It rained in the night, which is good for the fire situation, but the trail is still expected to be closed until next week. The outfitter in Hot Springs was running shuttles to the next Gap but everything was full. Fortunately in this town there is no shortage of trail angels, and we got a … Read More “Day 30: 300 miles, sort of” »
Month: April 2016
We spent the day in Hot Springs, where the talk of the town is the wildfire and arson. Leftovers from last night’s burrito bash made for another free meal at breakfast! The hostel was booked tonight so instead we are at the local campground. Lots of hikers are here and the talk of this town … Read More “Day 29: Fire on the Mountain” »
Most trail towns are actually about ten miles off the trail, but the AT goes right through the middle of Hot Springs, NC. We hiked nine miles into town today and decided to stay in a hostel for the night. Lucky for us, not only did we get the last room but tonight was a … Read More “Day 28: Hot Springs” »
What a day! We got up early and hiked about five miles and ran into our first trail magic of the day. Lemonade, hot dogs, chips and candy! We lingered for awhile then headed uphill about a mile where another couple was handing out packs of crackers. We took another break at the top of … Read More “Day 27: Triple Trail Magic” »
Davenport Gap was the last shelter in the Smokies! There was no bear activity in the night either. We slept in this morning and lingered at camp longer than usual. It was a beautiful spring day today: tons of flowers, birds, and sunshine. It was also a long uphill today, up to an FAA tower … Read More “Day 26: Out of the Smokies” »
One nice thing about the shelters in the Smokies is they all have a fireplace inside. All night long last night people tended to the fire and it burned into the morning. My shoes didn’t totally dry out, but they were warm and only a little damp. One bad thing about the shelters in the … Read More “Day 25: Our Longest Day” »
After three days of sun and views in the Smokies, we got back on trail in the rain and fog today. We met a back country ranger who said we were pretty lucky for such nice weather the past few days, because usually in spring it’s cold and wet with no views. It was slow … Read More “Day 24: Rain in the Smokies” »
We had a busy couple of days! We woke up early on Wednesday morning lured by rumors of pancakes at Newfound Gap. There were no pancakes, but there was trail magic! A local ladies hiking club had drinks, fruit, protein bars, little Debbie’s and more. Even better, the first Baptist Church of sevierville had a … Read More “Days 22 and 23: A Nero and a Zero” »
Today we hiked up Clingman’s Dome, the highest peak East of the Mississippi at 6667 feet. We had nice weather again and as we got into higher elevations we entered a Spruce-fir forest, which was a nice change and provided lots of shade. At the top of Clingman’s Dome is a parking lot and an … Read More “Day 21: On Top of Old Smoky” »
Today was another warm one, and we continued along the border. Visibility was really good today, and our first big climb of the day was up a mountain called Rocky top. It wasn’t the highest point of the day, but the best view. We could see for miles in 360 degrees. A lot of hikers … Read More “Day 20: Rocky Top” »