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 …
Category: Appalachian Trail
Day 14: Rain, sun, and views
It rained most of the night and into the morning, so we were a little slow getting out of camp. It was foggy and misty for the first half of the day, then the sun came out and it got …
Day 13: 100 miles
Today we hiked up to the top of Albert Mountain. At the top of the mountain is an old fire tower, located at 100.1 miles on the trail. Now we only have to do that 21 more times! The trail …
Day 12: Standing Indian Mountain
We left town today and got back on the trail in the afternoon. We went up for 2 miles to the highest point on the trail thus far: 5,000 feet at Standing Indian Mountain before heading downhill for several miles. …
Day 11: Zero day
We woke up this morning to the coldest morning we’ve had, but fortunately our trail magic friends had a fire going, coffee made, eggs, sausage, biscuits, hash browns, orange juice, it made it worth getting out of our sleeping bags. …
Day 10: North Carolina
It was raining and windy all night so we were all pretty happy to be cozy in the shelter. In the morning we hiked uphill until we reached the border. Then we walked uphill some more. It was windy and …
Day 9
Today we took the shuttle from town back to the trail and hiked out about 5 miles. Since it was such a short and easy day we hiked out sausages and sauerkraut and cooked them over the fire. It’s raining …
Day 7 and Day 8
Paul and I are officially on our longest backpacking trip ever. We had a fairly long day yesterday followed by a short 4 mile day into town today. We are staying in Hiawassi tonight and hiking another short day tomorrow, …
Day 6: 50 miles
This morning the weather was great and the terrain was easy compared to the past few days. We stopped for lunch at the Blue Mountain shelter with some lovely views. The day ended with a thousand foot drop over about …
Day 5: Cold but Sunny
It was freezing in the morning and a cold wind blew for hours, but it was clear out and we had great views all day. We camped near a shelter and had a fire again after 10.4 miles.
Day 4: Blood Mountain and Neel Gap
Today was dry and sunny but cold and windy. The day started with a big climb up Blood Mountain, steady climbing for a couple of miles, with great views at the top where we stopped for lunch with several other …
Day 3: Drying Out
It rained all night and into the morning, so had to put some soggy clothes back on in the morning. I had dry socks but my shoes were still wet and it was still raining so my feet were wet …
Day 2: Rain
It didn’t rain in the night, and it wasn’t raining in the morning. It was a pretty warm night, and aside from a little soreness we were feeling pretty good. Most of the morning we hiked in the fog: It …
Day 1
Day one, we ate a big breakfast at the lodge and set out on the approach trail. It was about 7.5 miles to Springer Mountain, the Southern terminus of the AT. We hiked for several miles with a woman who …
Amicalola Falls
I meant to post last night but I got tired and went to bed early. Yesterday Dedee and Gordon drove us to the lodge at Amicalola Falls in Georgia. Here the approach trail will take us to the summit at …