Today we hiked exactly 22 miles. The morning began with our last major elevation change for awhile, so we planned on having easier terrain in the afternoon. Instead the entire trail was just a bunch of rocks, and oftentimes staircases …
Month: June 2016
Day 74: Day Hikers
Today felt like the invasion of the day hikers! There were so many clean people on the mountain! There were also tons of weekend backpackers with giant tents. I experienced for the first time passing a group of people with …
Day 73: A Magical Day
Yesterday we had a somewhat stressful time getting resupplied. TheĀ laundromat was out of soap, the shuttle around town was hard to locate, and when we finally got to the grocery store at about 5 the shuttle driver informed us …
Day 72: 800 miles
Last night we camped at mile 799, so this morning we passed mile 800. I meant to take a photo of our crowded campsite last night, but I forgot until there was only one tent left, so imagine 4 tents …
Day 71: 22.7 miles
Today was our new longest day. We weren’t sure we would make all the miles we wanted to, so we woke up early and got on the trail by 7. When we stopped for lunch, a hiker we camped with …
Day 70: The Guillotine
It day began today with a nine mile uphill with an FAA tower at the top. We stopped for lunch near the tower. I saw a flock of Cedar Waxwings, then a Gray Catbird flew around us singing. 2 new …
Day 69: The Laziest Day Ever
Due to some camping areas being closed from bear activity, we had to do either a pretty short day or a pretty long one today. I think we both woke up knowing it would be the former option. We took …
Day 68: Blue Ridge
We had a crazy storm last night. The rain came down harder than I’ve ever experienced in a tent. It was so loud it drowned out the sound of the thunder. I put on my earplugs once I was ready …
Day 67: Summer Storms
We took our time this morning, taking care of our last few errands in town, getting coffee and breakfast before heading out again. I think it was noon when we got on the trail, and today has been the hottest …
Day 66: Hiker Hunger
Today is a zero day, which we haven’t had in 17 days, so it’s pretty awesome. The hotel has free breakfast so we went down around 7 for some cereal, bagels, muffins, biscuits and gravy, coffee, and orange juice. By …
Day 65: Daleville
We had a 15.5 mile day into town today. Our place was fairly slow as we are both feeling tired, but we were in town by 4, and the hotel is right off the trail. Most of the day was …
Day 64: 700 miles, McAfee Knob
What a day! We started out with two options this morning: either do 17 miles today and 15 tomorrow, or do 14 miles today and 18 tomorrow. We have a room tomorrow night in Daleville, and we will zero there …
Day 63: Eastern Continental Divide
Today we hiked 16.1 miles. In the morning we crossed the Eastern Continental Divide, and in the afternoon we passed a monument to Audie Murphy, the most decorated American soldier from WWII. Both were on top of a mountain of …