Hiking the Good Hike

Hiking the Appalachian Trail is a foreign concept to many. Explaining to our friends and family that we were basically quitting our jobs and leaving our normal daily lives was no easy task; I'm pretty sure no one believed us. But then again, those that know us best probably knew that we were the couple crazy enough to go through with some childhood dream/far-fetched idea. As this idea became reality and the planning began, we received several strange yet warranted questions. Hopefully by now most of those initial questions have been answered leading to our current topic of trail lingo.

I hope this post will help explain some of the abbreviations and terms commonly used along the trail and within the trail community. We've received several questions asking for explanations to particular words or references used in our blog so I've compiled a brief list of those words that you will probably see us use, if we haven't already, with their accompanying definitions/explanations. Please remember that these are my rough-cut, made up, edited definitions but I hope this helps.

AT - Appalachian Trail
NOBO - North Bounder, hiking from Georgia to Maine
SOBO - South Bounder, hiking from Maine to Georgia
Thru-hike - hiking the entire trail in one season
Section-hike - a series of section hikes over time; may combine to hike the entire AT over many years
Flip Flop - hiking one direction then driving to a different location to hike back in the opposite direction i.e. say a person hikes from Georgia to Virginia but an injury/job takes them off the trail for a couple months so to ensure they get to hike the trail in its entirety they skip ahead to Maine and hike back to where they got off the trail
Yoyoing - a back-to-back thru-hike, once in each direction
Slack packing - hiking with only a day pack while the rest of your gear is held or shuttled
White Blaze - standard trail markers, painted white, along the AT
White Blazer aka Purist - a hiker who completes the entire AT; who wants to pass every white blaze on the trail
Blue Blazer - a hiker who takes alternate routes; substitutes a blue blaze trail in place of a section of the white blazed AT
Yellow Blazer - a hiker who "cheats" by hitch hiking, following the yellow center line on roads
Aqua Blazing - opting to float down a waterway that runs along the trail instead of hiking the actual white blazed trail i.e. kayak
LNT - "Leave No Trace"
Triple Crowner - someone who has thru-hiked the AT, Pacific Crest, and Continental Divide
Hiker Trash - an affectionate term used to describe thru-hikers
Yogiing - attempting to look sad enough to get free food and drinks without actually asking for it
AYCE - All You Can Eat i.e. restaurants, buffets
GORP - Good Old Raisons and Peanuts
HYOH - Hike Your Own Hike; make your own decisions
Taking a Zero - a zero mile day where you do no hiking, pretty self explanatory
Nero - a nearly zero mile day; a low mileage day
Resupply - a trip into town to get more food, drink, fuel, pick up mail drops, etc.
Mail Drop - boxes prepackaged/sent to post offices, hostels, or outfitters along the way; another method of resupply
Hiker Box - a box where hikers may give extra/unwanted food and equipment to other hikers; everything is free game and I mean everything; box is found at hostels and outfitters
Register - a log book kept in shelters and trail heads to account for hikers and a way of communication between hikers
Shelter - a 3 sided wooden/stone structure, usually by a water source and hopefully a privy
Privy - glorified outhouse for solid waste
PUDS - Pointless Ups and Downs
Switchback - 180 degree turn in the opposite direction; a zig zag of trails up a mountain, easier, and longer, than hiking straight up the mountain; prevents erosion
Vitamin I - ibuprofen
Trail Name - the name you go by on the trail; an adopted nickname
Trail Magic - hospitality/help freely given; unexpected joys/gifts found along the trail, frequently near road crossings i.e. candy, food, soda, beer, etc.; thru-hikers LOVE trail magic of any kind, seriously not picky
Trail Angels - the givers of trail magic; truly, angels sent by God to give gifts and blessings when needed most/when you least expect it

Cassandra

"Go confidently in the direction of your dreams! Live the life you've imagined."
Thoreau

I'm still behind on my updates. I'm trying to get it caught up but we've been busy walking, eating, sleeping, and just having fun in general. The winter seems to be stubbornly sticking around in the mountains. At the time of this posting we have hiked through snow 8 of our last 9 days. The weather has not been ideal but we are healthy and doing well. As before, we are extremely blessed to have this opportunity regardless of the weather.

Day 17 Russel Field Shelter to Double Spring Gap Shelter - 16.4 miles

We actually slept decently in the shelter last night. The combination of tarp covering, fire, and several warm bodies made for a cozy night. It was chilly, but the sun was shining. The hiking seemed more difficult today but we were doing alright. When we got to Derick Knob Shelter we decided with our friends Kensey and Biscuits & Gravy we would hike all the way to Double Spring Shelter and shoot for Gatlinburg for a quick resupply one day earlier than planned. The hiking seemed slow from here but we made it to Siler's Bald Shelter, the second shelter we would skip today. Trailmovin was there and Blue Moon arrived soon after. They were both worn out and I was unable to talk them into continuing with us. It was kind of sad as they each took photos of us and said goodbye as if we may not hike with them again knowing we would be increasing our daily mileage. We hope we see them again; they are two guys we have really enjoyed the company of the last several days.

The rest of the walk to Double Spring Gap was pretty easy. There were already several people there but they made room for us. It was many of the people we had camped with last night and also some others we had met before but didn't know well. There were some section hikers that left because they said a blizzard was coming. Though it was getting cloudy and the temperature was dropping quickly we got a kick out of that.


Day 18 Double Spring Gap Shelter to Newfound Gap (Gatlinburg) - 10.8 miles

Wow. This morning was cold. We knew it would be our coldest day yet but we were still surprised by the cold. The shelter was considerably warmer than the outside so I was surprised to see my thermometer reading less than ten when I stepped outside into snow. The snow was beautiful but we feared it may effect our chances of making it to town. We planned to hike to Clingman's Dome where we would try to call NOC to attempt to get a shuttle into town. There were now fourteen of us planning to go to town. The hike to Clingman's Dome and the views from it were amazing. We were hiking above the clouds (Clingman's Dome is the highest point on the trail). Someone was able to get a call out to the NOC and they were told the road to Gatlinburg was closed. We had eaten pretty much all of our food planning to resupply in Gatlinburg and now worried we wouldn't be able to make it to town. We had no choice but to hike to the gap and hope the road would reopen by the time we arrive (at least our packs were light). The hiking was treacherous on the snow and ice. Only one person out of our group of fourteen made it without falling.

By the time we got to Newfound Gap there were tourists there so we assumed the road was open but the NOC said it was still closed. We decided to try to hitch into town but fourteen dirty thru hikers is probably overwhelming to innocent tourists; most just looked at us like we were zoo animals. Some gave us a thumbs up in return as if we weren't hitching but just loving the Smokies. Some eventually had success and by the time the shuttle arrived we were down to about 8. We decided due to our late arrival and the weather we would stay the night in Gatlinburg. The shuttle took us straight to the Grand Prix Motel which was a very reasonably priced and hiker friendly place. Once there we saw Jack and Tom who had decided to zero. I thought we wouldn't see them again because of their higher mileage and quicker pace.

After eating first dinner at KFC we rode the trolley (trolley shaped bus) to the grocery store for resupply. After repackaging and sorting our food for the next five days we went to the brewery for second dinner with Nomad, Camaro, Tail Lights, and Man Child. We made it back and went to bed as we planned for a 9:00 shuttle back to the trail.

Day 19 Newfound Gap to Tricorner Knob Shelter - 15.6 miles

We woke up with the sun as is our new normal. We ate our donuts, bananas, and muffins and prepared to get back on the trail. Robbie, Kensey, B&G, and Ben had chosen to zero and tried to talk us into staying but the forecast indicated a couple of decent days followed by some severe weather so we chose to stick to our plan. We were on our way back to the trail with Tom, Jack, Nomad, Camaro, Witchdoctor, Man Child, and Tail Lights shuttled by local trail angels with a neat story to tell. They were very nice.

The first ten miles of the day's hike were beautiful. We walked on steep ridge lines and over rocks and were rewarded with some great views. The trail was still coated in a thick layer of ice so travel was slow. Our last five miles had no views and seemed to last several hours, as we turned each corner we thought for sure we would see the shelter. I wasn't feeling well, likely from not drinking enough. The snow began again as we arrived at the shelter. The whole gang was here, AYCE made it in just before dark filling the shelter. More snow coming tonight but we hope to be out of the Smokies (or very close) by tomorrow.

Thanks for reading,

Chris

Day 12 - Wayah Bald Shelter to A. Rufus Morgan Shelter - 15.5 miles

Last night was a cold one. I think I stayed out too long and for that I went to bed cold. We got up and moving by 9:30, we were in no particular hurry. We planned to hike to Wesser Bald Shelter 10.6 miles away and then decide from there whether or not to hike on. We arrived at Cold Spring Shelter fairly quickly but slowed as we approached Tellico Gap, it seemed like a lot of ups and downs today. We were treated to some nice views on the Wesser Bald tower. We moved on to Wesser Bald Shelter. It was empty, we felt good, and it was still early in the afternoon so we chose to move on to the next shelter.

The last few miles seemed to take forever (as is the norm). We rolled into the A. Rufus Morgan shelter where some thru hikers we knew were setting up camp and a few more hikers rolled in after us. It seemed no one wanted to sleep in the shelter due to a warning about spiders. It was unusually warm so we hung out pretty comfortably until dark and then we all headed to our tents (or hammocks). Tomorrow we're planning for a short hike to the Nantahala Outdoor Center where we'll hang out and eat lunch before moving on.


Day 13 - A. Rufus Morgan Shelter to Sassafras Gap Shelter - 7.7 miles

Last night was the warmest night we've had so far, I imagine it was in the high 40s. We woke up and got moving fairly quickly; we didn't eat much breakfast because we knew we would be at the NOC (Nantahala Outdoor Center) in less than an hour. When we got to the NOC we saw Tom and Jack from Colorado who we hadn't seen in a few days. It was nice to see them again. We went into the general store to get just a couple items we needed and ended up with pints of ice cream. I finished mine without a problem but Cassandra needed some help.

After our ice cream breakfast we went across the street to the outfitter to get our permits for the Smokies. New this year, thru hikers have to register online to hike the Smokies. The permit is $20 per person and you're allowed 8 nights in the park. The NOC had a computer set up for hikers to register and print their permits. We picked up what items we needed at the outfitter and went outside to hang out in the sun for a while before having lunch. Blue Moon, a hiker we had spent several nights camping with, was surprised by a visit by his son and daughter in law; it was nice to meet them.

We finally made our way into The Rivers End restaurant for lunch with some other hikers. We had a good meal and relaxed for a couple hours and then it was time to move on. After lunch we had a big climb, we knew it would take pretty much the rest of the day. It turned out we ate too much and then waited to do our 3000 foot climb at the hottest time of the day and it was hot(ish) for a change. By the time we reached Sassafras Gap Shelter it was full and all tenting areas had been claimed. We decided we would climb back to the trail and camp on the ridge above. The wind and rocky ground was making pitching our tent difficult and I worried we would have a sleepless night. Apparently rain was also in the forecast. We ate oatmeal for dinner and were in bed at dark. We plan to wake up early to try and get to Cheoah Bald for sunrise.


Day 14 - Sassafras Gap Shelter to Cable Gap Shelter - 15.2 miles

No rain last night and luckily the wind calmed to only a slight roar waking us up only occasionally. We were up at 6:30 to try and get to Cheoah Bald for sunrise. When we got out of the tent we saw several lights already moving up the trail; it seemed we weren't the only ones with this brilliant idea. "Breakfast at the bald"
they were calling it. We didn't quite make it but we enjoyed the views along the way. We arrived at the bald and there were already 15-20 hikers there eating breakfast and enjoying the sunrise. It was a really cool thing to spend our morning in that way.

We moved on and stopped for lunch at Stecoah Gap before climbing Jacob's Ladder which was essentially just a steep hill; nothing really worthy of being named in my opinion. The rest of the hike was fairly uneventful. We arrived at the shelter around 4. We had a quiet but enjoyable night at camp. Tomorrow we will hike to the Fontana Dam where we plan to get a good nights sleep at the lodge before entering the Smokies.


Day 15 Cable Gap Shelter to Hwy 28 (Fontana Lodge) - 5.5 miles

We woke to sunlight though it had rained part of the night. About half the hikers had already left camp by the time we got up. We took our time knowing we had a short hike and also to allow our tent to dry. Because we would be entering the Smokies, there was a good chance our tent would stay packed for several days. In the Smokies, you must sleep in the shelters unless they're full in which case you can tent "in the vicinity of the shelter."

As we climbed the first climb I was feeling pretty weak. We stopped for a break where I ate a snickers bar dipped in peanut butter. I call this "AYCE style" named after the hiker named AYCE from whom I stole the idea. We arrived at the road crossing where we were then shuttled to Fontana Village where we had planned to share a room with Rooster and Chickadee at the lodge. At the lodge we saw some other hikers we knew who were waiting out the planned power outage to do some laundry. We got to our room, showered and headed to the laundromat. We started our laundry and then walked to the Pit Stop where we would get lunch and resupply. It was basically a carry out with a bar that had a very small selection of hiker food. We had been told we couldn't resupply at Fontana but we were able to get enough food to get us half way through the Smokies without difficulty.

After finishing our laundry and resupply we went back to the lodge to watch Taken 2; it was nice to sit down and watch a movie. We then ate a nice dinner at the lodge and went back to our room for the post resupply repackaging and packing. We plan to enter the Smokies tomorrow, hopefully with good weather. There's a lot of talk about the Smokies among thru hikers; most seem to fear this section. We're looking forward to seeing what the Smokies have in store for us.


Day 16 Hwy 28 (Fontana Lodge) to Russell Field Shelter - 15 miles

We woke up early to get breakfast and hopefully get on the trail at a decent hour. Cassandra and I went to breakfast while Rooster and Chickadee slept. We went back to the room to pack our things and the others went to breakfast. We decided instead of waiting on the others to get a head start. We went to tell the others we were leaving and they had decided to stay and take a zero. We caught the shuttle back to the trail and we were on the trail by ourselves; it was strange knowing they would not be coming along as we had been with Rooster for over a week and he was one of our first trail friends.

We were on the trail by 10. We crossed the Fontana Dam and entered the Smokies. We met a ranger at the entrance checking permits. It was an uneventful but nice hike. We arrived at the first shelter in the Smokies at about 3:00 so we decided to move on to the next shelter. We got to the next shelter quickly and it was nearly full of mostly people we knew. The shelters in the Smokies are large and have fireplaces. Just as it was nearing bedtime a few section hikers strolled in. We now had over 20 people in a shelter that sleeps 12. I guess that will make for a cozy night with the fire.


Thanks for reading,

Chris

For those that know me, you know how much I love to eat. Like my father-n-law, when I'm eating lunch, I'm thinking about what's for dinner. When I'm working out, I'm thinking about all the extra calories that I get to eat for the day. I just love food.

Out here on the trail, my love for food is 10x worse than it ever was at home. Now, I don't just love food, I'm obsessed with food; it's all I think about (well, not all the time but a good chunk of the time). Amongst thru-hikers, this thought process is considered completely normal; everyone is obsessed with food. I'd venture to say that food is one of the most talked about topics on the whole AT.

Now, food is essential for several reasons, first and foremost being survival via nutrition and sustenance. On average, an AT thru-hiker will consume about 3,000-5,000 calories per day--a rough estimate, please don't quote me; each thru-hiker's diet varies per preference, caloric need, finances, and food availability. Whatever the caloric intake, I think every thru-hiker can agree on the fact that whatever we eat, it is never enough. All you can eat (AYCE) buffets are always a big hit when we roll into town--sometimes freshly showered and bathed, and sometimes not so fresh right off the trail; I apologize in advance to any unsuspecting patrons. Clean or not, a trip into town is always a much needed and wanted break from the trail. Sometimes you just need/crave "real" food. Plus, the extra calories are needed for the trail.

The average thru-hiker will lose 10-20 pounds, sometimes within the first few weeks i.e. Chris; others may lose more depending on how much expendable weight a hiker has from the beginning. No matter what a thru-hikers starting weight, food, and lots of it, is always a necessity for the trail. To give you a better idea of what Chris and I eat when on the trail, here's an example of a typical day.

Breakfast:
- oatmeal, 160 calories per packet, x 2
- carnation breakfast essentials, 130 calories per packet; we also like to add some instant coffee and protein powder to complete our breakfast smoothie concoction.

Snack:
- pop tart, 200 calories per serving

Lunch:
- tortilla, 110 calories each
Option A:
- pepperoni, 7ish calories per slice
- cheese, 110 calories per 1 oz
Option B:
- peanut butter, 190 calories per 2 Tbsp
- strawberry fruit spread, 50 calories

Snack:
- Snickers, 250 calories per bar
or
- Milky Way, 240 calories per bar
or
- another Pop Tart, 200 calories per serving

Dinner:
- mashed potatoes, 220 calories (per person, we share)
- macaroni and cheese, 375 calories per person/serving
or
- pasta sides, 320 calories per person/serving

Dessert:
- Nutella, 200 calories per 2 Tbsp

Extra/essential:
- Powerade, 130 calories per bottle, 20 fl oz; if coming from a resupply in town and happen to need a new bottle, the Powerade, or Gatorade, makes for an added bonus.
or
- electrolyte replacement drink mixes

The list above is just an example of a typical food day for the 2 of us. However, eating the same thing everyday gets kind of boring and old so you get creative and try to combine things that sometimes work and sometimes don't. For example, I've learned that ramen noodles, peanut butter, and hot sauce actually combine fairly well to make a rustic Pad Thai. So that was a good combination, we won't get into some of the not so good combinations I've observed being eaten on the trail.

Well, I could go on and on about food; if you couldn't tell, food is one of my favorite subjects. And now, thanks to the trail, I am happy to say that my stomach is rarely ever full. I eat and eat and after an hour I'm hungry all over again but never gain weight. It's pretty awesome; I still read labels and count calories but in reverse-the more calories the better. Hope I made you hungry, please eat something good for me :-)

Cassandra

For additional information on thru-hikers and food, check out this article, or not, but here it is anyway:
http://www.appalachiantrail.com/advice/food-and-water/planning-meals-for-a-thru-hike.html

"If most of us valued food and cheer and song above hoarded gold it would be a merrier world."
J.R.R. Tolkien

Day 9
Standing Indian Shelter to Long Branch Shelter - 16.2 miles

Today was a much better day than yesterday. Yesterday I was bummed about the rain and also that we only hiked five miles. We made up for it today. The weather was perfect and the hiking was great. The first several miles were easy walking. We stopped at Carter Gap Shelter(s) (apparently there are two, we only saw one) for lunch and then kept moving. We had some sweet views today including a fire tower on Albert Mountain. Just before Albert Mountain we crossed the 100 mile mark.

We ended our day at Long Branch Shelter which is very new. We tented at one of only two tent sites. There are a few familiar faces in the shelter tonight including Rooster, Chickadee, TrailMovin, all who we have spent several nights with and Tom and Jack from Colorado who we recently met. We had some fun hanging out at the shelter before bed but were ready for bed as the darkness approached. They (hikers) call it "hiker midnight" when it gets dark because that's when we all go to bed. We plan to wake up early and hit Franklin, NC in the morning.


Day 10
Long Branch Shelter to Winding Stair Gap- 7.3 miles

We woke up at 7:00 to get an early start and catch the 11:00 shuttle into town. Nearly everyone in the shelter was up shortly thereafter. It seemed everyone was ready to go to town. We were on the trail by 8:00 but had to move quick to cover over 7 miles in just 3 hours. We never looked back and made it to Winding Stair Gap at 10:20. The thought of having pizza for lunch really had us moving.

When we arrived at the gap we were greeted by some former thru hikers offering beer as trail magic. We talked with them as we waited for our shuttle which arrived closer to 11:30. Our shuttle was provided by the owner of the hotel in which we would stay. He told us all about Franklin and what restaurants/businesses we should visit. He drove us to the hotel where we would spend our night in Franklin. Not the nicest place but nice to have a warm bed and shower. For lunch we ate at Corbin's Country Buffet, great food and very hiker friendly. After lunch we wandered into an really nice outfitter to replace a spork and Cassandra got a 45 minute foot analysis at the mention of having blisters on her toes. We chose to resupply at Dollar General rather than taking the shuttle to a real grocer. After the resupply we went to Vitto's Pizza for dinner with Rooster and Chickadee. Great pizza at reasonable prices and they even drove us to and from the restaurant at no cost. The rest of evening we just relaxed and made some phone calls to catch up with our parents.


Day 11 Winding Stair Gap to Wayah Bald Shelter - 11 miles

We chose to take the 11:00 shuttle back to the trail. There were about 20 hikers on the bus and no faces I recognized. It was overwhelming. We did meet Robbie who had seen our blog and had actually lived in Portsmouth temporarily. Our shuttle driver drove us to the trail head once again telling us where we should resupply and stay in the days to come.

The bus stopped and the hikers dispersed making their way up the mountain. Cassandra, Rooster, and I were the last on the trail and Chickadee stayed behind to meet with her dad who would hike with her a few days. We passed many hikers as we made out way up the trail. Several miles into the day's hike we encountered tail magic. A section hiker known as Fresh Ground was set up serving soup, salad, hot dogs, hot chocolate, and coffee. Such a great surprise. I don't really understand why people spend their time and money to help us so much but it's awesome.

After hanging with Fresh Ground for a while we continued to Wayah Bald. Wayah Bald is the location of the photo (taken last year) at top of our blog. We spent quite some time gazing at the mountains we had crossed and the ones we would soon be crossing. We stated to get cold from sitting too long so we moved on the Wayah Bald Shelter where we would camp.

It was a fun evening at the shelter. Someone had started a fire an we spent some time hanging out around the fire getting to know both old and new trail friends. As the temperature dropped everyone slowly began making their way to the tents/shelters. It was really a great day but most have been so far.



Thanks for reading,
Chris

Life on the trail is fairly simple. Food, water, shelter, and safety become your top priorities. You no longer live by the clock, but rather, the sun. After so many years of working night shift, rising with the sun has been a challenge and a pleasure. It feels natural to rise with the sun and likewise to go to bed with its setting. Fun fact:  hiker midnight is 8 pm, or whenever the sun happens to go down--that's practically when my 12 hour shift was just beginning.

Going to bed early is awesome except that my body doesn't know how to handle that much sleep; after a couple of hours I just wake up hoping for the sun to rise. It's nice, though, not having to worry about an alarm clock or a deadline. My life now revolves around hiking, eating, sleeping, and the weather. And of course, if it gets dark, I have a headlamp.

Now I know that trail life does not appeal to everyone. To some, I'm reverting back to cave-man days--not electricity, no sink, no civilized bathroom, no TV, limited to nonexistent cell phone reception/internet service i.e. no Facebook, no Pinterest. So basically, I'm being voluntarily forcerd/given the chance to live life with fewer distractions. I actually have time to think, to grow closer to God, to talk to my husband, and to notice the first flowers of spring, just to name a few. I can actually smile and say hi and ask every person I meet how their day is going because I'm not driving past them at 65 mph. It is truly a wonderful feeling; I feel as if I am finally living rather than just existing. In Chris' words, when you first wake up, crawl out of your nice, cozy sleeping bag, and step into the cold, morning air, "it's refreshing; it makes you feel alive".

Cassandra

"Life is really simple, but we insist on making it complicated."
Confucius

Have I mentioned how much fun thru hiking is? This trip has now surpassed all of our previous trips in both days and mileage. For those not familiar with AT culture I apologize if I've used unknown terms. In future posts I will try to define trail jargon as I go. On that note, the unusual names mentioned in our posts are trail names. Trail names are basically nick names for hikers and are a long standing trail tradition. Cassandra and I are yet to acquire trail names. Continue reading below for updates on days six, seven, and eight.

Day 6
Cheese factory site to Dicks Creek Gap - 13 miles

It was another beautiful morning. We decided to try to make it to Dicks Creek Gap hoping to stay at the famous Blueberry Patch. The Blueberry Patch is a small hostel outside of Hiawassee, GA run by a former thru hiker and his wife, but more on that later. Just after leaving camp we were surprised to find trail magic (a good deed given to a hiker usually in the form of food or drink) again. A local Boy Scout troop had set up and were cooking breakfast. We had pancakes, sausage, and the best eggs I've ever eaten. What a pleasant surprise! We were finally on the move at 9:15.

Our hike was basically uneventful otherwise. We hiked pretty hard with Roosta and Molly to get to the hostel before it filled. We really need to take an easier day soon. The Blueberry Patch is awesome. The owners are so nice and very helpful. Upon arrival they offer cold drinks, showers, and offer to do your laundry. I can't beleive how welcoming and hospitable they are. Gary, the owner, is a former thru hiker and they opened this hostel as a Christian ministry following his hike. The service these people provide to hikers is amazing. It felt great to be clean and have clean clothes.

After getting settled in, a handful of us hikers went into town for dinner and a resupply. We are at a local buffet, the food wasn't great, but it was nice to have some real food for a change. After resupplying we returned to the hostel where we sorted and repackaged our food for the next four days. I had good enough cell phone reception to talk to my sister for a few minutes, it was nice to talk to family. Tomorrow we'll have breakfast here before getting back on the trail. Gary has invited all who are staying to go to church in the morning. We kind of lost track of the days but that sounds nice and we'll likely take them up on that.

Day 7
Dicks Creek Gap to Muskrat Creek Shelter - 11.8 miles

We slept great last night. A warm bed is nice. Waking up was difficult, I'll blame in on the time change. Not long after waking up the breakfast bell rang and we went inside to a cozy little dining room with a table for ten. Gary and Lennie began passing around the food they had prepared. Homemade biscuits, hashbrowns, sausage, eggs, and pancakes. We had blueberry syrup for the pancakes that was so good I can still taste it. We had orange juice and real coffee and we all sat and ate like a big family though we only have known each other for a week. It was really a great time. I will always have fond memories of that meal and our stay at the Blueberry Patch. Any potential thru hikers out there should definitely put that on your must do list.

After breakfast Gary shuttled some of the hikers back to the trail while some of us stayed to go to church. It was really nice to have the opportunity to attend church, I didn't think we would for quite a while. Everyone at church was very nice and welcoming, it seems they're used to having hikers visit.

Following church, Gary shuttled us back to the trail. It was after 1:00 before we got on the trail. We hiked with Chickadee most of the afternoon but she chose to hike ahead as she had planned to cover a few more miles than us. We crossed into North Carolina; it was nice entering our second of fourteen states. We got to Bly Gap where we had planned to camp but it was very windy and the tenting options were subpar. We chose to move on the Muskrat Creek Shelter hoping for better wind cover. We arrived at the shelter to find there were many hikers already there and many we knew including Roosta, Chickadee, Blue Moon, and Trail Movin. Not much in the way of tent sites but we made due. We prepared for rain as it was forecasted with certainty.

Day 8
Muskrat Creek Shelter to Standing Indian Shelter - 5 miles

I was told by a two time thru hiker there would be no more than ten days like this on the trail. This makes three. Today started and ended with cold rain and strong wind. The good news was we slept until after 8, we needed a good sleep. The rain began sometime during the night, we stayed warm and dry. We knew the rain was forecasted to last all day and we were unsure what conditions would be on Standing Indian Mountain so we chose to only hike to the next shelter 5 miles away. Lame, but better than a zero I guess.

The hiking wasn't very difficult. We arrived at the next shelter in just over two hours. When we arrived, Roosta and Chickadee were already bundled up in the shelter along with some spring breakers and two German brothers. The spring breakers and the brothers chose not stay but the shelter filled to capacity quickly. I'm not really very fond of the full shelter, I hope this is our last night in one for a while. I suppose it's better than pitching our already wet tent in the pouring rain. It was really boring just sitting in an overcrowded shelter watching the rain, but the weather the last few days had been amazing so we had it coming. I just was kind of bummed to only hike five miles and shelters are not the best place to spend a day.

Tomorrow is forecasted to be nice. We're hoping to make up some miles and be able to maybe get into Franklin, NC the following day. Maybe 16-18 miles tomorrow.

The weather sucked today but this is still an amazing experience. I hope for better weather in days to come but we'll make due with what we are given. We are blessed to be here regardless of what the weather is.


Thanks for reading,
Chris

Well, life is good. As Chris has said, we've been busy hiking, eating, and sleeping; plus internet reception hasn't been the greatest, so thank you again for being patient. I'll let Chris keep you up to date on the specifics of the trail from day to day but figured I could chime in with some more generalized details.

Overall, I have no regrets and no real complaints. I mean, I could complain about our bad weather days. For example, on day 3 we did 14.5 miles up and over Blood Mountain in below zero temperatures, if you include wind chill, which was 60 mph. For me, that was my worst day thus far. 1. I hate being cold 2. I hate being too cold to eat-I love, and need, my food and 3. I'm not the fastest uphill/mountain climber; I'm more of a downhill, flat, ridge walker...if only that existed on the AT.

All kidding aside, we really are having an adventure of a life time. We've met so many strangers that have quickly become friends, we've encountered several acts of kindness exhibited through trail magic, and we've been blessed with life, health, and beautiful surroundings each and every day. God is so good and He amazes me more and more each day. Thank you so much for reading and being a part of our story-stay tuned!

Cassandra

"I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived." Henry David Thoreau

Sorry we're so behind. Thru-hiking is busy, we haven't had much free time lately. We basically walk, eat, and sleep. It's great though. We're still having so much fun. The weather has been nice for the most part (except for one day
as you'll soon read), the people are amazing, and the scenery is beautiful. Here's an update on days three through five:

Day 3
Gooch Gap to Neel Gap - 14.5 miles

We didn't sleep well again. The wind blew like crazy all night. The tent held up well but it is a bit drafty with heavy winds. We woke up to about an inch of snow and temperatures in the low twenties. We packed up camp and went back to the fire to warm up before taking off. We had plans to hike fourteenish miles over Blood Mountain to Neel Gap. After collecting some water and fighting our quickly freezing drinking tubes we were on our way. It was extremely windy and very cold, but the snow was beautiful. When we arrived at Woody Gap, it appeared the weather was worsening. Irish and Monkey chose to catch a ride to Neel Gap with plans to slackpack that stretch the following day. (Slackpack is a term meaning you hike with food and water for that day while the rest of your gear is held at or driven to you destination.) They invited us to join them but we chose to move on and Monkey said she would try to secure us a spot at the Neel Gap hostel
for the night. We hiked the remaining 10 miles without even stopping for lunch because we wanted to be off of Blood Mountain before dark and we got cold quickly when not moving. It was a tough hike, the temps were only in the twenties all day and we've been told the wind gusts were sixty mph.

When we got to Neel Gap they immediately directed us toward a cabin. Irish Charm and Monkey had secured a four person cabin for the same price as the hostel stay. Awesome. More space, our own bathroom, and a warm bed. We went back to the hostel for a baked spaghetti dinner provided by a church group. We met more thrus and hung out. We plan to hang out here until lunch time and resupply at the gear store before getting back on the trail.

Day 4
Neels Gap to Low Gap Shelter - 11.2 miles

Sleeping in a bed in a warm cabin was really nice. We decided since we had a long difficult day yesterday we would sleep in and stay until check out at 11. Monkey and Irish were up early to catch their ride back to Woody Gap for their slackpack. They were planning to try and hike to Whitley Gap shelter where we also planned to stay. We left the cabin at around 11 and headed for the store for our resupply.

We finally got on the trail again at noon. We took our time checking out the views and taking some photos, we were in no hurry because we only were hiking 6.4 miles. We arrived at Whitley Gap where we found the sign indicating we would have to hike 1.2 miles further to stay at that shelter. Because we didn't want to hike that far out of our way we decided to move on the the next shelter 4.8 miles away. It was already 3:30, we would have to make good time to get there before dark. Cassandra led us there in less than two hours. Many of the hikers we had seen at the Neel Gap hostel are here. The shelter is full and many are tenting. We set up, ate, hung our food, and socialized a bit. It's cool tonight, but not bad. We now worry when we will see Monkey and Irish again as they are at least a day behind us. We have really enjoyed hanging with them these last few days. They are extremely knowledgable about the trail and have been a tremendous help. We're not sure how far to go tomorrow. We'll see how we feel. Today ended up being longer than planned.

Day 5
Low Gap shelter to "cheese factory site" - 13.4 miles

Last night we had the best sleep so far. We were up, packed, breakfasted, socialized and on the trail by 8:20. The first part of today was fairly easy. We made it to Blue Mountain Shelter for lunch in about 3 hours.

We stopped for a short rest at Unicoi with Rooster and Molly and then hit the trail again to try and make it to camp before dark. We hiked at a good pace and had some great views. Made it to "cheese factory site" at about 4, our earliest stop yet. Rooster and Molly were planning to press on but chose to camp with us after seeing our nice site in the rhododendrons. We ate and talked with them a bit before bed. We schemed for tomorrow. We can't decide whether to go 13 miles and catch a ride to Hiawassee or shorter and have a nero (near zero miles) the next day. We'll see what happens.


Thanks for reading,

Chris