whoa. WHOA.

"That's almost as good as all-you-can-eat foodbag night"-Moc
Ah, it's most definitely the simple things in life that are the most rewarding.
Well, folks, I'm done. I finished my thru-hike of the Appalachian Trail on Monday, September 22, 2008. At the moment, it's still overwhelming to think it's over, yet I have this urge to hike more.(*gasp*) We'll see how that turns out.
Our day on Katahdin couldn't have been more beautiful, it had almost no clouds and we almost got sunburnt again. I'll figure out how to post pictures here, so you would get more of an idea. On our way down, we could see Cadillac mtn., which is in Acadia NP along the coast of Maine.
I'm not sure what else to write so I'm going to make a few lists, which'll hopefully explain how I feel a bit better.
Thing's I'll miss: having something to do every day, living outside, knowing you have everything you need on your back, the awesome people, the views from the tops, the challenge, the inside jokes, not seeing someone ahead of you for a month but still knowing where they are, the sun, running down mountains, zero days, commiserating, the twix bar, peanut butter, and cheese diet, finding foods that you'd never combine off-trail actually taste quite delicious when you're hungry(mac + cheese +peanut butter + chocolate protein powder, anyone?), getting to know people so much faster ("hi, i'm Neon, the privy's that way, the water's that way, you can sleep next to me in the shelter."), trail magic!, random acts of kindness, being somewhere new and different every day, simplicity, the feeling of accomplishment after your first big mileage days, the shower after not bathing for multiple days

Things I won't miss: Not having anywhere to go inside during inclement weather, running over mountains during thunderstorms, smelling bad because I haven't showered in 5 days, sore muscles, sore joins, getting sick and still having to hike, carrying too much on your back, chaffing, losing your appetite for food because you need to consume so much of it, uphills, the people who snored in shelters, mud, being so worn out I'm not coherent anymore (that only happened a couple of times)

Things I'll try to never take for granted again: ice, hot water, the indoors, the beauty in just about everything outdoors, people I love, the kindness of strangers

Thank Yous go out to: Dad, Gretchen, Mom, Aunt Debbie and Uncle Don, the Post Office workers along the trail for only losing one of my packages, the hundreds of people who put out trail magic for people they don't even know (we really do appreciate it!), everyone who put out water in NY, Freefall, K-Bomb, Enoch, Moccasin, Orangedust & Bea, Sprout (and her friends in Kent, Ct), C.C. Rider, Circumstance, Butters for entertaining me with his cartoons, Uncle Kevin, all the older people out there on the trail('If they can do it, so can I'), anyone who owns a hostel along the trail and runs it properly, all the people who picked us up while we were hitch-hiking, and that's all I can think of right now....sorry if I missed you.

I'll see if I can post some pictures up here soon, stay tuned!

I would walk 1,000 miles, then I would walk 1,000 more....

Conversation between two hikers on the way into Glencliff, NH at the end of two 20+ mile days:
me: "I think my feet are starting to revolt"
wookie: "My whole body's revolting"
I laughed for about 5 minutes, either from delirium or actual funniness, I'm still not sure which. We then made it to the hostel, and promptly shared a 1/2 gallon of moose tracks ice cream, which makes everything better :)
The above anecdote seems to epitomize my journey thus far- everything hurts, then you get to camp, hang out with awesome people and eat something- it always makes you feel better no matter how crappy things are.
We (CC, Freefall, Circ, and our new addition: Uncle Kevin) are currently in Caratunk, Me. We will be in Monson on Friday night for a hiker feed sponsored by whiteblaze.net-check out their site!
We reached the 2,000 mile marker yesterday, it's spray-painted in the middle of a road- so much for not playing in traffic. We've made it through the whites, the Mahoosics- which contain the alleged hardest mile on the trail (Mahoosic Notch only took about 1.5 hours to get through), and just finished up the Bigelows. The only thing to do now is not break myself from here til the end. I've made it this far, right? Then it's home to figure out the rest of my life...?
Also, I ate 12 pancakes for breakfast this morning, can't wait for the sedentary life again so eating won't be such a chore- good thing they were delicious.

20 miles to Maine

So, going through the whites, you have options of where you can stay. Option 1: pay $8 to stay in a shelter/campsite. Option 2: Do work for stay at a hut and get leftover food and sleep in the common room. We chose option 2, and it worked for us most of the time, even though the guidebook warns you not have more than 2 people.(we had 4) We folded blankets and swept most times, and most of the 'croo' people were friendly, except one at Madison hut, which I won't discuss further.
We did small mileage days, which meant we could enjoy ourselves a bit more. Going over the presidential range was a trip because you're continually above treeline for 25 miles, which ended up being 3 of the prettiest days of our trip so far. We all got a little sunburnt walking over Mts. Washington, Adams, and Jefferson. Freefall and Circumstance have become part of our group, which is really nice to have other people to talk to. The past couple days, we've gone over the Wildcats and Carter Mtns, which are lovely in their own right as well.
And here I sit, in Gorham, NH, about 20 miles from the Maine border and just under 300 miles to Katahdin. We've got the 'hardest mile' coming up, at Mahoosic Notch, as well as the Mahoosic range and the Bigelow range to go over, then it's mostly flat from there (*wink*)
Maine, here we come!

too much has happened, this might take 2 entries

Alright, last time I left you was in Glencliff, NH. We went over our first above tree line mountain after that- Mt Moosilac (sp?), then down into a notch, and some people who were doing trail magic were nice enough to drive us into Lincoln, where we stayed at a wonderful hostel owned by a gentleman named Chet West.
Chet had the unfortunate incident of having a camp stove blow up on him a few years back. Also, because he was using the stove in his house, the house burned down as well. His whole torso got burned, as well as some of his muscle tissue around his hips. He also inhaled some of the flames, and now only has one working lung. He is very forthright about this incident and is the greatest guy we've met on the trail so far. Chet normally uses a walker to get around, but semi-recently broke his heel and severed his achilles tendon in a bike accident, so he was wheelchairing it when we came through. He bought the house he lives in now with settlement money, and has opened it up to hikers on a work-for-stay or donation basis.
Needless to say, we got vortexed @ Chet's, and ended up spending 4 nights there, though we did slack-pack one 16.2 mile day, and were waiting out weather to go over Franconia Ridge. Thanks again for the ride back Ari!(He's a former thru-hiker)
We left Chet's on a gorgeous morning, then proceeded to hike the 3,000ft, 6 mile climb up to Franconia Ridge. When we got there, it had to be one of the most beautiful things I'd ever seen in my life. Being above treeline is an experience. Even while getting nearly blown off the ridge in 40-50 mph wind gusts, Wookie, CC, Freefall, and I stopped to take many pictures and even one video of us leaning at a 25 degree angle into the wind with our packs on.(I wish I could post it)
The man in the mountain may not still be there but the views definitely are!

The sun'll come out tomorrow.....or maybe the next day?

Well, we're officially out of Vermud/Vermont and onto the (hopefully) less muddy places ahead. So, last time I updated, we were in Dalton, Mass. Since CC wasn't feeling well, we took a half day off, then Slack-packed 23 miles from North Adams back to Dalton. It was a beautiful day, little did I know it would be the last beautiful day for a while. After slacking, we met back up with Enoch, Moc, OD, Bea and Kbomb. We hiked with them from N. Adams to Manchester Center, where we met up with Freefall and Wookie, then took a zero @ Freefall's parents' house. Her mom cooked up a storm and we went canoing, it was great!
After that, we meandered our way back onto the Long Trail/AT. This is a high-use thoroughfare, so much so that some of the shelters charge usage fees in peak season. From about 5 miles into Vermont to about now, it has rained at least once a day, if not the whole day. There were also a few thunderstorms that made me move faster over the ridges. The ridges have also gotten progressively higher, preparing our muscles for the greuling steepness of the Whites (or at least it looks that way on the profile maps).
Back to the point- I HATE WET FEET! Since the beginning of Vt, my feet have only stayed dry outside of my sleeping bag for a total of 2 hours, and that was yesterday. There were a few days that just about every other step I took, the mud suctioned it so I nearly lost my shoes, thank goodness I tie them tight. Though it does make for some fun puddle jumping in the beginning, walking through a stream/waterfall/trail gets old after a few hours. I did have 'it's raining men' stuck in my head for most of the past week though....
Oh, and about 6 days ago, someone informed me that Vermont has already gotten it's average rainfall for the month of August. Yes, that is this month.
But now we're in New Hampshire, and everyone's been saying it's time to get to work, as I think 'If this is the work, what have we been doing the past 4 months?!' Apparently, the rule on the trail is, we've now done 80% of the trail but only 20% of the work. So, with only 450ish miles left, it's time to work hard through the White Mountains of New Hampshire and the southern part of Maine. I've got my cold weather gear back, a couple new pairs of socks, and a good attitude- bring it on!

Note to Aunt Deb and Uncle Don- We hear the Leaf season in Vt this year won't be very spectacular because of the exorbinant amount of rain they've gotten. That is all.

"They have a pool? No thanks, we just did laundry."

So it's been an interesting past few days, coming through Ct and Mass. We'll be in Vt. by the end of the week, somewhere around Bennington by Friday for a big hiker feed.
Connecticut became a vortex to us, we were afraid we'd never make it to Mass. Sprout's friends were so nice, and they had a pool and a puppy, which helped:) We finally tore outselves away from that, then we ran in Connecticut Mike, who lives in Salisbury and was taking some time off the trail for his birthday. We refuted his offer to take us in for the night, and hiked on into a torrential downpour with massive amounts of thunder and lightning. We finally make it to Massachusetts, and run into Mike again, who proceeds to take us BACK to Ct. for a bonfire and beer at his friends' house. After that, we FINALLY made it out of Ct. permanently.
Onto Mass., which has the largest population of misquitos I've ever seen in my life. I had to practically run down a couple of hills to keep ahead of the swarm. Then we got to Goose Pond Cabin/Shelter, which is right on a lake and the caretaker makes BLUEBERRY PANCAKES for everyone in the morning. Such a lovely place, even with the mosquito population eating us alive. My one friend claims he's become anemic from so many bugs sucking his blood.
Yesterday, we had quite the rain/hail storm. So bad, in fact, we had to ford our first river-it was about mid-thigh deep and running rapids. All made it through unscathed, though the bottom of our shorts did get damp and the Orangedust's dog had to be carried. And with the marble-sized hail floating in the elongated puddle that used to be the trail, it made for some interesting hiking. Though my feet did get nicely exfoliated from the large amount of dirt that got into my shoes from the puddles.
Onto the Green Mountains of Vermont!

New York, New York...onto CT!

As I sit here in a friend of a friends kitchen outside Kent, CT, I'm currently thinking back on the last week and pondering how I made it this far. The rocky PUDs (pointless ups and downs) of southern NY state nearly killed me, and breaking in a new pair of shoes did not help at all. We were looking forward to the Hiker feed, then it was misdated. Thank goodness for trail angel Paddy-O, who brought us COLD chocolate milk and pastries from the local dairy. There, we met the lovely Orangedust and her little dog Beatrice Opal, as well as Gumby, Sherlock, Catfish and Mike. At the Monkery the following night, we ordered food and met up with Moccasin, Enoch, K-bomb again, as well as meeting Sprout and Chopsticks. Also, CC broke his Chaco and got stung by a wasp AND a hornet walking through the marshes.
Though it's been getting hotter and buggier the past few days, hiking with these people has been great. Yay girls on the trail! Of course, the swimming holes and delis didn't hurt:)
From our experience in New England so far, the hospitality and kindness abounds. We got a ride to our hotel last night from a nice older guy whose girlfriend recently passed away. Last night, we walked down to the grocery to get dinner, and the owner invited us over to his house for beer and talking (thanks Tom!). He was SO nice, I learned the new game of Washoes (horseshoes w/washers, kind of) and he gave us a ride back to Kent this morning!
Only 720 miles left on this strange little trip...what a ride it's been. We should be into Vermont in about a week or so then onto the white mountains of NH and beyond!

7.5 states down, 6.5 to go

So, the day we hiked out of Duncannon, it decided to rain on us so we only made it about 6 miles. Since Pa is decently flat, we did 24 the next day to make up for it. Thank goodness it's been rainy, or we definitely wouldn't of made it through without having to stop in town to get water.
I got to go home (state college) for the fourth of July and see my sister run a triathlon. I thought it would last longer than it did, but apparently it was the sprint type, which aren't as long and she cut some time off- yay! I also got to meet some of her co-workers, all of whom were really nice and had some good, thoughtful questions about the trail.
Since then, CC and I hiked into the Delaware water gap, then into New Jersey where my aunt and uncle picked us up and are currently letting us stay @ their house whilst we slackpack an ENTIRE state! It's been great, and I could kind of get used to it, but I definitely feel the trail calling me back. We did do some trail magic today, which made me feel much better about sleeping in a real bed every night.
The bear situation in Jersey isn't too bad. I believe it's over-rated, just like the 'killer' rocks were in Pa. Though this state supposedly has 1 bear per square mile, we've only ran into two. We did, however, run into 2 ENORMOUS bears right before heading down into the DWG on the Pa side. I scared them off with my loud, boisterous voice though:)
Tomorrow is our last day of slacking, then we head into the 'wild' blue yonder of New York state and the mountains somewhere beyond that with our fully loaded packs.
P.S.- 1/2 Elvis and Buckeye-CATCH UP!

I'm a joker, I'm a smoker, I'm a midnight toker......

Well here we are, at the Doyle Hotel in Duncannon, Pennsylvania. It's been a great past week, with CC Rider and I pulling 4 or 5 20 mile days in a row. At this rate, we'll be in Maine in no time! But, alas, it can't last forever... The rocks in Pa so far aren't too bad and we haven't seen ANY rattle snakes. There has also been a plethora of state park vending machines. No, I didn't do the 1/2 gallon challenge, (eating a 1/2 gallon of ice cream @ the park the 1/2 way point on the trail is in) but I am gaining an appreciation for ice cream.
Unfortunately, my pack has finally been weighed, and I've decided it needs to go on a diet so it weighs less than 38lbs. yea, I'm pretty glad I didn't weigh it at the beginning or I never would've made it this far.
We're taking the 4th of july weekend off and going back to State College to enjoy the festivities and cheer my sister Gretchen on in her triathlon. See you there!

woot!

So not too much has happened in the past three days, but we did pass the 1000 mile marker and get out of the 550 or so miles of Virginia-onto new states! We also did a marathon 2 days ago-26.2 miles- from Dick's Dome Shelter to the Blackburn AT center, over the 'roller coaster', to get some free dinner. Those people were so nice to make us salad and spaghetti, but I my knees were definitely hurting yesterday. My time in this marathon, including breaks for food and water, was almost exactly 12 hours, from 6:15am to 6:15pm-ish. We will be in Duncannon in about 8 days, trying to make it to Gretchens in Reading for the Fourth of July! Let's see if we make it.

How hot is hot?

Did you know your earlobes sweat? I didn't until hiking in humid, 95 degree weather for a few days. We were on a siesta schedule for half of this past week because of the heat and humidity- get up @ 5, start hiking by 6, take a break from noonish to fivish, continue hiking til 7 or 8. I hope to not have to do that again for a while. Finally, when we got to Big Meadow campground, a cold front moved through and cooled it down to the low 80s. I don't think I had ever been so excited about a cold front in my life. Oh, and we got to shower @ the campground and eat real food as well @ the wayside-yummy.
So we'vre decided that in Shennandoah National Park, they really need to re-route the AT so it goes past some exciting parts, as opposed to the boring, not-many-views part it traverses now. We did, however, see many bears and too many deer to count. We saw so many bears, I think I may be good on sightings for the rest of the trip. In one day, hiking the 20 miles into Big Meadows campground/lodge, CC Rider and I saw 8 bears collectively. 3 of them being a mother and her 2 cubs about 35-40ft. from us, not really caring when we made noise. We also got a dinner time visit from another mother and her cub being about 25-30ft. away, but we scared them away by barking @ them.
It has been figured out that we'll be in PA by the end of the week, and probably in Duncannon (the closest place to State College) about a week after that. I'll try to update everyone on a more definite arrival date as we get closer, so anyone who wants to visit can, but that's the plan so far. I still can't believe I'm almost half done with this, we'll be in Harpers Ferry on the 19th!
In other news, I needed to get a small hip belt because my medium was cinched as tight as possible and still bruising my hips from being loose. I also finally lost the dead toenail I had. That is all:)

I finally REALLY saw a bear!

Ok, so it was actually two bearcubs, but that counts as one real-size bear, right? They were running down a tree and then, thankfully, in the opposite direction from where I was standing. It was scary, not as scary as rattlesnakes though. I have not yet seen any of those in person, just other people's pictures.
So, in the past however long it's been since I last wrote, it has gotten exponentially hotter, and we have gone further north. The troupe I'm traveling with has lost a female(Trout), and picked up a male(Buckeye), which makes the ratio 3:1. This makes me sad, because for the most part, our conversations now consist of fart jokes and discussion of body parts. Buckeye is soon to leave us to wait for his ex-lady, Pax-a-lot.
We hit the trail after Pearisburg with high spirits and some other spirits too, yum. We hit some memorial Sunday trail magic, a sandwich never tasted so good. The next day, after crossing Dragon's Tooth and right before McAfee's Knob, we sadly bid farewell to Trout and her father drove her to the truckstop to shower before the trek home. We saw sunset on the Knob, then traveled on.
The next day, we went over Tinker's Cliffs, to Daleville, where we promptly went to the mexican restaurant and ate, then went swimming in the HoJo pool. It was glorious after 4 days of sweating and not showering. We also ran into Blaze, who is unabashedly rocking the male hiking skirt and says he now swears by it. That night, I played a killer game of P&A with Doxie, Meatbag, Buckeye, Hare, CC, and Smokin' Joe. It lasted til 1am, which is about 4-5 hours after our normal bedtime.
After eating pizza for lunch the next day, we headed on. The mountain out of Dale/Trout-ville was pretty killer, but not too bad.
Then came the so-far highlight of the trip: jumping off the James River foot bridge! Oh yea, we got it on video. Of course I screamed, but it was awesome! The trail angel Ken who drove us into Glasgow to resupply was cool, as was showing up at a shelter to find a guy cooking pancakes and eggs for us, but jumping off the bridge was better!
Then, a few days later, we got a ride into the Dutch Haus B&B for the free lunch they offer hikers! Whoa lotsa trail magic, I'm starting to like Va.(except for all the biting insects)
After filling up on that, we couldn't walk over The Priest, so we stayed @ the Priest Shelter and let ourselves digest.
The next day was hot and humid, which I think I may need to get used to to hike until New England. So instead of walking up over the three ridges, some of us decided to blue-blaze(gasp) to some falls to refresh. It was soo cold, but felt amazing.
After crossing the Blue Ridge Parkway for the 25th time, we ran into a couple that had just gotten married by a J.P. on the trail! They gave us cliff bars and water! Thanks again Seth and Catherine!
Oh, I also once again avoided getting struck by lightning in the two storms we had to walk through, but didn't avoid freaking out just a little when the lightning got a bit too close.
I learned some new terminology as well: apparently to 'yogi' something means to get food from non-thru-hikers without actually asking for it. You can do this by engaging them in conversation and/or looking pitiful very close to their large cookout while eating raw ramen or something like it. They then offer you food and you take it and eat it-interesting, isn't it?
P.S.-I have named my hiker funk and it has been agreed upon as being truthful by other hikers as being almost dead-on: I smell like moldy baby pool after a few days of sweating and not showering. Thank goodness there aren't any enclosed spaces in the wilderness!

Oh yea, All right, take it easy baby....

Just a quick update here before we head to the mexican place for margaritas here in the lovely metropolis of Pearisburg, Va. Everything is going swimmingly, after about 4 days of my feet being in pain from breaking in my new shoes and insoles, plus Virginia is alot flatter than previous states.(apparently it stays flat til vermont) it's rained on us a couple of times, and the other night there was a thunder storm @ 4am while we were in our tents in a field, but we survived. CC Rider rejoined us after experiencing trail days in Damascus and we caught up with half elvis so he finally got his pants back(insert evil giggle here)
On a sad note, Trout will soon be leaving the trail, leaving the boys and I to our own devices, we may never get anything done ever again!:/ She will be heading home to prepare for her summer job wrangling horses and desserting people, while I get to continue on my northbound journey, 16 or so miles @ a time. Hope everyone else is doing well. Cheers!

"The only thing keeping you on the mountain was your pack"

howdy again! I know it hasn't been long, but we had a bit of a weather issue. Let's start from where I left off: leaving Damascus. So we got out of Damascus on Saturday late in the afternoon and made it the 15 miles to our shelter for the night. Though I'm working on breaking in my new shoes, I did indeed make it 15 miles....with many foot-related stops along the way. So we wake up in the morning yesterday and start our way towards the tallest mountain in Va.- Mount Rogers. Overnight, it had become cold, terribly windy, and looked very threateningly of rain. We head on anyway, wearing our rain gear so it won't rain on us. We stop part way up the mountain to put on another layer and continue on. We get towards the top and the trees start shrinking and turning into sparse shrubbery, as well as it is now drizzling. We continue on, only to get nearly blown off the mountain in estimated 60-70mph winds-the duct tape I had on my pack cover was blown off, and the cover almost went with it, as well as me:) We proceed to cower behind a rock outcropping and call a few people to figure out the weather report, and then, since we value our lives, decide to turn around and come back into town for a bit. As we were headed back towards the road, it started down pouring, as well as thunder and lightning, ensuring us we had made the right decision. So we aren't going to cross Mt. Rogers until tomorrow. But we are still alive and not hypothermic!

Forget diamonds, peanut butter and twix are this girls best friends!

Yummm, peanut butter. I've discovered over the past few weeks that I eat roughly a lb. of peanut butter per week. I've also discovered, much like the shrimp ramblings of Bubba in 'Forest Gump', there are many ways to prepare peanut butter. If put on a pop-tart, it's much like a pb&j sandwich. It's also good on granola bars, cookies, tortillas, cheddar cheese, teddy grahams, and many more things. Peanut butter is not so good in ramen noodles or......ok, just ramen.
Ok, enough about peanut butter, here's an update on the status of my trip: I'm still having fun. After eating a BUNCH of delicious food @ Elmer's Sunnybank Inn in Hot Springs and enjoying the springs in the nude, we hiked onward, going up a MASSIVE, STEEP mountain right out of the springs. Why do all towns happen to be in valleys? Completely unnecessary.
The trail shelters got smaller out of the smokies, going from 14-person with a fire place to maybe 6-person with a possible picnic table. The privys also started disappearing, and people still apparently aren't schooled in leave no trace ethics, quite unfortunate.
We hiked for two lovely days, then it started to downpour @ about 2pm on the third day, as we made our way to the Hogback Ridge Shelter. Thankfully, there was still room in the shelter, so we didn't have to get our tents soaked, but we didn't make it to the shelter before my right boot got filled with water. Then the temperature dropped into the 30s, thank goodness for dry clothes! Not wanting to endure a full 15 mile trek to the next shelter in the morning, we decided to go into the closest town, Erwin, and stay @ the Holiday Inn Express and dry out our stuff. Unfortunately, they sent the shuttle to the wrong gap, so we had to huddle for warmth for 2.5 hours until it finally got to us. Yay pizza, beer, and hot wings!
The next day, we headed off again. It was colder, but not as wet. There was Greasy creek friendly hostel in here somewhere, with crazy neighbor Bill running his lawnmower all day and night.
Another day on the trail, and we got trail magic @ a shelter that is a converted barn- beer and chili! We outdrank the '07-ers (96 to 120!) I contributed by valiantly drinking exactly 1.5 beers. The next day we did our biggest mileage, going 18.5 miles! It would have only been 17.5, but we went to a steakhouse .5m off the trail for their all you can eat buffet lunch- yum! Then into Kankora hostel on cinco de mayo. We fit 9 people, their groceries, and one person's pack in the back of Bob's truck- with 11 switchbacks in and out of town, it was quite the adventure! Now after swimming in Watauga Lake, and enjoying a siesta, a few days later we are now in Damascus taking another zero and enjoying 'the friendliest town on the trail.' CC/Pocket Bear left us so he could get ahead of us and meet up after trail days, since we're not going. On over Mount Rogers this week, then into Pearisburg in about a week and a half!

No bear sightings in the smokys :(

So here we are in hot springs, N.C., a lovely little town with a lovely public library which I am currently sitting in. The past week, our trek through the smoky mountains nat'l park, has been wonderful. We've met new people and caught up with some already known ones.
Start the smokys: the first 3 days were mostly uphill to the apex being clingmans dome, the highest point on the AT. Minus some people not being able to follow leave no trace ethics and not burying their feces properly, causing one unfortunate incident of, we'll call it 'boot poop', the first few days were lovely, with Kristi and I doing a few higher mileage days than planned, but enjoying every minute of it. We went over rocky top and clingmans dome on clear days.
The second part of the smokys, most of which is down hill after clingmans, was alright. We started feeling our longer days catching up to us, as well as our food supply dwindling since we decided to not stop into the money pit known as Gatlinburg. Thanks again to all those who donated to the 'Neon and Trout are hungry but don't have quite enough snacks to make it' food donation program:) There was also snow left in recesses of the higher elevations, which made the trail a bit muddy (yay gaitors!) Because of the few bad days of weather we had in the smokys (aka rain turning into mist turning into hail for a bit), we unfortunately missed the view from Charlie's Bunyon (yes, the actual name) but on our last full day in the park, made a short jaunt out to Mount Camerer, which totally made up for anything we may have missed.
After surviving our first national park through-hike experience, we hiked a few miles out to the Standing Bear hostel to revel in showers and laundry. Unfortunately, their washer was broken, so we had to hand wash our clothes and put them into a generations-old dryer to dry for about 3 hours. We then had clothes that didn't quite smell any better, they just smelled the same instead of distinctively different. We left the next day, and after hearing about a bear that isn't scared of people stealing food @ a few shelters, decided to camp @ a campsite right off of a huge bald, aptly named Max Patch. We camped there, and went out to the bald to watch the sunset, and wait for a meteor shower. We made it til 10pm, then went to bed with no meteor shower, but the sunset was gorgous. The next day, we hiked on to read in shelter journals about the bear, but no sightings. Apparently he likes to take down and eat what's in your bear bag, and we did run into one guy, Turtleback, who did get his food taken but thankfully no one was hurt even though the bear did return a couple more times that night.
But, alas, here we are @ hot springs, with still no bear stories, about to go soak in the spa with some wine, beer, and good company after a delicious (vegetarian) meal @ Elmers/the Sunnybank Inn. Cheers!

first 5% done!(maybe)

yes I'm still alive, and it's been wonderful so far! can't wait to head into the smokeys tomorrow and then on to hot springs!!! our longest day so far was yesterday, with Kristi and I each doing 16 or so miles. the first week it rained, then the sun came out, then rain and now it snowed last night, good thing the shelter was full so we had body heat. I've also met quite the motley crew of awesome, and sometimes interesting, people, all of whom have their own story, most of which are interesting. as of right now, we're on schedule and staying the night with half Elvis, bear bait, and pony boy in Fontana dam because it's so cold. onward and forward to 15 miles tomorrow!!

Heading to Amicalola Falls to hike into the trail head!  I can't believe this is happening after many years of talking about it and many months of planning :)

Starting out

Kristi and I are heading down to Georgia on Friday to star our hike! So I've been running around trying to get everything done beforehand- pack up my stuff from the apt and move it, make sure I have all the maps in order, pack the backpack, get last minute supplies, figure out the post office stops along the way, and the list goes on. Here's to hoping it all gets done by Friday!