Happy Father's Day!

Me and my Daddy.

This Father's Day was a glorious, beautiful Sunday for a hike, even though it was a bit hotter than it has been. We went about 12 miles in just under 7 hours, which was really an accomplishment, considering the terrain included two 1,000+ foot climbs and descents. The first point of interest was a place called, literally, "Beauty Spot." And for a good reason. The panoramic views spoke for themselves. Apparently there's an annual strawberry festival at this location too, which sounds like a lot of fun. Unfortunately, it was not being held today.

Beauty Spot.

The second big climb, considerably harder than the climb up Beauty Spot, was up Unaka Mountain...

Unaka Mountain in the background, as seen from Beauty Spot.

...and even though the climb was tough, it was worth it when we got to the top, because there was a very special, very surprising treat waiting for us - a whole mountaintop of live pine forest! After hiking through miles and miles of blighted, dead pines, I was so happy to see what seemed like a healthy and thriving, if recovering, grove of pine trees. It looked like this forest had regrown since the attack of the parasitic pine bugs, and was doing well.

Beautiful pine forest.

The rest of the hike was downhill and relatively uneventful. We saw another family of wild turkeys, but nothing else (if anyone has ever seen a turkey fly, it's one of the most bizarre sights nature has to offer. Those things just weren't meant for the air...), not even any other hikers.

I love my Daddy every single day, but as a final note, since it is Father's Day, I would like to wish all the Daddies, Grand-Daddies and Father-Figures out there a blessed day, but most especially mine, who is the finest man I know. I love you Daddy, and I'm glad we are on this grand adventure together.

Daddy and his girls out for Father's Day dinner.

Quote of the Day: "This is my child. She went to college. Twice. Now she's unemployed." -Daddy, in reference to me.

Mileage Update:

Miles from Springer: 360
Miles from Katahdin: 1,818

PS - I'm realizing, after almost 6 weeks out here, that my readers my be starting to find my ramblings about my daily walks uninteresting. While the sights and sounds of the trail are still totally fascinating to this easily entertained nerd, I may not be writing about what you really want to hear. So here's my proposition. If you'd like to ask me any questions, or know anything specific, leave me a comment here on the blog, or email me. I promise I will respond to all inquiries in subsequent posts.

Rivers and Streams

All aboard the AT train!

I am very happy to report that my hiatus from hiking to take care of my health and my future medical education is over. We left the big city after my MCAT on Thursday morning, which I am very glad to have behind me. I also officially submitted my initial application to medical school this week, so I suppose this means it's real now. Luckily, there's a bit of a waiting period to get through before I have to start filling out secondary applications, so I can focus on my adventure for a few weeks. Over the past two days, we've hiked about 21 miles, 12 on Friday and 9 today. The 12 miles on Friday was some of the easiest terrain I've seen so far, and we hiked the whole 12 in less than 6 hours, which is quite an accomplishment for these little short legs. Today was more difficult, with some steep climbs and rocky sections. The weather has been absolutely gorgeous. To add to the visual delights, most of this section of the trail seemed to involve hiking along streams and rivers. Not only is it a gorgeous sight to walk along a bubbly mountain stream, but the water cools off the air around it, making the whole experience more pleasant in this June heat.

Mountain Stream and footbridge.

Nolichucky River, bird's eye view.

Nolichucky River, up close and personal.

Overall, great days to be out on the trail. Friday was another day that we hiked the entire day without seeing anyone else. Creepy but a pretty awesome, powerful feeling as well. Saturday, we got a late start because we stopped to join the citizens of this tiny TN town as they lined the interstate to honor the first of their own, a 24 year old young man, to be killed in the war in the Middle East. There were cars and people lining the roads for miles, most of them bearing American flags, and the funeral procession was dozens of vehicles long. This show of support for a fallen soldier was an incredibly moving sight. Prayers to the family of this young man, who gave his life for his country. Thank you for your service and your sacrifice.

We finished our hiking goal today in time to have a delicious meal at the Hawg-n-Dawg (yes, they sell BBQ and hot dogs...I actually had the BBQ hot dog, which was amazing) and catch "The A-Team" at the local theater. Can't ask for a much better day than that.

Tower of peanut butter and ice cream. Best end to a day of hiking ever.

One Month Down, Bumps in the Trail

The only sign we say all day on Tuesday, at the interstate.

I apologize to all of my readers who have been forced to assume that I became bear bait due to my lack of posting. Unfortunately my grand adventure has hit a snag or two over the past week due to forces of nature beyond my control. These forces, thankfully, do not include bears. On Tuesday the 8th, we hiked a little over 8 miles to the interstate at Sam's Gap, right on the TN/NC state line. It was a very remote section of trail, and the interstate sign at the end of the hike was the only indication of civilization we got all day. Although it was a beautiful day that day, Mother Nature quickly became angry. Over the next four days, it poured cats and dogs off and on, which was one of the snags our adventure hit. The other snag was that I got sick with a bad sore throat and cough. Much to my chagrin, I was forced to admit that out in the woods was pretty much the last place I wanted to be when I was so under the weather. It's amazing what a little modern medicine can do, though, because after a few days of rest and antibiotics, I felt much better. I made it through an entire month and over 300 miles of hiking without taking a "zero day," so I feel pretty good about that. All was not lost, since I used the rainy/sick days to work on medical school applications. Even though it was nice to have a break (the little town in TN where we stayed was pretty awesome, with some really good home cookin' restaurants and a really neat old movie theater), I was glad to get back on the trail when the weather and my illness cleared up.

The top of Big Bald, the highest elevation of the hike on Monday, and the highest campsite on the whole AT.

Meadow full of wildflowers, Big Bald in the background.

We hiked 13.6 miles on Monday, which is a pretty full day of hiking for us. We did it in less than 9 hours though, which after 4 sick days, isn't half bad. The day was beautiful, with over a mile of high elevation hiking through exposed meadows. One very interesting note - it was the first day where we saw no other hikers, at all. Some days, the trail is pretty sparse with other people, but we usually always see or pass at least one other hiker. Not this day. The only other people we saw were two mountain bikers going up Big Bald on the road. It's a strange feeling, being alone out on the trail. I felt like I had the whole wilderness to myself. Eerie and exhilarating at the same time. It rained very hard for about 10 minutes at the end of our hike, but not enough to slow us down, just enough to cool us off.

Very cool rock formations at the end of the 13.6 mile hike. See how huge the boulders are in comparison to little old me?

It's hard to believe I've been out here for over a month now. The time has flown by, and the days all seem to run together sometimes. I wish I hadn't had to put a detour in my plans because of illness, but these things do happen. It may be a few days before I post again, since I have to take another detour to the big city to take the infamous MCAT exam. Nothing quite like a 4 hour intensive test to take your mind off of your blisters.

When life hands you lemons, make smores. But not lemon smores. That's weird.

Quote of the Day:

"I feel so stupid. I have lots of book smarts, but no practical knowledge. Oh well, there's no practical knowledge on the MCAT." - Me. Daddy laughed.

Deluge!

On top of Big Butt Mountain - 300 miles hiked!

We hiked just over 20 miles in the past day and a half (about 13 hiking hours), and spent one night in the wilderness. It really felt like the wilderness too, since about 4 hours into the hike on the first day, a legitimate thunderstorm whipped itself up around us. We've walked through rain before, but not quite like this.

Whiterock Cliffs - the last good view we got before the storm (which you can see in the background) rolled in.

The storm worked itself up slowly, starting with just a few clouds, then a drizzle and some wind. I walked for the first few hours with just my pack cover on, since my rain clothes are uncomfortably hot. At first, I was very happy with the situation, since the overcast day was much, much cooler than some of the summer heat we've been hiking in. But up in the mountains, things change quickly...

About 6.5 minutes before things turned ugly. Guess which one we took...

Right when we hit that exposed ridge the sign warns of, the skies opened up, and within minutes every inch of me was soaked. I managed to get my raincoat on, but by that point it was really too late. When it rains on the trail, there's really nothing you can do except keep walking, especially when you're walking an exposed ridge picking your way through wet, slick granite boulders. The views would've been spectacular, I'm sure, if I could've seen anything except the 5 feet in front of me. It wasn't so much the rain that was the trouble, as the driving winds blowing it right in my face. Amazingly, my new boots held up to the soaking much longer than my other ones did. Regardless, by the time we got off that ridge, they were full of water too. Just like my pants, my hair, the folds of my pack cover, etc. By the time we fought our way through the hurricane to the next shelter, I was exhausted and freezing. Daddy and I don't stay at the shelters, but we were sure looking forward to a place to get out of the rain for a minute. When we got there, a voice from the shelter shadows (which sounded like it belonged to an older man) simply said "Shelter's made for 6, we already have 5." So what guys, either me or my Dad has to die? Shelter culture is usually so touchy-feely-let's-be-best-friends, so I was very taken aback by this gruff greeting. Soaked and sad, I put on my best pitiful face and said that we were just looking to rest a minute, and was met with blank stares from the 5 men in the shelter. Sometimes, it can really feel like the "boy's club" out here (I've literally seen only about 5 other women out here). I think they thought a girl wandering around the shelter would cramp their style.

No room at the shelter.

Luckily, there was a good camping spot in a rhododendron thicket just up the hill, and it stopped raining long enough to throw up the tent, have some food and crawl in and warm up. It was a very hard day, but all's well that ends well. The next day was beautiful, so even though we'd stopped about 2 miles short of our first day's goal because of the weather, it was a good day to be out. There was some pretty fun terrain to be hiked as well, which definitely kept things interesting.

Mountain Field.

I didn't sign up for rock climbing...

We got to the RV just a bit before 2:00pm. The "waterproof" bags I had wrapped around my feet didn't exactly protect them from my soaked boots, but I got through it. I was extra happy to see the Trail Angel Mamma after this hike, though, who had applesauce and iced tea waiting for us. A glorious treat. We got to our new RV park after a quick trip to Wal-Mart and a wonderful homecooked meal at a local restaurant (mmmm, meatloaf...), and got settled in quite nicely. The owner of the RV park even brought her cat, Cream, up to our campsite to visit...

Wat? U no likin mah dress? I wearz it just for you.

Forward, March!

More AT graves. Totally proves the trail is haunted, right?

Today was one of our most efficient days yet. We hiked about 9 miles in under 5 hours, and even though the terrain was considerably easier than it has been for the past week or so, I was very proud of that progress. That's a pretty impressive pace for me and my short little legs. We traded the amazing views we've been having lately for lower elevation and an easier hike, but the all the rain we've been having lately has really brought out the exotic in these humble North Carolina backwoods.

Land of the Lost style weed garden.

We met Tate and Uncle Don, two fellow thru hikers today. They are serious about this hiking thing (Uncle Don has even thru-hiked the Continental Divide Trail. Look it up. It's completely intimidating), and were really booking it along the trail. They were very nice, and we were so happy we had the opportunity to help them out when it turned out they were one day short in their food supply. Providing "trail magic" is lots of fun, especially for such genuine people. Uncle Don and Tate, I hope we see you in Maine. It was a pleasure. As far as our own hiking goes, I was really happy about our efficiency, because the whole field-full of Civil War enthusiasts who rolled into town yesterday were planning on battling it out this afternoon, and I didn't want to miss that. When we got back to Hot Springs, the Stars and Bars were parading down the street preparing to do bloody battle with the Yanks on the other side of the field. There were horses, cannons and muzzle-loaders (in full working order, by the way), old fashioned food and people in period clothing. I've never seen anything like it honestly, and it sure was lots of fun.

Confederates.

The battle rages.

General Lee. No really, it's him.

Got to end the day with one last soak in the famous mineral water. I even got a bottle of it to take home and put in the fridge for drinking, although I'm a little scared to try it, what with all those extra goodies floating around in it. But hey, maybe it's really good for me. A nice dinner at a restaurant, complete with live bluegrass music couldn't really beat the Indian Fry Bread I had at the Civil War reenactment. I think I could just stay here in this tiny little town and have a mineral bath and watch Civil War nerds for weeks. But that would make for a pretty pointless hiking blog, now wouldn't it?

Cherry Pie Fry Bread. Amazing.

Quote of the Day: "No resting, we have a war to fight!" - Daddy while we were hiking and hoping to get back for the reenactment.

Miles and Minerals

One of the coolest things we saw all day...a turtle nest!

Today was a good day for slackpacking, since we'd just finished a 3 day hike and there was a great parking area just 6 miles away. So we got to take our time getting going and trek above the river that runs through Hot Springs. The first mile of hiking up out of town was very steep, but with a great view of the river and town at the top. There's an overlook near the summit called "Lover's Leap" that is apparently a popular day hike for locals and visitors. I hope it didn't get it's name in too literal a fashion, because man, that would be quite a leap...

The view from Lover's Leap.

The rest of the hike was ridge hiking, so not too difficult. We came across a grove of pine trees that some Boy Scouts had treated with pesticides to protect them from the parasitic bugs that are destroying the forests (there were signs posted about it). Just goes to show you how serious of a problem it is for these areas. We ate our little lunch by a really beautiful pond in the middle of the woods. It wasn't a naturally occurring pond, since it was being contained by a 30 foot concrete wall. So either there was some ecological reason for the forest service to dam up a minor mountain stream, or the local beavers have seriously evolved.

Nice little contained pond.

Very pretty place to have lunch. There were even fish jumping around in it and white flowers floating on the top of it. Like a postcard or a Monet painting.

Made it out of the woods a little after 4pm. One of the major benefits of slackpacking is that you can move so much faster with less to carry, so these shorter days fly by. We've really upped our pace in the last week or so too, which is a great sign. Dare I say the trail is doing some serious good for my physical fitness? Trail Sister and I continued to further our physical fitness with a trip to the namesake of this little town, the Hot Springs, where we had a nice soak in the magical healing mineral water. Maybe not magical or healing, but it did make my bug bites itch less, and you'll never, ever hear me complain about getting to spend an hour in a fancy hot tub. But since I have no pictures of the Mineral Spa, I'll just end with this nice picture of a different sort of water...

A nice walk by the rapids.

Quote of the Day: "I wonder what would've happened in the Civil War if Robert E. Lee had UZIs." - Random man at the table next to us in one of the two restaurants in town...

Hot Springs

Only 1914 miles to go? Awesome...

The past few days had us hiking over 30 more miles of the NC/TN border. We started out at Pigeon River and climbed over 3,000 feet over 6 miles up into the mountains. It was a pretty steep and brutal climb, with few few places to catch your breath, made even harder by a 10 degree rise in the temperature and what felt like a 100% increase in the humidity from the thunderstorm the day before. It was well worth it though, when we got to the top of the climb and were rewarded with some pretty fantastic views.

Look, a Sonic! Oh wait, that's just the air traffic control radio on top of Snowbird Mountain. Dang, I really wanted a cherry limeade...

Climbing up Max Patch on the morning of Day #2...

...to another great view.

We met an interesting character on our first day out, a bald gentleman with a fabulous handlebar moustache, who looked to be about 6'3", 250, and in his mid-50s, out by himself. He stopped and chatted while we had lunch. I think he was starved for conversation. Turns out, even though he looked like a Hell's Angel, he was a high school guidance counselor from Georgia. He congratulated me on my recent graduation ("...now is that from high school or college?..."haha...), laughed and said that being a chemistry major would've been "so far beyond him" and lamented that more students at his rural GA high school didn't pursue college educations. It made me very thankful for the opportunities I've been given, including this chance to celebrate the past 4 years with a journey up the East Coast. It rained all day the second day we were out, but I had on my new boots, which are indeed waterproof, so I was a very happy hiker. The rain cooled things down and things didn't get too soggy, so all was well.

Log Bridge to keep your feet dry.

Tunnel of green for your umbrella.

We hiked over 16 miles on day two, and by 7pm I was so ready to stop that Daddy and I made camp on the side of a hill. Literally. The tent was probably at a 40 degree angle. It was like sleeping in a recliner, and it's an absolute miracle we didn't slide right off that mountainside. Chalk one up to Daddy's good old fashioned physics in the tent set-up. We did so well on the second day that we had less than 6 miles to go to get to our next rendezvous. Hot Springs, NC is the epitome of a "trail town," since the AT actually runs right down the sidewalk of it's main road, which is a rather generous statement, since there's only one road and no stoplights in the whole town. A neat place, nonetheless. The hiking down into Hot Springs was relatively easy, and very green and beautiful. We even passed a grave. No really, Greg Gragg is buried on the side of the AT. There's a headstone and everything, even though you can't read it very well anymore. Apparently he died in 1940 and is "absent but not dead." Great. The AT is haunted too...

They literally paved they way for us!

Made it to Hot Springs in time for a hot lunch and some relaxation with the Trail Angel and the Trail Sister. It's always good to get to a rendezvous after a 3-day stretch of hiking. Interesting tidbit: Hot Springs has been a destination of choice since the early 1800s, when people came to partake in the healing waters of the geothermal springs here, hence the name of the town. There was even a Civil War battle fought here. The battle of who gets Hot Tub privileges, I suppose? The springs are still here, and you can still get in them. I haven't, I chose to just jump in the river instead.

One very happy camper.

Quote of the Day: Just stay out of other people's trash. Seriously, if you're going to eat garbage, at least eat your own. - Wise words to live by from Mamma