Day 21 - Past Charlie's Bunion & through the heart of the Smokies

Friday, April 24th - (At the Grand Prix Hotel in Gaitlinburg) Up at 6:30, and quickly finished packing up. Headed over for an all-you-could-oink buffet at 7:00, but they didn't open til 8:00, so we ended up at a pancake house instead (which was more than enough food). Back at the hotel by 8:15, and we moved our gear down to the parking lot. Our shuttle arrived at 8:30, but we held a bit longer for a fellow hiker ("Happy") to join us; we had briefly met him up on Clingmans Dome two days before, and (I think) he nero'd and then zero'd at the hotel while Mark and I were overnighting at Mt. Collins Shelter. That held us up til about 8:45, then we headed back up the hill to New Found Gap, arriving around 9:15 or so.

It was already mostly sunny and quite warm at the parking lot - 70 degrees. A large pack of high school students (with a few adult chaperones) were assembling as we got our gear together, and took off en masse north on the AT - presumably they were heading to Charlie's Bunion, a well known overlook about 4 miles up the trail. We followed about 10 minutes later, quickly catching various subgroups who couldn't keep up. Then the rest came back down, again en masse, after about an hour - way too soon for them to have made Charlie's Bunion, so I'm kind of mystified as to exactly what they were doing (or maybe they just gave up?) Certainly they were minimally equipped to hike more than a couple of miles (sneakers and sandals, no water, etc.)

The trails today were a bit more reasonable, not as steep, and only a couple of nasty rocky sections. We leapfrogged with several small day-hiking groups, including an older couple from Maine who were very enthused about our attempt to through-hike. We bypassed Icewater Shelter, then arrived at Charlie's Bunion - accessed via a side trail - just after 11:00 am, sharing the rock with one of the day-hiking groups (and 15 minutes later, with Happy). The overlook offered an excellent view of Mt. LeConte and also of the valley some three or four thousand feet below. We spent about 30 minutes there, relaxing, grabbing some snacks and water, and taking a couple of photos.

Moving on, we again ended up hiking the ridgeline spine that marked the NC/TN border, one foot in each state. It was also a vertigo inspiring trail in long stretches, with the crest varying from 6 - 8 feet wide, with nearly clifflike 75 - 90 degree dropoffs to both sides - like you were walking a knife-edge. Great views to both sides, of course. After bypassing a side trail to Pecks Corner Shelter (located way off the AT), we hit several peaks, including Mt. Sequoia and Mt. Chapman (both over 6,000 feet again), once again "climbing back into winter." [For whatever it's worth, Mt. Sequoia was the one tenth of the way to Katahdin tic-mark.]

It clouded up a bit in the afternoon, and we got a few sprinkles - but nothing serious, just the peaks scrubbing some moisture out of the passing lines of clouds. One of the oddities of the hike was the cell phone coverage - we were looking to try and make a reservation for an upcoming hostel, and routinely had 3 and 4 bars - but no connectivity. As best as I can figure, the phone is measuring the total signal strength from multiple towers, none of which were strong enough to connect. Well, we'll try again tomorrow.

Finally pulled into Tricorner Knob Shelter - reputedly the most secluded shelter along the AT within the Great Smokies National Park. We were a bit surprised to find over a dozen people already there, including a local ATC Ridgerunner - I guess we had caught the tail end of yesterday's hikers. Only one guy we semi-recognized. The shelter had a large tarp stretch across its open face, so the inside was well sheltered from the wind. The number of people was a problem for us, because a certain number of spots were reserved for non-through-hikers, and Mark and I were over the limit *if* all the folks with reservations showed up. So we had a choice - tent camp at a horse corral about a quarter mile away, or push on another 7 miles to the next shelter (and it was mighty late for that). [As I previously noted, in the Smokies you are required by law to stay at or nearby the shelters.] Even though the horse corral was supposed to be decent (and flat), it certainly didn't appeal - I've camped in similar spots at Philmont, several times, and found it less than pleasant. But we were about ready to bite the bullet (or tiptoe through the horse apples, if you prefer) when we got a break - a couple with reservations came in and told the Ridgerunner that they preferred to tent camp (in fact they insisted). So we got inside after all. Unexpected, but we'll take it - the skies had cleared by this point, and it was quickly getting nippy again with a steady breeze blowing. As expected at 6,000 feet. A bit later Happy arrived, and we enjoyed eating dinner together (the Ridgerunner allowed him inside, too, as the last reservation holders never showed). A few more people came in, but elected to tent. After dinner I chatted up the Ridgerunner for awhile, then hit the rack at dusk. So, 16 miles today, not bad. The end of our third week on the trail. And pretty good weather, hard to believe. All in all, probably our best overall day since we started the trek.

Day 10 - A Repeat, then a Reprieve

Monday, April 13th, 8:52pm - "This is Bob. (You'd think he'd know that I can figure that out by now ...) I am going to simultaneously talk into the phone and the recorder at the same time, so here goes. We are in the Sapphire Inn in Franklin, NC. I mentioned in yesterday's blurb that we were going to go to a shelter about 4 miles away from the road crossing and then do a nero to the crossing on Tuesday and take a shuttle to town.

Turns out that today was almost as completely miserable as it was on Easter Saturday. That day was really horrible and today was a Pete and Repeat (no offense to you personally, Pete) (none taken). It was a very misty, cold, nasty day with fabulous views of TOTAL GRAY. It did not get out of the 30's all day long. Unbelievable! But before I get into all of that ...

Last night we stayed in a shelter. there were 5 of us, so it was reasonably roomy. We knew 2 of the other 3, and met the third one. No one else came, which was amazing. Rain was predicted after midnight, and at 12:15 on the dime the skies opened up and it just poured. We had 3 sessions of extremely heavy rain with heavy wind blowing rain everywhere. We were in the shelter and still got misted because we are not completely under cover. But I am glad I was in the shelter and not the tent, because it came down in buckets.

This morning we woke up at 7 and it was blowing and nasty. We weren't going anywhere fast. Then, after about 30 minutes, we decided to get going. We packed up and checked our waterproofness (is that a word?). We left at 8:20. Rain was predicted all day, but in fact all we really got was tree drip - that condition where the trees themselves are colder than the air and the branches condense the water onto them, which then drop on us. It's not real rain - false rain or tree drip is what I call it. It was extremely windy and cold - we struggled all day.

We did have some interesting tic marks today. We passed the 100 mile point - only 2078 to go! The trail was very well graded with the exception of Albert Mountain which was insanely difficult. It was almost technical rock climbing - difficult enough in full packs, but even worse in full packs with mud and water on everything. Mark fell once, fortunately forward, with no ill effects. It was at least a 45 degree grade, maybe sharper. Took us a while to beat our way through that. Beyond that the trail was fairly well graded and we really ate up the ground today. I guess after 10 days on the trail we are finally getting trail hardened. At one point Mark measured our land speed at over 2.5 mph!

We had another little bit of Trail Magic at one of the gaps today. Someone had hiked in over two miles and hung plastic Easter eggs from the tree limbs using fishing line. In each one was candy, like a Hershey's bar or Sweet Tarts.It was great. Here you have a day that absolutely blows and you come across this. It had an amazing uplifting effect. Other hikers came by while we were there and they loved it to. After chatting, we pulled out and headed to the next shelter - the one 4 miles from the crossing. But there was a problem with the design of this shelter, because it opened to the west, not the east. All the other shelters opened to the east so their backs were to the west where most of the weather comes from. It was wet inside. We looked it over, and said, no, we don't think so. I headed 150 yards up the trail to get a cell signal and called a place in town. They were booked, but suggested the Sapphire Inn. We called there and got the last double. We arranged to be picked up - 5pm was the latest they could do. I hustled back to Mark and said 'Let's book!' We left at 2:45, making tracks for the crossing. We felt bad leaving the other people at the shelter, and left with apologies knowing they were going to spend another nasty night cold and wet and miserable. We decided to press on and gut out another 4 because we still felt pretty solid. We were cold and had put up with tree drip, walking in clouds and blowing wind all day. I was feeling slightly nauseous which is a danger sign for me personally. So we pounded out the last 4 miles of a 16 mile day (our longest yet). We only had one mountain to go over. We made the crossing by 4:15, covering 4 miles in about 1.5 hours. Called the lady and she agreed to come pick us up early - we had just caught her. She showed up at 4:35 in a tiny Ford Fiesta. In the meantime, another hiker had come down (John) and had called and got the last single at the Inn. He had thought about camping out, but bit the bullet and wanted to get warm. So here we were - three hikers and our gear all trying to fit into this Fiesta. It was tight. Mark and John had the packs on their laps, and I had her laundry on my lap. She took off down this Georgia mountain - oops, I mean North Carolina mountain (my faux pas) at about 70mph in this wildly overloaded Fiesta. It was a hair raising ride.

We got to the motel and hung out in the office for 45 minutes drying out while they cleaned our room. We watched the weather radar and saw that another line of storms was coming in tonight and again tomorrow. With that, we started planning for a zero day on Tuesday - essentially a day where we stay put. It will give us a chance to work out our aches and pains - we are both over 50, you know- and today was a haul. So the planned nero day becomes a zero day.

We hit the Mexican restaurant across the street called Mi Casa. It was a welcome full meal after skimpy rations for the last few days. Pushing ahead cost us time to eat so we skipped a few meals. Foolish on our part, but we didn't want to miss our ride and the hospitality of the person who was meeting us.

It's funny. Saturday sucked, Sunday was wonderful and today was horrible, but we have done 100+ miles (106.8, actually), had some great Trail Magic, and now have the chance to rest our aching bones. The day off will be good. We can't overreach early! By this time over 50% of the thru-hikers have dropped out. They just didn't know what they were getting into. Even Mark and I were surprised with the intensity of the hiking and the range of weather that we have seen. Our experience made the difference, but others don't have that luxury.

Tomorrow there is a free pancake breakfast in town at a local church for hikers. I'm sure we'll hit that! I'll send some pictures, and maybe I'll call you tomorrow, and maybe I won't!

Day 9 - Easter, and a Bit of Trail Magic!

Easter Sunday, April 12th, 7pm "I am sitting on a log at the Carter Gap Shelter - well shelters, as there are two of them here. I am watching the sun go down. It was an amazing day today.

As I said last night, yesterday was a stinky day - cold and misty, no more than a 5 second glimpse of the sun all day long. Cold last night too - 33 degrees with high humidity and wind that was just flat out bone chilling. Got up at 6:45 this morning to a beautiful clear sky. Last night we had an interesting experience. Three times we heard a single coyote howl. A lone howler is unique - they usually howl in packs while hunting. This solo howler even got close one time - about 150 yards. Had owls last night too. And one of the dogs gave a single bark at 4:30 to something. We don't know what it was but it must have vamoosed because nothing came to the shelter and the dog was still here this morning.


A big change from yesterday! On the trail at 7:30 under a beautiful clear sky. Going from Muskrat Creek Shelter to Standing Indian Mountain looked challenging - a 1000' rise in two miles. As we approached the bottom of the mountain we came across multiple tents and cars all set up. It was our first taste of Trail Magic, and it was great! They were making omelettes to order, sandwiches to order for the trail and had everything - sweetbreads, fruit, hot chocolate, tea, coffee, coke - you name it. It was an amazing spread. For 18 years in a row this guy who was leading it has come out on Easter morning and made this brunch for thru-hikers. It was our luck that we happened by at just the right time! There were at least 20 thru-hikers there. Mark really chowed down, but I was still full from our breakfast earlier. They were very friendly folks. He had hiked the AT in 1979, and was doing this as a way to pay back all the kindness he received on the trek. It was very cool!


We stayed 45 minutes or so there and were the first ones out. Everybody was chowing down! We left at 11 and headed up Standing Indian Mountain - what a pleasant surprise! It was two miles of well graded trail that was much better than any of the prior trails uphill. It was amazing though that there was no sign at the top for the access trail to the summit. So we rummaged around for a while and found the summit 75 yards to our right, and we're glad we did! A fabulous view, probably at least a 100 mile vista. Looking down you could see the outline of the AT. It still has not greened up here, so with the exception of the Holly trees, Mountain Laurels and the Rhodies, everything else here is leafless. It was cool seeing the trail wind around over a half mile below us. We took some pix, and had some others who were there take a picture of us (I think Bob looks even shorter ... is he wearing down?)


Then we continued cruising on to this place - I already forgot its name. The first shelter we came to looked like an original from the 30's, but Mark had read there was another a little ways past that one, and we found it. Because it was a beautiful day today we are know we've got to pay the price. We are expecting heavy rains tonight and all day tomorrow. We've decided to bite the bullet and stay in the shelter tonight. There are only five of us so far for a 6 person shelter - not as cramped as the Woods Hole Shelter was a couple of days ago. We have learned it is worth putting up with the shelter if weather is coming in, because you can pack up dry and get your waterproofing in order before you leave. The weather radio is calling for lots of rain after midnight and on and off all day tomorrow and into Tuesday morning, then again late on Tuesday. Tomorrow we'll try to get to a shelter that is only 4 miles from the 64 road crossing near Franklin, NC. Then Tuesday we'll hike a 'nero' of 4 miles to the crossing and head into a hotel in Franklin for a meal, resupply, and a day off the trail and so on and so forth.

It was a very good day - as lousy as yesterday was, today was as good. Did 12 miles today, and hope to do 12 tomorrow. Signing off ...

Day 8 - A Really Miserable Day

"I am talking here on the 11th - a Saturday, Easter Saturday, actually, with tomorrow being Easter Sunday. Let me think ... I'm not sure where I am right now. Hmmm ... Muskrat Creek Shelter, I guess. I am in my tent - the shelter is already overrun with people as a result of the heavy weather we have been having and the large slug of people that had to hole up in the hostels, motels and hotels in Hiawassee.

It was a discouraging day. They were calling for partly sunny and 63 degrees. In fact, it was cloudy all day long and misty at the mountain tops. When we got here it was 48 degrees, and now, at 6pm, it is 40 degrees with a very chilly wind. It's probably due to the elevation here.

Last night we ate at Daniel's Steak House in town. I had fish and shrimp, what with it being Good Friday and all. We resupplied at the Ingles grocery store - this areas answer to Safeway or Giant. got a new watch, replacing my only failed piece of equipment. I was surprised, because it is a Casio that is virtually identical to the one that failed, and I bought that 10 years ago. It's amazing that it is still being sold - it looks like the same vintage!

Got up at 6:45 this morning and had breakfast at the Inn with other hikers. Grabbed the second earliest shuttle back to Dick's Creek Gap and started hiking. We were heading out of Georgia, and she did not give up without a fight. The last 9 miles in Georgia was rough the whole way - very steep climbs. mark and I have decided that the trails in Georgia never miss going directly over the top of the summits of every single mountain. Only a half dozen times in 78 miles did the trail not go right over the top, and then they only slightly missed it to the side.

Finally we came to the border between GA and NC. We were warned that it was pretty non-descript, and that was an overstatement. One small board nailed to a tree - GA on one side, NC on the other. We got out mark's whiteboard and took some photos marking the milestone.

We met 'Ridgerunner' at the famous Bly Oak Tree - I guess fame is in the eye of the beholder. It is an odd looking tree. It was quite windy there. Ridgerunner told us that Georgia was just a warm up for North Carolina. We immediately found that out as we had 3 brutal climbs. The first was a Stairmaster from hell with log steps about two feet high. A very difficult hike. We struggled, but got 12 miles in today. The guys we were hiking with the last couple of days moved on thru and pushed for a shelter 5 miles away, making their daily total 17 miles. We thought about it and said no, don't think so. Mark's shin was bothering him, and I was not without aches, so we thought it would be a little much for us.

Today I tried to hike with less gear on to avoid sweating so much. But I got chilled early and was throughout most of the day. I guess it is another lesson learned - sweating and stay warm is better than being cold.

We ate an early dinner - Mark, I and Rusty (the female I mentioned before). She is from PA, near the center point of the AT. We all ate dinner together and then got our bear bags up. Now we are all in our tents and sleeping bags. It's 7pm and chilly. It has been a cold, raw day. Being in the sleeping bag is as warm as you can get! Tomorrow will be another lengthy day, but it is supposed to be the pick of the litter weather-wise. Supposed to be sunny and in the 60's in the mountains. Tomorrow night there is a line of thunderstorms coming through, so we may push harder to get closer to Franklin, NC, our next resupply point.

Georgia and North Carolina has thrown everything they can at us so far. They have cheated us out of many views with mist and fog, but they did not cheat us out of the tough climbs. We are exhilarated that we have gotten through Georgia, but we have been warned that NC makes GA look like a walk in the park - that's hard to believe! It sounds like it will be challenging all the way through Fontana Dam and up to the Great Smokey's. Mark just sent out a spot, and now it's time to sleep."

The First Week - Day by Day

Friday, April 10th, 5:18pm EDT - "Okay, this is Bob, and it's, uhmm, I'm not quite sure what day this is. I guess it's Friday, (I've got to think about this for a second) the 9th (actually the 10th). Mark and I are sitting in a little motor hotel called the Hiawassee Inn in Hiawassee, Georgia, a tiny little town. We got off the trail today after doing 11 miles from Tray Mountain to Dick's Creek Gap. We used the cell phone to make arrangements to get this hotel, which was fortunate because this was the last room available in town!

The weather forecast yesterday got us good. They were predicting late afternoon and evening thunderstorms for today. So Mark and I got up at 6:45 this morning and were on the trail by 7:25. It started raining 20 minutes later! We had two fairly heavy lines of thunderstorms come through while we were hiking. On and off rain the rest of the time with the odd bit of brightening and 5 seconds worth of sunshine throughout the course of the day. All in all a challenging hike. We did 11 miles. We arranged to be there by 2:00pm and we made it by 1:40pm. Twenty minutes to spare, and we did that by skipping breakfast and skipping lunch. We just grabbed some quick snacks and water on the trail and just kept on plowing down.

If you looked at the weather radar today, you saw that today was the day that Murfreesboro, TN got wiped out by tornadoes. We are expecting that extremely heavy weather here tonight. The little thunderstorms we had this morning and the rain this afternoon are only a precursor to the show we'll have later tonight.

The Hiawassee Inn is a pretty decent deal. We're getting our clothes washed and dried. We're warming up here. We took showers - they were desperately needed. We both stank like goats after you name it. I'll tell you what - I was telling Mark last night that there was something in my tent that really smelled bad. He laughed and said he had the same problem. I'm afraid it was us. I knew that we were going to smell bad as the summer wore on, but I didn't expect to smell this bad this early in the trip.

Today's hike had two significant hills but it wasn't as brutal as the past couple of days. Some of the downhills are really rough. The trails were very muddy and very slick. We were using our poles and taking it easy. Our boots are basically covered with mud. Trying to get down safely is the top priority. We've been here a week, and Georgia has thrown everything it can at us. Steep climbs, steep downhills, extremely high winds, snow, sleet, temperatures ranging from 19 degrees to 80 degrees, heavy rain, thunderstorms - now I understand why so many people never make it out of Georgia! We were expecting a challenge and we certainly got a challenge.

In any case, we are both feeling pretty good. There are a few twinges here and there and a rubbed raw shoulder, but it's ok. We are at mile marker 67. We have one more day in Georgia. We'll cross the line into North Carolina after finishing Georgia in 8 days and that ain't too shabby. We've actually caught some of the people that were trailburners early on. We saw some of them in town today. Mark had to go pick up a box at the post office before it closed, and saw a couple of the people we saw early on that looked like they were going to race up the trail - Rusty, this girl we met, and this British guy with an umbrella who looked like he was out for a Sunday walk - a fairly elderly gent who looked like he knew what he was doing too. I was surprised that we caught them. I'd thought Rusty would be three days ahead of us by now. She's mid-fifties and wiry. Tough old bird. She's done half the trail before and is trying again one last time. We'll see how that goes.

Tonight we're going in to Daniel's Steak House - another all you can eat place. My watch has decided to die, so I need to find a CVS and try to buy myself a watch as well. I think our next off trail day is going to be four days from now. Saturday and Sunday are supposed to be nice, Monday showery, and Tuesday a few showers, and then it's supposed to get nice again. So we'll probably be - well, I'm not sure where we're going to be! It will be somewhere in North Carolina. We'll go to one of the hotels or motels or hostels there. Signing off now just before 6pm on Good Friday. It's been a heck of a week!"

Thursday, April 9th - "Day 6 here on the recorder. Sorry about the wind noise as I record here. It's about 5:30 in the afternoon and a beautiful day here. Around 75 degrees here with a cool breeze. We're at a place called Tray Mountain Shelter - beautiful overlook with a 1,000 foot drop. Looking out over a valley with just a little hint of civilization - twenty mile vista, but pretty remote here.

We got up this morning around 7:00. It was pretty chilly but not ridiculous. Got on the trail around 7:30. Planned on getting at least to Tray Mountain, maybe further. It will be a thin day tomorrow. We are only 7 - 8 miles away from our next resupply point in Hiawassee, Georgia, and maybe a day off the trail. It will be a 'nero' day (a near zero hiking day). Well, with 7 miles to go to get there, I guess it won't really be a 'nero' day.

Today we climbed two major mountains, each with over a 1,000' climb, and most of a third mountain. They were brutal. A difficult and trying day. In between the mountains the temperature rose to over 80 in the valleys - they felt really hot.

Last night we saw a pack of hog hunting dogs and a couple of guys. Apparently there are a lot of feral pigs in the hills. They keep after them with dogs and hunters to trim 'em back some. The dogs had radio collars on. In fact, when we got to Blue Mountain Shelter we found one of them there. he was very skittish - would not come near us, but hung around the shelter. They must be trained to go to a shelter or where people are if they lose their pack. They'll be found eventually because of their radio collars. They are very expensive animals, of course. It is a little distressing that there are that many hogs in the Southern US. They are dangerous, even more dangerous than bears, because they will attack if they even think you are a threat to them. That's tough to work through.

We did 10 miles today with three mountains - tough climbing. We'll camp out tonight under beautiful skies. No need for the tarp tonight - just my tent. The gnats here are incredible! It's amazing really. 3 days ago we had 19 degrees and blowing snow. Now, it's near 70 degrees with 80 degrees in the valleys. Mark is shot, and I'm not far behind him. We're both carrying 40 to 45 pounds. Others are at 30 - 35. We thought we knew what we were doing! They are just more hardcore, I guess. But then again, we didn't suffer as much as some of them in the snow because we had the gear and clothing! And there maybe more snow in the Great Smokeys, so I think we're ok.

We're about at mile 60. Probably two to three more days in Georgia. Not bad - we'll knock off Georgia in 10 days. Yesterday we did 15 miles. We did 10 today. We are making pretty good time. We've met a lot of people on the trail - some will be easy to forget, others I'd like to get to know. Everyone is doing the trail differently. I think we are doing it more rationally than most.

Had a full moon last night. We might get one tonight, but there is a high overcast coming in. Should sleep well tonight!

Wednesday, April 8th - Well, it's the 8th, I believe. I am sitting in my tent at the intersection of something Jack Trail and the AT. A very, very long day. Mile marker 46, I believe. Quite a bit further along than we thought we'd be.

After I talked to you in the restaurant last night, we went to the grocery store and got four days worth of food. Probably only needed three days after how far we went today. It is a learning experience, judging how much food one person needs per day. All of Mark's and my food experience is with a dozen people at Philmont.

We went back to the cabins after that and spent a little time reorganizing our gear. Went to bed early, and despite the warm cabin and comfortable bunks had a fitful night of sleep because the darn furnace kept turning on and shutting off about every 15 seconds, making a racket every time.

Woke up at 7 to a chilly morning - maybe 35 degrees. The skies had cleared dramatically overnight - a big difference to see the blue! The last bit of snow was melting. We got the shuttle back to Neel's Gap, and Mark went in and bought a couple of meals. We had shipped some of our gear home as a result of the reorganizing, but I think I only saved about a pound - Mark saved more than that. Always trying to trim down. Got going on the trail around 9:30 - it was warm and beautiful. Then it got warmer and warmer, enough that we were rapidly stripping off layers. Fabulous views today. We hit a particularily brutal climb - Wildcat Mountain - Mark and I will remember that one for a long time. We're doing a lot better on our hiking. We had no caterpillars at all today. We took a couple of minor breaks, mostly at the top of hills or summits, and then kept moving right along.

The first 6 or 7 miles that morning after Neel's Gap was designated a no-camping zone by the National Park Service because of a particularily aggressive bear. He apparently was attacking campsites for food. The next designated site was 11 miles in from the gap, but we knew that everybody who had holed up in town off trail from the snow would be stopping there. We pressed on and were pushing for a campsite called Poplar Stamp that apparently doesn't exist. We saw a few single tent campsites and kept going on, eventually throwing in with Chester and Sam (who we have seen several times), plus a middle aged lady named Robin (she goes by the name 'One Track') and a couple of kids who apparently were substitute teachers. We were all going along and the campsite never appeared. We kept on going and the sun was going down. We kept going until we came across (unexpectedly) this trail crossing. We planned on doing 11 or 12 today, and ended up doing over 15.5 miles. We didn't know we had come this far. We are sore. Got in about 7:15 or so within an hour of dusk. I put up my tent and Mark slept on the ground. We did not have a cooked dinner - just ate cold stuff. Put up my bear bag. Water was about a half mile away. Took care of that, and helped Robin and the kids with their bear bags. Beautiful sunset to the west, at the same time coming up is a big moon. Very, very windy. That's what kept us going, as the other potential campsites we passed were very exposed to the wind. This site by Jack's Trail is much better protected, cut in behind a bank. We ended up getting a better site by keeping going even though we didn't know it at the time.

We're looking forward to the next couple of days. Tomorrow should be nice and warm, and tomorrow night there is the possibility of thunderstorms. Then Friday it is supposed to rain all day, so we will probably have a challenging day. We may try to stay in Hiawassee. it's about 21 miles away - a couple of good days should put us there. Today was the most difficult day so far. The climbs are tough - not much in the way of switchbacks, but we kept motoring along."

Tuesday, April 7th - "Yesterday was our third day on the trail. Am sitting in Goose Creek Cabin #7. Last night the shelter was pretty full - 8 people in a shelter designed for 6. We were all wedged in. Others camped outside the shelter, including a group with an odd nylon wall tent set up right outside of the shelter. The wind and snow got worse quickly - it was blowing very hard. We ate early, and everyone was done eating by 6:30. Got to bed early, primarily for warmth. Pretty nippy overnight - well below freezing. We weren't expecting the combination of 40mph winds and snow. Just unbelievable.

Met some interesting people - Bruce and Dot. Bruce was in between jobs (or maybe lives). Raised money for the trip by being a medical guinea pig for experiments. Cleared a grand total of $2500 over the past year. Most of his gear was homemade stuff sewn together. Got a lot of gear for free from Scout troops. Others there at the shelter we were familiar with already, even so early in the hike. There were even a couple of dogs.

I was on the edge of being cold all night. It was probably down to 20 degrees or below. Got up at 7:30 and we got out of there quickly. It was still snowing moderately with an inch or snow already on the ground. We were first down the hill, then headed up the next hill. We passed a few campsites where there was no signs of life yet in the tents. I think that was the Flora Creek site. Caught up with Boy Scout Troop 556 out of Warner Robins, GA - a Philmont crew. Several kids were overly cold over the night, so they had split up and some headed down to get some vehicles to warm up.

Scaled Blood Mountain and it wasn't as atrocious as I expected. It was a tough climb. The Philmont crew went with us and they set an easy pace as we chatted. Stopped at the shelter at the top of the hill. The wind was really blowing. Nobody was there. The kids were parched because they didn't know the old NY Boy Scout trick of sleeping with your water so it doesn't freeze, or at least turning your bottle upside down so it freezes at the bottom first. All their water was frozen, so I doled out all of mine except for a cup. Their adult leaders were very grateful. Mark and did share a little water later.

It was a struggle to refind the trail. Many of the blazes at the tops of mountains were on rocks. Well, all the rocks were covered by snow! It took us a half hour to find the trail again. Some of the scouts were getting nervous watching us floundering about looking for the trail. But we pressed on and headed down the mountain. I had one minor spill. I suppose I should be grateful that that was it all considering the conditions - extremely rugged. We meandered down the hill to Neel's Gap. Bagged the hostel and headed for the Goose Creek Cabins instead. Bought some gloves. We were very grateful to be warming up and drying out. Headed to town for dinner and grocery shopping."

Monday, April 6th - "It's the 6th of April and we are in Woods Hole Shelter at mile marker 26.6. It is day 3 of our trek and it is 29 degrees with 10 - 30mph winds with some higher gusts. Snowing today and brutally cold. There are 8 people in the shelter that is designed for 6. Some others are tent camping. I thought about it, but when we got here at 4pm, it was sleeting, so I decided to bite the bullet and sleep inside the shelter.

Started off around 7:30 this morning with temperatures around 39 degrees, clouds and very little sun. It looked ok, but the wind really picked up through the day. Did nearly 12 miles today - more than we planned, but it puts us within striking distance of Neel's Gap. We got to this break pont today and decided to stay here rather than the next one up the line. This one is 1/2 mile off the trail and less likely to be crowded. There is only other couple here.

A routine day with lots of hard hiking and lots of uphills. Met a couple of Scout troops training for Philmont. It was so windy in one of the gaps where we met them that the conversation was very limited - basically good luck and see ya!

It's cold. Mark coined this our 'Adventure in Winterland'. It is not the conditions we were expecting starting our trek in the south in early April. Today, tomorrow, and the next day are all supposed to be quite cold with high winds. It's 30 degrees right now and we are going to bed, because basically inside your sleeping bag is the warmest spot we've got. It is going well though. We are still learning our way here. You'd think two long term scoutmasters would know what they were doing, but we still have a learning curve to overcome.

Tomorrow we go over Blood Mountain and then down to Neel's Gap and to a hotel. We are not going to the hostel, as we hear that it is pretty groaty and would be difficult to get a good night's sleep."

Sunday, April 5th - "It's 1:50pm and we are at Gooch Gap Shelter, which is about mile marker 16. Quite a warm day, not clear though. Overcast all day. We are expecting heavy weather tonight. We will stay here at the shelter if there aren't too many people that show up.
Yesterday, when we were at the top of Springer, we met a guy who was signing in (or out?) people who were going to thru-hike the AT. He made an interesting remark in that only about a thousand people have attempted in over the past couple of years. Mark and I said that he must have been kidding us, because we heard that it was several thousand a year who were doing it, but he insisted that it was only about a thousand overall.

About 75 degrees today despite 'hiking with winter'. The trees here are not green at all - it's just like Arlington. Met Scout groups yesterday and today - one was a quasi Philmont crew who was going in 2010.

Left the shelter last night after dinner, did the extra 1.5 miles. We were up at 7 this morning after a beautiful night. We left at 7:30 and hiked to the top of an overlook. The proceeded down to the gap before Sassafras and had breakfast. Continued on over Sassafras Mountain - a real gut buster. We used 20 step caterpillars - they worked ok, keeping us fresh and going. This climb will break the hearts of many people who think they are going to thru-hike the AT. It's steep! We pounded it out, but other people without a hiking skill setswill have problems.
Down across Justice (sic?) Creek where we met another scout troop. Up to Gooch Gap Shelter which was nice! A brand new privy! There was a spring for water, not a creek, which was nice. Pathetic campsites though. Right now I am sitting in the shelter and mark is pursuing his favorite program activity - napping. I think I'll get some water out and clean up a little and even shave. I'm sure everyone will appreciate it.

Mark's weather band radio has been screaming out the warning of heavy weather coming in. It's hard to believe, with the sun and a nice warm breeze. We may not make it to Neel's Gap until day 4. We are trying to heed the advice of people to not overreach early and wear ourselves out. We'll hit the GPS spot next, sign the register, and see who shows up at the shelter!"

Saturday, April 4th - "Hey, this is Bob. It's April 4th - Saturday, and we finished our first day on the trail. mark & I have settled in for the night. It's around 6:30pm.

We got up at 5:30 this morning and the Wray family and I went to McDonald's for breeakfast. After breakfast I set down my pack to go do some stuff and when I came back, I noticed that I had set it by room 111 - fricking weird (Mark is laughing in the background.) Survivor Dave had said it would take about 1 1/2 hours to get to the Springer Mountain parking lot, which is one mile north of Springer Mountain on the trail - he was dead on. We got there around 8am. There were lots of people there, including 'Mountain Squid', a hiking legend here and a main contributor to whiteblaze.net, a website dedicated to hiking the AT. He was very friendly and there encouraging people who were heading out. We headed up the 1 mile trail to the top of Springer, the beginning of a northbounder's trek. We left at about 8:20 after taking sometime to say goodbye to all the Wrays. After about 65 goodbyes we got moving. It was quite cold and very windy. mark said that he was told we'd be hiking with the spring, but it sure feels like we're hiking with winter. We signed in at the top of Springer. Great views from there!It was 41 degrees with 30mph winds. I got one picture (I think) and then we turned around and headed back down the trail to the parking lot. Met a young group of Scouts who reluctantly admitted they were Scouts that were out for a weekend hike. Got back to the lot, chatted with Mountain Squid again and then took off north.

The day's conditions improved rapidly. As Mark and I were hiking, we met 4 or 5 people who we just looked at, looked at each other, and said 'Neel's Gap'. These were people who had no clue as to what was ahead of them, and would most likely drop out at Neel's Gap. One poor lady badly sprained her knee just a few miles out and was done on Day 1. Several other folks were hurting too. Stopped for dinner and chatted for about 15 minutes with an elderly guy from Florida. He was in rough shape - he looked like he was ready to go home. I gave him some basic trail advice and wished him well. Daypack hiking experience does not prepare you for the AT.
We ate on the trail. Everyone agrees that we have too much food. The weather kept getting better. It actually felt hot, maybe 70 degrees. We were sweating pretty good. We ended up at Hawk Mountain Shelter. We had done about 9 miles, including the 1 mile down the trail to get to the start at Springer. The shelter was a disaster. There was food and trash everywhere, and even left over gear that had been abandoned - some of it new. It reinforced our decision to only stay in shelters if the weather was really bad.

We hiked until about 4pm. Met a Cub Scout (James) and his dad who were camping here. We got along famously. He wants to join an active troop, but it seems to me his dad is already doing more than most troops do.

It's funny. We keep running into people who keep saying they're 'definitely going all the way'. Mark and I simply say that we're 'attempting' to do the whole thing. Just a different way of looking at it, I guess.

We decided after dinner to push on - the shelter was a mess. We left Hawk Mountain - the gnats were ferocious - and went on to the next hill. This was a departure from our pre-hike plan of doing 8 each day for the first few days. But we felt ok and we're glad we knocked it off. It was a steep downhill and a steep climb. I'm not sure of its name, but it's not quite to Sassafras Mountain. We found a campsite. It was overgrown with growth and brush, but we finally found two clear spots. Perfect weather tonight - no need for tarps, just tents. Blue skies, a few spotty clouds. Cell coverage is spotty here, so I'm not going to throw away money and try to call.
It was our first day and we lived through it. We didn't break anything! We saw a lot of people who clearly are not going to make it (Mark laughed out loud in the background.) They say it takes about 3 weeks to become trail hardened. We're pretty pleased so far. We're learning. It's new for us - we don't have a bunch of scouts to take care of. It's just us. We have excess food and gear that we don't need, our pakcs still need adjusting, but all in all it was a solid first day!"

Day 6 - Spring Returns at Tray Mountain

April 9th, 5:16PM EDT - "Hey! It's Thursday the 9th at about 5 in the afternoon. I'm sitting in a place called Tray Mountain Shelter (elev. 4200'). Beautiful day down here, about 70 degrees, maybe 80. We did about 10 miles today, but we are about shot, so we're going to camp here.

The connection here is very weak, so I don't think I'm going to try to download my various blog entries from my digital recorder. (Ed. - OMG! He's storing these 'blog' entries up ... I'm going to be transcribing for days when he finds a good signal!) Just wanted to let you know that we are ok. Tomorrow we are actually hiking to a road crossing and taking a shuttle into Hiawassee, Georgia (Ed. - mile 66.8 on the trail, town is 11 miles from the crossing). There we will be staying in a hotel tomorrow night which, fortuitously, happens to be a night with heavy thunderstorms predicted for the northeast Georgia mountains. This is the way we're doing things - every few days get off the trail, resupply, stay in a hostel or hotel or cabin like the other night (Ed. - and hopefully take a shower ...).

So far we seem to be doing ok. We've done about 60 miles in 6 days, so we're right on a ten mile a day pace, although it's been up and down - yesterday we did 15, today we did 10. I will have more later on, but with the weak signal I'm going to stop here."

Day 4 - Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow ... in April?

April 7th, 7:59pm EDT - "I'm calling on the 7th, which I think is a Tuesday. We're sitting in a restaurant in Blairsville, Georgia (Ed. - about 15 miles NW of Neels Gap) after Mark and I got snowed off the trail today. We had pretty significant snow, cold and ice out on the trail today, so we did about 4 miles to Neels Gap, which is the 30 mile point. We're pretty much on schedule. This will be a brief update, because the resaturant is noisy, and I can't play my digital recordings here. I don't know how that will work, but I will try to find a quiet spot later to play you my recordings. I have made one for each day that we have been out here - Saturday, Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday. I think it's Tuesday, right? I hate to say it, but I don't know what day it is. I do know it is the 7th, but that's about all I can tell you right now. If I can't find a quiet spot, the next place you're likely to hear from me is about 4 days from now at mile 67 in Hiawassee, Georgia (Ed. - Hiawassee is on the Georgia/NC border. Hiawassee is a Cherokee name meaning 'meadow')

Things have been going well, other than the fact that we have had an unbelievable range of temperatures. I think on Sunday it actually hit 80 degrees, and then on Monday a brutally cold front came through. We woke up this morning, Tuesday I guess it is, and it was 19 degrees at Woods Hole Shelter (Ed. - 26.6 miles up the trail, 2140.5 to Katahdin - elevation 3600 ft., half mile off the AT) which is where we were camping. It was brutally cold with 40 mph winds, snow and ice. We are in the Goose Creek Cabins (Ed. - 1/2 mile north of Vogel State Park) tonight after hiking to Neels Gap and grabbing the shuttle to town. We avoided the hostels at Neels Gap as they do not have the most savory reputation. They were full anyways - well, we could have had the last two bunks in a twenty bed room, but the cabin was only $7 more than the hostel, so we grabbed that by taking the shuttle to Blairsville. We warmed up, cleaned up and now are in town resupplying and getting dinner. Neels Gap is the 30 mile point, so we are pretty much on schedule.

Other than the ferocious conditions, things are going well. Even with all of our Philmont training, neither Mark or I were prepared to face anything quite like what we've seen here so far with several inches of snow, 20 degrees and 40 mph winds. Mark has had the best line so far on the trip - "we're supposed to be hiking with the spring time, but we're actually hiking with the winter time". That's the best way to describe it so far. We're definitely looking forward to a little bit warmer weather later on this week.

Right now I'm going to stop because it's getting noisy in here. We need to get to the grocery store and pick up some stuff. Talk to you later!" (Ed - no other call came in that day from Bob)

Day 0 - Staging at Springer Mountain

Two calls from Bob from room 118 of the Days Inn in Dahlonega, GA near Springer Mountain on the day before ... (Ed. note - he does not lack any details ... )

CALL 1 -- 10:26AM "Took off this morning at 6:08 from Reagan National and quickly broke out of the clouds and rain. Skies cleared over North Carolina, but then started to cloud up again as we approached Atlanta. Landed in low overcast and breezy conditions at 7:37 (and we were on a 737, an interesting coincidence) at Hartsfield. Lots of military at the airport, probably from Fort Benning. Took the train to the main terminal and collected my pack. The yellow dry cleaner bag was mostly shredded - the subject of some rough handling but the pack was intact. The airport is huge. Felt like it took as long to go from the D concourse to the main terminal as it did to fly from DC. Found the MARTA easily and it took about 45 minutes to get to the northern terminus of the system. Met up with Survivor Dave, my shuttle guy, right on time (thank goodness, 'cause he was in a hurry!) and we headed for Dahlonega, about an hour's drive. It was a nice drive and I was the only guy on the shuttle, so we talked as he drove. You remember the Washington Post article's comment about 10 percent dropping out by Neel's Gap? Dave said it was probably more like 20 percent, maybe 25 percent who drop out there.

I've got a nice view of the mountains to the north (picture above is from Bob's new cell phone)here from my motel room. The weather is similar to DC - 45 degrees and cloudy with a breeze. The town is small but nice. I am going to go get some breakfast/lunch here in a few minutes, but I have a few random musings for you.

It took us one hour twenty-nine (1:29) to fly here from DC. It will take me about two and a half months to cover that distance going back. It sort of puts the whole 18th/19th century thing in perspective. They had to walk everywhere!

Someone commented to me upon seeing my pack that what I was about to embark on was primitive living. I laughed and suggested to him that it was very sophisticated living. He seemed nonplussed until I explained. I told him I had a digital recorder that would record 300 hours of my thoughts about the journey. I had a digital camera that I could take and save over a thousand pictures. I have a cell phone to contact people if I need to and to report in with updates. All of my equipment is nearly state-of-the-art. This is not exactly Daniel Boone or Jeremiah Johnson. It was simple living, but not primitive. He agreed with my analysis.

Spring has sprung in Georgia, but it is approximately the same as Arlington - a few buds here and there and some green. Time for some lunch!"

CALL 2 -- 8:26PM "Dusk here and I wanted to get one more free call in today (Ed. note - He has a pay as you go Verizon phone with a daily rate). Went to the McDonald's across the street not so much to eat but also to learn how to use my digital recorder, which I did figure out. I will use that on days that I don't have cell coverage to record my thoughts and then maybe play it into the phone on my weekly calls (Ed - that's gonna be fun to try to transcribe ...).

I came back to the room and decided to tear my pack apart yet again. I told you before that I was appalled at how much my pack weighed. I think I dumped about 5 pounds worth of stuff, including the extra food. Talking to Survivor Dave (who has done the AT) on the way up convinced me that I only needed to carry about 5 - 6 pounds of food, not the 10 pounds I had packed. Mark Wray is carrying much more food than that, but I think that I'm gonna go with the guy who's done this before and his recommendation. I think, all told, with food and water I will be starting out with about a 40 - 42 pound load. I wanted to be at 35 pounds but 42 it isn't too bad considering I am carrying a little extra food and some extra clothes because I'm leery about the weather situation here. The weather is supposed to be nice on Saturday, our first day - about 75 and sunny. Sunday is supposed to start out ok but cloud up in the afternoon and rain. Then Monday has a chance of snow! I hope it doesn't snow a lot, but I am going to carry a few extra clothes. You know that ratty jacket I wore down that I was going to throw away? I'm keeping it for a few days until I get by the Monday weather, and then I'll make the decision to keep it or dump it. The rest of my extra stuff will go back to Virginia with Brenda Wray.

I am continuing to learn the camera. I've got to watch it and not become too seduced by all the technology I am carrying - the camera, the recorder, the phone. I don't need to become a techno-geek all of a sudden - it's not exactly what I had in mind. But it sure is convenient!

The Wrays arrived at around 5:30pm and they were pretty wrung out from the long twelve hour drive. They had come the whole way, and the first half was in rain. I gave them an hour to get settled and then I treated the four of them to dinner at the Wagon Wheel, Dahlonega's finest southern style cuisine! We had a great meal and it only cost about $60 for the five of us. The last supper, if you will. I was good - I had shrimp. No meat for me, baby! It's Friday during Lent.

Mark and I got together afterwords and he showed me what food he was carrying. It sure was a lot, but Mark is willing to carry the extra food. He said it will probably slow him down. I'm not trying to be a minimalist here, but I am trying to balance between what I was told I need to carry and worrying about having enough food to handle being snowed in somewhere. Our first resupply point is 30 miles up the line at Neel's Gap, about three days, so I should be good.

Now it's time to bag out and get some sleep. I've been burning the midnight oil for many days, and I think I need a good night's sleep before I get started. You may not hear from me for some time, perhaps a week or two. Don't forget to mail my taxes for me! I don't need to have the IRS hunting me down in the North Carolina mountains for back taxes or whatever other sins I have committed that I don't even know about yet! See ya!"

(Ed. - I don't think the IRS would stand a chance of finding him if he didn't want to be found ...)

He's off!

His pack enshrouded in a yellow dry cleaner's bag, adorned in a ratty Marine Corps Marathon shirt and pants that even Goodwill would probably reject, our favorite northbounder shook my hand and ambled towards the terminal through a an early morning spring rain. He look more tired than I've ever seen him, brought on by the last week's flurry of final preparations that had limited his sleep to an average of less than three hours per night. But even through his zombie-like stare was an unmistakeable look of excitement tinged with a touch of trepidation. Although we all know that when Bob says he's going to do something you can pretty much bank on it, I think that even he was a little amazed with himself and that he was finally on the way.

By now he has landed in Atlanta, and should be trying to negotiate his way through the jungle that is Hartsfield International. Assuming that the airline didn't lose his pack (it didn't go with Mark - packing problems), he'll meet up with his ride to Springer Mountain where he will check into a motel and wait for Mark to join him. Hopefully, he'll try to get some sleep, because if he decides to walk around town, they may cast him in a remake of Return of the Living Dead. Then, early tomorrow morning, he and Mark will saddle up and start trekking north.

Bob said that he would try to provide an update prior departure. If he does, I'll post it this weekend. Say a prayer for our tired trekker ...