Long distance hiker knows as Straws on trail. I've thru-hiked the Appalachian Trail (2200 miles), Pacific Crest Trail (2650 Miles), and Continental Divide Trail (3000 miles) with my husband Piñata.
Author: hikinghammonds
Day 30: 300 miles, sort of
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. …
Day 29: Fire on the Mountain
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 …
Day 28: Hot Springs
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. …
Day 27: Triple Trail Magic
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 …
Day 26: Out of the Smokies
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, …
Day 25: Our Longest Day
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 …
Day 24: Rain in the Smokies
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 22 and 23: A Nero and a Zero
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 …
Day 21: On Top of Old Smoky
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 …
Day 20: Rocky Top
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 …
Day 19: Into the Smokies
Today was the first day that really felt like Spring. We started back at the dam sometime around 10 this morning. We had to walk over the dam and up a road for about a mile until the trail starts …
Day 18: Fontana Dam
Today we hiked just 7.1 miles down to Fontana Dam, the tallest dam in the Eastern US. Most of the way we had views of the reservoir through the trees. Although the higher elevations are still a little bare, spring …
Day 17: Jacob’s Ladder
Yesterday was the jump up, today was Jacobs’s Ladder, plus a lot of other ups and downs. Officially we hiked 15.2 miles, but actually hiked another half mile or so when we had to backtrack to get water. It was …
Day 16: The NOC and the jump up
Yesterday we went down a steep section of trail called “the jump off.” I forgot to post a picture of it so here it is: Which really doesn’t do it justice, but that’s how photos are. Last night we camped …
Day 15: brutal ups and downs
Today was our longest day yet at 15.5 miles. The first half of the day was mostly uphill, to another fire tower with awesome views. We could see Fontana dam, which we will come to in a few days, and …
Hiking Hammonds 