Lance Creek Camp to Three Forks Camp (20 miles)

Ok. So the final plan wasn't so final. We did another 20 miles today.  I didn't think we had another in us, but the force was there.  The day started out super cold and not well on my part as I had to put a wet pair of socks on. Trust me, avoid that move. If I could still feel my feet, I would have known earlier in the day that they were stressed. When the socks came off finally it wasn't a pretty picture. Shouldn't be a problem tomorrow because it was dry and windy today so my backup pair had plenty of drying time without a pack cover.

Big moments of the second to the last day:
• Spotted Stone Mt
• Spotted the Atlanta skyline
• Went under 20 miles
• Under 10 miles
• Under 5 miles to go

The Three Forks is right on a great stream with really clear water. Quite simply a joy after literally months of dealing with drought. Also, the camping area is huge, but, as usual, we are the only ones here. We stare at theses gigantic spaces and just imagine all of the bight eyed and bushy tailed wanna-be thru hikers crowding in here during the spring rush northbound. We also can see how this trail is so much more traveled than the trails in Maine. Three quarters of those hikers don't make it and many don't even make it through the 60+ miles we walked in the past 3 days.

So, here we are. Declaring everything to be the last time we do this or that. Having a stream side lunch, counting down under 10 miles for that day (I did that everyday-being in single digits for the day is comforting), setting up the tent, digging a cat hole (I hope) are good examples.

Four point three miles to go. Unbelievable!  By the time I find cell enough to post this, we will probably already have summited Springer and started our way down the 8 mile approach trail to Amacalola Falls State Park. It is there where we'll get our final stamps for our AT Passports and also find out what our final SOBO hiker number will be for posterity sake.  We were supposed to get a number when we left Katahdin in June, but the rangers were busy with unplanned police stuff. Our numbers at Harper’s Ferry (the sentimental half way point) were 142 (Hummingbird) and I was 143. I'm guessing that more have dropped out and our numbers will go down. We also were really fast in the second half but did take 8 days off for a wedding.

Eating our food bags down to zippo is also fun. Makes for a super light pack and eating with abandon knowing we are NOTgoing out into the wilderness for another week or so.. is final.

In less than 48 hours we'll be home. In 72, I'll be watching a football game with a beer-wait-I did that last weekend too.

Low Gap Shelter to Lance Creek Camp (18.9)

Our plans for these last days have been holding. Not easy though-especially today. We knew it would rain, but this was a pretty major storm with super high winds. I believe it was the front end of this storm that whipped the winds that burned Gatlinburg.

We were able to run through 11.5 by noon so that we could be inside for the worst of it. The only building on the trail that the AT actually goes through we targeted and made for lunch. In fact, we had a lunch date set with the lost cell phone folks from Florida. They arrived just after noon with a few chicken dinners and some burritos. Awesome trail magic! All we had to do was bring the lost cell phone that I had been carrying for a couple days.

Laying here in the tent on our second to last night in the wilderness and only 24.3 miles remaining in the trip. We feel lucky to have made it through (as mentioned in an earlier post). Especially the Smokies. We found out today that they've now closed the Smokies for any Hikers. So, we did just make it through.

In the dark and rain tonight, we went over our last 4K mountain-Blood Mt. Not worried about missed views because of the rain and we needed to get a final 8 miles in after the storm went by.

Final plan:
• 23
• 19
• 16
• 8 plus the 8 for the approach trail

34°42′28″ N  83°59′4″ W
Elevation : 2,860
Low of 36° tonight.

Deep Gap to Low Gap Shelter (22.8 miles)

The all day rain we expected didn't happen. We had planned to do a big day in the pouring rain. While it started that way, the rain abated around 9:30 and gave us clear sailing for the rest of a really long day. Our current trail family (most very likely our last) whole heartedly agreed that this will be the last 20 mile day that we’ll do (only 3 days left).

I've been carrying an extra cell phone for the last few days (found on the trail). I had called a number in it and figured out who had dropped it pretty much right away. We made no immediate arrangement to get it back to him, but today we connected and someone is going to meet us at Neels Gap tomorrow around noon. They'll also be bringing trail magic in the form of pizza or tburgers. Going to surprise us. This will be the second time some magic came out of a cell phone discovery. The other was up on The Beauty Spot during the Super Moon. I'll be glad to be free of the 1 lb brick.

Tomorrow is also expected to rain all day. It is supposed to clear and become cool for our last two days. Only four of us in Low Gap Shelter as was the case last night. Hummingbird and Cinderella talk into the night while Water Boy and Cucumber nod off to sleep. Eight-thirty is so late it's hard to explain. I can say I've dropped my phone onto my forehead more times than I can say. A version of falling asleep at the wheel.

34°46′35″ N  83°49′28″ W
Elevation : 2,800’
Temp : 61°

Arrived in Georgia!

After 166 days, through 13 states, countless mountain tops, ridges, gaps, notches, bales, valleys and swamps, we have arrived in our last state. Although we had to shuttle in due to the fires, we made it. Funny though that we really didn't have to because we are now officially Appalachian Trail Thru Hikers!  The employees at the Nantahala Outdoor Center informed us that the Appalachian Trail Conservancy (which is the ruling authority) has declared the NOC to be the point that you had to make to be a Thru hiker. However, we had never thought about doing this to be declared a “Thru Hiker”. Rather, we (specifically Hummingbird) we're doing it to do it.

Apparently, we did it!

Now that we've jumped over the fire zone, the weather channel is declaring an end to the worst drought in history. A major storm arrived last night and is dumping rain in the scale of inches. Our first weather related event where we are actually out in it. We knew it was coming (watched weather channel over burgers and beer at NOC) so our accommodations for last night was the Deep Gap Shelter. A rarity for us but it was a mistake we didn't want to make again. Up in PA, we opted for the tent knowing full well rain was coming. Easy access to a shelter didn't change our minds. We were literally smoked by a thunderstorm that night. Oops, I guess we did have a weather related event. More now come to mind (it is a very long hike).

The rain is supposed to last for 2 days. The four of us in here all agree that we can handle that. We'll target another shelter 23 miles down the trail. Our mileage plan to finish:

• 23
• 19
• 16
• 8 plus the 8 for the approach trail

Looks like a workout plan with a built in cool down. We're excited to complete this and move on. Hummingbird to her new career as a textile designer at the Target HQ in Minneapolis and me? Who knows. I've said this whole trip that I have plenty of time to figure out what I'm going to do when I grow up. No longer have plenty of time. I do agree with Dylan: “I was so much older then, I'm younger than that now”.

164.2-147.6 Fontana Resort to Locus Grove Gap

Managed to leave the resort this morning. Still hurting from the two losses: Ohio State over UM in double overtime and Hummingbird’s victory over me in the ping pong championship. Both were come from behind victories. Still, a great “last” stay in a structure other than a tent or shelter until we are done. Activities: Football game, yoga, ping pong tournament, sleigh ride, movie, showers, laundry and resupply. Cost: not good!

Today went exactly as planned-16.6 miles and we're setup for a 10 miler to the Nantahala Outdoor Center where we'll need to figure out our shuttle around the fire zone.  Although we sit here with .about 147 miles to go, the number is really 79.9 after the fire is taken out. Crazy, but really just 4 more days of hiking.

Today started really cold as it dipped into the twenties last night. By the end, I was back in my usual of shorts and t-shirt. My hiking shirt now is starting to have a Swiss cheese appearance. It'll be retired on Friday if it doesn't disintegrate before then.

35°20′3″ N  83°42′12″ W
Elevation: 3,810
Days Out : 165
Nights left : 5

Fontana Lake - Go Blue!

Day 164 – It took us 3 nights in the Smokies to get through there. When I say “get through”, it meant it say “to really get through”! The smoke was really bad for most of it and the views were basically non-existent. That is, until the last day. Just as we began the brutal decent to Fontana Dam, we came upon one of those spectacular moments-just a short hike (straight up, of course) to the Shuckstack Fire Tower. Not to be missed, it provided what could be one of the very best 360° views on this entire expedition!

It was not planned to take a zero today, but we rarely planned too far ahead. Thing is,  we are now planning all the way to the finish. There is 164.2 miles to the to go and 67ish of those are still closed due to the fires. Being a day and a half from the Nantahala Outdoor Center (which marks the northern end of the closure), a hitch/shuttle around the fire will put us at 69.6 miles remaining. By the end of the day on Monday 11/28, we'll be around 60 miles to completion.

Our current location for this zero is the Fontana Lake Resort. Deluxe accommodations for our hiking team at a reasonable rate. Two reasons for this zero: 1) Michigan vs Ohio State and 2) Finish date = 12/2. The first reason is self explanatory as the championship of college football is on the line. The second? My mom’s birthday. Our trip started on 6/16, my dad’s 90th (we trail named him “TreeMan”). There is also a ping pong tournament this afternoon that we hope to join (if reason 1 above is fully executed). Hummingbird, lacking the Tai Chi class, will be twisting it up at the yoga class offered by the resort.

35°25′57″ N  83°49′16″ W
Elevation : 1930 (same year mom was born)

Smokies – One More Day

Since my last post, we've been cruising…straight up into the Great  Smokey Mountain National Park and it has turned out to be just that-smokey. Saying that we had trouble breathing was an understatement. Normally, “Smokey” comes from the steam generated by all the moisture in the mountain. This was from the fires still blazing down south. We donned kerchiefs o our faces and trudged through.

We still had a decision to make about The hiker Thanksgiving. I woke up early that morning before entering the park and decided against since it would cost us a day-a day we wanted to be home earlier.

What may prove to be our last night with our current trail family (tramily) turned into a big “sleepover”. Fifteen hikers all jammed into one shelter like cord wood. Normally, Hummingbird and I would have pitched a tent, but GSMNP rules state that you have to being the shelter if there is room. I guess there was room…

The following day we said our goodbyes to the other 13 in the parking lot closest to Gatlinburg. It was a bit of a circus because of the touristy nature of that town. After 3 big glazed donuts, we headed into the woods toward Clingman’s Dome (highest point on the AT). We made the plan to shelter just short of it and summit at sunrise. Good plan but it rained all night and the summit was completely fogged in. No big deal, we kept going.

Today was eventfuL as we summited 2 6,000 footers, crossed the (completely unmarked) 2,000 mile mark and are now enjoying our last night in the park. Total nights here:3.

Miles Remain : 183.2

35°33′43″ N  83°43′59″ W
Elevation : 4,850

Great Smokey Mountains are Next

Sitting in the Standing Bear Hostel waiting for a Digiorno. Weird, but warm. We had a fantastic walk out of Hot Springs yesterday. Pretty much straight up. The goal for the day being Max Patch. This is one of those spots you can't wait for-and it didn't disappoint. We did a 19+ to get there only we didn't get the sunset. Wind was howling and the temps were dropping drastically so we camped on a ridge right next to the meadow.  Keyword: cold❗

I believe it was in the low 20s making this the coldest night we've encountered. We were fine. We had started hearing how serious other hikers had had it later as we encountered our friends. Sadly, Budget and Buffalo are now done. Bearing down on 2,000 miles, they called it quits today after a miserable night. They'll give the finish a try in Spring. 

We enjoyed the sunrise on Max Patch and it was fantastic. Still really cold I ended up wearing something on my legs while hiking for the first time. Going back to shorts tomorrow (I think). 

Just after noon we summited Snowbird Mountain. Been hearing about a trail angel up there with some great chow. Indeed it was! Five hotdogs, hot chocolate, a couple lemonades, Reese's  cups and an apple pie later, we ambled out for our downhill to the hostel. We think tonight will be another super  cold one so we bought a couple bunks with wood fire. 

In 3 miles, we'll be in The Great Smokey Mountains we we gain altitude and stay there. If we are going to get snow, it's going to be now. 

Decision time too. There is a big hiker feast in Hot Springs (where we left yesterday) on Thanksgiving. We can arrange a shuttle back but it would mean a couple things: 2 low mile days followed by an almost zero on Thursday. We would get home almost two days later. More on this later…

Miles remain : 241

Completed : 1,947.7
Closed miles due to forest fires : 80
Potential completion date : Nov 30

35°47′10″ N  83°6′6″ W

Elevation : 1,810

Low tonight : 26°

Max Patch Tomorrow

I've been looking forward to this spot the entire trip. Twenty miles from here. We'll be there by 5.

Excited about the morning hike!

Event:

Red Flag Warning

Alert:

...CRITICAL FIRE WEATHER CONDITIONS PERSIST... .A COLD FRONT PUSHED THROUGH THE AREA EARLIER TODAY. GUSTY WINDS CONTINUE IN ITS WAKE. MEANWHILE...VERY DRY AIR WILL FILTER INTO THE AREA BEHIND THE FRONT. THESE CONDITIONS WILL COMBINE WITH THE ONGOING DROUGHT AND ACTIVE WILDFIRES TO PRODUCE CRITICAL FIRE WEATHER CONDITIONS. ...RED FLAG WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL MIDNIGHT EST TONIGHT FOR WIND AND LOW RELATIVE HUMIDITY FOR THE NORTH CAROLINA MOUNTAINS... * LOCATIONS...THE NORTH CAROLINA MOUNTAINS AND FOOTHILLS. * TIMING...THE REMAINDER OF THE EVENING. * WINDS...NORTHWEST 10 TO 25 MPH WITH GUSTS UP TO 40 MPH AT HIGHER ELEVATIONS. * HUMIDITY...GRADUALLY RECOVERING ABOVE 60 PERCENT BY MIDNIGHT. * IMPACTS...THE COMBINATION OF GUSTY WINDS...LOW RELATIVE HUMIDITY AND EXTREMELY DRY VEGETATION BROUGHT ON BY THE DROUGHT WILL RESULT IN EXTREMELY DANGEROUS CONDITIONS FOR THE RAPID SPREAD AND GROWTH OF WILDFIRE.

Taking a Zero

Six hundred and eighty miles. Straight. No break. No rain. So, today we are taking a day off. I just packed what is likely to be the last “non-essential” box and shipped it home. It happens to have my umbrella in it. I've carried it for over 1,900 miles and used it twice. Good idea maybe in a non-drought year. I now feel that I'm personally responsible for ending the drought-it's raining outside!

We are surrounded by our relatively new trail family sitting in a coffee shop in downtown Hot Springs, NC. All eight of us decided to zero and are enjoying the downtime. In the spirit of full disclosure, I've had my first issues with my feet this week. I took my socks off after one of our bigger days and the toes of both feet were splashed in a nice color of blood. They would hurt if I could actually feel them. Anyway, I started on an antibiotic because I'm nervous about infection. As I understand it, any infection could be an issue with my hip replacement since the infection could setup there and ruin the new hip. Therefore the meds.

I may have written before about the “trail will provide” and will do so again here. This morning as I'm working down my 5th cup of coffee and having a foot discussion with a local (‘cause that's what we do), the gal says “well, I'm an RN and I'll have a look if you want”. Next thing you know, I have my socks off and getting a thorough foot assessment (and message). All good. Quit your whining and get back out there!

I'm getting a weather report right now for tomorrow and “it'll be cold and windy but the rain will be gone. Good because we'll hit Max Patch which is another bald highlight.

My new boots didn't arrive so I'll be doing some super glue work on my old ones tonight. Hummingbird just bought a new pair of trail runners for the last push-she's very happy.

A trail angel named Miss Janet is organizing a thanksgiving feast here in Hot Springs. Since we'll be roughly 80 miles away, a shuttle would come get us to join in. We are on the “very interested” list. Not quite sure we can make it happen…

We just printed our passes ($20 each) for the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. I think we'll be there early this week.

35°53′35″ N  82°49′35″ W
Elevation : 1,330
Remaining : 273.4
Completed : 1,915.4
157-15-21 : days out-days remain-zero days

Hogback Mt Shelter to Somewhere Stealth

High hopes of another 20 were dashed just a little while ago. Moving right along we were sure a 25 was in order. Until we came upon a ridge-beast! That is, a ridge with teeth! Boulders, smaller rocks, scramble, etc. Since we really didn't leave Tennessee, we figure (as all states have) that TN isn't going down without a fight. We will actually end our NC/TN tightrope tomorrow.

Even with the difficult terrain we did manage a respectable 19.8 today. We started our 23rd week today as well. Calculating the numbers from week 22 see that we had our biggest week averaging 19.7 every day for a total of 137.9 miles! 

We also slipped under the 300 milestone with 295.3 miles to go. 

36°1′35″ N  82°42′42″ W

Elevation: 4,660

338.9 Erwin to Hogback Mt Shelter 315.1 (23.8)

Another day of beautiful bald mountain tops. Little bald (not so bald) and Big Bald (very bald) provided incredible 360° views! Definitely happy since we've been seeing these recently. We had not done so for well over 1,000 miles. Up north, we saw these views almost daily so we really enjoy them coming back.

Our second biggest day and, combined with the 26.2 we did the other day, a two day tally of 50 miles. I guess the horse is starting to smell the barn.

Beauty Bald thru Erwin TN

Town day. Usually will scrub some mileage and this did for sure. I had cracked a tooth in half a few days ago and I'm I bit worried that it'll get an infection. So far, no problem. To be safe I rang up my dentist back home and they pushed some antibiotics to the local CVS in Erwin. We were also low on snacks for our push to Hot Springs. All told it cost us a few hours. We did make it out of town but late. Straight up 1,400 feet or so when a golden campsite called us in. Well short of our goal. No problem, we'll still make Hot Springs on Friday where we have a resupply box waiting. I also will have a new pair (final) of boots that Vasque shipped to a local hostel there.

Health-wise, Hummingbird seems to be struggling with the forest fire smoke. All of our southbound hiker friends that are near us have also been effected. I'm still good. We're going to keep pushing although we're certain that the full length of the trail is most likely out of the question due to closures.

As of today, the closures would mean that we finish 4-5 days earlier-maybe e ven in November.

 36°4′60″ N  82°27′40″ W
Elevation: 3,540’
Miles remaining: 338.9
Miles walked: 1,850.2

Hughes Gap to Beauty Spot Gap - Super Moon

Dexter had informed us that the moon was a Super Moon. The epic viewing on the full moon was to be at 6:30 am. Hummingbird and I were ready with coffee and morning snacks for the show. The moon had been incredible all night. We left the rain fly off for optimal viewing as well. Half way through the night, a big animal was moving toward us. I was in a deep sleep until the very pointed rib jab woke me up. We both sat up and looked out at what we expected was a big bear only to see, perfectly in the moonlight, Bambi. That was really cool (and a relief at the same time).

At 6:15, the moon dipped into the forest fire smoke and disappeared. So much for optimal viewing. This brings us to tonight. The Beauty Spot we had hiked just shy of twenty miles when we came upon the knoll that looked perfect for a sunset and a moon rise. We arrived early enough to setup in the sun-haven't done that too many times recently. We also found a nice ½ gallon of fresh water someone had magic’d to us. Only the start of some great trail magic to come. Two retired couples then set up chairs, wine, cheese, Popeyes chicken etc. right next to us. We stood there on the knoll (freezing in the wind) for the next couple hours sharing food and stories. Great time. I just heard a chime outside and investigated to find a pillowcase with a cell phone in it that someone had left behind. Unlocked, I was able to call “Mom”. We have hot chocolates on the way now from the relieved owner of the cell. Magical day.

Roan Mt TN – Hughes Gap

Seems like I'm saying it more and more, but the views we are seeing are really incredible. Yes, there is a mystery to many since the forest fire smoke from the southern AT is hazing it up. Still, really nice. This section was one of our best!  Over 21 miles and it went really fast!

It started with a 2,000’ climb to get back to altitude. After that, bald after bald. People enjoying the nice Sunday high on the mountain. Half way through I had the ultra-strange sensation of having been there before. I was enjoying it so much that I didn't piece it together until Hummingbird pointed at the Jane Bald sign and reminded me that I had. I looked down across the trail to the next Bald and it literally smacked me in the head. We were traveling in the opposite direction of a short hike I had taken in May on this same track. It was like looking at the picture of the witch or the pretty woman. Which do you see? When you see the other, completely changes your perspective.

A great hike also culminated with my son Dexter and his girl friend Kelli showing up at mile 21 with some fantastic trail magic (beer, coffee, water, subs, beer)! We had a mini-tail gate right there at Hughes Gap before they drove back into the night and we walked back into the light of the fullest moon of our lives! We camped this night without our rainfly and watched as the deer walked around us. Perfect day, perfect night!  Happy Birthday to Dexter!

Under 400!

I recently looked up the highest peaks on the AT and found that we had only conquered 1 so far (Mt Washington) and we still had 9 to go. We get to hike up on of those today!

#5. Roan High Knob

Height: 6285 feet
Location: On the North Carolina / Tennessee border
Parks: Cherokee National Forest and Pisgah National Forest
Directly on the AT: Yes
Details: The Roan High Knob Shelter is the highest backcountry shelter. Out of all the peaks on this list, Roan High Knob has been one of the busiest. Amongst other things, there used to be a hotel on the summit that attracted famous politicians and European royalty.

We're packing up after an overnight at a brand new hostel (Doe River) in the town of Roan Mt. It was really nice and prepared us for this hike. Son Dexter talked about meeting, but I'm not sure he'll tear himself away from his Asheville festivities.

Our remaining miles dipped under 400 yesterday. Seems nice just to say 3..something. Sounds close. Still (see peaks) work to do!

36°12′39″ N  82°6′48″ W
Elevation: 2,510
Miles to go: 393.1
Miles walked: 1,796

The Marathon Day

As per usual, our day starts with me getting up at about 5:15am. This morning I knew was going to be a bit tougher because our campsite was setup on top of the mountain in a very high wind. The wind was still blowing, but not quite as hard. I lay in my sleeping bag and studied our day. It didn't take long to realize that this had the earmarks of an “easy” day. In fact, a day that should be pushed-if any day could've pushed.

Hummingbird had a bucket list item to do at least a marathon one of our days. To date, we've hit 22.8 miles in a day. I saw that we could make it to the town of Hampton, TN in exactly 26.2 miles. The goal was set, the increments worked out (11 by noon, 13 by 1, 16 by 2, etc), packed and on the trail.

Cold again. The weather report was 31-61° for the day. We started at the lower number. This time we did have to put socks over our light gloves. Other than the chill, a perfect day for hiking. We hiked up on the trail at 6pm just as it was getting to the point where our headlights would have been needed.

We called Mr Brown for a ride and checked in to the Braemar Castle Hostel ($15 for a bed without Sheets).

Twenty again tomorrow!

36°17′1″ N  82°9′29″ W

426.8 miles remain

Miles per day to reach Springer by 12/4: 17.8

Honestly, this nails it!

I was laughing hysterically through this post.
Check it out!

No More Campfires for Us

Weve just left Damascus and found out there is a ban in place for Tennessee, North Carolina and Georgia.

Check out the Trail Updates

Further info into the issue. 

Best day ever!

Ok, pretty decent anyway. A $500 day for sure. The day started at 5:30am on top of the mountain. I awoke to a really strong wind and that wasn't going to work for the coffee fire. So I rallied Hummingbird out of the tent for a quick pack up in the dark. We had camped on a bald so the star viewing was pretty awesome too.

By 6:14, we were heading down the mountain. Less than a mile into it we found the perfect coffee spot. Two Starbucks instant Via cooked along with some mashed potatoes and we were back on the trail. Our goal for the day was to be our highest mileage to date at over 23.  We knew this would be aggressive since we were heading into the wild ponies in the Grayson Highland State Park. Meaning, cool stuff will slow us down. And it did!  We both agreed that this was about the coolest day yet. Almost immediately upon entering the park, we encountered a herd of ponies. This was only the sunrise start as the vistas were getting better and better as the day went.

The day also marked a line in the season. Seemed that all of the leaves come down in the wind. Lois completely different out here.

The day could be summarized as being the one with most pictures per mile. Even with the coffee break, the ponies, lunch time fire for the spaghetti, we hit 21 miles for our 4th biggest day.

Going Under 500 Miles Remaining

Tomorrow, we hit another milestone by dipping under 500 miles to go. In the middle of August we achieved the first 500 miles. Basically, two months into the trail. Now we expect to finish this last 500 in under 1 month. We are capable of it I'm sure. I also don't think we're missing anything by going too fast. I think we are a little more dialed in. Back in Vermont we moved with a little less urgency. Gunning to finish by Thanks is out. The target now is December 4. This would require daily 18.1 mile days with no days off. If we squeeze a zero day in there, 18.8.

Gear is a topic everyday. Specifically, cold weather gear. Hummingbird’s sleeping bag isn't cutting it in these 30° nights. Twenties are predicted next weekend too. A new 15° bag awaits her at Crazy Larry's Hostel in Damascus. Shipped from Moose Jaw. Gloves were insufficient this morning as neither of us handled the cold during the early pre-sunrise dawn. Putting socks over our light gloves is next. Found on the trail: a perfect John Deere hat which is warmer than my skull cap. Deployed today to great satisfaction (laundered thoroughly the other day). I had hoped to wear shorts for the entire trail. Still on track, but looking unlikely more so every day. My rain kilt has been keeping the legs warm.

Virginia will be completed on Wednesday unless we have trouble getting out of Damascus. Trouble: just feels like a zero day.

Health wise, all is good. Feet get beat up everyday and for some reason are capable enough to go through the mill again the next day.

The sleeping arrangements for tonight includes a secluded tent spot on Iron Mountain at 5,000 feet. A pack a coyotes just sang a few bars off in the distance. I'm sure we're fine!? At this altitude it will get in the twenties tonight. Hummingbird will have my rain coat and puffer jacket on top of her sleeping bag to get her through.

36°40′34″ N  81°30′4″ W
Elevation : 5,000’
Miles Remaining: 507.1

Another Chilly Morning

Getting colder!

Hi Y'all

please post a comment so I know who's watching.

1579 – 1,606 (583.1 Remaining)

Southern Virginia

Today, we said goodbye to Peach and Panda (Paige and Penny).  They walked almost four days with us and 47+ miles. Pretty good since she had not walked over 8 miles before. Great days and great hikes!  Hummingbird and Peach were even reposted by Appalachian Trials in Instagram for a Halloween shot I took of them.

I started the day with a fast 7+ miles alone. After making the girls coffee, I packed and left them enjoying their cup. My mission included the early hike, a 4 mile hitch into town followed by another 60 mile hitch back to Pearisburg where Paige's car was parked. I made the short ride without trying, but when I found out the longer section was to go straight by a state prison, I looked for another way. Forty dollars later, I was hanging with Bubba in his sweet Dodge Caravan!  He dropped me back at the Angel’s Rest Hostel. I had knocked that task off by noon and was back to the girls before 2. We said our goodbyes and went back in the woods for another 8 miles ending at a sweet spot by a creek and a fire pit. Complete with a picnic table too-we really enjoy being able to sit somewhat normally.

1481.4-1579 (610.1 Remaining)

139-36-20 (Days since start-Days Remaining 12/4-zero days)
37°11′10″ N  80°54′5″ W
Southern Virginia

After a few light days to align ourselves for the Paige meet, we discovered that she would be with us on Sunday rather than Friday. So we pushed on. We moved along the 60 miles to Pearisburg over the weekend and arrived at the Angels Rest Hostel at sunset on Sunday. Knowing now that Paige will join us early Monday for the walk out of town, this stop is perfect. We also met up with our trail friend Hawkwoman whom we had not seen since leaving her home in Pottsville PA. Made for a nice reunion.

The hostel is brand new to the trail and wasn't in our guide. We found a card earlier in the week stapled to a bridge. Doc Peppa picked us up on the trail and drove us to the luxurious double-wide where we checked in, grocered up at the Food Lion and watched movies until way past bedtime. We didn't think this to be a problem since we were breaking in a new hiker (Paige and dog Penny) in the morning.

We also knew it would be a short day (11.4) because we wanted to stay at the Woods Hole Hostel on Sunday night. This mileage was perfect for the first day. Woods Hole didn't disappoint either as we enjoyed showers, fresh garden vegetables in the salad, bruschetta, soup and all. Excellent dinner topped off with homemade strawberry ice cream.

We then gorged on French toast, bacon, coffee, donuts… for breakfast! All in the 1880s log cabin deep in the woods. Organic all!

Paige (Peach) and Penny (Panda) both earned their trail names today in a 13.4 day. Tomorrow, will be another of about the same distance unless they feel up to an 18. That would be tough. Regardless, that will be their last day since I'll be hitching back to the Angel’s Rest to get Paige's car early Wed.

After this, hummingbird and I will be putting in some serious miles to beat some of the snow in the many 6,000 footers yet to come. The Smokies have many. Nine out of our ten highest peaks are yet to come.

Tomorrow (Tuesday) will be our 21st day in a row hiking since coming back to the trail following the wedding of Colin and Hannah at Briar Hill. We'll have walked 360 miles over this time or roughly 120 miles/week. In order to finish by 12/2, we need to hit 133 per. Boots…get walking.

4 Pines Hostel

One of those days. I hit the wall early and started doing some on trail research. It didn't take long to find the 4 Pines Hostel. Should be noted that we're trying to figure out another on trail sync-up. Syd's college roomy is joining us on Friday at a location that allows us a certain amount of "pump the brakes". If we push too far, we'll be in no mans land. Timing the road crossing perfectly allows us to hang out at this hiker hostel, slack pack an easy 13 tomorrow and sleep inside for 2 days straight. All good.

McAffee Knob was our big moment of the day. We had an awesome bluebird summit lunch with some day hikers turned trail angels when they gave us all remaing food. Should be noted that any self respecting thru hiker must (no exceptions here) accept any and all donations. It's a rule.

37°21′46″ N  80°9′23″ W

Elevation : 1,890

1434.9 to 1456.6 (732.5 Remain)

Hiked our two biggest days this week. On Wednesday, we did 22.8 miles. Today, we hit 21.7. Wind had died and it warmed up enough to go back to t-shirt hiking. Yesterday we did so many wardrobe changes I lost count. First you have the raincoat on over the down jacket then you bake. Off comes the layers, you stop for a break and freeze. Good to have a consistent day today.

We'll be walking through a couple trail towns in the morning and we're excited to see if we have mail. Mail=special packages from home bound trail angels. Did some research today and found that 9 out of the top 10 highest peaks on the AT are yet to come. Mainly along the North Carolina/Tennessee border in the Smokies. Could get chilly!

37°23′54″ N  79°51′13″ W
2,740’ Elevation

Wind! Weather!

TAfter resupplying in Glasgow this morning (I also did laundry while Hummingbird slept), we made our way over to Boss’s for breakfast. I would say one of the cheapest we've had, but good. Very good. I still have the habit of ordering every thing on the menu for 2 reasons: 1) I need to stem the weight loss and 2) I'm hungry. Always hungry. I grew up with the nickname “garbage can” because it (any food not eaten) would be pushed down to me. I feel I've gone back to those days when I would burn anything I ate-and fast.

We did make it back to the trail at around noon. We had the chance to wait out a downpour in the tavern so we did. We also talked one of the patrons to drive us the 5 or so miles back to the trail. Good win there. We are now purely hunkered down on the side of a mountain while strong winds rage around us. My tent has a very good wind resistant shape and we're all good. Just really strong wind noise all around us. We pay very close attention to what the trees are like when we camp especially on these kinds of nights. Since we had to camp in an unofficial or stealth site tonight, it is a bit dicier.

37°33′32″ N  79°27′30″ W

2.500' Elevation

Glasgow VA

hot again. Yep, lower case. Tired of that. Totally wanting snow. We ran into some southbounders that day the like the heat, but I don't understand. I do better in cooler weather period. That said, we had our biggest day yesterday at 22.9 miles-in 88°, sunny weather!

Our hike up Priest was pretty cool! Great views and we camped by ourselves at the top. It blew hard all night! Reminded me of Cape Hatteras (where we went windsurfing -before kid's school).

Running low on fuel again (food) we find ourselves in town to resupply. When you have spaghetti for breakfast because it is what you have left, it might be time to stop in

The views have been some of the best.
Last 9 days: 172 miles!

The Priest

Think of us today. We're doing number 7 on this list:

7 Hardest Hikes on AT

1327.8 or 861.3

That is the question. For months I always thought in terms of how far we've come. Now, it's confused. Every day it's one or the other as if an extended transition is happening. I know that it'll soon be all about the miles remaining-just not exactly yet.

We sit here at Weasie's diner in Waynesboro, VA having showered last night at the local YMCA (sing it), camped at the free hiker campsite (Y), and laundered (yes-Christmas)! Omelettes ordered and planning for the day. We just finished 95 miles in the last 5 days and we were stinky! On the way down from the Shenandoahs, we came across a trail angel list. "Southerner" was on his way! Ten minutes later, we were being shuttled to the Y.  Greeting us at the campsite was Otis. We last saw him in New Hampshire. He had been doing crazy sections all over and declared completion just two days ago. He looked lost-or drunk-maybe same thing?!

Hi temp of 82° today. Edging up to unproductive heat. Hoping we can stay cool. Our trip home to Michigan was perfect as we missed hurricane Matthew's rain. Our great weather on this epic tour continues.

Amazing coincidence last night: a couple sat next to us at the local tavern. As we munched down some burgers and beers (always my goto), I overheard them talking about Yeungling beer. Of course I had to tell them all about Pottsvile and the brewery. Two minutes into the conversation were had moved on to skiing in Colorado, Steamboat, A Basin, etc. we could have gone on all night. Turns out He had ski patrolled in the 50's, skied with some 10 Mountain Division guys and he (Ed) is married to Magie. I said, my mom's name is Margaret and she said me too. What a coincidence!  Ed and Margaret are my parents names (for those of you that didn't know).

38°4′8″ N  78°52′59″ W

Under 900 miles!

1293.9 Done. 895.2 to go.
Tonight we sleep near a creek listening to 15-20 weekend hikers enjoying the campfire. This is normal now on each weekend. We never see any thru hiker north-bounders anymore so it is really these that dominate Fri-Sun. Generally all nice and are super interested in our experience. Seems like we get a little speed up and another day hiker is standing by to let you through. You can always tell that they want to talk about it. No problem there. One lady hollered (it's what they do down here) when we went by near her campsite if we were thru hiking and did we have enough supplies. This was yesterday. Today, we saw her again walking in the opposite direction so we exchanged two bars for information on how she should be holding her trekking poles. She was so excited I could hear her giggling as she moved north.

We also made a connection for the end of the trail for some shuttle service from a guy who lives near the southern terminus

The colors are changing fast it has been quite chilly in the evenings making the morning coffee ritual a little more urgent.

38°17′4″ N  78°39′31″ W
2,930' Elevation

Shenandoah continues

Our first day back on the trail was absolutely perfect. We knocked out 19.8 miles without a problem. Good coffee, a late start and still good. We even stopped at one of the convenience stores for an early lunch. Really easy hiking, plenty of water and perfect weather. We're up pretty high tonight (3,450) in terms of these mountains. Stealth camping under some pines listening to the wind blow. Perfect sleeping conditions. We'll do it all over again tomorrow!

38°37′27″ N  78°20′54″ W
Low 45 tonight

We are baack!

OK. Break over. We arrived back in Richmond just before midnight on Monday. Sandy and Larry Willis were there to pick us up. Trail Angels for sure! They had to sleep earlier in the evening for the late night pickup. Pretty awesome!  On Tuesday, we were headed back to the trail. First, a couple stops.  REI was just a couple of miles away so we had to spend a few more hundees there. Next, Sandy teaches a Tai Chi class several times a week so we joined her at the local Y and participated in the class. I felt the Chi!

After all that, we made it back to the trailhead around 5:30. We had planned a longer hike with Sandy, but it ended up as a shorter 2 miler to a view and back. This, however, was not without some cliff-side, sunset Tai Chi. A pretty full day.

Officially on a quick break

We are now on break from our vacation.

955.8 miles to go - Shenandoah National Park

Last night, we camped within a mile of the park. After a long leisurely coffee and breakfast (juevos rancheros), we proceeded into the park. 

I didn't get that post out before we left. So, now I can report on the wildly successful wedding of Colin and Hannah. Syd and I had a blast! I even camped at Briar for the first time in many years. I guess the camping thing is pretty ingrained now. 

Arrived in Lansing Mi at 9:15 am on Wed and proceeded to not have a minute of downtime for the next 6 days. I had a long list of honey dos not to mention all the wedding stuff. 

Good fun, but now we can go back to the trail and rest doing "just those 20 mile days".

Another big day on the trail. Modern day hanging of the spurs...

via Instagram http://ift.tt/2dWbRyE

Latest

The future is here...

Since the beginning of this trip, we've been planning on going home for Hannah and Colin's wedding. Seemed way off, but now it's here!  Tomorrow, we'll get "extracted" off of the trail almost right after we enter the north end of Shenandoah National Park.  Cousin Sandy will be driving out of the Richmond area to make the connection. That's some real trail magic right there!

We had a really nice few days out of Harpers Ferry. In these days we blew by the 1000 miles to go marker,

went through something called the roller coaster

stayed at the Bears Den Hostel and kept right on going. Three days and just short of 60 miles. Another good run. 

Time for some Stats

Here's what is real:

Latitude: 39° 19' 18.60" N
Longitude: -77° 44' 22.19" W

Harpers Ferry West Virginia

Day 107

Avg per day 10.9 miles

Zero days 13

Avg per day w/o zeros 12.54

Avg per day 6/16-7/15 9.55miles ME, NH

Avg per day 7/16-8/15 6.71miles NH, VT

Avg per day 8/16-9/15 13.9miles VT, MA, CT, NY, NJ, PA

Avg per day 9/16-9/29 16.07miles PA, MD, WV

States remaining WV, VA, TN, NC, GA

Highest 7 day miles per day avg 19.53miles

Most miles in day 21.4

Least miles in day 1.4 (non zero, Olympics, brewery)

ETA at current pace (overall) 1/2/2017 

Boots Cucumber 3 pair

Trail runners Hummingbird 3 pairs

Tick removals 0

Permethrin application on clothes and gear (Tick Prevention) 2

Haircuts 1

Head shave 1

Beard shave 0

Cardboard friends made - Countless