Crossed into Virginia today and staying at the Place in Damascus. Church Hostel which is a nice change. No smells of weed or excessive drinking by young adults who are looking for a good time. Just want the peace and quiet for a change in a hostel. I'm very excited to have Ga, NC, TN under my belt. Virginia will be an entirely diffferent animal. I hope to keeep a steady pace daily. Let's hope the weather cooperates. Hope all is well in your neck of the woods. Life is a gift, waste it wisely. Hiking is a good start. Faceplant out.
Hiked from Hampton, TN to Low Gap in last two days. Due to aggressive bear activity they have closed two of the shelters leading to Damascus. This resulted in me seeking a hostel. I'm staying at the Rabbit Inn. The milkshakes are outstanding. I'll be hiking out in the morning for Damascus My body is tired. Hope all is well up in your neck off the woods. Faceplant
Just got into Boots Off Hostel in Hampton, TN after an exciting three days of hiking. Stayed at The Refuge Hostel previously with "Close Enough" and April. They were perfect proprietors and very hiker friendly. Hiking over the Roan Highlands was exhilarating with breathing taking views. Jane Bald was awe inspiring and the humps made me work hard climbing. The descent was tough with lots of rocks which caused pain to my toes and ankles. Hope I don't develop foot problems. Already tending to a sore sprained foot. I hiked 23 miles yesterday (a personal best on the AT). Today I pulled back to give my feet a break hiking from Dennis Cove to Hampton. Now some R&R to recover before tomorrow. Life is a gift. Waste it wisely Faceplant out
When they say "No Rain, No Pain, No Maine", they mean it. The last three days has been rain and cold. Coming into a shelter drenched and cold makes the hike difficult. I know they say, "embrace the suck", but multiple days of wet and cold really makes you not believe it. Regardless, made it through the Roan Mountains and another peak over 6300'. Unfortunately no views due to the weather. I did like the forests and the endless moss. Reminds me so much of Scotland. Met some new hikers. Malcolm and Clay. Malcolm finished his 70 mile section hike and Clay is headed to Demascus. Double Vision has also been reconnected. He was depressed with the weather as well, but cheered up once we got into The Refuge Hostel to warm up and clean off. We head out tomorrow for another 16-17 mile hike. Hope all is well in your neck of the woods. Life is a gift, waste it wisely. Faceplant out.
I spent the day hiking with an old friend from my Toys R Us days. We hiked 8.5 miles from Indian Grave. I'm staying a second night at Uncle Johnny's hostel and will give myself extra rest to give foot some extra rest. Storms are rolling in so taking a zero may be what the doctor ordered. Anxious to get back on the trail.
The last few days were quite challenging. I officially finished hiking the Smokies, leaving Davenport Gap Shelter. Problem was I left my solar charger and I had to hike back a mile and a half to retrieve it. I told my travel partner, Postcard to move on ahead, but he waited. When I saw him he was writing postcards to his family and friends. How appropriate. I hiked 15 miles, 13 miles, and 13 miles in the last three days with lots of climbs. The views from snowbird Peak, and Max Patch were particularly rewarding once we hiked up to the elevations. The descents really did a number on my feet and the left foot is tender now. No worries, I'll tend to it. I'm officially at 274.6 miles completed. Hope everyone is doing well in their neck of the woods. Life is a gift, waste it wisely.
Left the Lodge of legends hostel today back to Clingmans Dome to pick up where we left off. Slack packed to New Found Gap and then picked up our packs to hike to ice water shelter. Got in around 4pm and hiked 10.5 miles. The shelter was full so I pitched my tent. Met a few new hikers and Amelia the trail ridge runner. She is amazing. She covers 30 miles a day in the Smokies and was full of wonderful hiking stories. Tomorrow we plan on hiking 12.5 miles past Crosby to Tri Corner Shelter. Apparently bear activity in the area. Hope we have a good day. Cheers! Faceplant
We climbed Clingmans Dome today. Over 6,600 feet of utter bliss. Unfortunately the weather did not cooperate and we could not see the views. Oh well, we were still smiling that we accomplished the climb. Due to the weather we got a trail angel (Ken) to drive us into Gatlinburg so we could clean up and recover before our next leg to Hot Springs. After a great lunch at Park Grill we got a shuttle to Lodge of Legends Hostel. What a great place to stop as a hiker. Rene (hostess) was spectacular and attended to all our needs. Great resupply, laundry, hot shower and comfortable accommodations. I am blessed. Life is a gift, waste it wisely... Faceplant
Last three days were tough. Left Fontana Hilton Shelter on Mother's Day and entered the Smoky Mtns. Climbed over 5,000 feet and descended 2300'. NWT climb of 2700'. Ouch! Shelter at Mollies Ridge after 12 miles. Next day woke up to rain and deer walking throughout camp. Got on the trail by 9:30 and hiked to Derrick Knob. Another 12 mile hike full of climbing and descents with rocks. Took a lesser day today hiking 7.5 miles to Double Spring Shelter. Rain expected tomorrow. Clingmans Dome awaits us. Total 197 miles at this point since leaving Springer Mtn. The Trail humbles me everyday. Life is a gift. Live it wisely. Faceplant.
Left Fontana Dam today. The scenery around the dam was beautiful. Enjoyed meeting Roadrunner again. She gave me a glass of milk and some Raisin Bran. She is one of the best trail angels ever. I left and entered the smokies. Submitted my permit and off I went. The climbs were the most challenging so far. Over 5,000 feet of climbing and 2,000 feet of descents. Started at 1754' and ended at 4600'. I'm very proud of the accomplishment, but my body is feeling it. 12 miles today bringing me to 177.7 miles total from Springer. Looking at rain tonight and tomorrow. Smoky mountain mystery. Life is a gift. Waste it wisely. Faceplant out.
Left Brown Fork Gap Shelter today and made our way to Fontana Dam. 11.5 mile hike with some 800' climbs, but plenty of descents. Postcard and I had a good pace considering our struggles with Jacobs Ladder yesterday. The AT everyday gives us a blessing of challenges to overcome. So far our health is good and no injuries. A sore back at times and my ankles burn at night. I chalk it up to my age. We have officially gone over 164 miles. Now we must embrace the smoky mountains. I hope the temperatures at night stat above 30. My sleeping bag is a 30 degree bag and one night I was really cold. We will see. Hope everyone is doing well in their own neck of the woods. Life is a gift, waste it wisely. Faceplant out!
Woke up to torrential downpours at Wasser Bald Shelter. Hiked 6 miles to NOC and stripped down and threw all my clothes in the washer and dryer. Great to get out of my soggy clothes. Looks like we will take a Nero today due to the weather and evaluate again tomorrow. The lightening up on the mountain was a little close for my comfort. Now we need to look forward our future days of hiking. 137 miles under my belt and a long road to travel. So greatful for this opportunity. Life is a gift, waste it wisely.
Hit 122 miles today. Got a late start from Wayah Gap and took an hour and 1/2 at John Bertram Tower. The views were breathtaking . Met other thru hikers ( Walmart and Ponce de Leon). They are hiking their 4th time, but I think they are homeless hikers. We ventured out and settled at Lick Log Gap to rest overnight. Early dinner and off to bed by 8pm. The life of Reilly. Feet are much better. Back is sore and legs burning from inclines. Will continue to embrace the suck... Life is a gift, waste it wisely. Faceplant over and out.
Slack packing was just what the doctored ordered today. Hike only six miles up Siler Bald Mtn 5,214' and enjoyed a spectacular view. One day without a backpack was refreshing. Also got some last minute enjoyment from Franklin, NC before we move on. Visited Rathskeller Pub and enjoyed the environment. Great owners and easy listening songs. Had a trail angel buy us food tonight. Great BBQ from Fat Buddy's. The trail angel, In-Tent told us not to give up and remember his generosity on the bad days. What a wonderful human being. This country is very good regardless of what the media tries to say otherwise. Get out and visit small town America. Goodness abounds with hearts that sing throughout this nation.
Sorry for the delay on posting. Three days without internet service . I am officially over 100 miles (109 to be exact). Spent the last few days crossing into NC, then Indian Mtn. Shelter and onto Betty Creek Gap. Nice bubbling brook near my tent. Mistake, made me get up multiple times to go to the bathroom during the night. We journeyed to Albert Mtn. and saw the ranger tower and beautiful views. The cliff before the tower was quite the challenge. Glad I was able to accomplish. We spent last night at an unmarked campsite on top of a mountain last nite. The winds were very strong and at one point wasn't sure the tent would hold. Got up at 5:30am this morning to set out for Winding Stairs (2 1/2 miles). Had a hiker give us trail magic (food he was not going to keep since he was getting off trail. Then another person, Solace, picked me and my hiking buddy up and drove us into town (Franklin, NC). Staying at Hilltop Inn for the night. Intresting little town. Back on trail tomorrow. Faceplant out.
After spending two days in Hiawasee to get out of the rain and recovery. Back on trail at Dicks Creek. Outstanding group of people I am hiking with although the are faster and I meet them at camp and stops. Today I completed 9.0 miles and got to Bly Gap. Very tired and back sore. Feet much better today. We had dinner and shared stories. Everyone loves my trail name, but clearly I could have many others (e.g Blistah, Tape Man, etc...). Tomorrow the goal is Indian shelter. More climbing of course. I really miss my Shelley. Think of her often. I see the UNH women's swim team is tearing it up at America East!! Excellent. Time to attend to my feet and call it a day. P.s. met two interesting characters today. One a trail hobo. He seemed a little disoriented, but did not want to engage him. The other was a trail lady with sandals. She thinks most men on trail are looking for companionship. Sorry to disappoint. She clearly had some interesting views. Good nite all. Everyday is a gift, waste them wisely. Faceplant.
Today was my first zero day to recover from my blisters. I cleaned out Walgreens of blister products. Got some light socks to wear as additional protection. A work in progress. I tried to limit my activity today to help the recovery process. Staying at the Hiawasee Budget Motel. David, the Manager has been very friendly and helpful. I scored a shuttle back to the trail in the morning. I've got two days of good weather before Saturday when it is expected to have rain all day. Possible Thunder Showers! Hope my trail legs start kicking in. I think I made the right decision to rest. Picture of my lovely accommodations. 5 star for hikers... Faceplant signing off.
Started hiking from Blue Mountain and made it to Tray Gap where I got a ride into Hiawasee to take a zero day tomorrow. This brings me to 57 miles on this epic adventures. My feet still have 4 blisters and they are slowing me down. Hiawasee looks like a great town and people here are very down to earth. I'll re-supply tomorrow and get back on the trail on Thursday morning. Just as well since they are scheduling 28 degree weather tomorrow night. No thank you since I only have a 30 degree sleeping bag. I've always believed that life itself may be meaningless, but you give it meaning when you begin making important choices. These, in turn, reveal who you are. With freedom of choice, however, comes responsibility. Taking ownership of your decisions means not blaming your parents, your spouse, your teachers or anyone else for the shape of your life. More responsibility brings greater freedom. And with it: hope. This hike shows me this is true every day. The choices I make day to day to take care of my body and being smart will sustain me. I might not get there in record time, but the curve in the road is not the end of the road, unless you fail to make the turn. Hike on... Faceplant out.
Another tough day in the trail. Forest Gump was wrong, there are plenty of rocks here in Georgia. I left Sheep Rock around 10:20am after attending to my blisters and having breakfast. I made good time in the morning past a number of camp sites, but legs turned into jello by 2:00pm. Then I hit some rock ledge to traverse that really slowed me down. What do they think we are, Billy goats? I'm still enjoying the adventure and making the best of each days challenges. I'm enjoying meeting fellow hikers on the trail. Sleeping tonight at Blue Mountain Shelter. Faceplant signing off!
Ok sports fans, made it to Sheep Rock Campground. No one here so I'm going it Alone. Ursack with my food ties to a tree. I'm hunkered down after logging 11 miles from Neels Gap. I have four blisters and I'm doing everything to take care of them. The elevations are brutal and I still don't have my hikers legs they keep talking about. I'll get stronger, but need foot care right now. Beautiful people gave us water and soda at Hog Pen gap. Trail angels are so generous. Ravens Cliff was challeng. View were spectacular. Here is picture from the top.
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