Final thoughts

My Appalachian Trail thru-hike is the best thing I’ve ever done. I started my hike at Springer Mountain in Georgia on March 15, and ended at Katahdin in Maine on August 7. I hiked 2,189.2 miles, and was hiker number 196 to summit Katahdin this year. It took me four months and 23 days, and I’ve never been so mentally and physically challenged on a consistent basis. If you’ve ever thought hiking the Appalachian Trail was easy, you’re mistaken. I felt exhausted all the time, and got pretty burnt out on hiking during my final month. I would wake up, dread hiking, but would have to do it anyway. I never thought thru-hiking would be easy, but I definitely underestimated how difficult it would be. In my last month I really pushed myself, partially because I was ready to be done. Now that I’m done, I regret not slowing down. I miss the trail already!

KATAHDIN

On my final day I woke up at 5 am, met up with my friends at 6 am, and we began our hike up to the summit of Katahdin. I had so many mixed feelings. This was the day I had been dreaming of for so long. I was so ready to summit and return to the real world, but with the end in sight I wasn’t ready for my hike to end. Crafty, Uphill, Wookie, South Pole, and I started off on relatively easy terrain. It’s a five mile hike from the base of Katahdin to the summit, and I’ve often heard it described as the most difficult climb on the AT. I was hesitant to believe this. After all that I had been through I wondered just how difficult a five mile climb could be. About two miles into the hike, doubt turned to understanding. For the following two miles we were literally climbing up the side of a mountain on car sized boulders. I would say that I’m mildly afraid of heights, but I was having a minor panic attack while climbing. Looking down and seeing nothing but a straight line of boulders while you’re 4,000 feet above sea level is terrifying. However, our last mile was just about perfect. We entered the tablelands, a grassy alpine plateau. We quickly made our way up to the summit, and it was surreal. When I had imagined summiting I had always seen myself crying, because this was the goal I had been working towards for the last four and a half months. Upon arrival, I ran up, kissed the sign, and felt almost emotionless. It was totally surreal. But when I finally hopped up on the Katahdin sign, I felt so much joy. I felt on top of the world. We hung out on the summit for a while, and then began our descent. After starting down the mountain, Crafty turned around, looked at me, and we both immediately began crying. We said nothing, but I could see in her eyes the same emotions I was feeling. First and foremost, I was proud. I’ve never worked so hard to achieve a goal. At the same time I was incredibly sad. I’ve made amazing friends, have incredible memories, and have had so much fun over the course of my hike, and now that it was over I didn’t want it to end. Thinking about returning to the real world was so daunting. Thoughts of apartment hunting, moving, and work were overwhelming. I just want to stay in the woods and be happy and free forever. 

The climb up

Tablelands 

 Adjusting

I’ve gone through a serious adjustment to real life process in the last few days. While hiking, I got used to consuming around 7,000 calories a day in order to sustain my energy level. Now that I’m not hiking 20+ miles a day with a 30-pound backpack I’ve had to seriously watch my eating. If you know me, you know that this is the thing I’m having the most difficulty with. I love eating! Being able to eat a cheeseburger, fries, and then a whole pint of Ben & Jerry’s in one sitting was amazing. Having to be calorie conscious and practice portion control is a constant struggle. However, I definitely don’t miss trail food. I gag at the sight of Clif Bars, and if I never saw a Clif Bar, Lara Bar, or Kind Bar ever again I’d be so happy. I definitely took driving for granted. I never really realized how convenient and easy it made my life until I had to rely on hitch hiking for transportation. I feel super strong, and like I could run for days, but my joints don’t agree. I tried to run yesterday, and immediately felt like I was being stabbed in the knees. I always felt fine enough while hiking, but almost five months of hiking has caught up to me, and my body is still trying to recover. 

 Friends!

I knew I’d make friends, but saying I just made friends doesn’t do any of those relationships justice. I always joke that my friends are I were like married couples, but realistically, we spent way more time together than married couples. We woke up together, hiked together (sometimes), and then went to sleep together. We suffered together, celebrated together, and had so many experiences that Muggles (non thru-hikers, sorry) will never understand. Uphill, Crafty, T.R., Wookie, you all helped shape the course of my hike. You were there for me when I needed you, and I can't even begin to explain how much all of you mean to me, and how much I value your friendship. I couldn't have done what I did without you, and I miss all of you dearly! I know we’ll all be friends for life! VIVA STRUGGLEBUS (eagle cry)! 

Trail Magic

I have been truly blown away by the generosity of my friends, family, and total strangers. I can’t thank everyone enough for all of the support I received. I love you all, and it truly meant the world to me to have such an amazing support network at home. 

Kellie Lingle

I wanted to start by thanking the one person who has helped me the most. Before my hike even started, I moved multiple times in order to save money. Kellie was a champ and helped me move at least 3 times (and will probably help me again when I return to Richmond). In addition, she also sat and listened while I had minor panic attacks about leaving, and to hours of excited gear talk (which she probably didn’t understand or care about). Once I was on the trail, Kellie sent me all of my food mail drops, most of which were on 3-4 days notice. She was also one of the only people who texted me consistently, and helped me feel like I had any connection to the non-trail world. 

Mom & Dad

I’ll be the first to admit that my parents didn’t seem thrilled when I announced my plan to thru hike. I was met with “why don’t you get a real job instead”, and “why do you want to do this?”. My parents thoroughly surprised me, and came to my rescue many times when I needed help. They sent me a ton of gear mail drops, and drove all the way to Maine to get Sullivan and bring him home when he got injured. In addition, they’ve put up with a formal living room full of my living room furniture, bedrooms full of my other possessions and furniture, and are currently housing Sullivan and me while we look for housing in Richmond. 

Friends, Family, & Strangers

If I took time to write paragraphs for everyone that helped me this blog post would be forever long! I really can’t thank everyone enough for supporting me, and helping make my dream come true! I don’t think I can ever really express how grateful I am. 

Things I would do differently

I felt really good about most of the choices I made on my hike, but there were definitely a few drastic changes I would make if I could do it all over again. 

Sullivan

Sullivan is a true champ. Kellie brought him to me right after the Great Smoky Mountains in Tennessee/ North Carolina, and he hiked with me until Maine. He’s truly an amazing trail dog. He’s built for endurance running, is intelligent, and is really great off leash. I would let Sullivan run in front of me, or hike behind me off leash, and he would (almost) always stay on the trail. He would consistently run circles around me, and loved hiking. Unfortunately, the rocks of the White Mountains and southern Maine proved to be too much for his paws. He got injured, stopped loving hiking, and I felt like a selfish, mean mother for putting him in that situation in the first place. While Sullivan was a great hiking dog, he added stress, financial strain, and having a dog in general was pretty limiting. 

Gear

Overall, I was surprisingly happy with almost all of my gear. My tent, a Terra Nova Solar Photon 2 was amazing. My sleeping pad, an Exped synmat UL, survived being jumped on by Sullivan, and was extremely comfortable as well. I do love my sleeping bag (Marmot hydrogen 30), but would definitely choose a 20 degree bag over a 30. I used an Osprey Exos 48 backpack. While I do love my backpack, I would go with something different in the future. I do think my Exos was the perfect capacity, and I do love the back ventilation, but it was far from comfortable. I came home, got to examine my body, and all of the scars my pack left. I have hip belt bruises, shoulder strap bruises, and lower back bruises. My next pack will definitely be a Hyperlite Mountain Gear Windrider pack. They’re super comfortable, lightweight, and waterproof! But, backpacks are very much personal preference, and knowing what works for you and what doesn’t. 

 Lasting impact 

My hike has definitely changed me (I think for the better)! I learned just how mentally strong I am. I pushed myself to what I thought was my breaking point several times, but always managed to keep going. I’ve always loved nature, but living in the woods gave me way more appreciation. Through this I’ve started to be more conscious about sustainability and living with less. I also felt like a fairly competent backpacker/ hiker when I started. Wrong. I’ve learned so much about gear, and reading terrain and weather. I didn’t have nearly as much time as I thought I would have for introspection, but I still feel like I learned a fair amount about myself and the kind of life I’d like to live in the future. I’ve always had faith in humanity, but sometimes questioned it. Now my faith has totally been restored by the selfless generosity of complete strangers. More importantly, I’ve learned that being passionate and following my dreams, despite what others may think, is key to a happy life. When I first announced my plan to hike, so many of my friends told me they wished they could do what I was doing, and they could have. Quitting my job, and leaving my life for five months wasn’t easy, but it was a risk I was willing to take. I really believe that the greatest rewards do not come without risk. Andrea Singer sent me this quote shortly after I began hiking, and they’ve really become words that I live by, and strive to still live by in the future. 

 

"This is the thing: When you hit 28 or 30, everything begins to divide. You can see very clearly two kinds of people. On one side, people who have used their 20s to learn and grow, to find … themselves and their dreams, people who know what works and what doesn’t, who have pushed through to become real live adults. Then there’s the other kind, who are hanging onto college, or high school even, with all their might. They’ve stayed in jobs they hate, because they’re too scared to get another one. They’ve stayed with men or women who are good but not great, because they don’t want to be lonely. … they mean to develop intimate friendships, they mean to stop drinking like life is one big frat party. But they don’t do those things, so they live in an extended adolescence, no closer to adulthood than when they graduated.
Don’t be like that. Don’t get stuck. Move, travel, take a class, take a risk. There is a season for wildness and a season for settledness, and this is neither. This season is about becoming. Don’t lose yourself at happy hour, but don’t lose yourself on the corporate ladder either. Stop every once in a while and go out to coffee or climb in bed with your journal.
Ask yourself some good questions like: “Am I proud of the life I’m living? What have I tried this month? … Do the people I’m spending time with give me life, or make me feel small? Is there any brokenness in my life that’s keeping me from moving forward?”
Now is your time. Walk closely with people you love, and with people who believe … life is a grand adventure. Don’t get stuck in the past, and don’t try to fast-forward yourself into a future you haven’t yet earned. Give today all the love and intensity and courage you can, and keep traveling honestly along life’s path. "

 

I’m not sure what the future has in store, but I’m excited to see what comes next!

 

Evan Kelly on the A.T.

My friend Evan Kelly came to hike with me last weekend, and it was so much fun! Evan was a total trooper. He dealt with me changing plans at least 5 times, drove a bunch of my smelly friends and me around town, and didn't complain at all. Here's his take on hiking with me!

“Plans are nothing;

Planning is everything”

-Dwight D. Eisenhower

As my window of time to catch Kylie (Sugar Magnolia) and Sullivan (Booze Hound) on the trail was dwindling, I made an executive decision to leave the nation’s capital for 4th of July weekend and head up to the Green Mountains of Vermont to live (or try to live) the trail life for the long weekend. As soon as I met my first thru-hiker (Wookie), I realized that this weekend would essentially be a sociological study of the creature known as the thru-hiker.

I’ve spent a bit of time on the AT, but never much more than a week and definitely never with thru hikers. I was pumped to find out what the life of a thru-hiker was like. Andrea wasn’t lying when she said that food was a primary motivator for thru-hikers. I showed up in camp the first night with a dozen Country Style donuts that Kellie had me bring up from Richmond and I could see their watering mouths. Fortunately I placated the mob that was forming with oreos and other snacks I brought in order to save the donuts for Kylie.

I wasn’t really surprised by the love for food and booze, but I kind of expected thru-hikers to be a little better at certain things… I’m a self-hating alarm snoozer and I figured that wasn’t going to fly on the trail, but there wasn’t a morning that went by that I didn’t hear alarms going off and quickly being silenced. I assume each snoozing hiker was rationalizing to themselves how they could hike a little faster with more sleep or that they’d take less breaks during the day. I was also surprised that most thru-hikers didn’t seem particularly fond of hiking itself. They weighed every side trail in their minds before deciding whether the view was worth the exertion.

Now to explain the quote at the top. One of the most daunting parts of the AT to me is the logistics. I talked to Kylie prior to her trip and the planning seemed above and beyond anything I’d ever want to undertake. No matter how much planning you do though, it never works out that way. Of the 3 nights I spent on the trail, we spent the night at exactly zero of the places we planned to when we woke up that morning. Whether plans are derailed due to weather, views, or mischief, you can’t reliably predict where you’ll be outside a 48 hour window. This makes packages for resupply very precarious. Kylie’s replacement shoes have been bounced around by about four post offices and I’m hoping she’ll have them by the time she posts this blog!

One of our unexpected pit stops was at the top of Bromley Mountain on the 4th of July. We reached the top via a ski slope and found two ski lifts and a nice hut at the top. After relaxing in the hut and some shoes being taken off, the executive decision was made to spend the night at the top of the mountain. Our decision was only solidified when a local came through and said that we could probably get a great view of the fireworks from the top. From our view on Bromley I saw the smallest fireworks I’ve ever seen off in the distance, but at least there were a lot of them!

Despite waking up sick the next morning, we were able to adjust our plans and make it into Rutland, VT. In Rutland I was able to observe the native thru-hikers in a Wal-mart and a grocery store. Both of which involved intense studying of package weights to calorie density and the quickest consumption of a pint of Ben and Jerry’s ice cream that I’d ever seen. I was also happy to find out that most of Kylie’s trail family were as pumped for the Women’s World Cup final as I was and we were able to rally a group to the one bar in Rutland that was playing it. Since the game was a blow-out I got to chat with Wookie, Uphill, Crafty, Walking Man, Bladje, Sampson the Bear, Forrest (with the biggest beard I’ve ever seen) and many more about the trail and why they were there. People aren’t lying when they tell you that thru-hikers are some of the kindest folks around and nearly all of them have incredible stories to tell.

I’m extremely grateful to Kylie and her trail family for letting me crash with them for a few days and deal with my unending curiosity about life on the trail. I’m also really excited to watch what happens to Sugar Magnolia and Boozehound when they come back to Richmond and realize that they have to act like civilized human beings again (Booze Hound, I’m looking at you. You know what you did).

I wish trail magic existed in the real world.

The final countdown (kind of)

Hi everyone! 

Sorry it's been so long since my last post, I've been busy hiking! I've been doing consistent 22-25+ mile days, and it's time consuming! I've now completed 10/14 states, and my mentality has definitely changed. I've shifted from a "keep going" mindset to "make it happen no matter what". I'm constantly tired, stress over finances, and have to think about injury prevention all day every day, but I know it'll all be worth it at Katahdin! 

The last time I blogged I was in Virginia, and updating you on what I've been doing since then would too time consuming. Instead, I'll jump ahead to where I am/ what I'm doing now. 

Lara

As you may or may not know, Lara got off trail (for now) and went home. She had previously decided to not thru hike because she had family and school obligations and didn't think she'd be able to finish in time. She was originally going to get off trail in Harper's Ferry, WV, but decided to keep hiking for as long as she could. She and I had separated for a few weeks, and I, determined to hike with her for one last week, pushed big mile days every day for about a week to catch her. I finally caught her on the evening of our three month trail anniversary! It was totally worth it, and I couldn't have been happier to see her! 

The fearsome foursome

You may or may not remember that when I started hiking Lara and I met two brothers (Tom and James), and another man from Colorado (Wookie). Wookie, James (Uphill), Lara (TR), and myself were pretty inseparable for the first month. I had heard that trail families that form early on don't normally last, but Wookie, James, Lara, and I all had similar time goals and I thought we might defy the odds. Sadly enough, we ended up splitting up in North Carolina, and it looked like I'd never see any of them again. 

Full circle 

As Lara's last day approached, we reached out to Wookie and Uphill to see where they were/ if a trail family reunion for Lara's last day would be possible. Strangely enough, it was! Uphill had been comically far ahead of us, but had gotten off trail in New York, and was sidelined with Lyme disease for a few days. He was getting back on trail the day before Lara's last day and he was only 3 miles up from where we were. Wookie had only been a day or two ahead, and literally sat around and waited for us to catch up on Lara's last day. Uphill's brother, Tom, was even coming to hike that weekend! It was pretty amazing how perfectly everything worked out. 

Day 2 to day 97ish

Bye TR

After being with Lara all day everyday for two months straight saying I was sad to see her go is a crazy understatement. Thru hiking with someone creates bonds that no one will ever understand (unless you're thru hiking/ have thru hiked). I think that being with someone every waking moment for months straight and still being able to tolerate them is pretty rare, and the fact that Lara and I were able to do that and remain friends is a testament to how strong our bond is! 

So sad! 

Present day! 

After Lara left Wookie, Uphill, and I sat down and talked about how we wanted to remain together. We all discussed, and decided that we would in fact stay together, and decided that we would all attempt summit Katahdin together on August 7th! I'm currently still with Wookie and James and we're in Cheshire, Massachusetts for the night. Weather on the trail has changed significantly. It's been around 70-75 during the day, and gets down to 50ish at night. I was totally unprepared for it being cold this early on. A I had also always assumed that as time went on, life on trail would get easier, but that's not the case. Before it got cold, it was sweltering hot. I've always been ok with sweating, but sweating and not being able to shower for days on end is pretty miserable. I miss my friends, air conditioning, and consistent showers! However, I'll be in Vermont shortly and I'm really looking forward to a change of scenery! I'm also approaching the white mountains, and I can't wait! I know the most beautiful parts of the trail are just ahead of me, and I'm so looking forward to it! 

. 

Vacation, all I ever wanted

VACAY 

Yes, you can take vacations while thru hiking. It may seem weird, but thru hike vacations are very common! Most hikers take 0 days relatively often, and I figured I would just make mine more effective by taking them at once. I'm currently at the tail end of my 6 day vacation. Maybe you're thinking that I'm essentially taking a vacation while on a vacation, but I can assure you that thru hiking is definitely not leisurely or relaxing. If you've been following me via Instagram or Facebook you probably know that I'm almost 1/3 of the way done, and you've probably noticed that I seem to be moving more quickly, because I am! I've been consistently hiking 17-25 miles every day, and while it does feel easier than when I started, it is by no means easy. My body needed a break! Fortunately, massage therapist and friend Sarah Maxfield (who has helped me overcome all of my running issues/injuries) had time to see me and work out all of my muscular issues while I was home! http://massagebysarahmax.com/ But seriously, Sarah is the best! Go see her! In addition to recovering, I had really been looking forward to seeing all of my friends! When I left I had been hiking for right under 50 days, and I was homesick! 

While home

I dedicated my first day off to laying on the beach, relaxing, and trying to get rid of my sock tan (this was a failure). I spent the majority of my time in Richmond visiting friends, riding my bike, and eating. 

Cinco de mayo was celebrated. 

Had delicious lunch at Stella's (thanks for treating me Grant and Jamie)!

Had a Texas train wreck with my favorite running buddy Amanda Neely

I ran into my friend Taylor Kincaid, who offered me a VIP ticket to see Interpol at the National. I accepted, and my friends Grant and Amelia got to come too!

Ate all of the pimento cheese at Pasture with Andrea and Samuel. After that I headed back to Yorktown for the night, and then Kellie Lingle and I left for Raleigh the following afternoon. Olivia Randall gifted me with a ticket to go see Brand New! Thanks again Olivia! I wish you could've been there! 

Kellie and I met up with our friend Samantha Ducan, who is amazing and let us stay with her! We met up with our friends Jake and Rachel, and we had dinner together before the concert. I'm currently still in Raleigh, but am heading back to the trail this morning! I had so much fun seeing all of my friends/ eating delicious food again! Thanks so much to everyone who paid for my food/ drinks! Grant, Beth, Jamie, Dare, Amelia I love you all! Andrea, Matt, Samantha thanks for letting Sullivan and I stay with you! The biggest thanks to Maella for being amazing and driving forever away to come pick me up!! 

I actually managed to be productive, and accomplished tasks I meant to do before I left. 

Maildrops

My spirit guide Carl told me that groceries/ resupply become more expensive the farther north you get, so I had planned on doing maildrops to myself for Maine and potentially New Hampshire in order to save a little money. Naturally my first order of business was to go to Costco and acquire as many items in bulk as possible. After Costco and many Wal-mart trips I finally had my supplies and sat down to begin packing. First and foremost, I have no idea how people do all of their resupplying via maildrops. Last night I spent 6 hours repackaging and packing roughly 40 days worth of food, and I can't imagine having to do more than that. 

FOOD

Speaking of maildrops, many of you have asked me what I need/ want, and that's a great question! I figured that showing you what my typical resupply is would give you a good idea of what I need. 

My 4 day resupply: 

• 4 packs of Pop-tarts

• 6 oatmeal packets 

• 4 jif packs (I got tired of carrying a one pound container)

• 6 kind bars

• 4 clif bars - I would carry more of these because they're the best calorically, but they also weigh the most 

• 4 various other granola bars

• 2 Lara bars - also great, but expensive! 

• Peter Rabbit Organics kale, broccoli, and mango & beet, carrot, and pear - technically these are baby food, but they're the easiest way to get fruits and veggies while on trail and they taste pretty good! 

• 2 twix

• 2 milky ways (but Milky Way midnights are better)

• 3 packs of sour patch kids (because Costco doesn't carry Haribo or sour gummy worms)

• 2 servings of easy mac 

• 1 package of pepperoni 

• 2 packs of better tasting ramen type noodles 

• Tyson grilled chicken

• Instant gravy

• Potato flakes (they weigh less than instant mashed potatoes!)

• Mountain House (would eat these for every dinner if they weren't $9/meal)

Thrilling, right? 

I try to maintain a diverse/ healthy diet, but that's virtually impossible unless I was willing to spend more, and had easy access to a nice grocery store. That being said, if you're sending me a maildrop creativity and consideration go a long way! My friend Trevi Wilson sent me wine (which is something I never get to have) in tetra packs in a maildrop and it was amazing! In all seriousness, I love hearing from home, and anything sent to me is greatly appreciated! 

More soon!

Kylie

My Tennessee Mountain Home

Greetings from Tennessee! I just passed the one month mark, and I'm still having the best time! 

Friends 

Over the past couple of weeks I've been lucky enough to stay with friends and have had friends come hike with me. Kellie and Andrea drove out and each hiked for 3 days with me. Both committed to whatever pace I was doing, and to hiking wherever I was. I had so much fun! I feel like no one can truly understand my trip until they're out here hiking with me, and having two of my best friends come and gain that understanding was amazing. You guys rule, and I can't believe how tough both of you are! 

"I don't mean to be rude, but you guys don't have jobs"

Meet Rachel Drummond

Rachel and I grew up together, and she is a true trail angel. She and her husband Gerrad live in Johnson City, Tennessee, and have let friends and me stay with them on multiple occasions over the course of the North Carolina/ Tennessee portion of my hike. Rachel has driven 30ish miles at least 6 times to pick me up/ drop me back off at the trail, and even took me to rescue Lara when she got sick. She and Gerrad have taken me out to dinner, let me do laundry, shower, and have even cooked for me! On a recent grocery store outing Rachel grabbed mine and Lara's food and said "I don't mean to be rude, but you guys don't have jobs", and paid for it! Rachel is already extraordinarily generous, and like Kellie and Andrea she gets it. She and most of my other close friends understand that it'll cost roughly $3,000-$5,000 (this doesn't include gear already purchased) over the course of my hike. In my mind three to five thousand dollars doesn't seem like a ton for 5-6 months worth of living, but spending without earning starts to add up quickly. I can't even begin to explain how helpful staying with friends/ getting mail drops is! 

What is down time?

I'm currently wrapping up my third 0 mileage day by sitting on Rachel's couch, watching Game of Thrones, and trying to figure out mail drops/ mileage for the next few weeks. I think another thing many people don't understand is my lack of down time! When I envisioned hiking the AT I imagined myself hiking for most of the day, being able to hangout at camp, eating, sleeping, and repeating. This never happens! My daily schedule is as follows:

7:00- wake up 

7:15- start packing up 

7:30- leave tent

7:45- eat breakfast

7:45/8:30- leave camp/ shelter/ begin hiking

10:00- snack break

11:30/11:45- lunch break #1

2:30/3:00- lunch break #2

4:00- snack break 

5:30/6:30/7:30- finish hiking

7:30- DINNER

8:00- journal

8:30- sleep

I thought days in town would be a great time to relax and explore, but in reality they're normally spent running "town errands". Going to a post office, grocery store, and an outfitter gets difficult when you have a limited amount of time/ don't have a car! Fortunately, hitch hiking has been incredibly easy! If you're wondering why I've been so bad at keeping my blog current, it's solely because of lack of down time! 

Ok now hiking 

This week was trying. It rained for 6 out of 7 days and saying I'm soggy is an understatement. 

Tuesday

Tuesday started out with a climb from out of town. It was hot and humid and was raining on and off and I was generally unhappy. 

The rain stopped just long enough for us to get trail magic! BT (brother Tom) wasn't a hiker, but came and set out banana bread, brownies, and sweet tea for a few months at the start of AT season just because he wanted to be helpful! He even had dog treats! After our trail magic break we continued on to our intended campsite, and were surprised with the presence of 8 of our friends! 

We all stayed up (and by stayed up I mean until 9; this is late for us), hung out, and cooked dinner together, which never happens! 

Wednesday 

I woke up to the sound of pouring rain on my tent on Wednesday morning. I'm normally up and out of camp by 9 at the latest, but we didn't end up leaving until 10:30 because we were all trying to wait the rain out/ were unwilling to get drenched. The rain slowed just long enough for us to pack up our soaking wet tents and we continued on. I knew we were starting the day off with a big climb, and that was daunting. 

The climb itself wasn't terrible. Torrential downpour had turned the trail into a swamp, and that made hiking really difficult. I tried to dodge water, but gave up shortly after. My feet were soaked, and freezing, but got better because my shoes turned into tiny wetsuits. The farther I hiked, the warmer the layer of water trapped in my shoes got (small victory). We hiked to the summit of Roan Mountain (6,286 ft.), which was our last 6,000 ft mountain until Massachusetts! We ate lunch #2 at Roan High Knob Shelter, which is the highest shelter on the AT! We trudged on for another 8.5 miles and set up camp in the hopes that our tents would dry out overnight. 

Thursday 

Nothing dried. It wasn't actively raining, but my tent was just as wet as when I had set it up at night because there was so much moisture in the air. We left camp and the sun came out for 20 minutes! 

It rained more, and was freezing, and Thursday was terrible. Lara and I had no dry clothes, and no dry gear, and were cranky/ homesick. I'm normally fine with rain, but when I didn't have a way of escaping it, and has nothing dry to change into I realized how much I hate it. 

Thursday ended on a high note though! I stayed at Overmountain Shelter, which is a converted barn that now sleeps 20+ people! 

It was really drafty at night, but I was so happy to be out of the rain that I didn't care. 

Friday 

Friday was my favorite day thus far! When I woke up it wasn't raining, and I realized how beautiful the views around the barn were! 

Right after leaving we climbed Little Hump and Hump Mountain. 

Hump Mountain doesn't look very imposing here, but it was. If you look really closely at the top of the mountain you can see a few small dots, these are fellow hikers. Lara and I rounded the corner, saw Hump Mountain, and just started laughing. We could see our friends slowly making their way up, and could see how distant those who were already at the top were. 

We made the climb and were rewarded with cool views all around! We've been going back and forth between North Carolina and Tennessee for the last few weeks, and we finally left North Carolina for good! 

After border crossing we ran into town, and were offered a ride! Naturally we accepted and asked to be taken to Bob's Dairyland. I was starving and had a  strawberry milkshake, BBQ sandwich, fries, and cornbread! 

We met up with a bunch of friends, ate and hitched back to the trail. We started hiking, and immediately looked around at each other. We all realized what a huge mistake we had made. It was around 75 degrees, humid, we had 8.5 miles left to hike, and we were miserable. We all sat around a water source and whined but continued on to help speed up digestion. 

We passed through beautiful meadows and walked along the Elk river, and it was glorious. Shortly after we found this nice sign 

With praise like that we couldn't turn Jones falls down! 

Totaly bitchin', right?! We also passed the 400 mile mark!

Saturday 

It rained again. We did an uneventful 15 into Dennis Cove. The day was boring, except for one cool, old barn. 

Wrap up

Despite the weather, I've really loved this part of Tennessee. In the last four days I've hiked through meadows, rhododendron  tunnels, spruce forrest, by rivers and waterfalls, and over balds. It's really beautiful, incredibly diverse, and I would love to hike it again in the future! 

The next time I update it'll be from Virginia! 

The Non-Thru Hiker's Guide to Thru Hikers

Before we get to Andrea's blog entry I have a few things to say about her time with me. Andrea Singer is a badass! She endured two 85 degree and humid days, and then did 15 miles in the rain with me on her last day. I was moving pretty quickly, and she managed to stay with me the entire time while remaining her positive and fun self! On my last day with Andrea we went to wal mart and she tried to pay for my re-supply! Who does that?! All she said was "but you're not working!". Only the most selfless and thoughtful person would do that. I love you Anje, and I can't wait to be reunited with you again! 

Andrea on the A.T. 

I was lucky enough to get some time off work, so obviously I decided to meet up with Kylie for 3 days on the Appalachian Trail.  I honestly had no idea what to expect, but had a good amount of hiking experience under my belt and let's be real - Kylie is pretty fun. The time came to head to Hot Springs, North Carolina where I planned to meet up with her and Sullivan at The Laughing Heart Hostel. Once I arrived, I was literally thrown from the car with an extremely heavy backpack and into her insane life as an AT thru hiker.  (Ok, so this is not exactly how it happened but looking back it does sort of seem that way...)

During my three days on the trail, we hiked about 35 miles and ate a lot of snacks.  I could go into detail about my specific experience, but since that is literally all we did I decided to instead turn this post into something a little more educational. So, without further adieu, I present you with: 

The Non-Thru Hiker's Guide to Thru Hikers 

1. Thru hikers eat so much food. SO MUCH FOOD. When they aren't eating food, they are talking about eating food. If you are not eating as much food as them, they will yell at you. Also, snacks.

2. Thru hikers are actually professional scales. They can tell you how much something weighs simply by looking at it. Nothing can ever weigh too little, but almost everything weighs too much. 

3. Thru hikers can sleep literally anywhere and through anything. I began to wonder if they are able to sleep THROUGH their THRU-hike. Heh heh....

4. A common misconception about AT thru hikers is that they are normal people, just like you and me! This is not true. They are actually super humans. Some of them might even be aliens.

5. Thru hikers speak a foreign language. Here are a few words I learned and their definitions.

Zero day: v, to chill.

Bear bag: v, using super human strength to make a bag full of stuff fly 20 feet in the air and have it remain there until morning.

Privy: n,  a very fancy toilet.

Elevation gain: n, a very cruel joke that nature likes to play.

Resupply: v, to hunt and gather new food ravenously.

Rocky and strenuous: adj, no. Just no.

Camp shoes: n, heavenly clouds that you put your feet into.

Trail magic: n, this is literal magic. Wizards appear and hand you treats.

Shelter: n, a wooden mansion.

Steripen: n, a magic wand that changes the flavor of water

Blister popping: v, this is what they do for entertainment. Weird, I know.

Fire pits: n, something no one uses because they are too busy eating or sleeping.

6. In all seriousness, thru hikers are among the most inspiring people you will ever meet.  They save a bunch of money, put their lives on hold, and just go for it - which is more than most people will ever do. Whether it's to check off a bucket list item, prove something to themselves, search for a purpose, or just to be in nature, they are all there together, working towards reaching the same place. Because of this, they are always there for each other like a very close and diverse family. The amount of respect and kindness they give one another and their surroundings is something everyone could learn from. They genuinely want the hiker next to them to succeed as much as they want themselves to.  I feel extremely lucky to have been able to spend time among such amazing people. 

Shout out to everyone I met during my trip, especially Sugar Magnolia, Lara, Wookie, Uphill, Cob, Rhonda, Tony, Coco, Magnus, Bud, Bud Light, and Sullivan. I wish you all the happiest of trails!

Kellie on the A.T.

Earlier this week my friend Kellie Lingle joined me for 3 days and nights of camping! I had so much fun with her, and she was a trooper. We started off our first day with climbs, and our last day ended with thunderstorms. Kellie also brought Sullivan to me, and for that I can never thank her enough! I thought it would be interesting to get an outside perspective on hiking and what I'm doing, and Kellie agreed to do a guest blog entry for me. Here's her take on her time with me:

I'm currently in the Laughing Heart hostel and Kylie asked if she could turn on the light, I said no, she did it anyway. That aside, this hike has been enjoyable. And by enjoyable I mean day two was cool, and day three didn't totally suck, but let me tell you about day one. 

Day one...about a quarter of the way into the hike I was secretly plotting my escape plan. Thoughts rolled through my head "maybe I'll just say I fell down the mountain, she'll get that text when she has service. Should I say I sprained my ankle and fake limp away back down the mountain? Will she believe that?"  No, I told myself, don't be dumb, you've hiked plenty of times, how bad could the next three miles be. Well for those that have hiked humpback rock, think about doing that for about three hours. Needless to say, the first day almost killed me, and by me I mean my knees after we went down the steep downhill. The campsite was cool, first time I've ever camped. Note to self, when using a mummy sleeping bag USE THE HOOD FUNCTION. Let me tell you how dumb I felt after realizing the next day I could have just cocooned myself into the sleeping bag instead of wearing about twenty layers to bed. 

Onto day two! Very easy hike for the day, well I lied, not very easy, but enjoyable. Max patch was awesome! It had been cloudy most of the day and was forecasted to rain, but when we got to the top of the bald the sun broke through the clouds, and besides the strong wind at the top it was very pleasant.  It made me feel like I was back in the alps again, if only I had a salami and cheese sandwich and some Italian chocolate bars, yum. As we hiked to our campsite I wished that there was more foliage in the trees and less dead brown winter leaves that were off of the trees, but beggars can't be choosers. At the campsite I realized that Kylie can literally smell everything, things that I'm pretty sure don't even have a smell she could smell from a mile away. HOW IS THAT EVEN POSSIBLE?!?  It rained all night that night, but since I now knew how to properly use my sleeping bag, I slept like a baby. 

Day three, we planned to wake up at 6 am, but that didn't happen, whoops. After a late start we ascended bluff mountain and then started our long descent down the mountain. As we were going down the mountain my knees, ankles, and toes were screaming at me; it didn't help that I had fallen onto my left knee the previous day.   As I continued in the path to Hot Springs, I couldn't help but think of how Kylie is able to do this. After three days of this I was over it. Don't get me wrong, I love hiking, I love getting away from the world for a bit, but I desperately missed my bed and heat and AC. The farther we went down the mountain the more it looked like rain was going to fall upon us and about six miles in it finally did. After waking/jogging down hill in the rain for three miles I was done. I had fallen on my knee again and it was severely hurting, luckily we were at a service road and I was able to get a shuttle into town. Kylie was a real trooper, hiking the rest of the 6.6 miles into town. You go girl! We later got dinner with Kylie's new friends and they were all so nice!  They don't seem like they're serial killers so I guess I can continue to assume that Kylie will be safe on the trail, especially with her friends and Sullivan. Until next time, happy trails!

The Great Smoky Mountains

I spent four days in the Great Smoky Mountains last week! If you're not familiar, Great Smoky Mountains National Park spans many of the mountains on the North Carolina/ Tennessee border, and the Appalachian Trail section of the park is about 71 miles long. I had heard many stories about how beautiful the park was, and was really looking forward to it. 

Why I initially hated the smokies 

Even though I had heard stories of the beauty of the smokies they started to seem more burdensome than anything else. Almost all thru hikers knew that before entering the smokies we would have to obtain AT thru-hiker backcountry permits in order to camp. These permits cost $20 and last 7 days. Obtaining a permit was mildly annoying (only because I was trying to purchase mine on a public computer with a half functioning monitor), and I would've done it in advance, but my entrance date was tentative and I didn't want to risk having to purchase a second permit. My backcountry permit was accompanied by a long list of park rules. 

In no particular order:

Leave no trace (this is standard)

No outside animals

No camping outside of shelters

No fires in most shelters

+ more!

I never expected camping to have so many rules. Paying to camp and then being so regulated was confusing to me. I mean, it's a National Park! Shouldn't I just be allowed to be in the wilderness/ camp wherever I want?! I begrudgingly began my hike in anyway. 

I still hated the smokies 

The day of our GSM entrance started out really well. It was beautiful and sunny as we left our campsite on Fontana Lake.

 

We hiked across Fontana Dam, and into the southern entrance of the park. I knew I had a ton of climbing in my future, but I was unprepared for what laid ahead. 

SO MUCH CLIMBING

Followed by more climbing. Then a tiny break, but then more climbing. I had resupplied at Fontana Dam, and my legs were feeling the extra seven pounds of food I was carrying. In a desperate attempt to lighten my pack, I "cameled" all of my water. Two pounds down, but legs were still screaming. I took a break midway through our nine plus mile ascent. I looked around and saw dead trees and leaves everywhere. I was underwhelmed. Six more miles into my journey I was still feeling underwhelmed, and totally exhausted. Being forced to stay in shelters made mileage in the smokies hard. Shelters were 3-5 miles apart, but that meant doing 9/10 mile days or 15/17 mile days on tougher terrain/ at higher elevation than we're used to. Naturally we chose 15/17, and I was left feeling so tired every night. 

Then something magical happened

Towards the end of day two I rounded a corner, and was totally surprised. 

I had entered beautiful pine forest! I felt like I was in the Pacific north west, and I couldn't be any happier. That coupled with a few balds, hiking along ridges of mountains, and the most amazing views made me realize why everyone speaks so highly of the smokies. 

Half way 

Half way into the smokies we all decided to head to Gatlinburg for the day. We had a little under 11 miles into town, and we were all ready to get there. We woke up early and had small breakfasts while on the move. I did a bad job resupplying, and was starving/ running low on snacks. I was starting to get hangry but we entered a gap and trail magic appeared! 

It couldn't have come at a better time! The two lovely older ladies who were doing trail magic had set up a sandwich station, drinks, and snacks and I couldn't have been happier. 

I got audited!!

After trail magic I was feeling full and happy, and set off on a easy 3 miles to Newfound gap/ our access road for Gatlinburg. I saw a man hiking towards me, and he turned out to be a park ranger. He asked for my backcountry permit, and I looked at him and said "I didn't think this would actually happen". He went from looking stern to chuckling, we parted ways, and I left feeling happy that I had purchased a permit. 

Gatlinburg 

Gatlinburg is definitely one of my least favorite cities. It was filled with tourists and tourist attractions. I like to describe it as the Myrtle Beach of Tennessee, and I have nothing more to say about it. 

Back to the smokies 

So much weather

On my last day in the smokies I really felt like I got to experience all four seasons in a 9 hour period. It had thunderstormed the previous night, and had been freezing. When I started hiking I realized that it had literally been freezing, and was snowing! 

I was so happy, until it started raining and the AT turned into a river. 

About two hours later the sun came out, it was around seventy degrees, and it was glorious. 

All downhill from here 

But really. Our final descent out of the smokies was as steep downhill as it had been on our first climb uphill. I take pride in my downhill hiking ability. Most people complain about it because it hurts their knees, and on my last day I understood why. Double digit mileage on steep downhills was not fun. 

All in all I loved the Great Smoky Mountains. They're majestic, and there was so much I wanted to see that I didn't have time for. I'm already looking forward to making a trip back post thru hike!