April 10th: Off Day

Miles Today: 11.6

Mile Marker: 361.8

Today was sort of an off day.  It wasn't really a bad day, or a good day.  More of a meh kind of day.  I slept okay, the weather was okay, and the trail wasn't terrible.  North Carolina has this thing about trail building where they want you to constantly be walking at an obnoxious 30 degree slope instead of level, but other than that it was fine.  Shout out to the Tennessee mountain clubs for their level trail.  I can usually tell when I've crossed back over the border.

I'm living in the freaking mountains right now, but I couldn't get my brain to resonate with how awesome that is.  So instead today was just about grinding it out.  I wanted to make 14 miles today, but my pace was off and by 6:30 I found a flat spot and called it a day.  I'm thinking getting back into the habit of starting at 8:00 or earlier may help.  We'll see if that happens tomorrow.

April 9th: Getting Back into the Groove

Miles Today: 13.7

Mile Marker: 350.2

I woke up at 6:00 this morning and then proceeded to hit the imaginary snooze button until around 9:00.  Motivation still hadn't stepped up to the plate, so I started re-reading Ready Player One until about 10:00.  I went through the ritual of breaking camp and planning my day when I realized I was facing a water snafu.  

Last night I discovered the only water near the shelter was 0.30 miles south on the trail.  I made sure to fill up on my way by so I didn't have to backtrack later.  I use about two cups of water each night to cook plus what I dink with dinner.  Since I'm only carrying 1.7 liters of water it's a pretty big chunk of my supply. I don't know what the conversion from two cups of freedom units to logical units is, but trust me it matters. Normally I top off my water after dinner so I'm stocked and ready to go in the morning.  I lazily figured there would be water a couple of miles up trail in the morning like there always is, so I didn't worry about it.  Fast forward to this morning when payment became due on my debt of laziness last night.  There was no water up trail for seven miles.  So instead of filling up last night when I stopped early and had plenty of time, I got to fill up this morning when I was already heading out way late.  11:15 start time.  New personal best!  However my favorite part of the morning was a mile into the day when I literally stepped over a small spring that wasn't in the guide.  I had a pretty hearty laugh to myself.  It's all you can do.

The weather was amazing today and the morning flew by.  I got to Uncle Johnny’s Hostel a little after 1:00 and popped in for a Gatorade.  Super cool place. I wish I could have stayed, but they did let me hang out and eat my lunch.  Great people there. Post lunch went a little slower as the day got hotter, but it wasn't too bad.  I stopped at a shelter and made dinner early due to a similar water situation where I wanted to  camp tonight.  While I was eating the temperature dropped about ten degrees and made the last few miles much more enjoyable.

April 8th: Feels like starting over

Miles Today: 11.8

Mile Marker: 336.5 No Business Knob Shelter

Today I had to finally leave the life of luxury I had been living.  No more gorging on food all day, no more comfy bed, no more fireplaces, no more cocktails, no more TV, no more Internet, and no more time with Mom and Rick.  Sad day.

By Thursday I had been getting antsy to get back on the trail, but when this morning got here I wasn't feeling it.  It was still cold and the ground was still covered in snow.  After about the first half mile the hesitation was gone, and I felt right back at home.  I crunched through snow for about the first five and a half miles until I started to get into some thaw.  By 2:00 I was sweating wearing only a t-shirt with my pants legs rolled up.

I honestly thought after five days off and new shoes I would tear up miles the first day back.  However after about seven miles I was starting to feel worn down and sore.  It felt like starting all over from the beginning again today.  Hopefully my body bounces back quickly and I can start ramping up the miles.  I'm also carrying more food and fuel than I usually do, so maybe that's a contributing factor.  Either way it will work out.

April 8th: Heading Back Out

After five zero days I'm feeling rehabilitated and a bit re-civilized.  It's now time to get back on the trail.  There is a little snow on the ground, but the temperatures are rising.  Most of it should be gone by mid day.  Most of the hiking today will be downhill, so it should be an easier start back.  

 My next stop will be in Roan Mountain, Tennessee about five days from now.  Hopefully I'll have decent signal or will be able to find a spot with WiFi when I get there. 

 Thank you for all of the podcast recommendations while I was resting.  I'm loaded up with enough to last me a while now. 

April 4th: Time off with the Folks

First order of business, March is now updated with the posts from the 22nd through the 31st.  Thank you all for your patience while I was in that technology black hole.  Now that we're in April the Trail Journal link will take you to the April posts.  March has been moved to the archive section, but you can also access it by clicking here. 

I'm going to be spending the next several days taking it easy and relaxing.  I'll likely be off trail until Fridayish.  Maybe Mondayish.  I don't know, I'm going to get back out there, but I'm not in a rush right now.  There is family, indoor plumbing, heating, a full liquor cabinet,  and WeeFee that works.  I never thought I'd see the day I'd be excited over the internet capabilities of Country Cable Vision, but here we are. 

I've found I enjoy listening to podcasts and music more and more as I hike.  While I've got the downtime and internet access I'm going to load up.  Please comment with any podcasts you'd recommend I check out.  Also comment with any questions you may have about the hike or anything in general.  I'll work on getting back to everyone while I can. 

Thanks again for the overwhelming support from everyone.

Corey's Cries for Attention

Those of you who follow the comments have likely noticed that Corey is back from Bali.  This is Corey.

Corey has a rather crash sense of humor and has left several comments about the need for jokes to be made of the funny names on the trail.  

Corey, this is just a reminder I set this blog up for my FAMILY and friends.  If you've got something hilariously inappropriate to say, I'd love to hear it, but you have my number.  Text it to me!

Laura and Jimmy, feel free to smack your son for me the next time you see him, and remind him how to act in public spaces. 

April 2nd: Finally with Family

This section goes right down the NC/TN border, so I'm always bouncing back and forth. 

Rick is a brave man. I hadn't showered in 6 days at this point.

One of these things is not like the other.

Miles Today: 19ish

Mile Marker: 324.7  Big Bald (The Cabin!!)

I woke up this morning and got a decent start around 8:30.  I was anxious to get going because tomorrow I am finally headed to The Cabin.  

The hiking was hot, but it wasn’t too bad.  There was a new hostel along the way I decided to stop in and check out.  I really just wanted to grab a soda.  I ran into Dirty Harry and Nemo, and they told me how awful their stay was last night.  I walked down anyway, and the place was a dump.  No insulation in the bunk room, he wanted $5 per shower in addition to the $20 a night stay, and was charging $10 for a load of laundry.  The bathroom was also a composting privy like you find in the backcountry.  It had a door, but no handle to actually shut it.  I paid $1.00 for a generic Sam’s Cola and got out of there.  Would not recommend Laurel Hostel off of Rector Laurel Road.  The first spot I stopped for water ended up being close to half a mile away from the trail.  After filling up and getting back on track I felt like I needed a break from my water break.  

My plan today was to get to within four miles of my parents’ cabin and then have a short day tomorrow morning.  They live about three miles off of the trail from Big Bald.  I was going to hop off there and meet Rick and head down to the cabin.  I made it to Sam’s gap around 3:45 and was finally in familiar territory.  I had hiked there with Mom and Rick several years ago.  And by hiked there I mean I went on a “Three Hour Tour” out of Gilligan’s Island.  Mom and I debated which direction down the trail her friend had told us to turn to hike up to Big Bald.  I said right, she said left.  Turns out a left hand turn takes you to the Tennessee border.  It was nice to be here on purpose this time.  (I’m sorry Mom, I love you.)  There was a guy there with mandarin oranges and bottled water.  Dirty Harry, Nemo, Bottles, and Pilgrim were all waiting there.  After cooling off a bit I started the hike up the hill.  From that point forward, it was basically uphill the whole way.

After fighting up the first climb I hit a nice open meadow.  I ran into a woman from Asheville who was hiking with her dog.  She said they both did the trail back in 2005 and it was one of the best experiences of her life. She had a whole bag of apples and oranges.  I took three oranges and sat down and ate two of them immediately.  I think the sugar rush from the oranges is what set it off, but I started thinking I could make it to Big Bald today.  I kept hiking until I was through my four mile remainder goal.  Then I got down to three. With 1.7 miles to go I called Rick and told him I was coming in tonight.  I also mentioned there may be some fellow hiker trash at the top of the hill who would love some cold beers and whiskey.  We agreed to meet up there at 7:30 and watch the sunset together.

Just after 7:00 I finally summited Big Bald.  I let out a yell of excitement when I got there.  I rounded the corner and saw Bottles, Jedi, Nemo, and Dirty Harry.  They had all been hanging up at the top deciding if they were going to hike on to the shelter a mile away or stay up on the bald.  I let them know I had called in a booze run for us, and that settled the debate.  They all immediately started setting up their tents.  I explained to them how they had been hiking hard all day to get here, but in my mind I had been hiking all month to get here.  This is my first major goal for this trip.  It all started to settle in that I had hiked from GEORGIA to get here.  Pretty incredible feeling.

I called Rick to get my bearings and wandered my way around the bald until I found the direction down to the parking lot.  When I had this half baked idea I had forgotten the parking lot was about a half mile away.  I walked down without my pack and helped him carry up the cooler.  I let everyone back up top know they were lucky I left my pack, because about halfway up I was regretting this choice.  Rick came fully prepared with eight beers, a full bottle of Jack, and half a bottle of Beam.  We all dug in and watched the sunset together.  Everyone pretty much stuck to beer after being so tired, but there was no hesitation when Rick offered for them to take to-go bottles of the Jack.  It was a pretty magical end to such an exhausting day.  

Mom gets in tomorrow night, and I’ll be spending the next several days off trail relaxing with them.  It’s a much needed rest.  My body is pretty broken down already.  Some good food, great company, and down time should solve what ails me.

April 1st: Hiking in the Muck

On the way up: "Nice work Howard, solid trail to the top."  Way down: "Damn Howard, you trying to kill me?"

Miles Today: 12.5

Mile Marker: 307.0 Flint Mountain Shelter

Lazy start again because of the rain.  I checked messages and made a call to the Post Office to make sure my package would be delivered to the cabin while I'm there.  Generally making a call from the trail is a faux pas, but I set up camp by myself late so no big deal.  I continued to rifle around in my tent for a while until I froze when I heard a tent zipper and someone step out.  Apparently last night as I was dead asleep with my earplugs in and my beanie over my eyes Pilgrim came in and set up camp.  Completely threw me off I wasn't alone.  As I was packing up I apologized for being loud and on the phone.  Turns out he didn't even hear me, so it all worked out.

The hike today was muddy and drizzly.  Around 3:00 the sun finally made an appearance and started to dry things off.  I got to the next shelter around 5:00 and made dinner.  I intended to move on, but I found a nice campsite by the water source and decided to relax for the night.  Bottles got a fire started and the rest of us tried to keep it stoked with the semi-dry wood we could find.  Decent success.