Huffhike

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

Day 0:
Like all great adventures, this trip started with lack of sleep and pushing through some pre trail anxiety. Anxiety about every little thing that can and might go wrong. After a bit I silenced the what ifs, and by the bright time of 3am, I was off to Logan with Logan being my shofer. After an hour, we arrived in one piece (barely). I then said my goodbyes, and checked in my ikea bag, and made my way to my gate. Trying to not vomit again on the plane, I downed about 3 Dramamines and boarded the flight.
Pinching every penny possible, I opted for the middle seat. As the other passengers passed I realized I got lucky and was going to be able to take the aisle seat for free! Then my luck imploaded… A lady hopped on the plane walked over and said I was in her seat. So I shifted over brugently, and 10 minutes later, the pilot went over the intercom and said that the flight was having mechanical issues and they needed IT. Seeing how much I love flying I instantly started to think of 9/11 as one does. Believe it or not I over reacted, and after a half an hour later we were in the air.
After 3 hours of being way to aware of every creek I landed in Atlanta feeling tired, worn out and achy. But the trail provided and Matt (Damsel’s boyfriend) was kind enough to give me a ride to her house. I then got the tour of her apartment. Then we got down to business with a pack shake down, afterwards we all hung out (Damsel explained why she loved the Long Trail so much (who wouldnt)), and we headed to do a quick resupply.
Our first stop being REI for some fuel, followed by the Dollar Tree for a full resupply at a really really good deal. For those who havent thru-hiked before the Dollar Tree as all the essentials, Pop Tarts, Ramen, Candy, granola bars, pain meds, etc. We then went back to her place had some wicked good nachos. After letting the nachos digest we went for a quick walk. As we were finishing the walk, I felt my back seize up. So I instantly went to work on that streching, rolling, the whole nine yards. I kept up on that for the reminder of the night, and applied a Tiger balm patch and went to bed.

Day 1 (mile 2.8):
Due to the flight amd lack of sleep the moment I laid down, I was out. Thankfully, that meant I avoided any pre trail anxiety the night before, however that did not stop the tight back. So after I woke up I instantly got to work, I started with my daily streches for my legs, and then threw in some back specific streches to get the blood flowing. It ended up work because after a bit I was feeling less and less tight. After a few times of re shuffling my pack, I had it set and we packed into the car and were off.
As we got in the car it got real for the first time, I looked down and my hands were shaking and I became extremely chatty (both signs of a nervous Jt). But I powered through and we took the hour and a half drive to Amicalola Falls, after checking in I was told I was hiker #2126 for this season, however Id have to wait till Damacus for my hiker tag. I then did the obligated photo shoot and began walking to the falls. Matt, Damsel, and I walked the first 175 steps to the base of the falls; we said our good byes, and I took the remainder 425 steps to the top of the falls. After catching my breath, I continued on the approach trail towards the Appalachian Trail.
After 8.8 miles I finally hit Springer Mountain, the start of the AT. I saw the plack and saw the first white blaze that I will be following the whole way to Maine. I was so excited that I almost forgot to take a picture, but after a bit I found another thru hiker from Japan, mimed the international sign for picture; and we both took pictures for one another. I then walked 2.8 miles to Stover Creek Shelter. I then took some time to do some streching, writing, and ate some Mac and cheese. All in all a pretty solid first day on the trail.

Day 2 (mile 24):
Prior to the start of the trail, I told myself that I would not have any 20 mile days within the first 200 miles. Just to prevent burning myself out too soon. That rule lasted a whole day. When I woke up I quietly packed up my sleeping stuff and headed off to trail. Normally, I dont figure out where I may stay until I look at a map. So after about a mile in I figured the best place to say would be gooch gap mountain shelter. It would be roughly a 13 mile hike. Nothing too crazy or unreasonable.
After planning my day, I started a new ritual where I spend an hour of my morning listening to a lecture from Alan Watts. Not to go too deep into it but it was incredible. One line that he said that stuck out was the idea that the verision of you in each moment of life is a different verision of yourself and thus you should embrace the uncertainty and change that exists in everyday life. For example, if a man goes on a train, the verision of him who leaves the train will be a different version then the person who entered the train.
That thought process ran around my brain for about 11 miles until I ran into another thruhiker named John. John’s a wicked cool guy from the rockies who I guess is running for president in the next election; so vote away. Anyways, we ended up hiking together for around 2 miles. As we approached the shelter another hiker came in, his name was Peter and he is thru hiking 25+ miles a day as he is trying to finish before he starts college in Canada.
After asking where he was heading today, he mentioned he was going to head to Lance Creek Campsite.  He explained to me that because he didnt have a bear canister he needed to push to that section, so he can easily cover the bear canister section without having any issues. Realizing that I also dont have a bear canister, I quickly packed up and asked if I could tag along with him.
After a bit of hiking I realized that I was talking to an Ultralight king. He had managed to cut his base weight down to 7lbs!! Anyways, after around 7 or 8 miles of hiking, we ended up making it to Lance Creek Shelter. All in all the total milage for the day ended up being around 21.1 miles, which felt very doable.

Day 3 (Mile 52.7):
When I woke up from the tent site I noticed that my sleeping pad seemed a bit low. Knowing that it was a cold night I investigated my pad and didnt notice any holes or anything so I assumed that the cold air caused the pad to delfate. After a quick 5-10 minutes I packed up my tent and headed off to Mountain Crossing to grab my resupply box (roughly a 7 mile hike).
After crossing Horseborne Gap I was headed up a hill when I saw a small back object cross the trail. Instantly I thought black bear as I was in the section where bear canisters were forced. Naturally, I said “Hey bear” and I kept walking up the trail, to try to scare it away. I then got closer and I saw a small grey dotted creature encompassing it. Obviously my first thought being an ugly duckling situation…. Reality hit me when I heard an onking sound and realized that it was a pack of maybe 30 wild pigs. As I got within 3 feet of them the pack split in either direction of the trail, and ran by me trying their hardest to avoid me.
I then continued on the trail summiting Blood Mountain, and eventually making it to Mountain Crossings and of course got a picture / video of the tree where hikers who get off trail throw their sneakers in the tree. I then checked in and where got my resupply box, and Peter and I split a frozen pizza that they offer.
I then kept on hiking; still unsure of where I wanted to end I told myself I would hike to Bull Gap campsite and reasses where I was at. When I got there I saw two hikers who told me there was trail magic at Tesnatee Gap. Obviously I then put on some RHCP and figured I would knock out some miles ASAP to not miss it.
Within a mile I ran back into Peter and we started to guesstimate what glorious trail magic was ahead of us. Of course we both were way to optomistic and settled on it being hamburgers and ice cream. Either way it caused us to push miles and eventually we hit the gap where we were greeted by a church group with soda, water (which was an amazing sight as I was in a 10 mile dry section with one liter) and ham and cheese sandwiches. Obviously I partook in everything and ate a bannana, sandwich, a strawberry fanta, and some liquid IVs. The best trail magic one could ask for!
About 3 miles later, I hit the 14 mile mark for the day, consequently there was a beautiful stealth campsite. So I pitched my tent, and made myself ready for the day. After about half an hour Huber, from the first night (from Austria) showed up and pitched his tent. So I had a friend for the night, after talking vegetables for a while, I hung my food and headed off to bed with a way too full stomach.

Day 4 (58.4):
After waking up I started to look at my map, to look for the next water source. Seeing that I didnt have any water left as I was in a dry section, I pushed the first 4 miles to the next shelter at low gap. When I got to the water source I instantly chugged a liter of water and re-filled my two liters. Feeling really good, I then put back on my podcast and got to walking.

One of my favorite things about hiking in Georgia is the terrain. For those who have hiked in New England youll know three things to be true, the trails are streams, the trails are rocky, and the trails are hilly. Fortunately in Georgia the trails have only been hilly which makes the miles feel incredibly cruisy. After maybe 5-10 miles I looked on Farout and noticed there was a shelter. Feeling a bit ready for lunch I stopped to have a bite to eat, after mowing down, I figured I would look through the log book where I noticed a note from Damsel, which was wicked cool.

After eating a bit more I packed up and hit the road, because of how beautiful it was (60s and not a cloud in the sky) I decided I would continue to push miles in an attempt to speed up my resuppy by a day, hoping to aim for Cheese Factory campsites. After about half an hour I ran into a fellow thru-hiker. He told me there was a free shuttle I could use to get a Ride to Hilloswasset tomorrow. So I snapped a picture of the schedule and kept on walking.  After about an hour I hit the campsite and my legs still felt great. So I pushed an extra 5 miles to Tray Mountain AT Shelter. At the shelter I ran into Hubert again and a handful of other hikers. While eating my ranch instant potatos (7/10) they informed me that the shuttle left Dicks Creek gap at 10am meeting to make the shuttle Id have to cover 11 miles by 10am. After a bit of streching and rolling, I made camp and slept for the night.


Baseweight: How much his pack weighs without food and water
Ultralight: You buy VERY VERY expensive equipment to try to lower your pack weight, anything below 10lbs is impressive.
Stealth Campsite: A site not listed on Farout or maps.