Today was the first of two zeros in the village of Hot Springs, NC. After another night of rain in our tents we got up this morning and walked into the village with some other trail friends for breakfast. It was so great to have real breakfast food and hot coffee. Afterwards we returned to our camp site, washed and dried our clothes at the hostel, packed up our tents and returned to town for lunch, checking into our inn, picking up some resupply items for next week and just meandering through town. Mountain Crusher’s backpack was about to fail so he spent considerable time at the local outfitter shop trying on different packs before ultimately selecting a new one. Tonight and tomorrow night we are staying at the Sunny Bank Inn, a charming old house with lots of character.

Two days ago we crossed what, to me, has been the most beautiful spot on the AT – Max Patch. Our Tramily camped just below the summit and went up that evening to view the sunset. There were so many great shots that I decided it would be best to compile them into a short video, which is below. Please listen to it with the music. If you are ever near this amazing location, please take the time to enjoy a sunrise or sunset. I promise you, you will never forget it. There is actually a parking area less than a half-mile from the summit so you don’t have to do a thru hike of the AT to glimpse this piece of Heaven 😊. A brief summary/history of Max Patch follows (source: Wikipedia).

Max Patch is a bald mountain on the North Carolina-Tennessee Border in Madison County, North Carolina, and Cocke County, Tennessee. It is a major landmark along the Tennessee/North Carolina section of the Appalachian Trail, although its summit is located in North Carolina. It is known for its 360-degree views of the surrounding mountains, namely the Bald Mountains in the immediate vicinity; the Unakas to the north; the Great Smoky Mountains National Park to the south; and the Great Balsams and Black Mountains to the southeast. Max Patch was originally cleared in the early 19th century by farmers seeking to use the area as pasture for cattle and sheep. Throughout the first half of the 20th century, the mountain was used for a wide range of purposes including the site of an inn, a hostel circuit, and an airstrip before the United States Forest Service purchased the area in 1982 to preserve the historic site and prevent the construction of a ski resort. The Carolina Mountain Club, Appalachian Trail Conservancy, and United States Forest Service worked collaboratively to relocate the Appalachian Trail to Max Patch’s summit and completed the projected in 1984. 

Last night the four of us walked back to the top of Max Patch to watch the sunset, which was quite spectacular with sheets of rain coming down in the distant horizon and broken storm clouds with rays of sunshine squeezing through to create quite a show. I will post one pic below and then try to get several more posted tomorrow. After we returned to our tents we had heavy wind and rain throughout the night. I got, maybe, 2 hours of sleep and woke up feeling pretty tired. Our plan for today was to hike 16 miles to our shelter site which would have put us within 3 miles of the town of Hot Springs, NC where we have reservations for Saturday and Sunday night. The first 3 hours of our hike this morning were easy and in very cool and pleasant weather. Around 10:30 am it started to rain and continued into the afternoon. We had to eat lunch in a pretty steady rain which resulted in most of our good getting wet. After lunch we continued on with intermittent rain and thunder and increased humidity. When we reached our shelter we collectively agreed that we would hike another 3 miles to a hostel on the edge of town where we could camp tonight, get a shower and wash our clothes tomorrow morning, all for $20 each. As I type this we are waiting to meet some other trail friends and walk into town for dinner. We booked our Inn for tomorrow night and Sunday night a couple of weeks ago, not realizing that we would actually arrive one day early. So, while not optimal, we have 2 days here in Hot Springs. On the positive side, our bodies can probably use 2 solid days of rest.

Snapshot downloaded an app which is really cool. The app syncs to his watch (gps) and creates a map of the terrain that we cover on any given day. Also, when he takes a picture or video the app will place it at the location on the trail where it was taken. The video below is from our hike today which totaled 19 miles. Wishing everyone a good weekend!

(Sunset From The Top Of Max Patch, Snapshot’s Video Of Our Hike Today)

It was four weeks ago today that my family kicked me out of our rental car at Amicalola State Park, Georgia and told me to walk back home. It sounds cliche, but it seems like both yesterday and years ago. Rather than the usual blog of our daily activities (we covered a little more than 14 miles over steep terrain today and encountered one trail magic), I’m going to share a few thoughts on my experiences the past month on the AT.

Physical Challenge – I have done more than a few extreme adventures in my life but this is the most physically difficult of them all. Almost everyday on the trail my mind tells me I cannot go any further, yet I know there is no other option accept to push on. On a good day that feeling hits with one or two miles to go, on a bad day it hits when there is 10 miles or more to go. If you ever plan to hike the AT DO NOT listen to those idiots who say (probably from the comfort of their sofas) that “the trail will get you in shape”. I did not listen to that non-sense nor should anyone else. You need to arrive with all the spit and vinegar in you that you can possibly bring.

Surrender To The Trail – From the first step you take on the AT every single aspect of your “normal” life disappears. You eat differently, sleep differently, wear the same dirty clothes all day and all night, get soaking wet and cold, smell so disgustingly bad that you just hope it’s not as bad as you think it is (but know that you are kidding yourself), get rid of your bodily waste in ways that are both disgusting and disturbing, trust others (whom you barely know) with your very life, greet a stream of water spilling out from under a rock with the same appreciation as gifts on Christmas morning, look forward to an apple or banana as if it’s manna from Heaven, lose almost total touch with what is happening in the real world (and could care less), go to bed at night wishing you could give a hug and kiss to the ones you love the most, see random acts of kindness on a daily basis, learn to strike up discussions with anyone anywhere on any topic, experience nature – it’s beauty and fury in ways that put the Discovery Channel to shame. Yes, you surrender every aspect of your old life with that very first step.

Love Your Neighbor – The trail is the great equalizer. Whether rich or poor, gay, trans or straight, religious or non-religious, everyone on the trail has a backpack that contains all they have to survive for 2,198.4 miles and nothing more. The trail community is amazing. Everyone supports each other in whatever ways they can. You give things away when you see someone in need, and you don’t hesitate to ask others for something when you need it. Everyone offers each other encouragement and positive comments. It’s a bit like we acted in first grade, before we grew up and became adults.

Positive Comments – Each day I receive a few positive and encouraging texts or messages from people I know well and people I don’t know at all. Often I read these after just waking up in my tent, before the day starts and it provides the mental spark I need to get up and get going. I so very much appreciate those of you who have taken the time to do this. It makes such a big difference.

Common Goal – Everyone on the Northbound journey of the AT has a single goal – Mt Katahdin, Maine. Within my tramily we talk often about how that day will look and feel and wonder just when that day will arrive even though we know it’s months away. And while we know only 20-25% of thru hikers will be successful in our attempt, we all realize the importance of keeping that distant vision and goal alive on an almost daily basis.

Trail Angels Are From Heaven – I can barely comprehend what motivates some people to come out, sometimes in the most difficult weather conditions, to provide food, drinks, medicine, bandages, hot coffee and much more to us hikers. They are the most kind and generous people you can imagine- and often they seem to be people who may not have a lot of money or resources, yet they do what they can to help us out. Simply amazing and so appreciated.

Hand Sanitizer – Can’t imagine what life on the trail would be like without hand sanitizer – we go through it like water day in and day out. Despite some of the worst hygiene situations you can imagine, hand sanitizer seems to keep us safe and the germs away.

Missing My Family – Worse than the physical challenge is the daily gnaw of missing my family. It’s always worse at night and never seems to get easier. You just have to compartmentalize those feelings and relish the phone calls and texts, and remember that one day this journey will come to an end. I am so fortunate to have the support and encouragement from my family while in this adventure.

I could go on and on about what I have learned and experienced the past month, but will stop here. Looking forward to what the second month of this crazy adventure will bring! 😬

Pics – Trail Angels (Alex and Erin from Wisconsin), pic and video from the top of Max Patch)

As mentioned yesterday, I had a short hike this morning to Standing Bear Farm hostel. The highlight for me, by far, was dropping my exit permit into the deposit box as I completed my hike through the GSMNP. This portion of the hike really tested us, both physically and emotionally, as we had to push through some tough weather conditions as well as tremendous elevation ascents and descents. But, I think the challenges strengthened us, I sure hope so anyways.

My hike out of camp this morning was really pretty as spring has taken hold and there were some really nice streams and small waterfalls along the way.

The hostel we are camping at, Standing Bear Farm, is really a hiker’s haven as you can see from the pics below. There is a bunk house, cabin and tent sites, along with a shower and a modest resupply store. The area is really running over with hikers, many just stopping in for a few hours to relax and resupply before heading out. The rest of the tramily arrived at the hostel this afternoon where we will tent tonight and head back out tomorrow morning.

These pics are from the Great Smokey Mountains National Park.

It was very cold at camp last night, dropping below freezing. I woke up several times during the night feeling cold but managed to fall back to sleep quickly each time. It was our intent to leave camp at 7:30 this morning but at 7:45 am the crew still wasn’t ready so I told them I was heading out as I was so cold just standing around waiting and I wanted to get moving so that I could warm up. Our goal was a shelter a little over 13 miles away. Once I got started it was such a beautiful morning- blue sky, sun, cool weather – perfect hiking conditions. I took my first break at 11:00 am and had already traveled 8 miles and I made it to our shelter location (13.2 miles) before 1:00 pm where I had lunch. Because it was so early in the day I sent a message to our team indicating that I was going to press on to the next shelter which was an additional 7 miles away. The final 7 miles were a bit harder as the weather had warmed up quite a bit and my legs were in “overtime” (as my prior longest hikes were just over 13 miles). All in all my legs felt strong even though it was another day of either going uphill or downhill. One reason I felt comfortable pressing on is that our crew has planned to stay at Standing Bear Hostel tomorrow, as it is somewhat of a tradition for thru hikers and it has a bit of an eclectic atmosphere I think. As this hostel is now less than 6 miles from where I stopped tonight, I can give my legs a rest tomorrow afternoon. The rest of the crew will catch up with me at the hostel as they stopped at the shelter we had originally planned to stop at tonight. We will resume our hike on Thursday morning. While our daily hikes are never a competition, I will put a check in the “win” column for the senior team member today as I am the first one to crack a 20 mile day. However, I am wise and experienced enough to know that the (much) younger and stronger legs of my teammates will likely leave me in the dust in the not-too-distant future.

The reward for my efforts today is a shelter site with the worst tent locations yet. I am literally camped next to a steep drop off and in the direction where the sign at camp says “Toilet Area”. A young lady just walked past my tent with toilet paper in hand a few minutes ago and there is some toilet paper on the ground less than 10 feet from my tent. Modesty on the trail is definitely lacking but it is out of necessity rather than preference.

Once again, very weak cell signal and I cannot download pics. Hopefully at the hostel tomorrow I will be able to catch up. My apologies.

Curtis and Cobweb Rose met Mountain Crusher, Snapshot and me at our motel around 7:00 this morning. We walked to a nearby breakfast house and enjoyed a final town meal. Curtis drove us back to Newfound Gap, where he picked us up on Saturday, and we began our hike around 9:30 am. Our weather today was the exact opposite of what we experienced last Friday and Saturday. The sky was blue and sunny, the wind was light and the temperature was cool – a perfect day to hike. While we were treated to beautiful views all day from the ridge line we hiked on , there was one spot that was particularly stunning – Charlie’s Bunion. It was a short distance off of the trail and offered spectacular views of the mountains around us. From there we hiked until 1:45 pm and had lunch by the trail with, again, amazing views all around. We reached our camp site before 4:00 pm and covered approximately 11 miles. We would have liked to have hiked another 2-3 miles but as mentioned in an earlier post, there are strict rules in the GSMNP and hikers are only permitted to camp at shelter sites. So, as the next shelter site was more than 5 miles away we decided to call it a day and set up camp for the evening. If everything goes to plan, we will exit the GSMNP on Wednesday and this will give us more flexibility on our daily mileage. 

A few notes about our stay in Gatlinburg. It seems every location we stop at to do laundry is incredibly difficult. Saturday was no different. After getting out of our wet, muddy clothes and consuming a 32 inch pizza ($60) between four of us, we put our clothes in plastic bags and headed out to a laundry mat that was 3-4 miles away. As it was still raining hard we walked about 1 mile to catch a city tram which dropped us off near the laundry mat. There was a Family Dollar store next door so while our clothes were washing we shopped for some of the food items we would need for this week. Long story short, it took us 4 hours in total to get our clothes washed, dried and back to our motel. On Sunday we had a nice breakfast at a local pancake house, went to an outfitters store that was within walking distance to pick up some supplies. While there I bought a new rain jacket as the one I brought with me was several years old and was not keeping me dry. Later in the day we finished buying our food supplies at a Walgreens store near our motel. It would have been great to have gone to a grocery store but the nearest one was too far away for us to access. Personally, I was not impressed by the town of Gatlinburg. Too touristy, too many people crammed into a small area, too expensive for low quality food and service. But, given the large crowds that were there, it seems to be a popular spot for many. As yesterday was Easter Sunday, it seemed very strange to not participate in my family’s traditions and to enjoy a great meal together that my wife always prepares. Those are the things that make life on the AT a little sad sometimes. But, there will be next Easter and I will look forward to that! Lastly, everyone seems to be in good shape physically and psychologically and everyone’s spirits remain high. 

(PS – Cobweb Rose took all of our sleeping bags/blankets home with her over the weekend and washed/dried them which was so kind of her. Also, she brought us back some homemade chocolate chip cookies which were an extra surprise.  Curtis was extraordinarily helpful to all of us this weekend by picking us up in the downpour on Saturday and getting us back to the trail today. Snapshot, Mountain Crusher and I are very appreciative of all their kind acts).

Note: Back in the GSMNP with very weak cell service. Will catch up on pics as soon as I have better cell service.

There isn’t a day on my journey from Georgia to Maine that I don’t marvel at the work of our Creator. I hope you will take a couple of minutes to enjoy this video and the accompanying music. And, I wish all of you an Easter filled with hope, love and peace.

Yesterday morning as we broke camp, it began to rain and 20 minutes into our hike the bottom fell out and there was a lot of thunder and lightning nearby. It wasn’t long before the temperature dropped from the mid 50s to low 40s. We were drenched from head to feet and were becoming a bit concerned about potential hypothermia. Around mile 6 we came to a shelter where we were able to duck inside and take off some of our wet clothing. Mountain Crusher was able to start a fire in the shelter from some embers that were still hot from the night before. While there was very little dry wood to burn he managed to get the fire going enough to knock the chill off, which was a great help. After one and a half hours at the shelter the rain diminished enough that we decided to move on as we still had another 6 miles to get to our next shelter. Around 2:30 pm we achieved 2 key milestones in our journey – we passed the two hundred mile mark and we climbed up and over Clingman’s Dome (6,612 feet) which is the highest point on the entire Appalachian Trail. In order to do that we had to ascend more than 4,000 feet in the cold, mud and rain yesterday. But, hitting these two milestones lifted our spirits in the gloomy weather. At the top of Clingman’s Dome is a observation tower. As the clouds and fog had been so thick all day long we had no expectations for any kind of view, but when we reached the top of the tower the view was quite spectacular as the clouds, fog and mountain tops created a perfect canvas of beauty. Once we reached camp around 5:00 pm we unpacked all of our wet gear, prepared dinner and then listened to the rain falling on our tents. It was a cold night and I got very little sleep. This morning we packed up in the rain and headed out for a 5.5 mile hike to Newfound Gap where we were picked up by Cobweb Rose’s husband, Curtis, who had driven from Asheville to pickup Cobweb Rose for a weekend at home. Just as we reached Newfound Gap it was raining hard again and very cold. Crossing over the highway to the parking lot we saw a white van and were motioned over. There were three or four trail angels from a local church and they had all kinds of goodies to offer – donuts, fruit, crackers, chips and drinks. It was such a welcomed treat. But, we were freezing and went into the public restroom there to warm up and eat our snacks until Curtis arrived. After arriving at our motel in Gatlinburg we showered, got some lunch and then did laundry which, long story short, took almost 3 hours. Looking forward to a good nights sleep in a dry room. We will return to the trail on Monday morning and hope to have better weather as we begin the second half of our hike through the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

I am posting pics below from the past 3 days since I did not have a strong enough cell signal to download them.

Pics from April 5th

Pics From April 6th

Pics From April 7th

Videos

We broke camp just as it was starting to rain this morning. For the first 5 miles it showered on and off but overall this part of the hike was pretty enjoyable. The afternoon was a different story. What I thought was going to be an easier day than yesterday actually turned out to be more difficult due to many steep ascent sections that were quite long and grueling. By the time we reached our shelter all four of us were pretty tired. Our hike today was just a bit over 12 miles. Tomorrow will be another day of substantial elevation gain so I’m hoping to get a good night of rest. Weather for tomorrow doesn’t look great but we are pretty used to that by now. Spring is really starting to come alive in the GSMNP and we enjoyed a lot of beautiful sights throughout the day. Looking forward to more flowers and tree blooms over the next few weeks. Once again I barely have a cell signal and cannot download any pics. Will catch up on these as soon as I have an opportunity.