Huffhike

Day 40 (Mile 625.8)
Its been a few days since my last blog entry. I would like to say it was because I havent had time. But I suppose when all you do all day is walk, eat, and sleep its hard to use that as an excuse. Either way, I figured I would spend this zero day catching up to this point.
Over the past few days, Ive done two resupplies (both coming from boxes) and Ive had 3 days in hostels or a motel room. The most recent stay was yesterday and today I took a zero day today to dry off my gear and to allow my feet to dry out from the past 4 days of rain storms.
Through the rain storms Ive stayed motivated by enjoying the cows and the pastures in between of the green tunnel. On top of that Ive found motivation by focusing on the little milestones and small victories. Over the past couple of days, I surpassed the 600 mile mark and the 1/4 way point. Ive also taken opportunity of each little detours for warm food. Three days ago it came in the form of grilled cheese, corn dog, and French fries. The following day I bought a chicken bacon ranch pizza at a gas station.
After eating half of the pizza I packed out the remaining pizza, and a tall bud light. After 10 quick miles I made my way to the Wapiti Shelter. For those unaware, in 1981 the shelter was the location of a double murder. Contrary to the several Farout comments I did not see any ghouls. I can confirm there was a presence of mice, as they ate an entire log book. Knowing that information I hesitantly set up my tent in the rain.
My greatest motivator, and I suppose my appreciation the last 4 days came in the form of trail angels. Sometimes thru-hiking can feel like a solo adventure, where you are hiking your own hike, and everyone else is hiking there own hike. But at the end of the day that is the furthest thing from true.
After leaving Akins VA, I had a full portable battery and a full phone battery. But after 12 miles of hiking, I noticed I had accidentally turned on my headlamp. Effectively killing the battery of the headlamp. Naturally, I plugged it into my portable charger. But the battery didnt produce any power. It then hit me that battery pack had died. I quickly started to look on Farout when I noticed there was a hostel within half a mile.
I quickly walked to the hostel where I asked the owner if he could shuttle me to Walmart (36 minutes away, the closest place to buy a charging bank) and I would pay him. He told me “no” and said I could charge my phone there if I needed to. After looking through google maps I realized that the Walmart would be the best option, as the closest town outside of backtracking was 80 miles away.
While doing my research, a fellow thru-hiker who was at the hostel was trying to get it to work. After futzing with it she confirmed it was fried fried and asked what I was planning on doing. I told her my plan was to back track 10 miles and hitch to Walmart. After hearing that she told me that there was no way she was going to let me go back and gave me her power bank free of charge.
I think that is the beauty of thru-hiking. I think that sometimes in our lives both on and off the trail, you get caught up in our own lives and our own journey. In doing so we inadvertently choose ourselves over others, and accidentally miss opportunities to help others.

While thru-hiking I think you are more apt to help others because you see the humanity in everyone you meet.

Everyday, I walk a trail that is maintained by volunteers who remove blow downs, re-route the trail, clean and empty privys. Then we hit towns where town people offer free rides or free food to stinky hikers. They dont do it because they get paid, they instead do it because they care about hikers and want to return the favor that was given to them or someone they know.

That appreciation for others and willingness to help everyone and appreciate “trail magic” of everyday life is something I hope to carry back home in September.

Moving foward, I hope to go back to a daily check-ins.

Happy Trails 🤟

Day 25 (Mile 470)
After waking up we knew we had a short 9-10 miles into Damscus for the start of Trail Days (while crossing into Virginia). Little did we know that the last 10 miles into town was incredibly easy and was a great grade for cruising some miles. We ended up crossing into Virginia before 11am, and we made it to town by noon.

After we got to town, we pitched our tents in the woods portion of tent city. The game plan was that we would set it up there so that we would be in the shade rather than in the baseball field. Anyways after we setup, I went over to the town post office to grab my new shoes. They ended up not being in yet. So I then walked over to the Appalachian Trail headquarters in Damascus to get my hiker tag (thru hikers get a tag that shows you are a thru-hiker). Most hikers get the tags when they start the trail, but I was a late start so I was not given one.

I then got my tag, and went over to the food lion in town to get food. I then went back to camp to call it a day.

Day 26 – 28 (Mile 470)

Over the past few days I fell behind on my blog. Which Im not the most proud of, but in the same aspect I think its okay. I would rather be present and fall behind on this then be focused on writing everyday. Anyways over these days I was at Trail Days. Trail Days is a festival that is held by the ATC in Damascus Virginia. The festival includes vendors, a parade, events, and some parties in the woods.

While at trail days, I camped in the woods of tent city (tent city is where the thru hikers are asked to camp). It was a great spot with solid ground. The only downside was that the crew next to us left there music playing throughout the night. Even with the restless nights, I had a great time at the festival, and was even given a 6 pack of Long Trail Ale once someone found out I hiked the trail in the past.

Outside of the parties trail days had pleanty of opportunities to buy some gear. I was hesitant to purchase gear due to my budget but I was easily persuaded due to the deals. Over the 3 days I purchased the following.

Jolly Gear short sleeve shirt (the long sleeves were killing me in the heat)
A water bottle holder (to hold peanut butter)
An Umbrella (to stop the rain more)
A fanny pack (so I can have more snacks available)

On top of selling stuff the vendors were giving out stickers and other cool free things. I collected a sweet pile of loot. After realizing that I had too many stickers, I sent home the stickers with a pile of some gear (puffy jacket, winter hat / gloves, and my old shoes (got a new pair in the mail)). Some vendors were also doing raffles for thru hikers. I ended up winning a hammock at one of the raffles.

After winning the Hammock, I ran over to the post office. But they were closed, realizing that I didnt want to carry two sleep systems, I started to look around. At first I tried the local outfitters to no luck as well as a few hostels. After about half an hour of trying, I found a hostel owner who was willing to send it for me. So I met up with him and the package was off!

Outside of the fun times, trail days is about bringing together all of the classes of thru-hikers. So during the last day of the festival they throw a town parade where the local people throw water at the current thru-hikers, and sorta heckle them.

All in all I had a phenomenal time at trail days. I think that it was well worth the 3 zero mile days.

Day 21 Continued (Mile 382.2)

After I posted my blog, I set up my tent and was taking in the view when another thru hiker I knew came up the trail. He complemented me on my campsite and then mentioned the trail angels gave him 6 beers and offered me one. Obviously I accepted his offer and took one.

As the day came to a close I went towards the summit of Jane Bald to watch the sunset, I met two professional photographers. They were incredibly cool and we talked photography and sports a bit as we watched the most beautiful sunset I have seen in my life. After the sun had fully set I wandered off to my tent and called it a day.

Day 22 (Mile 404.2)
At 4am, I felt the wind pick up. Seeing I was sleeping on a bald there was no tree coverage. So when the wind picked up I could feel the tent shake. After a bit I figured I should get up to watch the sunrise, so I battled the wind and picked up my campsite and hit the road. Feeling the dinner from the night before hit I figured I would quickly push 4 miles to the next campsite.

The site was the last site in North Carolina, so I knew it would be the last privy until Virginia. So I made the push and made the privy in great time. After doing my business I ran into a few hikers I met a few days earlier Side Quest, Alex, and Gibson. We talked a bit when they mentioned they were going to stop by Mountain Harbour Bed and Breakfast to recharge and get boxes. Obviously being a thru hiker that was music to my ears so I asked to join in.

The first peak we summited was Hump Mountain which was a beautiful summit that had phenomenal 360 views. It was very reminiscent to the Franconia Ridge if it was plains instead of rock ledges which was really cool. After we summited we hiked a bit more until we hit 19E where we took the 1/4 mile detor to the bed and Breakfast. We then grabbed food (I had a chicken cordon blue burger) and started to charge up while we listened to live music.

After we ate and were ready to go, we kept on hiking north where we eventually crossed into Tennessee fully and crossed the 400 mile mark. We then made it to a stealth camp where we called it a night.

Day 23 (Mile 429)
While hiking the day before I mentioned to the group that I needed to get a package at Boots off Hostel. After talking they mentioned they wanted to stay there as well as they were a legendary hostel, and on top of that they were having some pre trail day festivities. So we started looking at lodging options in the morning and settled on splitting the cost of a yurt.

The hike started off dry and slowly switched to rain, a staple of the Appalachian Trail. After hiking for a while through the rain we stopped for lunch. I was offered some Fruity Pepples with dehydrated milk. It was phenomenal and so worth it. After a bit we crossed paths with an old farmstead which was incredibly cool to see. We then ran into a Riff Raff trail magic. They gave us grilled cheese sandwiches with chilli. They also mentioned they were doing pre trail festivities and offered slack packing for the next section.

We collected all the information and figured we could reasses it later on. After a while we crossed an amazing section of trail that had crazy erosion as well as probably the coolest waterfall Ive seen on trail.

After a bit we made it to Boots off Hostel and ate the McDonald’s we got when we got off trail. I then headed up to grab my box. After talking to the receptionist we realized my resupply box didnt make it. At first I was worried I would be out of food, but I realized that I had enough dinners as I made it a day early and didnt need dinner for the night. So I bought some snacks and then listened to some live music.

Day 24 (Mile 449.4)
After hanging out a bit too late the night before we quickly packed up to make it to pur rides RV at 7am. We decided the Riff Raff offer was too good to miss (free food, place to camp, slack packing (hiking without “uncessary” gear (tent, quilt, etc.)). However, because they were taking business from Boots Off they declined to shuttle us, so Side Quest came up clutch and lined us up a ride with a trail angel who hands out Klondike bars throughout the trail. So by 7am we pilled into the RV and made it to the Riff Raff event in time to get breakfast (our second of the day).

After we dropped off our gear we got a ride lined up and took the very quick ride up to Rt 91. Once we got to the trailhead we were greeted with McDonald’s trail magic where I picked up a beer and a sausage sandwich. We then went off on a 20 mile slack pack heading South on the trail. It was amazing to slack pack. The packs felt incredibly light and the trail was an amazing green tunnel over a ridge line.

Once we finished the 20 mile slack packing I headed back to the Riff Raff event where I ate some pizza, and ate a questionable amount of garlic bread and drank a questionable amount of free Miller Lites.

While chilling around the campfire the topic of my trail name came up. I was originally given the trail name of Bear Bait (BB). But I wasnt a fan so I ended up going back to my name. My friend mentioned Good Will Hunting would be a cool name due to my usage of Wicked. I thought that was a good name and figured I would sleep on it.

Day 24 (Mile 460.8)
Seeing that we had only 20 miles to Damscus and the start of trail days, we figured we could take a mellow day. So we woke up late, ate 3 breakfasts and 4 doughnuts and took the last shuttle out of Riff Raff. We decided to also go back to full packs so we could walk into Trail Days Wednesday instead of shuffling it.

Once we got shuttled we ran into trail magic again where I ate 3 hot dogs and ran into my buddy who I “lost” after Erwin. After catching up a bit he mentioned he thought of a cool trail name for me, “wicked”. Due to me saying it alot. That settled it, I am now Wicked.

After chilling for an hour we started to hike, the first we got was of the iconic barn with the AT logo on it in a meadow. One of the hardest things Ive done on trail so far was continuing to hike. I was so tempted to take a siesta but I knew I had to keep on keeping on. So I kept hiking, throughout the day I hiked with the crew as well as Breeze who is a cool guy I camped with a few days prior.

I think that is something Im so appreciative of about the trail. There is so many amazing and cool people. Everyday you are greeted by a new face and a cool story.

I think so much of our current ecosystem and life is dictated by our differences. Obviously those differences are then played by 24 hour news networks (CNN, FOX, MSNBC) and social media companies to divide us to keep the attention and revenue coming in. But on the trail there isnt a focus on that instead there is a focus on a common goal, Maine (or the last 2 days Damscus). It causes this constant positive vibe where everyone is working in unison and not trying to one up another person.

I think that commonality could easily be found, as its what got us through WW2, economic collapses and so much more. I think if we just remove those dividers like the trail naturally does we’d all be better off.

Anyways the rest of the day was amazing, we made it to camp before the rain got too bad, I ate too much food and crashed hard.

Day 20 (Mile 366.1)
Seeing that I had the luxury of a “full” night of the luxurious WiFi, and an Air Conditioner. I took full advantage and I stayed up maybe a little too late and caught up on the Boys before bed (I did strech and use my cork ball, so not a total wash). By the time I finished it was 11pm. So I plugged in my earbuds and phone and fell asleep.

After I woke up one of my bunk mates offered me her bannana and apple. Obviously I accepted and devoured both in a matter of minutes. I then began to pack up my gear, after I had everything packed and ready to go, I ran to the common area to grab my lunch (a ceaser salad). I then walked to the front of Uncle Johnnys to wait for the shuttle. Due to Hurricane Helen a few years ago, the bridge across the river was washed away. So rather than taking a 5 mile road walk (that doesnt count as part of the AT) I opted for the shuttle.

After getting dropped off, I instantly felt the zero day. My mind and body were just pulling me back in, my knee would tighten, then my mind would go on a tangent trying to get me off trail. But I kept on walking until my mind and body shut down and I was moving.

The first half of the day was amazing, I had some trail magic where I had homemade banna bread and some Arnold Palmer, I then took advantage of the free trash and deleted my ceasear salad. It was wicked good. I would highly recommend it. I then started my teeth up Beauty Spot, which was an amazing view. After summiting, I continued to hike until I hit the AT detor. Due to the storm they closed a section of trail, I looked on Farout and it said that there was stealth campsites as well as water sources along the detour. No worries I thought so I started to hike and I slowly realized that report was over exaggerated as there was no stealth sights.

No worries, I figured at least it was on a road so the next couple of miles should be easy. I was extremely wrong, as the detour crossed a highway and darted through the woods going directly up and down hills. On top of that the hills had wooden stairs, which are incredibly difficult.

So my short day turned into a 20 mile day where I camped at the closest water source and had a campfire with a few other thru hikers.

Day 21 (Mile 382.2)
When I woke up I noticed my tent was drenched. Knowing it didnt rain at night, I knew it was a mixture of my condensation while sleeping as well as the condensation from the ground. I then brugently packed my soaked tent and headed off.

The start of the hike was uneventful, a few PUDS here and there, but it was still amazing. I ened up hiking with a hiker Big Bird and he gave me some photography advice (a hobby Im hoping to get into when I come back). After a bit of hiking, I reached Roan Mountain.

Roan was hit particularly bad by the hurricane. It was wild, there was these massive trees that were destroyed by wind. But the beauty in it was that although some trees were uprooted from the ground they were still blossoming (presumably because they had a root or two still attached). I think it says alot about our ability to survive. Like trees our whole purpose here is to live; like everyone we’ve survived the storms in our lives and were still blooming.

Anyways, after I took the hike into Carvers Gap where I was greeted by trail magic and a privy (a rarety in Tennessee). I ended up spending close to 3 hours at the trail magic, where I ate 3 hotdogs and 3 hamburgers. I also drank 2 beers and carried up one hard seltzer up Jane Bald. I then found the most beautiful stealth campsite, so I set up camp and have been streching and cork balling, while I wait for hopefully an amazing sunset and sunrise.

Day 18 (Mile 344.6)

Throughout the night, you could hear the winds whistling through the shelter as well as the surrounding woods. Thankfully the rain had not begun when I woke up at 6am.

Knowing I had some open cut ridge walks in my day, I figured I would take advantage of the rain free start to my day, so I packed up my sleep system and headed up the trail. The initial mile of the day was immediately uphill so I immediately ate my 3 oatmeal cream pies, a good 1600 calories (If anyone knows someone at little Debbie’s Ill take a sponsorship Ive been speaking up your peoduct).

After pushing the hill I hiked for a few more miles, unfortunately I was anticipating rain so I was hiking in my rain gear. For those who have worked out in rain gear, you know that once you start sweating in it, you cook. So after 2 miles I took off all my rain gear and kept hiking.

After a bit I stopped made myself some electrolytes and took a corner and out of know where I saw a trash bag in the distance. Confused I kept walking towards the bag and came across 3 coolers. It then hit me, Trail Magic! I opened the first cooler and it was empty, so I nervously opened the second cooler and found girl scout cookies; massive win! As excited as I was, I had been craving real food for miles. I then opened the third cooler and found fruit! The greatest trail magic one can get (outside of booze of course… So many calories and carbs). I then snagged an apple and kept walking.

After an hour I started to make my way up Big Bald, a bald summit that is supposed to have phenomenal 360 views. As I got within a mile of the summit it started dumping rain, so  I quickly threw on my rain jacket and kept walking. As I approached the Bald the wind and rain picked up, to the point I was stuggling to walk. Naturally, I put on some Taylor Swift, recorded some cool videos and tried to get into the tree line. After a while I noticed her voice was going in and out, so I felt the bottom of my phone pounch, and noticed that my water proof phone pouch is not waterproof. So I quickly pulled out my phone and stuffed it into my cord pouch zip lock and kept walking.

After a bit of walking I made it to the 20 miles to the shelter. Instantly I scoffed down all my tuna packets and wraps, as I skipped lunch to avoid the rain. After a bit another thru hiker I knew came into camp and mentioned he was getting a hotel room and asked if I wanted to push the extra 7 and split it. Feeling a bit burnt out I declined and started to strech thinking I was done for the day.

After half an hour a hiker I was hiking the last 3 days with showed up. He was with a group who was pushing miles to the hostel. After a bit I asked if they minded if I joined, they didnt mind so I opted to tag along to avoid dealing with the rain, plus Tennessee doesnt have privys so naturally I didnt want to dig a cat whole.

So, I packed up and crushed the 7 miles to Uncle Johnnys. Seeing they were closed I set up a cowboyish (no tent) campsite in the hammock section as it was roofed. I then found my friend and asked if he was ordering food. He was so we then ordered Tacos to avoid double delivery fees. Naturally starving ftom the 27 miles I ordered an “American Burrito” which had steak, fries, and sauce in it. It was amzing. I then took a hot shower and crashed hard.

Day 19 (Mile 344.6)

After crashing, I woke up to the sound of pouring rain on the tin roof. The rain was nuts, I have a crazy video of it (but I cant post videos on this subscription). Anyways, after I woke up I started on my chores and did my laundry and started to wash my dishes (a re used mountian meal bag that I throw Ramen in).

While the laundry was going I went and grabbed my box I sent ahead. It had 5 days worth of food, black shorts (tan shorts were an awful idea), and a new Cnock bag. Knowing it was a zero (zero miles), I asked when the next shuttle into town would be as I missed the first one. The driver said 11, so I went and chilled for a bit, using my full battery and wifi to download so many podcasts and music.

Once 11 came, I went to the shuttle and made it to town. Starving I went to The Red Fork (which was recommended by the thru hikers yesterday), I had a killer sandwhich. I then wandered around the town, where I found a type writter, a post office cat, and saw the hurricane damage.

Afterwards, I headed to the grocery store where I purchased some lunches for the next 5 days (tuna, wraps and chips, and ceaser salad to pack out tomorrow) as well as dinner (french bread pizza, doughnuts) and fruit (canelope, and 2 apples) . I then devoured the apple and canelope and then Uber back to the hostel (no pack hitching is useless).

I called my folks, and then started to bag this out. Im hoping to strech, roll, and shower before bed tonight.

But all in all it was a successful zero day. Now time to keep pushing miles to make it to Damascus for Trail Days.

Happy Trails!

Day 16 (Mile 294.8)

After waking up at the Hotsprings Resort and Spa AT campsite section, I packed up and started to walk towards the laundry mat section of the camp. I had charged my power bank and phone close to 100% the night before. But I figured I would just give them a bit more juice before I headed out.

After my phone hit 100% I hit the road. Like most of the time once you leave a town you go up hill, as most towns are located in valleys. Today was no exception, after leaving Hot Springs I was greeted with a straight up hill climb. It wasnt too brutal, but it definitely wasnt easy. After being on the trail for a few miles, I saw the split for the fire tower. Of course never wanting to miss a good fire tower I took the side trail, and saw an awesome view.

After a few hours I stopped and ate some lunch (ranch tuna, wraps, and cheese its). After I noticed another hiker who I met yesterday. He ended up offering me half of his package of wraps, because yesterday I said that Dollar General didnt have any wraps, and he found some. So that was a big win that made my day!

After hiking a bit more and listening to some Alan Watts and random podcasts, I came to a split that said “free cookies and water”. Of course I walked in the direction of the Southern Cookie Lady for some free treats. As we approached the sweetest older couple welcomed us and gave us cookies and water. They then talked to us about a bear that tried to break into there car for some tomatoes.

I then headed out to cover the last 6 miles before the shelter. Once at the shelter, I made some dinner (garlic potatoes) and took some advil for my ankle and did some streching.

Day 17 (Mile 317.6)

Today wasnt incredibly eventful, I surpassed the 300 mile mark which was amazing, and I saw some tremendous peaks and some cool named summits. But over the past two days, I think Im starting to fall in love with the green tunnel and all the growth occurring around the trail (outside of snakes, fuck them and I hope to never see one).

My ankle seems to be loosing some of its swelling, meaning the ibuprofen and creek beds may be working. However, it appears there is a storm rolling in tomorrow which will impact my resupply plans. Im leaning towards a long day tomorrow and a nero (near zero thursday).

Part of my motivation in blogging rather than doing an instagram post is that it allows for me to write fully and deeply, almost portraying the “real” aspects of trail. Today was a struggle, it was hot, I knew a storm is rolling it, and it was a roller coaster (up hill then down then up)…. But Im still having the time of my life!

One intimidating aspect of thru-hiking is the alone time. Most of the day you are alone with your thoughts. Of course you run into people for a few miles here and there, but for the most part the conversations are quick and cordule.

At camp the conversations are more dense (No politics on the trail), as you are traveling with your friends and with people youve just met. But while hiking, for the most part its just you and yourself.

While hiking today I found myself constantly zoning out. Reliving the past, past events and regrets. Obviously, living in the past is not the place to be. Normally, I am able to quiet the noise and ground myself, using some forrest bathing techniques I have learned.

But today it just felt insurmountable.

In that mental replaying, and noise I came across this idea that, as much as I dont want to. I have to accept that the past happened. People who I wish were still in my life arent, events and things I said I cant undo or unsay. And as much as I would like to time travel to avoid and prevent some events, I cant.

However, the beauty about hiking is you cant avoid those thoughts. You cant distract yourself with a movie, a drink, work,  etc. You have to face those thoughts and whatever troubles you have face on.

For me, I was able to remind myself that the beauty of the past is recognizing where you could have done better and bringing it with you in the future.

The world is surrounded by love, but to create that love internally you have to first love and forgive yourself (something I personally struggle with).

Thats the end of my hippie dippy Ted talk. Maybe it doesnt sound super profound, but it really hit home for me while meandering today.

Happy Trails!

Day 13 (Mile 234.2)
After making it to camp after resupplying I met a day hiker from Boston who gave me some of his beer and we got to talking. He told me that he came from Charlies Bunion and said it was well worth the detour. By the time I woke up I realized if I played it right I would be able to catch the Sunrise. So I quickly packed up camp and started to make my way to the blue blaze.

After about 5 minutes I realized that if I started to jog I may be able to make it quicker. After about half a mile I realized I was cruizing toward rolling my already tweaked ankle so I stopped running and sped hiked to the blue blaze. It was well worth the push as I caught one of the most beautiful sunrises Ive seen in my life.

That ended up becoming the theme of the day, over the last 2 days in the Smokey Mountains I was struggling to get clear views. But today was so beautiful as there wasnt any clouds in the sky so every outlook was a beautiful outcrop of mountains. The wildest thing that I kept coming back to was back home in New England most of the high peaks are bald, however out here the mountains are taller but still have trees until the summit.

Anways around noonish I took my lunch break. When I got to the shelter I noticed that the ridge runner was doing some privy duty, so I said hi and guiltitly ate my lunch from a distance. Today was a pretty solid lunch, I took wraps and added ranch cheeto chips with some spicy tuna packets.

While streching at the shelter I saw someone running down the trail. The guy looked wicked familiar, it then hit me it was THE Will Peterson, of course I said “hi” and wished him well on his FKT attempt. As quickly he appeared he was off trying to crush some miles. After a few minutes my adrenaline lowered and I packed up and headed towards the last shelter of the day.

After walking the last 3-4 miles with a wicked cool guy from Italy I made it to camp. I then was killing some time when two hikers came in camp saying they were going to push some miles to see the sunset on the Mount Cammerer fire tower, I asked if I could join in and they said sure. So I then took the 3 mile hike to the split and then the 0.6 hike to the fire tower. The views of the sunset was breathtaking, its wild to see how far away the mountains are from the surrounding towns of Gatlinburg and Dollyworld. It was especially prevalent after the sun went down and you could see the lights of those cities in the distance.

Day 14 (Mile 255.9)
After waking up at a designated campsite (The Smokey Mountains make you sleep in designated campsites and does not allow stealth camping). I headed out of the trail to leave the Smokey Mountains. Thankfully the decent into the Smokey Mountains was long so it wasnt too steep or strenuous.

After heading into a gap, I reached the end of my first map and I opened my second map on Farout. It was a pretty cool experience to switch maps. After I kept hiking on, the hike up the first peak today, Snowbird Peak was brutal, it was a long up hill strech where each turn got progressively harder.

As I approached the summit I was feeling it so I pondered what to do? Do I pull the emergency tag of David Goggins podcasts or a quick music solution? I settled on the music solution on threw on some Motley Crue and slowly summited the mountain. It was well worth the hike as the views were breathtaking. I then hiked to the next shelter, at first I was thinking of calling the day at 15 miles. However, someone told me to push on to try to summit Max Patch and stealth camp. That was 1000% the correct decision, it was by far the most gorgeous views Ive seen on the trail so far, surrounded 360 views of the peaks, with no tree coverage. After I walked over the steal site and made camp for the night, where Im at now.

In the next few days Ill walk through Hot Springs for my first trail town resupply. On top of that I should be in a reasonable position ot make trail days (17 mile to average it) so thats a win.

Blue Blaze – side trail

Day 10 (mile 181.1):
After taking a shower and trying my best to recharge my power bank, I settled in for the night. Seeing that a storm was in the horizon, I was excited that I could try to sleep in (by sleep in I mean 7am). However, once I laid down the guy to my left told me he snored. No worries I thought I can just put in the old earbuds and fall asleep. However, he was a SNORER to the point the headphones couldnt drown out the noise.

When 1am came, I had enough and handled my irritation in my normal way of looking at the stars. I then went back into the shelter and moved to the second floor where the suppised mouse lived. I heard some scurring throughout the night, but I was able to sleep for around an hour until the storm rolled in. The shelter had a tin roof so on top of the thunder and lightnight keeping me up, the rain pattering on the roof kept me up.

At around 7am I got out and decided I would take the 9am shuttle to the Fontanta Village to get some ear plugs. Prior to leaving I asked if anyone needed anything and someone said they needed Peanjt butter so I grabbed my wallet and headed off. Unfortunately they did not have earplugs, but another AT hiker had an extra unused pair so he gave it to me, and I bought the $7 peanut butter.

Once I got back, I packed up and headed back on trail. The trail up to the Smokey Mountains was brutal, probably a 7 mile hill. Originally the game plan was to stay at the first shelter, however after seeing on Farout there was a bear issue I pushed to the second one. After I got to shelter I made some dinner and chilled for a bit. At around 6pm someone started yelling “hey bear”.

Within a few minutes people kept coming in and out of the shelter grabbing their phones to take pictures of the bear and to try to scare the bear away. However the bear was so comfortable with people that it did not leave until it got bored and left.
Day 11 (197.5):
Once I laid down in the shelter, I was out within minutes. When I awoke in the morning, I was talking to another thru hiker Mike who told me there was a storm coming, so I threw on my rain jacket and was ready to go. Before I left another hiker came around the corner to say that a bear ripped apart there water blatter pouch, and supposedly the bear was slamming itself against the tarp (I slept past that part so it could have very well been the wind).

Anways, after about an hour on trail, I hit the first shelter and quickly made a pit stop for the privy and ran into a hiker Jack who had the same idea as me, to hit Clingmans Dome for Sunrise on thursday. So after discussing a bit we figured we could hit a shelter right before, as stealth camping is illegal in the Smokey Mountains.

After hiking and chatting a bit we went our ways, he stayed at the shelter a bit to strech as I passed on. While hiking the storm started again, and I was absolutely drenched. But I put on some music and zoned out some miles while walking through the rain. I dont know if its from hiking in New England, but I love rain hiking. Something about slashing puddles as you walk and just vibing.

After I arrived at the shelter, the cold instantly hit me, so I threw on my long underwear, rain pants, and my warm top layers which consisted of my alpha direct hoodie and puffy jacket. I then hung out a bit with a threw hiker who was already at camp.

At around 8pm we heard a British voice talking to 2 female hikers. After getting out the hiker explained that he was a day hiker who got lost and hiked 17 miles until he hit the shelter. We then collectively gave him and made him warm food, as most of us were resupplying the next day. While getting him food he contacted search and rescue to see if they could get him.

Rightfully so, they declined to send anyone to him as he found food, shelter, and we informed him of a free shuttle that ends at the end of April. Additionally someone gave him there emergency blankets, so throughout the night you could hear the loud noises in the shelter.

Day 12 (mile 211.1)
After getting a tad on and off sleep, myself and Jack headed off at 5:15am to try to catch a sunrise at Clingmans Dome, as well as to catch the first shuttle into Gatlinburg for 10 am (10 miles away). We ended up summiting Clingmans Dome and caught a bit of the sunrise. Although most of it was covered by clouds it was still incredibly cool and worth the push.

While at the summit we met a couple from Wisconsin who were very openly carrying firearms across there chest to “protect” themselves from bears. Outside of breaking the park rules they were chill. We then did the last 7 mile push to Newfound Gap where we were greated to trail magic (Mnt Dew, cinnamon buns, and a bannana) and we then took the free shuttle into Gatlinburg where I purchased new fuel, a mountain house meal to use as a daily bowl, and I found some sweet flip flops and a water blatter in a hiker box.

I then went to Cics pizza where I got some unlimited pizza, some salad (gotta eat healthy) and charged up the phone. I then took the shuttle back to New Found Gap where I am air drying my clothes as I wait for a box that I paid a shuttle to deliver for me (which was unnecessary in retrospect). After I pack up I am going to head to the closest shelter in 3 miles and call it a day.

Water Blatter – What you use to carry / hold dirty (unfiltered water)
Stealth camping – camping at an undersigned sight
Emergency Blanket – the reflective blankets marathon runners have