03-30-13 Together in Franklin, North Carolina

Woke up early to hike just shy of 4 miles to Winding Stair Gap to make the shuttle into Franklin, North Carolina.

The hike along the ridge was beautiful in the morning, with the fog rolling off the mountains. I felt like I was on top of the world.

Caught the shuttle hosted by Ron Haven--boy, that guy is a character.

Checked into the Budget Inn. Stepped into our room, and stepped back a decade.

Our stay coincided with the April Fools Trail Days in the day, and Hiker Bash in the evening.

Had a chicken tender basket for lunch and some frozen foods for dinner--including ice cream. The snow plus mud combo of the trail has reminded me of cookies and cream for days, so I felt it time to satisfy my appetite.

03-29-13 Together on Albert Mountain

I was woken up in the middle of the night by a snout. Running around the campsite was an animal, and it had taken a liking to us. Sniffing around, it had stuck its nose under our rainfly. I woke B up; he told me to be quiet and still. We could hear the jingling of a tag, so our fears ceased. We would find out later that day that some hikers had lost their dog in that area the day before.

The sun greeted us early and we had a fun hike to Albert Mountain. On top of Albert Mountain is a fire tower, and to get to the fire tower you first have a gnarly climb. After climbing straight up, and then rock scrambling, we were welcomed with an amazing 360 degree view--our best view yet!

From the top of the tower we could see clouds rolling in. On the descent it starting misting, then sleeting. We made it to Rock Gap Shelter before the downpour.

.1 of a mile down the trail we were greeted by a man with beer. I would learn later that he had just lost his brother. Instead of sitting at home grieving he had packed up the contents of his fridge and headed to the trail for fellowship.

Also there (unrelated) was a church group cooking chili dogs and muffins. Thank you and God bless.

We opted to sleep in the shelter so we wouldn't have to breakdown a wet tent. That was entertaining--in the middle of the night one of the hikers starting snoring. Not only was he "sawing logs" but I think he was sawing puppies. And aliens. He might have been dying at one point. It was so ridiculously loud and inhuman sounding that B and I started laughing. He did keep the bears away though.

03-28-13 Can the snow go somewhere else?

Another day started in sub-par temps. The snow beneath our tent had not melted and the water in our water bottles froze (which we purposefully kept in the tent). Even our shoes and shoelaces froze! On the plus side, the cold makes us get out of camp quickly though, and we were out of there in record time--one hour after wake up--sounds slow, but try packing all your belongings, dressing, and taking your house down in that time.

Initially, the trail was not kind. The soupy parts of the trail had re-frozen and the snow was packed solid. We did a lot of slipping and sliding on all the primarily north facing slopes. Made it over Standing Indian Mountain (elev 5,498) in time for lunch.

By the time we hit the Carter Gap Shelter, we logged our biggest mileage day, 12.5 mi. The tent site was deluxe in comparison to the previous day, and some fellow hikers got a campfire started.

03-27-13 Leaving Georgia Together

Today we said good-bye to Georgia and crossed into North Carolina. We finished our stay at the Blueberry Patch Hostel with a breakfast feast complete with fresh biscuits, juice, and blueberry syrup. The hostel is run as a Christian ministry funded entirely from donations. Hiawassee is a cool town and if you visit, stop by the Blueberry Patch.

The hike out was rough with our bellies full and the food bags overrun. To make matters worse, the trudge from town is almost always uphill. We were in good spirits though--today was the first day we've seen the sun in five days.

Our goal of the day was crossing into a new state. The trail was snowy and we were afraid that we might miss the sign. Fortunately a fellow hiker was sitting by the sign as we approached. We had envisioned tobacco fields and sad basketball fans (UNC fans). What we got was more of the same GA trails plus added elevation and even more snow.

03-26-13 Together at the Blueberry Patch

Survived the night, but was ready for a hot meal and shower.

The alarm went off at 6:30am. I was the first in the shelter to start moving. I found my change of socks in the dark. I tried to be as quiet as possible, but every time I would move I would hear someone else stir.

Now my sleeping bag was packed up--and I was cold-- being quiet was no longer my priority. I stepped over a girl. B started handing my items to set outside.

Finally loaded and on our way, we trudged along the snow covered trail. The first ones out, we were blazing through the snow drifts. A true winter wonderland. Only 3.6 miles away from a shuttle to take us to warmth.

Slip. Slide. Plop. I fell to my knees. A sloppy mess in the snow to show other hikers that someone wiped out here.

The noise of a car driving by. The glimpse of the road. We've made it to Dicks Creek Gap. An angel shuttles us to the Blueberry Patch Hostel operated by Gary and Lennie.

Safe in the warmth of the hostile, we shower and have our clothes laundered. Gary takes us in to town.

One basket of chips. A second. A third. We enjoy our Mexican lunch. Then we resupply at Dollar General and Ingles. Overall a relaxing day before we hit the trail again tomorrow.

03-25-13 Together in the snow

Overnight, the rain turned to snow. Breaking down the tent added new challenges--the collapsible poles had froze together.

Once on the trail it proved to be cold and windy. The uphill warmed us up, but the conditions never got better.

At one point I said "this isn't fun anymore" and pushed forward toward Deep Gap Shelter.

We got there early afternoon, but the ideal spots in the shelter were taken already. I broke down a little--cold, hungry, with strangers and no privacy. Brandon reassured me we would be warmer here than in our tent.

Everyone nested up in their sleeping bags and ate dinner. We had warm soup, tortillas, cheese and peanut butter. The strangers turned out to be really funny, and for the current conditions, I had fun.

We joked about how we were like old people--in bed and fed by 4:30, complaining about aches and pains, concerned about the weather.

It was a coooold night. I had every piece of clothing on me. Eager for morning to come.

03-24-13 Together in the rain

It rained overnight, so we had the job of breaking down a wet tent. Fortunately, we didn't do such a bad job.

All day it was rainy, foggy and muddy. We stopped for lunch at the Blue Mountain Shelter--and we also hit the 50 mile mark!

Keith, a trail angel, was waiting at Unicoi Gap with soda and water. It was a nice break. We continued up Rocky Mountain--unfortunately, no view--thanks a lot fog. We found a pretty spring and refilled our water bottles.

Took a "snack-thirty"--snickers with peanut butter--yum, my new favorite. B really likes snickers with almonds.

We set up camp at Indian Grave Gap. Our first time to camp alone.

03-23-13 Somewhere near Sheep Rock Top

Woke up to rain showers, groaned, but were determined to keep moving. We bought an assortment of candy bars from the cabin store and additional food from the Mountain Crossing store.

Hiked up Levelland Mountain and Cowrock Mountain, but the fog sealed in any views we might have been able to see. Or as Sparky says, "it's like looking through a cloud."

At the top of Wildcat Mountain we stopped and ate our Cuban sandwiches and continued on. The next section was a breeze, but I must have run out of fuel because I suffered up Sheep Rock Top and limped down into camp.

We tented at Low Gap Shelter and met up with Jess (now Ambo) and met new friends, Zac (now Piper) Nick and Gus (Nick's dog).

Cooked ramen for dinner-- it turned out better. We all sat around a non-existent campfire and solved the world's problems. Then we hunkered down in our tents waiting for the impending rain.

03-22-13 In Neel Gap together

Bad weather was predicted, so a local angel, Jan, opened her home to us for breakfast. Thankfully, the weatherman was wrong and Jan still fed us. Pancakes, juice, and breakfast casserole-- delicious! Thank you Jan!

Back on the trail, Jess, Beacon, B and I decided to get a cabin for the night. We sailed down the trail and climbed Blood Mountain (elev 4461). A tough climb, but an even tougher downhill. The view was definitely worth it.

Once to Neel Gap, we went in Mountain Crossings Outfitters which made us feel like kids felt in a candy store. We bought a soda and a candy bar.

Just .3 miles to the east was our cabin at Blood Mountain Cabins. We shared the cabin with the group and bought four pizzas for lunch/dinner. We showered, washed our clothes and enjoyed the rest of the evening out of the cold. B has very glamorous laundry attire.

03-21-13 Somewhere near Big Cedar Mountain

Started the day early, but got lured back to the campfire--our water bottles had frozen during the night. Tinker mentioned it would be nice to have a chainsaw to cut the larger branches we had to burn. Within minutes, a car pulled up with a guy and a chainsaw. He cut thru several branches for us, gave us toilet paper and half of a two-liter of Dr. Pepper. Thank you!

We hiked up Justus Mountain, back down, and cruised into Gooch Gap. We stopped for lunch at Woody Gap--another tin of salmon--but this time we knew there was a trash can.

Made a final push into Lance Creek for the night and set up camp. This was very important so that we were properly positioned to get through the "bear canister camping restriction area" the next day.

Used our stove for the first time. A little slow going, but the lukewarm ramen was delicious!

03-20-13 Somewhere near the beginning

Slept horribly but still was able to break camp early and head down the mountain.

Late in the day, we puffed up Sassafras Mountain (elev 3342) and struggled down the rocky trail into Cooper Gap for the night. We were joined by a fun group of people--Lisa, Jess, Tinker and the Germans. To stay warm we started a campfire.

Trail Magic
For dinner we ate a tin of salmon and brine my brother gave us for dinner. We finished it but there were floating bits and the brine left that we needed to drink so we could stow the trash away in our bags. Just then a car pulled up and out popped Survivor Dave with water and a trash bag. Hallelujah! We were able to throw it away! Thank you Survivor Dave!

A little while later, a lady pulled up with a box full of cookies and crackers for us to munch on. Thank you!

03-19-13 Starting Together

My mom fixed us a hearty breakfast. We made sure all the gear was in order and made the hour drive to Amicalola Falls state Park.

We signed the registry and weighed our bags--mine was 23 lbs B's was 25! Then made our way to the foot of the falls.

We reached the stairs and my parents said their farewells. We reached the top of Springer Mountain in the evening, enjoyed the view and set up camp a short distance away near the Springer Mountain Shelter.

Together the night before

Peacocks

Last night we camped at a KOA in northern Georgia in my parents RV. The campground has some resident peafowl--two male peacocks, one solid white peacock, and one peahen. We were able to catch a couple of them with feathers fully extended; a neat treat before we embark on our hike.

Rainstorms

B flew in to Atlanta in the evening. A weather system was moving through the area--our Ladonia friends received some nasty hail. B's flight from Chicago was rerouted to Nashville, and he sat on the tarmac for thirty minutes before they retried the approach into Atlanta.

Once back at the campground, we pulled all our gear, food and packs together into the wee hours of the morning. To celebrate the beginning of a new chapter, we opened a bottle of Chilean wine given to us by a good Chilean friend of ours.

Where in somewhere are you putting your "stuff"?

Heavy Fragile Kitchen Book

We are generally anti-stuff. Some may attribute this to us being frugal. But the main reason is that when you move it, you immediately want less stuff. We have moved multi-state 3 times in the last 5 years, with over 5,000 miles of cargo van driving. After each move, we kept the boxes. So now at this point, the boxes have 3-4 different markings on them making it hard to decipher what is inside; "what's in this box labeled heavy fragile kitchen book or Matt's ice tea glasses kitchen utensils"?

Storage Unit

B recruited his brothers, A and R, to unload the van and organize the storage unit. B and R returned the van in the rain and took the famous Buick to its 6 month parking place. Seeing it there, all forlorn, brought tears to everyone's eyes that witnessed the good-bye. Now, back to the future.

Moving Out Together

The logistics behind this move are difficult to explain, with many people confused, including ourselves. But the moving van is locked. The Buick is loaded on the dolly. And the apartment is cleaned-up and checked-out of.

The 14-Hour Drive

B drove the moving van along with the famous Buick from Alabama to his mom's house in Missouri. The drive in the van made a 12-hour trip stretch out to 14 hours. Two hours from the end, B had to stop and top off with a Shamrock Shake so that he wouldn't create a yard sale across the highway. The only casualty was a 52 oz bottle of Ajax that leaked out the back of the Penske.

A Car-Sick Cat

K drove her car with Cirby to meet up with her parents in north Georgia. They have an RV with a tow-dolly so they will be able to take Cirby and her car once we depart on the Appalachian Trail. Unfortunately, Cirby was stressed out from the move, or maybe just car-sick, and threw up on K during the drive. Needless to say, an unhappy Cirby rode the rest of the way in his carrier.

Loading Up Together

Two Matts and a Truck

I forgot how frustrating it is to pack everything you own into boxes--especially the kitchen items--and then figure out how to strategically place everything into a moving truck. Thankfully two of our firefighting buddies, Matt and Matt, helped us out with their amazing tetris skills. Dubbed "Two Matts and a Truck", they helped us get everything loaded into the back of our Penske. We appreciate all of your help. THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!

Bon Fire

To send us off in true firefighter fashion, MDM hosted a bon fire and cook-out for us. What a wonderful way to end the day. We had chili dogs, guacamole, and Peep s'mores (a s'more with a Peep chick for the marshmallow). These past three years we've appreciated your friendships and leadership and we will miss you all!

Together Minus One

Unfortunately, the third member of our family is unable to make the journey with us. Cirby, the cat, will be taking a six-month vacation to my parents house. They have three cats which are spoiled, so I'm a little worried that Cirby won't want to come home.

Pros of Bringing Cirby on the Appalachian Trail

• Companionship
• Good Listener
• Warmth when it is cold at night

Cons of Bringing Cirby on the Appalachian Trail

• Cirby = Bear Food
• Cirby = Tick Magnet
• An extra 19 lbs 12 oz to carry

Disclaimer: This entire post and video is actually just an excuse for me to post pictures of cats :-)

Eating Together

Many of our friends and family have asked what we are doing for food along the Appalachian Trail. No, we won't be hunting or fishing--that requires carrying even more equipment, and also I don't know how to cut up, dress, or cook anything that we would catch.

Therefore, everything that we will eat, we will need to carry on us. We will be visiting little towns and country stores about once every six or eight days, so we will stock enough food to get us to the next spot.

Proteins:

We will be carrying foods such as jerky, nuts and peanut butter, to name a few.

Carbohydrates:

We'll pack foods such as dehydrated noodles (Ramen), dehydrated potatoes, tortillas and crackers.

Vitamins:

We will try to eat fruits and vegetables along the way, but we also bought a bottle of vitamin supplements to fill in for the vitamins we may not get from our diet.

Sodium:

This is one thing we won't have to worry about as the quick ready meals, like Ramen, etc. are chocked full of sodium.

Lions, and Tigers, and Bears oh my!

To keep bears out, we bought a stuff sack for all our food so we can suspend our food high up in a tree. To keep critters from chewing through, the stuff sack is constructed of cuben fiber.

Setting Goals Together

2,185 miles plus.
From Springer Mountain, Georgia to Mount Katahdin, Maine.
Only 30% of attempting thru-hikers ever reach the finish line.

And while physical prowess plays a huge role, ultimately the psychological and emotional stamina plays an even bigger one.

We've been warned it will be hard. Boring. Exhausting. Discouraging.

But in those moments of despair, Zach Davis, in his book "Appalachian Trials," advises that we create three lists (below our lists have been combined together and abbreviated). So on the days that we "think" we want to quit, we need to remember what our original purpose was for the trek:

• I am Thru-Hiking the Appalachian Trail because…

• It is a challenge, and we are up to the exploration and the adventure
• Thrive on change and are ready to make a move
• Postponing life for perceived convenience is a lie
• See what else life has to offer versus sitting at a computer all day

• When I successfully thru-hike the Appalachian Trail, I will…

• Have more trust, confidence and better communication with spouse
• See life and challenges with a new perspective
• Understand a simpler life and be thankful for the smaller things

• If I give up on the Appalachian Trail, I will…

• Feel like a failure and regret the decision
• Have to explain myself to everyone, SEPARATELY!
• Lack confidence and question ability in self

Somewhere with Don's Brother

Novices. Experts. Students. Retirees.
An impromptu community is created along the Appalachian Trail.

One of the things that excites us about the Appalachian Trail are all the wonderful people we are going to meet along our journey. Today I met Don's Brother who is also going to thru-hike the Appalachian Trail this year. We met for a hike at Standing Boy State Park, and the weather couldn't have been better. I was introduced to Don's Brother thru a mutual friend, Reggie--who always is in the know, and I couldn't pass up an opportunity to compare notes.

He is a super great guy with over 1,000 miles of Appalachian Trail hiking under his belt.  His gear is similar to what we have which is encouraging (K and I don't want to be the fools of the AT). He is starting a few days after us and I hope we can hike a few days with him.

If you haven't had a chance to go to Standing Boy, make a point to get out there this spring before the briars grow. Big Dog Running Store has trail maps available.

The Work Hike Somewhere

Early this morning, my team presented me with the above video. In true comedic style, some of my co-workers document the arduous and sometimes perilous task of trekking from point A to point B.

It has been a pleasure working with each of you and I wish you great success in each of your endeavours. Godspeed.

The story you heard was true. Only the names have been changed to protect the innocent.

Inspiration to Hike the AT Together

When we tell people we are hiking the Appalachian Trail, it has been fun hearing the first few questions people ask:

• Who is taking care of the cat?
• What are you going to do with your stuff?
• Where are you going to sleep?
• What are you going to eat?
• Are you taking a gun?

• What is your spouse going to do? What?!?!  And they're ok with doing that?? (usually this person only knows one of us. People that know both of us already know we are both half-crazy, adventurous people)

The hardest question to answer though is: "why/how did you come up with the idea?"

In short, there is no one answer.

Pacific Crest

When we lived in the People's Republic of California, we were exposed to camping and hiking opportunities along the backwoods trails and the fire roads in the Sierra Nevadas and Lake Tahoe regions. We were vaguely aware of the Pacific Crest Trail, and mentioned how cool it would be to hike it someday.

College Alumni

Last year in the spring, we received a college alumni magazine in the mail. There was a small article about an alumni that had hiked the trail in 2011. We contacted him on Facebook and asked him some of the basic questions people ask us now. Not only was he was super nice with his reply, but very encouraging and candid in his answers.

Loner

Surfing the internet, we found numerous blogs and videos of hikers along the trail in the Spring of 2012. The most memorable was a hiker, trail named "Loner", who was posting videos via YouTube. His videos stood out because they were 1) entertaining 2) frequent 3) not just about him. It became our go-to show,

"Has Loner loaded any new videos?"

"Yes!!"

"Let's watch them!"

 

 

The Tipping Point

Sooo, if there was one tipping point, it was that Loner showed us how much we wanted to hike the Appalachian Trail.  Below are a few of our favorites along his journey:

• Loner meets a skunk
• Loner meets a rattlesnake
• Loner makes it to Katahadin

Packing Together

Boxes. Check. Packing tape. Check.
Time to pack. Heavy sigh.

We're packing our 700 square foot apartment to fit down into a 10' x 15' storage unit in the Ozarks. We won't be coming back to the South; So it's move. Sell. Or donate. Mostly move, though.

The engineer side of this duo, has required us to create inventory lists for each box, that match up to a master inventory list all to be inputed into Excel, formatted, coded and cross referenced through several spreadsheets. The graphic designer side of this duo, has required us to label each box in the upper right hand corner, in red, with a rectangle around it and corresponding icons indicating level of importance.

Ultimately, we need to be locked and loaded to roll a week from this Friday.

Firefighting Together

Overturned vehicle. Car fire. Fully involved. Unknown injuries.

Thankfully Monday night it was only practice. An exciting scenario-based exercise that will mark the last few memories we will have of our volunteer fire department.

The training sergeant--we'll name her Cheri--paired us together. B handed me the nozzle and we approached the vehicle at a 45 degree angle with the fog stream. Although I felt comfortable with our proximity to the fiery mass of metal, I could feel him behind me, pushing me closer. At that point, I knew I needed to trust my partner, trust my training and trust our equipment to keep us safe. And so with this exercise, I equate it to our hiking adventure in which we can over-analyze and dissect each detail, but ultimately must let go and trust in our abilities, our choices and God's direction for us.

Announcing our departure to the department was difficult. In my experience, it has been rare that I have created relationships in which I am ultimately trusting another person--let alone a group of people--with my life. But for some reason this eclectic and somewhat random mix of people--sales specialist, haunted house builder, national guard recruiter, to name a few--have made a huge impact in our lives. We'll miss seeing all of you in the middle of the night for a hit and run, or just before dinnertime for a structure fire. And we'll even miss seeing you on those days when it seems like half the jurisdiction has called 9-1-1, and we haven't been home for 7 hours. May God bless you all and keep you safe. And remember, don't touch the OB kit. And don't touch the white wall either.

Shakedown Somewhere

Drove up to Roosvelt State Park today for a Pre-Appalachian Trail Shakedown.

Overcast + snow flurries = the perfect weather for testing out our gear. My fingers didn't quite agree though.

We stopped at a trail junction for lunch. Budig Ham on a hoagie, and an apple. With the sub-par temperature, we realized that we didn't want to stop long and quickly were on our way.

Shakedown was a success. There are a few minor things we still need to purchase, but overall it's full speed ahead.