On Wednesday morning we hiked out with Amy, 1.7 miles into Damascus. With the benefit of a car and driver, we were able to resupply at a real grocery store, do laundry, eat dinner at a Chinese buffet, and relax …
Month: May 2016
Day 42: Virginia and Amy
Today we hiked 16.4 miles to a campsite just outside of Damascus where we met our friend Amy, who recently moved to North Carolina. She brought us all kind of goodies: wine, cheese, baguette and salami, and apples! We made …
Day 41: Riff Raff
I forgot to mention that the same guy who gave us a ride from Subway was at the shelter last night! He is doing various short hikes then going to Trail Days. Today we heard there was trail magic ahead, …
Day 40: Watauga Lake
Today we hiked around Watauga Lake and over Watauga Dam, then back uphill into the mountains. We were hiking slower than usual so we only put in 12 miles today. We have a really nice view back down to the …
Day 39: Laurel Falls
We had some really nice hiking today, not too cold, not too hot. Most of the day we followed a stream, and passed a pretty big waterfall. We took a mile side trail into Hampton for groceries and Subway, and …
Day 38: 400 Miles
18.4 miles today, and we didn’t even start hiking until 11. We had the most amazing breakfast at the hostel/b&b, which has the reputation for the best breakfast on the trail. Quiche, tomato tart, blueberry pancakes, cinnamon rolls, hashbrown casserole, …
Day 37: Ice and Wind
It was rainy and windy through the night but we stayed dry and warm in the tent. It wasn’t until I unzipped the door of the tent and snow fell on my head that I realized just how cold it …
Day 36: May the Fourth be with You
It was cold this morning, so we were slow getting out of camp. It was 9:45 before we started hiking! Today we went over Roan Mountain, a five mile uphill climb. Paul foraged ramps most of the way. Fortunately we …
Day 35: Unaka Mountain
It rained all night long last night, the tent held up fairly well but is definitely still leaking. It was raining off and on in the morning, so we decided to head for the next shelter at 12.8 miles and …
Day 34: Curley Maple Gap
Today we managed to not take any pictures, but we only hiked 4.3 miles out of town to the first shelter. Starting in the afternoon is rough, because it’s already so muggy outside. All that laundry and showering is undone …
Day 33: Erwin, TN
Our makeshift rainfly worked very well in the night. It was supposed to rain all day today, but the sun actually peeked out in the morning, so we waited as long as possible for our gear to dry out before …
Day 32: Trail Magic and Geocaching
This morning I had a 400 calorie muffin and a 200 calorie granola bar for breakfast. 2.4 miles later, we ran into some trail magic! I had a sausage biscuit with cheese, green juice, a package of little Debbie’s Swiss …
Day 31: Big Butt Peak to Hogback Ridge
Today was a really nice day, not too hot with some nice meadows and plenty of flowers and even a mini waterfall. The first Peak of the day was called Big Butt Peak. Most of the day we seemed to …