vanessness
@vanessness
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May 12, 2022
Wow I haven't written anything in a long time. I've been out here taking it day by day. We made it to the NOC and had a huge breakfast. We got some more gear upgrades at the outfitter. We spent a lot of the day getting to know our new friends who may become our tramily. We had dinner with them before we hiked out a couple miles to the campsite with the big boulder that was teeming with poison ivy. We managed to avoid it! We stayed at Wolf Creek Hostel, which was a very kind man's childhood home. I was over the moon when he led us to our room for the night and found that there was a piano there. I got to play for awhile during our stay there and I was delighted. We also had our own bathroom and we were able to do laundry. The gas station nearby allowed us to get enough snacks to keep moving on trail to Fontana so we didn't have to find a ride to town. They had dippin dots and I ate four of them immediately in different flavors. The next morning, I got us a pound of bacon from the gas station and cooked it up. It was so good. The next stop was Fontana Dam. We went down to the marina to resupply and see about the free canoe rental. When I walked in the door, our friends were there! We had caught up to them and they were renting a pontoon. So, we got to go on a pontoon ride around Fontana Dam with the mountains in the background. Love bug, the mayor, samwise and I all jumped into the low 60s water and swam around for a bit. We camped near the Fontana Hilton shelter that night before heading into the smokies. It was lovely getting to shower for once. The next day, the smokies began. We put our permits in the box and started climbing. It rained a little off and on, but was mostly sunny. We caught up with the crew again, who started earlier in the morning. We all camped at the only campsite in the smokies without a shelter. There were cables for our food. We all sat around eating dinner and playing word games. The next day was sunny and beautiful and we did 12 miles. However, the next several days turned miserable and quick. It rained nonstop for days. We were constantly in a cloud and couldn't see any views. Nothing would dry. We would take our wet clothes and shoes off at night and they would freeze in the very low temperatures. So we would have to force ourselves into them in the morning. We also had to sleep on hard floor boards in the shelters in order to stay warm and dry. At one point, my pack cover didn't seal completely and I ended up dragging it behind me for about 2 miles in the rain, and my pack got soaked too. The conditions were not ideal. Because of the rain, it became very muddy and slippery on the trail. Parts of the trail were like rivers we were walking through. My feet were in so much pain from walking on them for hours while they were pruney. We were so glad when it finally stopped raining on the day we climbed to Clingman's Dome. We woke up that morning, peeled on our frozen soaked clothes again, and headed up the mountain. I played Hamilton on my phone to get us hyped, and we were to the top before we knew it. We finally got to see the notorious smoky views. Clingman's Dome was a very cool lookout. It was definitely a lot less scary than the fire towers I've climbed! We were able to hitch a ride to Gatlinburg with a couple of older sisters, who were there trying to get some pictures of flowers. They were disappointed that there weren't really any, but we got to stop at a bunch of waterfalls on the way down to get pictures of those. Our companion for the day, Paladin, kept getting out to take Trish's pictures for her and they looked like they were having a great time. At the bottom of the mountain, we stopped to have a picnic. They fed us sandwiches and chips, and we all sat around talking about life on the trail. When they dropped us off at the quality inn, they gave us all hugs even though we reeked and were filthy and damp. We really enjoyed Gatlinburg and having some hot meals there. There is a family of bears that lives there and eats trash. We were able to observe and watch them for a couple days. It's shocking that the hotel doesn't get proper bear trash cans. They wouldn't have this issue, but it was nice to get to watch the bears interact with each other. It's kind of sad to see them not in their natural environment. It seems wrong somehow. There is a mother and three cubs. We named them Honey with the two boys Rock n Roll. And then ladybug, the little girl cub who just wants to forage and climb trees. We got to watch the boys wrestle for about an hour while we stood on the bridge behind the hotel. Our friend Gabi came to visit from indy and we got to spend some time with her. She dropped us off at Damascus so we won't miss trail days. We'll be able to shuttle back to standing bear hostel with the tramily when the festival is over. We spent the night on the trail just barely up the stairs heading northbound. We're going to secure our spots in tent city today and the festival will start tomorrow! It's supposed to rain this weekend, but I really hope it doesn't. I've had enough of the rain and would like to enjoy Trail Days!
April 28, 2022
Hiked 10.7 miles today through the balds. Got to climb a fire tower with 360° views of the mountains all around us. That was cool, even though it was kinda shaky climbing up there and back down. We did the most elevation changes that we have in one day so far! 5,671 ft. That downhill was killer at the end. My feet are sore and I'm so ready to get to the NOC tomorrow and eat at a restaurant!!!
April 27, 2022
Almost immediately back on trail, a big snake slithered right across the trail in front of me. So close I almost knocked it with my trekking pole. That was interesting! We stayed at a cute little campsite right beside a water source. It rained the next morning and into the early afternoon, so we stayed in our hammocks to wait it out. We did a short little 5 miles in the afternoon when the rain ended. We camped at the picnic site close to the road and ran into Lone Scout there. It was just the three of us camping and I loved being under this little alcove by ourselves. It was kind of hidden and under a bunch of low trees and brush, so it felt private. It was cold and I didn't sleep the best, but I was ready to get going when I woke up around 7 this morning. I got started before Riley and waited for her up by the observation tower at the top of a bald. We did another 6 miles after that and we're staying by Cold Spring shelter. Supposedly, there is a wild boar that's been hanging around the area, so fingers crossed I don't have any encounters with them!
April 21, 2022
What a great time it's been the last few days. Met Lazy Boi by a small campsite and the three of us had a fire and prepped for pouring rain for the night. Managed to keep most of our stuff dry overnight. Walked to the hostel a mile up in the pouring rain in the morning and got showers, laundry, and a ride to town. We resupplied at Ingle's and ate at a Mexican restaurant. We split a room with a south-bounder named Voyager. He was awesome. We had a great time talking about the trail and our adventures so far. He gave us lots of tips and tricks for the trail. He's learned a lot and is almost done already! Sad we only got one short day with him but definitely grateful for all the advice. We walked to town from the hotel and caught a free shuttle back to the hostel, where I finally got my new shoes in the mail. Tossed up my old, too small pair on the tree. We hiked to North Carolina yesterday, so it's exciting to finish our first state on the trail! Last night we weren't expecting rain and didn't properly prepare for it, so our clothes and packs got soaked. We decided to post up in the nearby shelter to try to dry things out. I figure that since I got my sleeping pad mailed to me, I might as well use it at least once!
April 17, 2022
We woke up a couple days ago after it had rained and many of our things were soaked. Riley's shoes had puddles in them, so we decided to take our first zero on trail and just stay put for the day. We spent the day lazing around in our hammocks and playing gin rummy. We were already purposely taking our time to get to Dick's Creek Gap because I had my replacement shoes sent there and they wouldn't be there right away anyway. It was a really nice day just taking it easy. Today we hiked on to a campsite at Moreland Gap. On the way, we happened to see a wild boar with three little piglets way down off trail. That was definitely the coolest wildlife I've seen yet. We set up camp next to a guy we met named Frank. He made a fire and we sat around it, talking about all the beginner things we've been experiencing. It's supposed to rain pretty hard tonight, so fingers crossed we'll manage to keep our things a little more dry than last time!
April 14, 2022
We spent the last two days in Helen, GA because Riley hurt her Achilles. It was nice to rest up and get some food at an amazing diner in town called the Huddle House. The service was amazing. We got our laundry done and got some showers. Smokey Bear was at Unicoi Gap doing trail magic and shuttled us both to and from town. He gave us lots of helpful tips about what was coming next on trail. We also met another hiker named Eyore who was having some shoulder pain. I shared my roller ball with him and he taught us how to do a heel lock with our shoelaces. Today was a pretty tough climb back on trail. We only did about 4 miles up to the Cheese Factory camp site, but it was very steep elevation. During one break, a butterfly landed on my water bottle and hung out there for quite awhile, so that was cute! Riley fell on a rock down by a water source and hurt her shoulder. Now that I have my sleeping pad after her mom sent them to us at the post office, I'm going to try sleeping with it in my hammock tonight. Hopefully it holds up!
April 11, 2022
Hiked a little over 7 miles today to Blue Mountain Shelter. The beginning was an easy break with nice gradual inclines and declines. We took a little snack break on a mountainside with Buttercup. On the final push for the day, there were lots of rocks on the incline up to the shelter. I was feeling it by then. It was a welcome treat to get to camp and set up extra early. After setting up our hammocks, we had dinner and hung our food up on the bear cables. Then we got to play cards and listen to some music up on top of a mountain with nearly 360° views through the sparse trees. We also enjoyed a bonfire for a little while that someone built. I met a woman whose trail name is Lone Wolf. She already completed the Continental Divide and Pacific Crest trails and was here working on her triple crown. She's the second person we've met so far who was on their last of the three. Perhaps someday I'll triple crown too. I'm starting somewhere! Lone Wolf gave me a special blister bandage she learned about on another trail from a nurse that was out hiking. It should stay on my toe for a week and fingers crossed it heals up! It has made the miles harder, so fixing that would help a lot. It's pretty windy up here on top of the mountain, so hopefully I'll be able to stay warm tonight! Last night was the best sleep I've had so far and I'd like to continue that trend!
April 9, 2022
We woke up warm and cozy in our hotel room while it was snowing outside. We got everything packed up and checked out. Back into the cold we went! We had to walk down to Walgreens for some foot care items and on the way, a sweet woman called out to us from a Burger King parking lot and asked if we needed a ride. We said, actually, yes we do! She explained that her trail name was Stargazer, but her real name was Susan and her friend behind the wheel was Brenda. Susan told us all about her experiences with the AT and the John Muir Trail out west. They were so kind and took us all the way back to Neel's Gap for free. After the shuttle driver way over charged us the day before with his tiny Ford ranger we barely fit into, it was a welcome surprise. We got pictures with the lovely ladies before hitting the trail again. I had bought some zero drop shoes the day before at the outfitter, since I've realized my shoes are too small and that's the reason I keep getting such bad blisters. However, wearing them one night around the town was already causing problems for my shins and Achilles, so I returned them right away. I will try to get the correct size of the shoes I have once I come upon another town or I'll have them shipped there. Switching back to my normal shoes made the pain go away after hiking another mile or so. It was very cold, windy, and snowy for a lot of the day. We made it about 6 miles up the trail and took the extra mile detour down the side of the mountain to the Whitley Gap shelter that had more wind protection and bear hang cables. It is never fun to go that far off trail because it adds more miles, but it was worth it this time. With the extra warm gear I got at Neel's Gap, I was able to stay warm at night even when it got down to about 27°. We had to sleep with our water filters in our sleeping bags so that they wouldn't freeze. Somebody made a fire at dinner time so it was nice to sit and eat around that before crawling into bed. Two of the campers had dogs, a husky and a black German shepherd just like my Sander boy back home. It was fun playing fetch with him and watching the two of them play.
April 5, 2022
On the fourth day out here, we experienced very cold rain that downpour nearly all day. About 30 of us creamed into a tiny lean-to style shelter, and the rain fell sideways, still managing to soak a lot of us inside. One gentleman with diabetes had a very scary moment, but our little community contributed sugar and blankets to warm him up and he ended up okay. None of us felt like we could get warm and everything managed to get wet. Setting up our rain fly in the downpour was an interesting experience! Before getting to the shelter, Riley and I decided to hike the 5 miles there without eating a single bite of food and we were low on water because we stealth camped the previous night. When we finally arrived, I was so cold and exhausted that I could barely open a granola bar with my hands shaking. I decided it would be a brilliant idea to cook my soup on the picnic table in the shelter, where other people were doing the same. When my beans weren't fully cooked from the boiling water, I naively turned my jet boil back on and it almost instantly began to boil over. In my haste to turn off the flame, I broke off the ignitor and I couldn't twist it off and had to blow it out. A gentleman across from me helped and quickly twisted off the fuel canister so that it wasn't leaking. Luckily he was also an engineer and was able to fix my ignitor. So, now I have my trail name : Sparky, because I'm a fire hazard. The soup was everywhere and made a huge mess to clean up that resembled vomit. I cleaned it all up as best I could with the wet wipes that were available and left the soupy mess in my stove to clean up later after the rain. With it in the bear box, I didn't have the ability to cook dinner later, but somebody let me boil water with their stove so that I was able to get extra calories to stay warm for the night. The hiking community is truly humanity at its best, lending helping hands where needed because we're all in this together. I also learned that the bear box lids will fall on your head if you don't hold onto them. Around 4:30 pm, the rain finally let up and those of us who stayed at camp had some respite. Many others left for town, particularly those whose gear was soaked and ran a real risk of hypothermia. A fog settled in that looked like something straight out of a Stephen King novel. It ended up only sprinkling throughout the night and I was surprisingly the warmest I've been yet.
April 2, 2022
Well it's been a journey getting to my first night on the trail. I'm laying here in my hammock feeling so grateful for amazing friends who plan an entire trip just to take you to the trail head (Allie, Alexis, and Justin). We drove overnight to Georgia to a cute little cabin they rented for the weekend. On the way, we stopped in the cute town of Helen, GA and ate at a fried cheese restaurant. Later for dinner, they made pasta and garlic bread and an incredible charcuterie board. We ate, lounged in the hot tub, and played cards. Riley and I slept on the pull out couch with our hiking sleep gear. We started the approach trail today around 12:30. We made it about 5 miles and stopped at one of the camp sites before springer mountain for the night. We climbed 608 stairs and then way up a mountain for the first day. Hard but worthwhile. It was beautiful weather. We struggled with our first bear hang, but we got it done to the best of our abilities before the sun fully went down. What a great first day!