Land speed records

State number 2 down! No more stops in North Carolina. Over 400 miles completed including 98 in the last 6 days. Here's another example of a bad day on the trail...

Ever wonder how fast you can run with a 30 pound backpack? Well go to the top of the nearest 6000 ft mountain and wait for the first lightning storm to come along.

After spending three days doing over 17 miles each in an effort to catch up with Bill and another fellow hiker, Hawk. These guys must be flying because I always seem to miss them by about 5 to 8 miles. Bill's last message to me was that they would be at Loft mountain, arguably one of the toughest climbs on the trail before the White mountains in New Hampshire. Well I calculated I could do the 17 miles without a problem even if there was a tough climb involved, after all I've been going up and down like 5  times a day for the last month. So I left out of the Cherry Gap shelter on my way. I stopped for lunch at another shelter about 10 miles down the trail. I even took the time to take a quick sponge bath (I poured a bottle of water over me). Then I  signed the the shelter log book, "Stopped for a break, got naked and drenched myself in water. After all, what's a shark without water? ~ Jaws"

After my good long break I was ready to go. I only had 7 more miles to go and it was only 2:30. Normally I can knock out 7 miles in about 3 hours. Heck I just did 10 in 4 hours so I'm feeling pretty good.

Well after I left the shelter... almost immediately, it started raining. Then it got worse... and worse... and darn it, worse. I had to stop a few times to remind myself why I was doing this. I really wanted to get to hang out with the guys again.

After the first four miles of negotiating wet trail, mud and some minor puddles I managed to get to the "hard" part, the last three miles, all up hill... No, up a mountain! The first mile I was working really hard since the grade up the trail increased dramatically and was very muddy. For every step I took, I slid back half a step. Needless to say I wasn't going very fast.

On the second mile, I had a hand-over-foot climb to several false summits. Then just as I was getting to the first of two peaks, here comes the thunder. I don't want to say I had a close call, but close enough to see the tree that got hit and for my hair to stand up. I didn't know lightning could come out the bottom of a tree. I don't expect the birds hanging out for cover at the base of the tree did either. Well, I thought to myself, "as much as I like fried chicken, I'm not sticking around!" I think if someone clocked me going down the hill I would have gotten a speeding ticket. Anything to keep from getting the hairs on my behind from being singed. I'm not a stunt man, but I sure must have looked like one as I jumped and dove down the rocky ledge slipping and misstepping most of the way. I even did a Tarzan swing off of a couple tree limbs. I managed to get down into the next gap and was spared from any more fireworks. But now I had to hang out and wait for the lightning to pass before proceeding back up the next peak.

After waiting for about 30 minutes on my rubber sleeping pad (holding my ankles), I continued. The last mile and half had to be the worst. All up hill through mud and puddles over a foot deep. Everything I had on me, including me, was soaked. I even put my hikers umbrella away because that was just useless at that point.  "After all, what's a shark without water?"

Now I just wanted the shelter. I climbed FOREVER! And it was starting to get dark! Where did the time go? On my final steps of the trail, I happen to look up and see a sign. With my flashlight in hand I read the sign telling me I was 0.1 miles from the shelter. FINALLY! The end of the worst day on the trail ever. Well at least I'll get to tell the guys about it. When I stepped into the shelter, Bill  and Hawk were no where to be found. Man those guys fly!

"Ok this is double hot chocolate day."

Trail Angels

OK so I first need to thank everyone for the birthday wishes on Facebook. I spent my birthday at the Standing Bear Farm Hostel (http://www.standingbearfarm.com/). The owners have a great setup where everything in run off the honor system. There are some resupplies available, showers and cozy fire to sit next to at night.  On my night there, however, the owners' two little girls went the extra mile and decided to bake me a birthday cake.  It was very sweet of these two little girls who have never met me before to do something so nice.  It did make my birthday special.  They were little trail angels.

Trail Angels are people who do very special things for hikers to help make their day a little better. I've mentioned before that as a hiker I've received Trail Magic in the way of free meals, sodas, and fruit. Well it is usually trail angels who provide the magic.  But the magic isn't always something you'd expect.  In the case of my birthday it was these two girls making a 40th birthday away from family special.

A few days earlier I had hit Newfound Gap with Bobber. As soon as we got there a fellow named Mark was there to greet us with chips, sodas and ride into Gatlinburg. If you've never been to the Smoky Mountains, Gatlinburg lies on the borders of the western park boundaries. It's 15 miles from Newfound Gap and an entire day's hike.  Mark really saved our butts.  He was once a thru-hiker and knows how special it is to get the help when you really need it. Mark and his wife work really hard to help others out in the the area, and that makes them very special to the hiking community.

After a night of gorging in food in Gatlinburg, the next morning Bobber and I headed over to the nearest outfitter, the NOC, to see about getting a shuttle ride back to the trail. The NOC has a strict schedule for shuttles and they only carry about 4 hikers at a time.  Well at 9am the best we were going to get from the NOC was a 3pm shuttle.  Luckily there were angels in the making that happened along behind us.  A couple from Ohio, Robert and Katie, in town on vacation saw us at the NOC and started asking questions about our gear and the hike.  We gladly told them everything they could want to know. Well Katie told us how afraid she was of the mountains and cliffs.  She explained how bad her fears were from taking a trip the day before into the Smoky Mountains.  She said she couldn't stand the thought of driving on a mountain looking down the the steep cliff walls from the road.  Well after learning we were trying to get back up to the TOP of the mountains with no luck, Katie put here fears aside and said she would gladly see us get there.  Robert and Katie drove us the 15 miles to the top of Newfound Gap... and then refused to accept any gas money from us.  This type of help was so unexpected and makes them very special people to go out of their way for us... complete strangers to whom I feel I owe a special thanks.  So to Robert and Katie, thank you for being our Trail Angels!

I have other trail angels that have been my support system all along since planning this hike.  MOM and DAD! They have been caring for my cats while I'm on the trail.  Recently one of the cats became very sick to the point it didn't sound like she would make it. But with the right care and love she is doing much better now. I can't wait to hit NJ to see them!  Thanks Mom and Dad for taking such good care of them.

My biggest trail angel and supporter has been Mary. She has been making sure I get everything I need while I'm on the trail. She has been experimenting with making dried meals for re-hydration, forwarding snacks we purchased before I left, and most importantly makes sure we get to talk when the cell service provides the opportunity.  She's my Trail Angel and I miss her so much.  Luckily she came up from Florida this weekend and picked me up in Hot Springs, NC. We got to spend quality time together in Asheville visiting the Biltmore. What a great birthday weekend!

Well it's 274 miles down. Mary will be dropping me off on the trail tomorrow morning to meet up with Bobber again. We will be off to tackle the rest of North Carolina and Tennessee.  Here's some pictures from one of the best places I've seen so far on the trail, Max Patch.

Walking up to Max Patch

View from Max Patch

The trail across Max Patch

Just kicking back on Max Patch

Making it into Hot Springs after an 18 mile day

Carrot Birthday Cake sent by Mary to Hot Springs... SWEET!

Trail Lessons

This trip has been getting harder. I expected this be somewhat of an uncomfortable experience, but there are days that make hiking the trail seem impossible.

Now I'm not talking about bad weather. I can deal with getting wet IN my tent. I'm not talking about carrying everything on my back for 8 to 10 hours a day. That's just a part of learning what I need to carry to survive out here. I'm talking about the other hardships of being on the trail.

The hardships include the pain the body goes through, being away from loved ones, and the other unexpected annoyances that make this difficult.

When I'm in pain, there is nothing better than rubbing in Icy Hot to soothe the aches. But what do you do when you put Icy Hot on your body and you don't feel it? I can't believe the pain is that intense... it truly doesn't feel like it. But come on, I can't feel Icy Hot on my feet? I had to rub some on my upper-inner thigh just make sure it was working (yeah that's smart).

So the solution... Ibuprofren or Vitamin I as we call it on the trail. It keeps the pain to a minimum on some nights. Stretching is another helping technique. It's just too bad that I didn't bring my yoga mat. The real answer is that the pain will eventually go away... or at least require less than a hundred pain pills. With being on the trail comes the acceptance that being uncomfortable every day is just a part of the adventure...and having major pain is just a bad day.

Having a relationship and doing the trail is another issue. I want so badly to talk my girlfriend but there is never enough cell service in the mountains. I'm actually carrying two phones, my regular phone which has all my maps, guide books and photos from the trip and a pre-paid phone. The extra weight (3 ozs) is worth it. So far we've been able to talk everyday, even if only for a few minutes. Still I miss her... and we're working on that too. :)

Another thing that makes this tough is the terrain. When I'm hiking for 5 hours I would expect to be putting some serious miles behind me. Well that's just not true. On a couple occasions we had a goal set and didn't meet it because it took FOREVER to get where we wanted to go. We've had some long 6 mike sections. Ever seen me roll my eyes? I do it every time I see stairs on the trail...and there are a lot of stairs.

I've fallen twice now, slipped over a dozen times and tripped hundreds of times over sticks and tree roots...
Banged my knees and ankles...
and hit my head on tree.

And on top of all that I found out that my nose sweats.  No, not the outside.  I'm tried of constantly blowing my nose.  I don't have a cold; it just sweats... kind of like when I eat something really spicy and it clears my sinuses.

The good news is that I found the perfect cure for any of this. HOT CHOCOLATE!

Everyday is tough, but everyday there's a reward... whether it's a mountain top view, a cool breeze on hot day, or something different that I've never seen.  But on tougher days there's always hot chocolate.





Fontana Lake from the south





Fontana Dam from the south end



Bill and I crossing the dam into the Great Smoky Mountains NP




My view from Clingmans Dome in the Smoky Mountains



Good-bye Sweet Georgia

This week marked several milestones on our hike along the AT. Wednesday Bobber and I passed the border into North Carolina. Thursday we had our longest hiking day with over 19 miles. Then on Friday we passed the 100 mile mark.

Here's some photos to recap the week:

Crossing into NC

Bobber at one of our first peaks

View after the toughest climb on a 19 mile day, Albert Mt

Trail Magic setup by college students on spring break, free food is awesome!

This WAS steak, ribs, shrimp and chicken. :)

Jaws on the AT

It’s been one week and I’ve traveled several miles along the trail, made a few friends, and a name for myself.

I started late on the 6^th heading up Springer Mt where I met Bill.  Bill had just come 8 miles straight up the Approach Trail. The Approach Trail starts in Amicalola State Park and takes several hours of hard work to climb to the starting point of the Appalachian Trail.  I decided against doing this.  I think of the Approach Trail to be kind of like pre-season football, it’ll get you warmed up… but could also cause a season-ending injury. I got a ride up to the top along a forest road and glad I did. Bill still reminds of his trip to the top.

On Springer Mt, Bill and I had talked briefly and together we decided to head to one of the first shelters on the trail, about 2.5 miles in.  It was after all 4pm.  Once we hit the shelter we met several other people who also had started for the day and couple others who were finishing up a section hike.  Most notable was Eric.  Eric is from Wisconsin, just like Bill, and an experienced trucker. Of course you would know this just by talking to him; his ability to cuss made me blush.

The next day the three of us headed out to tackle the AT. In 3 days we traveled over 30 miles to Neels Gap. On the way, we took our time, saw the sights, and had a few laughs.

Eric was not doing too well with his 50 pound pack and his choice of clothing.  Every time we went uphill he began to call himself the furnace.  By mid-day on day 1 he had taken off every layer up top except his jacket, which he kept unbuttoned, earning himself the trail name Bare Belly.  We always knew how far behind Bare Belly was when he started cursing the mountains. We were good to wait him out and give ourselves a few minutes to breathe. This eventually caught up to us though.

On the second day we had planned to hit Neels Gap after 15 miles but it got late before we knew it.  That night we camped out at Jarrard Gap and got pounded by a rain storm that seemed more like a tornado. I had not slept too well any other night as I’m still trying to get used to sleeping on the ground, but this particular night I slept like a baby through most of the storm.  I didn’t care as long as I was dry and all my stuff stayed dry. The tent did wonders that night.

Once we got to Neels Gap, we stayed at the hostel and got that experience in for the first time.  It was great. Mainly because we got to experience our first bit of trail magic too.  Trail magic is when someone does something special or really nice for hikers.  That night a church group came in to cook us hamburgers.  The food they laid out included plenty of fixings, an awesome potato salad, desserts, and cat food.  Cat food!?!?  The hostel had a couple resident cats that had food dishes kept on a table by a window.  One of the hikers, Peter, decided to just go around the room taking what ever food was laid out.  So as I passed him I noticed the big juicy hamburger on his plate and next to it, dry cat food.  I warned Peter that the food was REALLY dry and he may need to some water to wash it down. I then pointed to the cats’ water dish.  He looked at me funny not understanding, so I told him to take the cat food off his plate.  Peter was promptly named Whiskers.

Well after leaving Neels Gap, Bill and I had continued on for a few days of serious hiking. We traveled up several peaks a day, some much longer than others.  All we could think was how Bare Belly would have faired with us. He decided to lag behind since our pace was too much for him.  Probably a good thing as each hiker needs to do what they want on the trail and try not to follow anyone else’s itinerary.

Our unplanned itinerary has been wonderful so far, even with the pains I have in my knees, back, legs etc.  Bill and I landed in Hiawassee yesterday and decided to take a zero day today after all the hard work. A zero day is a day off with zero miles. Tomorrow we will leave behind Georgia and march on into North Carolina with Franklin as our goal destination.

Funny thing happened on the way here. A couple nights ago we saw some transitions as we got ready for another night in the woods. Bill, or Billy Bob as he is known at home, became known as Bobber with other hikers.  And for me well I picked up the trail name of Jaws. It’s either on account that I have several shark tattoos or because I just don’t shut up sometimes…   or maybe both.

And away we go...almost

They say that getting there is half the battle. If that is true, then I should get a medal just for the commute to the trail.

I took a bus to "Hotlanta" yesterday and stayed the night in the worst hotel ever conceived. The free breakfast consisted of dirty, already peeled hard boiled eggs and warm orange juice. I once found half of a watermelon left in the sun at a trail picnic site more appetizing. The coffee was good though, even if the tops were too big for the cups... by about 2 inches! Of course the girl that worked there said she knew that, but still asked me to put the top on anyway if I take the shuttle bus to the airport. I looked at her and lightly flicked the coffee top with my finger and watched it fly off the cup and the table. Yeah ok, like that top will keep me from spilling the coffee all over myself and the driver.

Anyway, back to the commute.  While on the bus yesterday I spent most of the day figuring out how to get to the trail. There's many options and most are expensive. I decided I would take a bus to Gainesville, Georgia and then taxi to the trail, a $125 option. This was the best I could do since my schedule of getting into town didn't sync with the hiker hostel pickup schedule, the $70 option.

So after checking out of the Uncomfort inn, I got on the train from the airport to the center of Atlanta to the bus station only to find the bus to Gainesville  FULL. I laughed and told the lady at the counter "no problem." In truth it wasn't as I'm finding that going on this trip without a jump-off plan liberating somehow. 

As luck would have it, ten minutes later I got a call from Bill, a fellow who does last minute pickups in Atlanta to the trail for less than the bus option. I emailed him last night just incase. Bill said it would take 3 hours to get to me...and as I'm expecting 3 hours to go up north. Well that's fine with me! I'm happy there are folks out there doing this service for hikers.

Well, in order to meet Bill, I had to get back on the train and head as far north as I could, to the end of the line. One again I found myself in laughter as this darned train station was in the middle of nowhere. There wasn't even a vending machine...just the wind blowing...with tumbleweeds rolling by. I have to wait here for 3 hours? Ahhhhhhh, no. I got on the train for the last time and went south one stop where they have a Starbucks. Yes, coffee! I called Bill who said he was happy to adjust the pickup point.

Thank heavens, it may be dark when I start hiking today, but at least I'll be there.

And away we go!

PS. I did eat that watermellon

Giving myself a little time

So originally I planned to get up to the Springer Mountain area today and start my hike tomorrow.  That plan has somewhat changed. I've postponed leaving until I can finish the website that goes long with my study.  It is very important to the study and I just can't leave it behind. This also helps me because I have more final planning to take care of for the trip, mainly my mail drops and food preparation.

How am I handling the food situation?
Well for one I'm purchasing most of my food in towns as a resupply. However there are times when getting into a town or having the necessary staples available is an issue on the trail as well. That's when mail drops become important.  Someone back home has to take the responsibility to send food from time to time to a general delivery address at the post offices along the trail.

What kinds of foods will I carry?
Well the usual healthy stuff isn't always an option.  Getting fresh fruits and veggies in town is great and probably will even be craved. I can possibly even carry enough for a day or two once I leave town.  Bringing anything that will spoil is a bad idea.  Canned goods are just too heavy. So what's left? Peanut butter, Nutella, dried goods, ramen noodles, stuffing mixes, potatoes... lots of carb heavy foods.  The general rule of thumb has been to carry 2 pounds of food per day.  That can get heavy since most foods may contain water.  I've elected to use freezer bag meals, home made versions anyway.  Put a package of stuffing, onion soup mix and butter buds into a zip lock freezer bag, then boil some water and add it to the freezer bag.  The bag does not melt as it can handle the heat.  This makes for a quick no mess dinner that can be spiced up or changed according to tastes.  I can add foil packed chicken, tuna, salmon, dried beef, or anything else easy to carry out.  The bulk of the dinner, the stuffing, can be anything that is instant or quick cooking too like egg noddles, minute rice, instant potatoes, and couscous.  I also like some powered soups.  For breakfast, instant oatmeal, grits or cold cereal with powdered milk.  Snacks throughout the day include trail mix, nuts, dried fruits snacks, snickers, protein bars, pop-tarts, crackers and peanut butter, sliced pepperoni, and hard cheeses (wrapped in vinegar treated cheese cloth).

Water is very frequent on the trail right now but may be harder to find in the summer.  I'll carry only what I need for the day for now. Once the summer hits I may bring an extra bottle.  I'm going to filtering my water using cheese cloth and a bandanna. Then I'll put chlorine drops to kill anything lurking within.

Well I need to back to planning and my website.  I post again just before I leave, probably March 5th.