus that day! It was great catching up with both of them and hearing about their trail experiences over the past few days.
Day 39
Starting: Damascus, VA 466.9
Ending: Bear Tree Gap Trail Campsite: 479.2
Total: 12.3
We didn’t get back on the trail today until after 12pm. We had to go to the outfitter in the morning to replace my boots. After only 500 miles they have come apart at the sole. I decided to go with a pair of trail runners for the next stretch of the trail. With the weather starting to get warmer, it will definitely be nice to have a lighter pair of shoes.
The weather today was calling for 100% percent chance of showers and storms. It rained off and on all morning but had cleared up by the time we hit the trail. We thought we were going to get lucky and hike the rest of the day in good weather. That luck didn’t last long. About an hour into the hike, it started pouring rain. This is probably the most soaked I have been on the trail to date. Everything was soaking wet and all I could do was put my head down and keep hiking. We had plans to make a campsite 14 miles down the trail. The weather caused us to stop about 3 miles early.
We set up camp quickly and stayed in the tent the rest of the night! We were soaked all the way through and happy to be out of the rain for the night!
Day 40
Starting Point: Bear Tree Gap Trail Campsite: 479.2
Ending: Elk Garden: 491.2
Total: 12
Today we got our earliest start on the trail by far. We were actually up and hiking by 6:50am! We had a shuttle planned to pick us up by noon 12 miles down the trail and we knew we had to hustle to make it by noon. Thankfully the rain had stopped but all our clothes and shoes were still completely soaked. I actually hiked in a pair of zip lock bags on my feet because I couldn’t bear the thought of having wet feet two days in a row! 

Zip lock bags=dry feet!

We hiked pretty fast, even climbing a big mountain at a fast pace. We made it to the shuttle with 10 minutes left to spare! I was happy we made it on time, and happy our hiking was done for a while. We had a zero planned for the next day and I was glad to have the day to rest.
The shuttle took us back into Damascus and then Enterprise picked us up! We had hotel reservations outside of town in Abingdon, VA. We checked in to our hotel and then went to dinner and a movie! We went to eat Mexican and saw Million Dollar Arm at the local cinema. It was great to have our own car and have a normal date night. 

Day 41 and 42
Starting Point: Abingdon, Va
Ending Point: Abingdon, Va
We got up Saturday morning and headed back into Damascus to attend trail days. We had plans to visit some of the vendor tents and go to a few of the talks that were being offered. We first went to hear Warren Doyle ( a 16 time thru hiker!!) talk about some of his stories from the trail. He was very engaging and I really enjoyed hearing his perspective. If he ever decides to write a book I will definitely pick up a copy. 

Warren Doyle

We then walked through the vendor tents to see all the latest gear. Fortunately, we were able to get out of there without buying anything new. I was glad not to add any weight to my pack or spend any more money. 

Vendor Expo

Trail Days Crowd

We ended our time at trail days by listening to another talk by Warren Doyle. This time he was speaking about the history of trail days and how the thru hiker sub culture has changed over the past 40 years. He didn’t really go into a lot about how the people have changed and focused mainly on how the physical trail has changed. The trail has added about 130 miles (mostly in Virginia) over the past 40 years. This is mainly due to private land acquisition by the government.
Overall, I really enjoyed my trail days experience. It was definitely a lot tamer than most will have (and that was by design). A lot of hikers use it as an excuse to be drunk and high for 3 days straight and I am very happy to be able to avoid that. We were able to see the vendor tents and hear a few great talks. Which was exactly what we wanted to do.
We are now back in Abingdon and will get back on the trail tomorrow morning. We are enjoying this surprise extra zero by doing a lot of resting and reading. I am really excited to get back on the trail and start making forward progress again. We will be hitting the 500 mile mark tomorrow!!!!!
Happy Trails,
Z & Gia
   

One Month In

Day 27

Starting: Hot Springs, NC, 273.9

Ending: Rich Mtn Fire Tower 282.1

Total Miles: 8.2 

After pulling ourselves away from Hot Springs after a hearty breakfast, big lunch and ice cream around 2:40, we walked along the French Broad River for a little while. On the other side of the River from the trail was a musical festival going on. For about a week before getting into HS we heard there was a bluegrass fest for $10 going this weekend, which we very excited about. It turns out the fest wasn't only bluegrass and was $75 per ticket. It was a pretty large event with a few thousand people.

The weather was beautiful but we felt pretty sluggish hiking. This occurs every time we leave town...we eat way too much.

Day 28

Starting: Rich Mtn Fire Shelter 282.1

Ending: Jerry Cabin Shelter 300.3

Total Miles: 18.2 miles

300 miles behind and our longest hike yet. Another gorgeous day, although it's starting to get a little warm. It's forecasted to be 87 this week, the good news with the warm weather is we can sleep without the rain fly on tent and see the stars. We're very excited for that.

The hiking was pretty challenging today with a couple of big climbs then walking along a very rocky ridge line for almost a mile. The views were pretty spectacular from there, with a clear view of Greenville, TN.

Day 29

Starting: Jerry Cabin Shelter 300.3

Ending: Hogback Ridge Shelter 315

Total Miles: 14.7

It's starting to get warm, unseasonably warm. The temps today were in the mid 80's and it was noticeable how much more difficult the hiking was. Thankfully, about halfway through our day there was a very nice little waterfall that we dipped our feet in and cooled off for about 30 minutes. I felt like a new man after that!!

Note the beard coming nicely.

The water was ice cold, it was great!!

Shortly after the waterfall we spotted our first deer on the trail, 3 doe. It was amazing how close they let us get to them. We were within 15 ft of them and they never got spooked.

Overall, it was a good day but we were exhausted at the end of the day from the heat!

Day 30

Starting: Hogback Ridge Shelter 315

Ending: Spivey Gap 330.8

Total Miles: 15.8

We started our day like we normally do, with hot coffee and oatmeal. When we were packing up to leave, Jessica noticed that we were completely out of fuel. Our plan was to walk into Erwin the next day to resupply but since all we had was a Pasta Side left for dinner we decided to get a shuttle into town. Jessica's theory is that I left the fuel on after cooking and my theory was she let it run out so we could go into town early. Either way, we ended up sleeping in a bed, showering and eating way too much, as usual the first day in town, so we were both happy the other one let the fuel run out. :)

We also planned to slackpack the remaining 11 miles into Erwin the next day. This will be our first slackpack so we're looking forward to not having 30+ lbs on our back.

Day 31

Starting: Spivey Gap: 330.8

Ending: Erwin, TN: 342

Total Miles: 11.2

Our one month anniversary on the trail! What better way to celebrate than with a slackpack! We got shuttled out to the trail  at 9:30 and began our hike, Jessica sans pack and me with just water, snacks and a first aid kit. It was great we flew down the trail, literally. We were done around 1:00 and we took a couple breaks. Normally, we average between 2-2.5 mph, today it was over 3. I sort of wish we could do the whole trail like this but there are a few people out here that think slack packing is cheating. Thankfully, I think they're in the minority. As the popular saying goes, "hike your own hike."

Nolichucky River that flows through Erwin.

After the hike, the shuttle stopped at Pal's and we picked up burgers and a milkshake. First time eating at Pal's, it was great! 

We then did our laundry, resupplied or oversupplied and planned our next several days. Trail Days in Damascus starts next week and we're right on pace to land in Damascus on Friday or Saturday. This is exactly when you don't want to arrive at Trail Days, unless you're a 20 yr old who wants to get drunk partake in illegal substances (except in Colorado) and dance around in drum circles until the sun rises. Our plan is to get a couple days ahead of the mass exodus of hikers on Sunday by slack packing a couple 20+ days. We plan to rent a car and drive back into Damascus on Saturday to experience a little bit of the festivities.

Day 32

Starting: Erwin, TN: 342

Ending: Cherry Gap Shelter: 359

Total: 17

Before climbing over Unaka Mountain, which is a 3400 ft climb from Erwin, we were greeted by the best trail magic we've had yet, apples, chips, Wendy's and a keg! An added bonus was the Wendy's and the keg were delivered by Zach Davis who wrote Appalachain Trials and runs the blog of the same name. Jessica and I both read the book as part of our preparation so it was really neat to meet him in person. 

The "trail gate" at Indian Grave Gap

The trail magic made it a good day despite the climb in mid 80's temps. 

Day 33

Cherry Gap Shelter: 359

Roan High Knob Shelter: 376

Total: 17

Another 17 mile day! Not too much to note today. The weather finally cooled off and we were able to enjoy the hiking a bit more. The early part of the day was pretty flat so we were able to put in a lot of miles before lunch. We ran into a group at the shelter who had slack packed 20+ miles the day before. They were still talking about how great it was. Thankfully, we will be slack packing soon ourselves. 

Our day ended with 2000+ foot climb to our shelter. It's an abandoned ranger cabin and is the highest shelter on the AT. Unfortunately, they were full by the time we got there. But the surrounding campsite was covered in pine straw. It made for a very soft tent floor! It was my (Jessica) favorite camp site so far.

Climb to the top

Day 34

Starting: roan high knob: 376

Ending: mountain harbor hostel: 392.3

Total: 16.3

Today was a crazy day and we are happy to be indoors at the end of it! We packed up camp and got on the trail by 8am!

The weather was cool and overcast and we heard there was a chance of storms later in the day. About a mile into our hike we ran into Doc and Tex with Doc's parents. They were visiting and helping Doc and Tex slack pack. We cought up briefly but they were moving fast so we couldn't keep up for long! 

We quickly started our climbing for the day which included crossing 5 balds! The views were amazing. 

We had lunch at a shelter that was an old barn. Apparently it sleeps over 20!

After lunch we continued climbing. We were making good time with our mileage but we knew we still had tough terrain ahead. Right before we were about to cross the biggest bald of the day, it started thunder storming. Being on top of the highest elevation around with no protection and metal hiking poles is not ideal. We decided to wait it out under a tree line until we were pretty confident the storms had passed. We were still climbing in crazy wind and rain but luckily, the storms had passed.

Shortly after finishing the balds we crossed out of NC for the last time! We have officially finished 2 states.

We spent the night at a hostel. It was a pretty interesting set up. We were in a semi-private room (a corner with a curtain) in the loft of a barn. We were actually pretty happy to be out of the rain and in a bed for the night. Even if it was above horses and goats.

Hikers on top horses on the bottom

Mike getting love from the hostel dogs.

Notice the goat on the rocks

Close up of goat.

We are planning on slack packing 24 today. It will be our longest mileage by far. Luckily our packs will be light and the terrain should be flat.

Also, we would like to wish our moms a very happy Mother's Day! We love you both very much and can't wait to see you!

Happy Trails,

Z & Gia

There are BEARS in these woods!

We are relaxing and recovering in Hot Springs, NC right now and will be back on the trail this afternoon.  We wanted give a quick recap of our last week.

Day 22
Starting Point: New Found Gap 206.8
Ending Point: Tri Corner Knob: ??
Total Miles: ??

We had breakfast at the hotel and then walked over to the local outfitter that provides free shuttle rides back to the trail.  We met the shuttle at 10 and were on the shuttle with 5 other thru hikers.  We were expecting to see Doc and Tex at the shuttle but they ended up getting an earlier ride out to the trail.
We got dropped off back at the gap around 10:45 and started hiking.  The weather was beautiful but there was a forecast of severe weather and tornado warnings that night so we wanted to try to get to the shelter as soon as possible.

Our hike that day was relatively easy.  We spent most of the day ridge walking and didnt have a lot of hard climbs.  Overall it was a pretty easy day with great weather.

In the Smokey Mountains hikers are required to stay at shelter sites (unless the shelter is full, then thru hikers can camp).  That makes for very crowded shelters.  The one we stayed in that night had 27 hikers (the shelter was made for 12). There were even people sleeping on the floor.  I think the threat of severe weather caused a lot of people to want to stay in the shelter.  We were the last ones at the site so we were able to set up our tent.  We managed to avoid most of the severe weather.  We had some strong winds and rain through the night but we stayed safe!

Day 23
Starting Point: Tri Corner Knob:??
Ending Point: Davenport Shelter: 237.2
Total Miles: ??

We started off our hike in rain and wind.  We knew this would be our last full day in the Smokeys so we were motivated to get moving!  The profile on the trail was again relatively easy.  This type of terrain makes for fast hiking!  We were able to get to the shelter for the night around 4.  That was our earliest day by far.  At the shelter there were only 4 other hikers there.  We knew we would have to sleep in the shelter.  Davenport shelter is the last (or first if you are a south bounder) shelter in the Smokeys and still has chain linked fence around the opening.  All of the shelters in the Smokeys used to have chain linked fence but they have all been removed.  We have heard multiple rumors as to why they have been removed.  Some of them were: hikers were leaving food out to lure the bears closer or hikers have locked other animals in the fence.

After dinner we were all sitting around the shelter and Mike noticed a bear with two cubs eating in the valley about 100 yards in front of us.  Everyone started scrambling to take pictures and video of the bears.  Most people at the shelter hadn't seen a bear on the trail yet so they were very excited to see them.  The bigger bear continued to get closer to the shelter until it was about 10 feet away! It even put a hole in another hiker's rain cover.  At that point, I was very grateful to have the chain link protection!!

Day 24
Starting Point: Davenport Shelter: 237.2
Ending Point: Max Patch Camp: 255
Total: 17.8

Its a lot easier to get out of camp early when you dont have a tent to break down!  We were able to leave around 8:30 and get an early start on the trail.  We knew we had a long day ahead of us on the trail and thankfully the weather was looking really good!  During the first few miles of the trail we walked directly under I-40.  It was pretty surreal to know how close we were to home at that point.  Shortly after passing I-40 we ran into Wolf getting dropped off from a shuttle!  We hadn't seen him since the NOC so it was great to catch up and hear about how his hike had been going. 

White Blaze under 40 west

We had a 5+ mile hike up a pretty steep hill so it was nice to be able to talk with Wolf to distract us from the climb.  Shortly after the climb we ran into Doc and Tex as well!  We hadnt seen them since Hiawassee.  It was so fun to be reunited with a group that we were hiking with in Hiawassee. 

We all decided to push past Max Patch and camp at a campground close to the bottom.  Unfortunately, it started to rain soon after we finished dinner which forced us all into our tents for an early night.

Day 25
Starting Point: Max Patch Camp: 255
Ending: Deer Park Shelter: 270.7
Total: 14.3

We woke up to dry weather but it was still very cold and overcast.  We knew we had one more full day of hiking until we would be in Hot Springs, NC!  The hiking was pretty nice and around lunch time the sun finally came out.  We made it to camp around 5 and were finally able to catch up with Doc, Tex, and Wolf by the campfire.

Day 26
Starting Point: Deer Park Shelter: 270.7
Ending: Hot Springs, NC: 273.9
Total: 3.2

Today we were up and out of camp by 8 am!  We knew we would be in town within the hour and had plans for a huge breakfast at a local diner.  The trail runs right through the middle of Hot Springs and there are a lot of restaurants and shops that cater to hikers.  We had a huge breakfast with Doc, Tex, and Wolf and then checked into the Sunnybank Inn.  It is a Bed and Breakfast in a huge old house run by a former thru hiker that has owned the house since 1978.  The house is full with books, musical instruments, and lots of history about the town and trail.  It was a really neat experience to be able to stay in such a beautiful house.  

We hung out in town that afternoon getting most of our hiker chores finished (laundry, post office, resupply, etc).  We were then able to enjoy a nice afternoon walking around and enjoying the nice weather!

We are getting back on the trail today (5/3) after a great breakfast at the inn.  Our plan is to be in Erwin, Tn by Wednesday.

Happy Trails,

G & Z