We Come Here to Learn About Ourselves

Day 111: PA 309 to George W. Underbridge Shelter (12.7 miles)

Day 112: Dubya Shelter to Leroy Smith Shelter (16.7 miles)

Day 113: Leroy Smith Shelter to Delaware Water Gap, PA; Church of the Mountain hostel (20.2 miles)

Day 114: Zero in DWG 

Day 107: Windsor Furnace Shelter to Dan's Spring (12.7 miles) Search Party Day 1

We stayed in bed a bit later than we wanted to but we didn't stress too much since we only planned to do about 14 miles to Allentown Shelter. We started out the day listening to Pomplamoose's Pharrell Mashup and dancing down the trail. We hiked up to Pulpit Rock and drew a hopscotch board on the rocks, just to make the hikers behind us laugh a little. The day was pretty rocky overall, and the going was slow. Around noon, we received a text from Cowgirl saying that Cooper had run off after some deer near Dan's Spring and hadn't come back yet.

We stopped for lunch at Eckville Shelter around 3 and talked about Cooper. He had scurried off before after squirrels and deer, but he had always come back. Just outside of Damascus, Cooper came sneaking up on us out of the woods about a mile from where Cowgirl was camped. All in all, we didn't think too much about his running off. We figured we would get up to Dan's Spring and he would come bounding out of the woods to greet us. 

We climbed up to Dan's Pulpit calling for Cooper. It was slow going due to the rocks and boulders. We the arrived at a blue blaze trail that led off to the east. We assumed this was the Dan's Spring trail since the guide made no mention of a trail between Dan's Pulpit and Dan's Spring. Cowgirl had said she was camped out near the spring, so we headed down the steep trail to meet up with her. 

As soon as we started down, I had a feeling that something was wrong. We were going down too steeply for too long. No thru-hiker would have gone down that trail. I eventually voiced my concern and stopped while The Ramen Shaman continued on down. About 20 minutes later, I got a text from him saying he was turning around. I hiked back up the steep trail and waited for him at the AT. According to the altimeter, we had climbed down over 400ft! What a waste of 40 minutes! Damn you AWOL!

So we start back down the AT and come to the actual Dan's Spring, which is marked with a sign (and definitely more than 0.6 miles from Dan's Pulpit).  It's about 5 o'clock, and we learn from Cowgirl that Cooper has been missing since 10am. I start to worry. 

We try to keep the mood light as Chase walks up and down the trail, calling for Cooper while I set up the tent. It's starting to get dark, there is rain in the forecast and with Cooper no where to be found, Chase and I decide to stay and help Cowgirl tomorrow. We decide that Katahdin can wait. We all talk about hiking down past the shelter the next day to see if he continued the journey north alone. Cowgirl is quieter than normal with her best friend missing in action. 

That night I quietly whispered to Chase all my fears about Cooper being missing as the rain fell softly on the tent. I tell him I would be a wreck. He says that there is nothing on the mountain that is a real threat to him and after thinking about it for a minute, I agree. Bears don't eat little dogs. We haven't heard coyotes. Snakes aren't necessarily a threat unless he stumbles upon them by accident. There is nothing in the woods to get him. 

Day 108: Dan's Spring to PA 309; then to Footbridge just past Hawk Mountain Rd (8.4 miles) Search Party Day 2

None of us slept well and we were all up early. I felt like I heard his little bell outside the tent all night. Cowgirl hiked out of camp before us and we agreed to meet at the shelter in another 4 miles. I decided to leave a note about Cooper on the tree by the campsite to let other hikers who come through the area to know to be on the lookout for a little brown dog. 

We hiked over rocks and boulder fields calling for Cooper. We were still hopeful that he was in the area. When we arrived at the shelter, Cowgirl was there and we took the initiative to call some local animal shelters and post on Facebook about him. She decided that we had done all we could do by putting notices up and calling out for him. She decided that we should just continue hiking north. Again, she left the shelter before us and said she was going to get water at the B&B in another 4 miles. 

The hike to PA 309 and the B&B was easy and hard. The terrain was an old road bed, which made the walking easy, but it was hard to leave the area in which Cooper was last seen. I wasn't sure we were doing the right thing. We crossed the busy highway and hiked for another 20 minutes before I broke down and had to stop. My legs felt like jello and my stomach was in knots. We sat down at a campsite and texted Cowgirl to see how she was doing. She said she felt wrong crossing the road. She came walking up to the campsite a few minutes later and we all shed a few tears and then came up with a plan.

We would hike back to the B&B and get a shuttle back to the Eckville shelter. We would camp where Cowgirl had last camped with Cooper at the footbridge at the foot of Dan's Pulpit. We would hike up to the Spring and back just to see. 

Just as we were debating shuttle drivers at the B&B, Dad, an AT hiker who had to get off due to injury and is now offering shuttles in the Hamburg/Port Clinton area showed up to drop off a pack for a guy who was slack-packing. He would take us for a quick resupply and take us back to Hawk Mountain Rd for a reasonable fee. He also offered to stop by the Eckville Shelter and put a note in the log about Cooper. 

We stopped at a little market and picked up some supplies. Cowgirl bought us some hot dogs and potatoes so we could eat well that night. 

We hiked out to the campsite and set up our tents. The forecast called for a lot of rain that evening, and we worried about the scared little dog, all wet and pathetic in the woods. Chase and Cowgirl decided to hike up to Dan's Spring while I stayed in camp and collected firewood. 

I would occasionally call out to Cooper while I worked on the fire and making baked potatoes and hot dogs. They returned around 9pm just as it started to rain. They were both convinced after hiking the terrain again that Cooper would not have come back over all the rocks and boulders. It just didn't make sense. We ate as cheerily as we could and decided to camp one more night at Dan's Spring and search the surrounding woods, just in case he got caught on something. Cowgirl thought that he would be able to get out of his pack in case he did get stuck, but we couldn't be sure. 

It poured all night, and again we didn't sleep well. 

Day 109: Footbridge Campsite to Dan's Spring (3.1 miles) Search Party Day 3

We had 1.6in of rain that night. Cowgirl left camp early again and we followed her up the mountain, calling for Cooper. After coming over those rocks up to Dan's Pulpit, I too felt that Cooper would not have gone back that way. It just didn't make sense. The Ramen Shaman had run to the Eckville Shelter that morning to throw away our trash from the night before and he ran into a hiker we had met in the Shenandoah's named Sunbear. He seemed interested in wanting to help and said he would meet up at the Dan's Spring campsite to help us look for Cooper. 

When we arrived there later in the afternoon, Sunbear was there waiting and Cowgirl's stuff was sitting by the firepit. We waited a little while for Cowgirl to show up, and when she didn't we sent her a text to let her know we were waiting for her and that we wanted to coordinate before wandering off into the woods to look for Cooper. Turns out, she had already wandered into the woods and couldn't get back to the campsite! With our voice guidance, she made her way back. Can you imagine?! Cowgirl and Cooper lost! 

We agreed to have Cowgirl stay in camp in case Cooper showed up, and the three of us would branch off perpendicular to the trail and bushwhack in an effort to find some trace of the little dog.

When you step off the trail, it almost seems to disappear behind you. You can head in a straight line, turn around 180 degrees, and not be sure of the direction you came from. I used my phone to mark the location of the trail where I entered the woods and I made sure I was always within earshot of Chase. 

Walking in the woods off trail proved to be very tiring. And the search seemed very overwhelming. While looking for Cooper, I couldn't help but to think of the hiker Inchworm that went missing in Maine last July. I felt like if I could be 10ft from him or some sign of him and never know it. I felt hopeless. 

Chase and I regrouped at camp and waited for Sunbear. When he emerged from the woods, he seemed to have gone deeper into the woods than we had. He said that the mountain makes a very general slope downward and that there are dozens of deer paths leading into the fields at the base of the mountain. He postured that if he was a little dog, he would head down one of those deer paths and into civilization. Thinking about my experience in the woods, I had to agree. It was a very nice slope down into town. There was civilization not that far away from where we were camped. It was completely possible that he had left the mountain and made his way into town. 

Sunbear left and we all felt a little better, even though we were still without Cooper. We set up camp for another night at Dan's Spring and decided that tomorrow for sure, we would continue north. We decided that it was up to Cooper to get found. 

We ended up camping with quite a little group that night. Reroute, Geared Up, Sisyfus, DaVinci, Dino, and Lady Moose showed up while I was down at the spring getting water. It was a nice night  spent with great people, and I think the company really helped cheer up Cowgirl. 

Day 110: Dan's Spring to New Tripoli, then back to PA 309; Howard-Johnson in Allentown, PA (9.8 miles) Search Party Day 4

Again, Cowgirl was up super early and left before us. We again agreed to meet at the shelter for one last pow-wow. When we got there, we called a few more vets and animal clinics. We felt confident that we did everything we could do. We hiked on to the B&B and decided to get lunch there with the group we camped with last night. 

Cowgirl spoiled us by buying us lunch. We ate and drank merrily and eventually decided we should get hiking if we were going to make it to the next shelter before dark. We crossed PA 309 with no regrets this time. We told ourselves that he would be picked up by somebody in town and we would get a phone call in a day or two. 

We hiked about 2 miles to the New Tripoli campsite and started hiking up and over some boulders. Cowgirl's phone rang and we all stopped to look at her. The look on her face told us that she didn't know the number and our hearts leapt. 

"Hello?" She said, followed by "Are you kidding me?" She started crying. Chase and I cried out and started crying and laughing. Cooper had been found! He had wondered off the mountain into someone's garage! Just as we had suspected. :)

We sent Chase ahead to meet the guy, Josh, who was graciously driving out to drop Cooper off at the B&B. Cowgirl broke down a lot on the way back. She had been holding back for 3 days and was finally letting herself feel all of the stress and emotion. 

We got back to the B&B just as Josh and his family pulled up. Out jumped Cooper the dog, looking a little thin but very happy to see his mom! We told Josh the story of our past few days and took down their address to send them a thank you. We looked it up later and Cooper had traveled about 6.5 miles from the campsite at Dan's Spring! What a crazy little dog! We all felt so incredibly fortunate to have him back. 

We celebrated with a few beers and called Dad. We thought we should go into town and rest. Cooper seemed to be a bit shell-shocked and we knew hiking out wasn't an option. He ate and drank a bunch, and curled up in his mom's lap, happy to be safe and sound.

Cooper has been back on the trail for over a week now. He's made it through another state in that time! 

Day 101: Clark's Ferry Shelter to Campsite on ridge (11.8 miles)

This was a hot and humid hike! We intended to get a little further, but a 2 hour lunch break impeded our progress. We ended up camping with a section hiker couple from Jacksonville, Alll Right and Half Left. They were pretty cool to talk to. Talk about a small world where we meet people from Jax in Pennsylvania on the AT! There was no water at this campsite so we ate cold and went to bed early. 

We had spoken to a ridge runner at the Doyle in Duncannon who said that the rocks really start north of there. He wasn't kidding, but the rocks seemed like the type of rocks you find on top of any ridgeline in Virginia. I was skeptical. 

Day 102: Campsite to Spring, Campsite just before Rausch Shelter (12.8 miles)

Well, so much for an early morning! We finally got up around 9 or 10 and headed down to the spring at the bottom of the hill for brunch. We were done with this short & sweet day around 5pm when we set up camp next to Rausch Creek, which we learned is too acidic to sustain trout populations. To combat this, engineers installed these "filters" which diverts the creek water into a flow-through cistern filled with limestone so as to raise the pH of the water. The result is just a change of 1 or 2 pH units, but it allows brown and spotted trout to thrive downstream. The "spring" next to our campsite that fed into the stream was very rust-colored. We weren't sure if this was from too much iron in the water or some sort of nutrient imbalance. Anyway, we ended up camping out with Pooh Bear and Twizzler, and Cowgirl pushed on past the shelter. It was a quiet night. Still no horrendous fields of rocks. 

Day 103: Campsite to 501 Shelter (17.6 miles)

501 Shelter is famous for a few things. First and foremost, you can order pizza delivery. Secondly, there is a shower. These are the things that really matter to a thru-hiker. We left Rausch Gap a little later than we intended but the hiking was pretty easy. We crossed an old iron bridge at one point and made a tough climb up to the top of the next ridge. The mountains in Pennsylvania are really just parallel ridge lines, so the AT will follow one for a while and then jump to the next, resulting in easy hiking dotted with a few steep climbs and descents. This next ridge, Blue Mountain, was completely covered in poison ivy. Chase and I have never had a reaction to poison ivy, but the fear remains! Once we reached the 501 trail crossing, we jumped the gun and ordered some wings and a chicken parm sub. We waited at the parking lot for our food and ate there. We then carried our trash up to the shelter with the expectation that we would be able to dump our trash there. Alas, when we arrived we found a sign that welcomed pizza boxes but said pack out your own trash! We would have to carry our greasy styrofoam container with us into the next town. 

Day 104: 501 Shelter to Eagle's Nest Shelter (15.1 miles)

We saw a timber rattlesnake! That was the only exciting part of the day. The rest of it was rocky and awful. The trail so far in Pennsylvania seemed to be either sections of nice, flat, rock-free trail, or large boulders that you have to hop across, or small, sharp rocks that stick up out of the ground stabbing your feet to death, or a combination of small and medium sized rocks that slow you way down and annoy you to no end. The rocks are really supposed to start getting bad after Port Clinton. My feet hurt a lot even with just this measly amount of rocks and I was worried that my overuse issue was coming back. We were excited about Port Clinton and the Cabela's to look for new footwear. The camping at the shelter was really nice, and we spent the evening bullshitting with the old guys; Gwalker, GreaseSpot, and Banter. 

Day 105: Eagle's Nest Shelter to Port Clinton, PA; Microtel in Hamburg, PA (9.0 miles)

The started out with me being annoyed at the lack of landmarks mentioned in the guide. Then we had a really steep descent into Port Clinton. A lady with 8 kids ranging in age from 5 to 19 asked me about Sheila and her breed. I told her if she wanted an aussie that they are great dogs but they need a lot of exercise and attention, and also she should consider rescuing one. She said they tried that and had to put the dog down because "it was crazy." I hope she never gets a dog. 

Anyway, Cabela's came to pick us up and take us into Hamburg. That place is HUGE. We were expecting something the size of a Dick's Sporting Goods, but dayum! We then walked across to the 5 Guys Burgers and Fries to have lunch with Cowgirl and Pooh Bear, who had arrived in town the previous night. We then all went back to the Microtel to check in and have a beer with Cowgirl before she hit the trail again. One beer became a chorus of "una màs!" several times, and it was clear Cowgirl wasn't leaving town that. She ended up ordering The Ramen Shaman a pair of Ariat boots to hike in because she swears by the brand and also because she was drunk. Pooh Bear came with the two of us for a steak dinner, and Cheez-it picked out some new shoes; Merrel Moab Ventilator lowtops. Sleeping in a bed and having a shower is always awesome. 

Day 106: Port Clinton to Windsor Furnace Shelter (5.7 miles)

We were supposed to be out of town much much earlier, but Cheez-it decided her new boots were too narrow in the toe box. That's the trouble with these things; you never know how those shoes are going to fit until you wear them for a good long while and take them on the trail. I could tell just by walking across the street that they were too narrow. So it was back to Cabella's as everyone else hit the trail. After a few hours, I decided on a pair of Salomon XRMission trail-runners, and so far they have been great! We then had lunch at Cabella's and had to wait around until 2:30 before getting a ride back to the trail. We wasted more time at the post office in Port Clinton sorting through the dog food and sending home a few things. We actually started hiking around 3:30p. 

The shelter was a little creepy. There were a few people sitting around, but none of them were planning to stay. We set up camp and started making dinner when we heard something crashing through the woods near camp. I saw a big black thing walk across the trail and quietly told Chase, "I think there is a bear over there." He got up while I held onto Sheila and chased it away, yelling and throwing sticks. I'm sure it was just going down for a drink of water at the spring. Regardless, we bear-bagged for the first time since North Carolina that night. 

No rocks just yet, but that would soon change!

The next 4 days were spent searching for Cowgirl's dog, Cooper. This was a really intensely stressful and emotional time for us, so I would like to do it justice by speaking about it in a separate post. We've been trying to keep our mileage up to stay on schedule for finishing at Katahdin by the first week of August, so I haven't had much energy to write but I will do my best to work on the next post throughout the week. 

Day 86: Zero day in Pittsburgh

Day 87: Zero day in Pittsburgh

Day 88: Zero day in Pittsburgh

Day 89: Zero day in Pittsburgh

Day 90: Harper's Ferry to Crampton Gap Shelter (7.5 miles)

Day 91: Crampton Gap to Annapolis Rocks Campsite (14.1 miles)

Day 92: Annapolis Rocks to Raven's Rock Shelter (11.5 miles)

Day 93: Raven's Rock to Pen-Mar Park, Waynesboro, PA, Days Inn (4.6 miles)

Day 94: Pen-Mar Park to Tumbling Run Shelters (8.6 miles)

Day 95: Tumbling Run to Quarry Gap Shelters (12.2 miles)

Day 96: Quarry Gap to Pine Grove Furnace State Park Campground (16.9 miles) Half-Gallon Challenge

Day 97: PGFSP to Little Dogwood Run (15.6 miles)

Day 98: Little Dogwood Run to stealth campsite near piped spring (17.3 miles)

Day 99: Campsite to Duncannon, PA, The Doyle Hotel (12.3 miles)

Day 100: The Doyle to Clark's Ferry Shelter (4.3 miles)

Hike recap...

Our hike since returning to the trail has been awesome. Aside from having head colds, the terrain has been easy so our mileages have been rather consistent. We did a short day into Waynesboro to try to recover from our colds more quickly by spending a night in a warm bed and having a hot shower. The other short day was coming out of Duncannon because we didn't leave until 5pm due to a severe thunderstorm moving through the area. Our stay at the Doyle was amazing! The run-down old hotel definitely has some charm! Our attempt at the Half-Gallon Challenge was a bit pathetic. First, the General Store was closed so we couldn't participate in the "official" challenge, but the Ironmaster's hostel next door sold 1.75 quart containers of ice cream so we decided to make our own challenge. We decided to try and race each other which was a huge mistake! Eating ice cream very quickly is no fun at all, so we ended up eating half that night and half the next day. Our 98th day brought us through the Cumberland Valley and the quaint town of Boiling Springs just in time for their Memorial Day Parade. Sheila enjoyed the free eggs she yogi'd from the customers at Cafe 101, but she did not enjoy the 21 gun salute at the end of the parade. 

Reflections on 100 days...

Wow. 100 days! It seems like just yesterday we set out from Amicalola Falls in about 4 inches of snow and struggled to summit Springer Mountain before nightfall. I can still remember the feeling of the anticipation and excitement of what was to come. I remember being nervous of walking over to h the shelter to meet the other hikers at the end of our 8.8 mile day. I remember being really unsure of myself and unsure if I could really do the thing. The AT was a big and scary unknown. 

Today, I'm a little more confident in who I am and why I'm out here, and I'm still excited about what's to come (New England!!! Whaaaa?!) The AT is still an unknown in many ways, but it also feels like home. Our 5x8 tent is the coziest little house we could ask for and walking the spine of Appalachia is the best commute. The AT has become the "real life," and everything else is referred to as the "before times." I'm confident we can summit Katahdin before having to head home and start the newest chapter of our lives. 

The past 100 days have been marked by plenty of ups and downs (literally and figuratively), some of which I've documented in previous blog posts. It's hard to capture every moment out here to share with the world, but thinking back on these 100 days fills me with an immense feeling of joy and accomplishment. Hiking everyday for 11 hours a day is hard work. Sometimes you're rewarded with a great view or particularly nice terrain, but more often than not you seem to be trudging up and down pointless mountains over snowy, slushy, muddy, rocky, root-y, or uneven terrain. It's painful and exhausting more often than not. Hiking the AT is not about finding happiness in every step, though for us there is an inherent happiness in the hike. For me it's more about finding joy in the personal growth I have experienced which has stemmed from pushing my physical and mental limits and stepping outside my comfort zone. 

There is a quote I often see on cheesy home decor products that says, "Life is not measured by the number of breaths you take but by the number of moments that take your breath away" and I have found it to be so incredibly true. For over 100 days now I've been able to wake up alongside the most loving and kind man and our silly dog in a little tent in the woods with the biggest grin on my face, and it continues to take my breath away. 

Now that we have officially passed the 1/3rd mark, I think this is an appropriate time to update our followers on what it has been like hiking with Sheila the Australian Mountain Dog. We've learned a few lessons along the way, and for anyone considering bringing their outdoor-loving dog on a long backpacking trip, you might want to take notes!

Hiking with Sheila is so rewarding, but it's also very challenging. Making sure she is happy and healthy is our number one priority. Having her along for the adventure adds one more variable to the equation of getting to Katahdin.

Food & Water

In the beginning, we were stopping every 15 minutes to give her water which made our average pace barely above 1 mph. After hiking 780+ miles, we usually stop every hour or hour and a half to water her, depending on the terrain and the temperature. Between the two of us, we carry 6.5L of water to make sure that we all have enough. She can easily drink about 2L of water per day (sometimes a half-liter or more while in camp in the morning and at night, and a liter throughout the day). Doggy dehydration is serious, so make sure to carry extra for your thirsty pooch. We don't let her drink from streams or rivers directly due to the risk of Giardia, though sometimes she will sneak in a few laps.

For food, she started out eating twice as much as she did at home (about 4 cups per day, 2 in the morning and 2 in camp at night). We didn't anticipate how hard it would be to actually get her to eat. She would eat a few handfuls in the morning, and maybe a few more when we stopped for lunch. We finally learned to accept that she wants to eat the majority of her food at night. Nowadays she eats 5 cups of food per day; 1 in the morning, 1 in the afternoon, and 3 at night. She still acts a little picky and we have to work pretty hard to convince her to eat. There was a 2 week period where she was losing weight and we were worried she would have to go home, but we started putting about a tablespoon of olive oil in her food at night and we haven't had a problem since (fingers crossed!) She carries about 5 days of food in her pack and we will usually carry an extra day for her, just in case. 

Ticks Since the weather has warmed up, ticks have been our number one battle. She started out on a Seresto tick and flea collar, but we found that it just wasn't potent enough to fend off the explosion of ticks that seemed to come out of nowhere as we crossed into May. We were spending 1.5 to 2 hours per night picking off 30+ ticks (including the dreaded deer tick). When we decided to skip some of the trail to let Cheez-it's foot recover and to get back on track, we switched to the Preventic collar and within 48 hours all of the ticks that were attached to her were dried up and dead! We will see how the new collar works once we are back on the trail, but for now, we are very happy with the switch. The Seresto collar works supposedly for 6 months and the Preventic is effective for only 3 months, but we think this is the best move. I will report when we return! We are also working with Tarptent to see about getting a "dog bivy" that will fit in our vestibule and keep her separated from us while keeping her from running off after an animal in the middle of the night. A big problem we were having with the ticks is that the live ticks would crawl off of her and onto us in the middle of the night. We are hoping that the fast acting Preventic will help solve some of this problem.

Wild Animals Sheila is a herding dog by instinct. If she spots an animal in the woods and it just so happens to be running away, she really wants to chase it. Thankfully, she has only bolted off once after some deer. She also chased a bird that was flying in the sky in the Grayson Highlands. On that note, Sheila didn't seem to mind the ponies until we started making a big about them. Oh! She chased the goats at Woods Hole Hostel and we had to turn off the electric fence to get her back out. Thank goodness she actually listens to us when we yell at her. We have come across one rattlesnake so far, but we know they become more common in PA. A guy named Bangarang told us about a rattlesnake vaccine you can get out west, but the few veterinarians we asked here on the east coast have never heard of it. Just be careful if you chose to hike with your dog in rattlesnake areas. Always keep your dog close and keep an eye out for any snake that may be on the trail or just off the trail. Rattlesnakes will often let you know if you're too close, but it's best not to push your luck. Hostels & Town Stays We have been very lucky at each hostel we've stayed at in that they have let us leave Sheila in the room while we run any errands. This is not a privilege, so always ask if it is okay. And don't leave your dog if you know that they are prone to whining or could become destructive if left alone. It really helps to hike as a pair if you take your dog, that way one of you can hang outside with the dog while the other runs into the store or orders food. Town seems to stress Sheila out immensely. The noise of cars and motorcycles really freaks her out after a week or two in the woods. We find that minimizing our time in town minimizes her stress. Gear Sheila's gear has been holding up wonderfully. Her saddlebags are showing some wear from her rubbing up against rocks and things, but I'm sure that they will survive for the rest of the trip. We have had a spot of trouble with the fit of the pack, causeing the whole thing to slide forward as we were coming down a steep descent, but I think the issue was more user error than a design flaw. I am really sad to hear that Granite Gear is discontinuing the Long Howl, because it's the only one we've found with this type of design and we prefer it much more than the typical dog packs. For hiking in snow, I definitely recommend the dogbooties.com fleece booties. They are cheap and they get the job done. I was very hesitant about the hard-soled booties you can buy for your dog because none of them seemed to fit quite right and they seemed like they might do more harm than good in the long run. I just felt like they didn't allow her foot to move naturally, so when we found these simple fleece socks I was really excited. The fleece insulated her pawpads from the snow and slush while keeping the ice from building up between her toes and allowing her to walk naturally. I don't worry about rocks so much, though I'm sure she gets tired of walking on them (just like us!) After a long day on rocks, we usually rub her pads down with Musher's Secret to help nourish them. She loves a good footrub at the end of the day. These booties combined with the moisturizing power of Musher's Secret have helped to keep Sheila's feet happy and healthy. A tough decision... Overall, we would not take her on another long-distance backpacking trip. We would take her out for a week or so at a time, but being on the trail for 6 months with your dog is a lot of extra hard work. If you're considering taking Fido for a long hike, be mentally prepared to spend a few hours a day taking care of your pet. If you aren't committed to the idea of putting your animal first in every situation, then don't bring them along. It has been very tough for us to continue on with her because on one hand we know she is having a blast, but on the other hand the risk to her health from tick-borne disease is real and has really been weighing on my mind. 

Day 69: Doc's Knob Shelter to spring, campsite (12.8 miles)

Day 70: Campsite to Stony Creek Valley (15 miles)

Day 71: Stony Creek Valley to footbridge, stream, campsite (13.3 miles)

Day 72: Campsite to VA 42, Four Pines Hostel (7.3 miles)

Day 73: Zero at Four Pines

Day 74: VA 42 to Craig Creek (11.5 miles)

Day 75: Craig Creek to Four Pines Hostel (15.3 miles)

Day 76: Four Pines Hostel to Lambert's Meadow Campsite (16.6 miles)

Day 77: Lambert's Meadow to Daleville, VA (9.4 miles)

Day 78: Daleville, VA to stealth campsite (6ish miles)

Day 79: Campsite to stealth campsite past Bearwallow Gap (16ish miles)

Day 80: Campsite to Cornelius Creek Shelter (15ish miles) Day 81: Cornelius Creek to Marble Spring Campsite (12.2 miles)

Day 82: Marble Spring to US 501, Glasgow VA and Buena Vista VA (7.7 miles)

Day 83: Zero in Buena Vista, camped at Devil's Backbone Brewpub

Day 84: Zero in Charlottesville, trail magic in Shenandoah

Day 85: Zero in Charlottesville, trail magic in Shenandoah 

As you can see from the above, we've been pretty busy! After coming back from Virginia Beach, we were super motivated to make up for lost time on the trail. We took an unexpected zero at Four Pines Hostel to wait out some weather (the same weather that put tornadoes down in Pearisburg), and had an amazing stretch of clear, sunny weather to cover Dragon's Tooth, McAfee Knob, and Tinker Cliffs, which are some of the most picturesque sections of the Appalachian Trail! 

With an unexpected zero at Hemlock Hollow Hostel, we've had some time to actually reflect on our wild 36/37 days on the trail. 

These are the things that thru-hikes are made of: food, weather, miles, and people. You may want to hike to be in the woods and see the sights, and thats all fine and dandy, but this is what will make it an experience.

The Food

When you're hiking for hours on end you tend to only really think about food, especially the kind of food you can't get on the trail. During our stint in the Smoky Mountains, we actually took the song "Peaches" by The President's of the United States of America and made our version with lyrics such as "Going to the hostel/Gonna eat a lot of pizzas" and "Millions of pizzas/Pizzas for me/Millions of pizzas/Pizzas probably not for free." Needless to say, our trail foods tend to be a little lacking in one way or another. For breakfast, we tend to have a few scoops of Nutella and peanut butter, paired with a pack of breakfast biscuits or spread a-top a hearty piece of Hudson Bay Bread. Lunch has evolved into a tortilla filled with peanut butter and Nutella. Snacks are varied: Snickers, trail bars, GORP, gummy bears, Cheez-Its, etc. Dinner is a couple of packets of Ramen mixed with peanut butter, olive oil, hot sauce, and black pepper (backpacker's pad thai). When we get into town, we are often craving  a burger and a beer. Then Chase (who has been dubbed The Ramen Shaman) usually buys a pizza, a two liter of Coke, a couple pints of Ben & Jerry's, and whatever else strikes his fancy. Town stops have proved expensive when faced with such a voracious eater.

The Weather

We have been blessed with exceptional weather so far. It's snowed maybe 3 times? It has rained a few more times than that. We often have freezing temperatures in the morning, but nothing too serious. Lots of sunshine and 50 degree days. Our first two days in the Smoky Mountains were incredible, weather-wise. Highs in the mid-60s (which is really hot when you're hiking) and clear views. Our climb up Rocky Top Mountain was hot and dry, and we really felt like we were hiking in the Southwest. It's definitely harder to stay motivated when there is a constant drizzle. I have to really try and stay positive during days like these. Weather is also common camp talk, in addition to poop. Get desensitized y'all. 

The Miles

Our mileages have been kind of all over the place. We've done as many miles as 16 in a day and as few as 0.3 mi. For those close friends and family who have our spreadsheet plan, we are about a week behind schedule, which given the number of zeros we've had is about right. We hope to take fewer zeroes in the future, but the trail may have other plans for us. We are hoping to increase our mileages to between 13 and 18 regularly now that we have our trail legs. "It ain't about the miles, it's about the smiles!"

The People

Hullo world! Life on the trail is really busy so we haven't had hardly any time to post. After a long day of hiking, the last thing I want to do is stare at a bright little electronic screen before bed. Usually we just want to stuff our faces and pass out! 

Below is a summary of our most recent adventures. I figure there isn't much point in detailing "First, we left camp. Then, we hiked. Then, we ate..." etc., so here is a highlight reel of sorts of our day to day life. 

Day 16: Nero in Franklin

Not the Roman Emperor, a day where we did nearly zero miles! We did 0.3 miles this day because we ended up needing to spend a lot more time in town doing all the things we should have done on our zero day. We also met a great group of hikers (including Icicle and Quailman) who dubbed Kelley "Cheez-it" because she insisted that we carry 3.5lbs of the cheese flavored snack to get us through the Smoky Mountains! It was a fun-filled night at the Rock House Lodge (the sweet taproom inside of Outdoor 76) and we ended up hitting the trail at Winding Stair Gap around 8:30 that night. Cheez-it couldn't find her headlamp, but we sucked it up and night hiked the 0.3 miles to the closest campsite. Chase fell into a creek and skinned his knee (while wearing the only headlamp), and we pitched camp  on the flattest spot around, which just so happened to be the AT. We were glad we spent the extra day in town with great folks and we definitely second-guessed our decision to camp instead of staying the night in a warm bed.

Day 17: Winding Stair Gap to Wayah Bald Shelter

We woke to a heavy fog and instantly realized we were camping next to a homeless person. The night before we thought another thru-hiker had pitched his tent at the campsite, but upon further inspection, it was definitely a homeless person in a Wal-Mart tent covered in blue tarp material, which was tied off to the fallen trees in the area. No thru-hiker would go to that much trouble. But we weren't ax-murdered, so that was good. We were soon being passed by our comrades from the night before, Chainsaw, Pacman, AppleJacks, Icicle, and Quailman. We hiked through this crazy stuff called hoarfrost, which is basically these 2in long bits of frost that hang off of tree branches horizontally. Aparently it is really rare to encounter the stuff, so we felt very fortunate. We camped just outside the shelter as there were no tentsites big enough for our monstrous Tarptent. It felt very cool to be a part of a hiker group.

Day 18: Wayah Bald Shelter to Wesser Bald Shelter

Wesser Bald fire tower was AWESOME. We could see Cheoah Bald and the beginning of the Smoky's. It was sunny and beautiful so we sat up there with a section hiker, Chainsaw, Icicle, and Quailman for about an hour before heading down the the shelter to camp for the night. Great campsite with the crew! Had a fire and learned all about how a friend of Chainsaw's married his half-sister. Ah, the South! We were all stoked to get to the Nantahala Outdoor Center the next day!

Day 19: Wesser Bald to Grassy Gap

We followed Chainsaw out of camp by about 5 minutes, but he beat us to the NOC by about an hour and a half. As a result, he injured his foot on the steep downhill and was going to take a zero day to try to recover (since then, we heard that he had to get surgury and is off the trail). The Jump-Off was really cool. Sheila did great with all of the steep downhill. Chase had to help her down one section only because I didn't want her jumping down 4ft off of a boulder. We couldn't get our Smoky Mountain thru-hiker passes becasue the NOC's internet was down, but we did have a killer lunch and a Bell's Hopslam! We packed out a couple of beers to have with Quailman and Icicle that night, but they ended up pushing on further. I was content to stay 3.0 mi into the climb out of the NOC, because it was pretty tough going and I was trying to carry a full pack for the first time since Tesnatee Gap. The campsite at Grassy Gap had a sweet rock formation above it, so we took some time to explore the caves for bears (none were found).

Day 20: Grassy Gap to a campsite just before Stecoah Gap

Hard going for the rest of the climb. Cheez-it's calves were burning from exertion and dehydration. The cure for this was to transfer some weight back onto Chase and to have a nice long lunch at Sassafras Gap Shelter. The sun came out in this time and made everything a bit better. The views from Cheoah Bald were breathtaking! To think we were looking at this spot from the Wesser Bald fire tower only two days ago was crazy! We hiked until about sundown and stopped to camp on a little mountain with a view into Stecoah. Sunset was amazing from our campsite.

Day 21: Stecoah Gap to Fontana

We had to get up early and make it 16 miles before 4pm in order to turn Sheila over to the kennel. Our only 16 mile day so far had been into Winding Stair Gap and we got there by 7pm. Naturally, I was stressed. We also had to climb the infamously steep Jacob's Ladder, which I thought was a rock scramble (it's not). We pushed hard and fast and managed to get in by 4:40pm. I was literally running down the mountain, very angry at Chase for this time constraint. We turned Sheila over with many apologies. The only positive thing about being late was that I didn't have time to get emotional. Sheila hopped into the back of the car, laid down, and took a well-deserved nap. We caught the shuttle into the village and planned on getting a room. Icicle's parents were supposed to get them a room at the lodge, and they had told us previously that we could stay with them if we wanted to. I was willing to spend the $90 to get my own private room, but as soon as we walked in the door, Quailman and Icicle handed us the key to the room. We took showers and cooled off. It ended up being a great hiker-reunion kind of night, and I was grateful to be there.

Day 22: Zero in Fontana

Laundry, hot dogs, beer. That's all we did that day. And then at 11pm we scrambled to get our bags ready to leave for the Smoky Mountains in the morning. We are really bad at Zero days. 

Day 23: Fontana to Mollies Ridge Shelter

We left late because we still had a million things to do before being able to leave the lodge. We hiked up to the Fontana Hilton shelter and hung out for a bit before setting off with Icicle and Quailman to begin our Smoky Mountain adventure. Actual bathrooms and showers are the only thing that make this shelter a "Hilton," which should show you how low hiker standards are. We spent an hour going over Fontana Dam, leading me to name our little group "The Lolly-Gaggers" for lolly-gagging about. We made it up the shelter around 8pm. There were a bunch of kids from the University of South Florida on a Spring Break backpacking trip, which was kind of surreal. We were just happy there was room in the shelter. 

Day 24: Mollies Ridge to Derrick Knob Shelter

Had a lovely lunch break at Spencer's Field which I can only describe as a meadow of tall grass. I'm sure it's beautiful in the summer, but it was still breathtaking in the winter.The hike up to Rocky Top felt like a desert. I probably should have put sunscreen on. The views were spectacular! We were fortunate to have such a good weather introduction to the Smoky's, but our luck would soon turn. 

Day 25: Derrick Knob to Double Spring Shelter

Day 11 - Sassafras Gap to Cowart Gap

That morning was pretty chilly. Quailman and Icicle got out of camp before us and headed for Dick's Creek to catch a ride into Hiawassee. We warmed right up on the way out of the gap, planning to camp as low as possible that night due to the forecast for lows in the teens. Cowart Gap looked like a great place on the map, as it was much lower than the shelter at Plumorchard Gap. We look it easy as the terrain was pretty tough and I didn't want to exacerbate my newly healed leg. The climb out of Addis Gap was particularly tough and I felt some strain in my left leg again. I was really worried until I really focused on the pain and realized it was coming from a different muscle group. I assumed I must have bruised the muscle a bit when I fell on my butt the day before. We made good time past Kelly Knob and arrived at Dick's Creek Gap for lunch and water. When we arrived, there was a creepy guy hanging around. I feel bad about saying this, but he was either just real poor mountain folk or a meth head. He was wearing a beat up pair of baggy jeans and a Georgia Bulldogs coat with a ball cap. He was missing a lot of teeth, and seemed just generally not well taken care of. He had an old terrier-type dog with him and was driving a newer Chevy truck. I definitely got a bad vibe from him as soon as we walked up. Thankfully, there was a road crew in the area and a lot of traffic because if there hadn't been, we would have moved on without stopping. He was putting up a shuttle-for-fee sign on the info board and when we walked past to set our stuff on a picnic table, he commented to us that his dog wasn't friendly. The dog was off-leash and looked like it probably wasn't vaccinated at all, so I definitely wasn't comfortable having Sheila so close to it. The dog followed us up to the picnic area and so did the guy. He kept trying to talk to us and we were trying to avoid conversation with him. He kept getting closer as his dog got closer, but eventually he picked up the dog and left. I almost took down his shuttle sign. That has been the only weird experience we've had so far. From the gap, it was only 1.8 miles to where we planned to camp, so we huffed it up the mountain and got to Cowart Gap with some time to spare before sunset. At first, it looked like a great place to camp! Tall evergreens with a nice soft pine needle floor. Picturesque in the fading light of day for sure! Then we started noticing some things. First, the campsite was on an old fire road or a hunting road (not mentioned in the guidebook). Second, all of the lower branches of these lovely evergreens looked dead and deadly. This forced us to pitch camp right next to the fire ring, which brings me to the the third observation. Scat everywhere! This area was clearly frequented by a variety of wildlife, so we would take extra precautions when hanging our bear bag and cooking. Lastly, this was a cold gap. We lost daylight about an hour before actual sunset, which forced us into our tent just after cooking. It was set to be a cold night indeed. I didn't sleep too well that night becasue I was worried about the dog being cold and the possibility of animals coming into camp and the fact that when our sleeping bags are zipped together, they are a little drafty! But we somehow got through the night!

Day 12: Cowart Gap to Muskrat Creek Shelter

What a great day! This was the day we were set to enter North Carolina! One state down, 13 to go! It was freezing when we left camp in the morning. I put toe warmers in my boots to warm them up so that my feet wouldn't be miserable for the first hour. I cannot stand having cold fingers or cold toes. The fingers are easily managed because we bought these awesome Outdoor Research Flurry mitts that keep my hands very warm. The toe warmers are great on very cold mornings. Anyway, we booked it up the mountain in order to warm up. We even put on our rain jackets to cut the frigid wind. About a mile out of the gap, we realized we left Sheila's leash back at the campsite. We set our packs down and Chase jogged back down to get it. While I was waiting for him to come back, I met a group of hikers who had started on February 1st who said they were thru-camping. The one girl, Nomad, had contacted me on Facebook previously, so it was kind of cool to meet them. They were an interesting bunch, offering me a hit off a joint at 10am. They moved on a little while later and only one other hiker passed me while I waited for Chase to come back. Later on, we would learn the name of that hiker and hang out with him a bit, but I don't want to ruin the surprise! Chase came running back up the hill, drenched in sweat and stripped down to his baselayer top. We moved on and picked up the pace a little to make up time. I felt really good the rest of the day. The climbs were all pretty steep but we didn't need to take any long breaks for me to rest up. This made me feel so great! I was healed! I could hike normally again! And we were headed to NC! Such a great day indeed! We met the same thru-camping group at the border and they took our picture next to the sign. Chase held up Sheila so she could be in it too! It's such a great feeling getting that first state down. Georgia is no walk in the park. There are no fireworks or confetti when you pass the border, but I highly suggest making some noise to celebrate! As we passed by whooping and hollering, I remembered our first night on the trail and how everyday is a day to celebrate. We were going to camp at Bly Gap, but I was feeling very good so we pushed to Muskrat Creek Shelter. The climb up Courthouse Bald was fun! It was very steep and very windy, but I was so high from passing the border that it was just a fun challenge. There were no views from the top but it was amazing pushing to the highest elevation we had been at so far. We were also looking forward to being in familiar territory for the next two days, as we had section hiked from Deep Gap to Glassmine Gap over the summer. When we arrived at Muskrat Creek and got water to cook, it was already below freezing. We hurried as quick as we could to avoid freezing the water filter. It's a real problem in the winter. We sleep with the filter on most nights because it could crack if we are not careful. We crawled into the tent, put Sheila in her jacket, and bundled up for a cold night. 

Day 13 - Muskrat Creek Shelter to Carter Gap Shelter

Very, very cold morning! So cold that Sheila was actually shivering! She was lying on the ground while we were packing up the tent and stood up shivering. I wrapped her up in my Patagonia Micro Puff jacket to warm her back up. Once we got up and moving everything was fine, so I wasn't too worried about her. I made a mental note just to keep an eye on her during cold mornings. We made quick miles over the relatively easy terrain. I was getting really tired going up Standing Indian Mountain and feeling really discouraged until Chase pointed out that I was moving up the mountain much faster than any other climb previously. I didn't feel so bad after that! We stopped for a longer break at our favorite campsite on top of Standing Indian. It feels so good lying out in the grass in the sun on top of mountain with a view! We aired out our shoes and dried our socks while enjoying a Snickers. Then we got going down to Beech Gap. On the way, we met some section hikers who were pushing a 16 mile days to get to the NOC in 3 days. They passed us by and we weighed our options while taking a break at the gap. We could stay and camp early, or push to Carter Gap and be in a good  position to get into Franklin by Sunday, a day earlier than we had planned. We decided that Chase should hike ahead and get to Carter before nightfall and start setting up camp so there weren't as many chores to do when I got there. Sheila and I followed behind him about 5 minutes after he left the gap. I caught up to him about 5 minutes later as he had stopped to talk to the section hikers. They all walked off together and I gave them a couple minute head start so that Sheila would follow me instead of them. Still, I was able to catch this group of fast hikers not too far from the shelter! This made me feel really good about myself, coming from having to take a zero due to injury to hiking my longest day ever quickly was really just the best feeling. We set up the tent near the shelter in a thicket of rhodededron, got water, cooked, and crawled in our bags not long after nightfall. I fell asleep quickly but I woke up around 3am to the sound of something brushing up against the tent. I sat frozen for a few minutes as it happened again and again all around us. Finally I whispered to Chase that there was something outside. He sat up sleepily and listened, commenting that it was probably a skunk or something. I think he was skeptical until he heard it too, on both sides of the tent at the same time. He got a little wide-eyed and started to unzip the tent. He poked his head out and sighed, "It's snow!" The sound was the snow sloughing off of the tent fly! I think it's obvious we are Floridians... 

Day 14 - Carter Gap Shelter to Winding Stair Gap

After last night's adventure, we got out of camp around 8 and happily snapped pictures of the winter wonderland we found ourselves in. 1/4 of a inch of snow was all it took to make everything seem magical. I was exciting hiking through this light snowfall because you could see animal tracks on the trail. I would love to pick up a book on tracks and scat and the Appalachian flora, just so we know what's out there! Sheila's paws were a bit unhappy in the snow, so we put on her fleece booties. Dogbooties.com sells these great lightweight socks essentially that secure via an elastic velcro so they actually stay on her feet while she is hiking. Fleece also insulates when wet, so for the snow, these were a great purchase. She was soon trotting along happily again. The snow had melted by the time we got to Betty Creek Gap, and we took a break to prepare for climbing up Albert. We were debating making today a 16-mile day and pushing to Winding Stair Gap to get picked up to go into Franklin a day early. The daunting part of that plan was that we would have 9 more miles to go after summiting Albert, which is a really tough climb. The lure of pizza and beer was too much though, and we decided to go for it! On the way up to Albert we met a Southbounder named Prada. He saw Sheila and immediately recognized her! Sheep Dog has made us famous for sure. We chatted with him about his cold weather hike, about being stoked for 100 miles left until Springer, and took a picture with him. He was a really cool guy, and I hope his final 100 miles were amazing. We pushed onwards and upwards. The climb up was much easier than I remembered from my first hike back in July. We were at the top before I knew it. Sheila had no trouble with the steep ascent. I swear she is part mountain goat. We ate lunch at the top of the fire tower and took some pictures. Then we huffed it to Long Branch Shelter to use the facilities and relax for a bit. 6 more miles to go! A group stopped us at Glassmine Gap and chatted with us about hiking with a dog and thru-hiking in general. They seemed like a newbie kind of group. One guy was in jeans and a button down plaid shirt. We eventually got free of them and booked it down to Winding Stair. We stopped at Rock Gap to rest a minute and I seriously reconsidered pushing on another 4 miles. I was so tired! Sheila was falling asleep on her feet. But the pizza and beer got a hold of us, so on we went! On the last couple of ascents and descents, everything seemed blurry. Fatigue made our legs feel like Jell-O. Night was coming quickly and we would be lucky to be there before 6pm. Finally, we passed the sign for the gap. It seemed like forever to actually reach the road beyond the sign, but we were so happy when we got there. The Budget Inn van picked us up and brought us into town. We settled Sheila into the room and called for a ride to the pizza joint. Vito's Pizza in Franklin will come and pick up hikers from the Budget and bring them in to eat and drink! It was awesome! We ordered a large pizza, a chicken parm sub to split, an order of cheese sticks (which ended up being similar to a small cheese pizza) and a couple of beers. We ended up having leftovers for the next day, which was fine with us. You sleep so well when your fat, clean, and happy.

Day 15 - Zero in Franklin

Hello from Franklin! I have updated our ETA's on the Mail Drop page! We have started to pick up the pace in order to meet our 15-mile per day average, but we are not quite there. My injury has fully recovered, as you will read in future blog posts. 

Below is a summary of days 6 through 10 on the trail. I think posting in 4 day groupings makes blogging a bit more manageable. 

We haven't posted many photos yet because we are still working out transferring them from the camera to the iPad. Hopefully soon though! 

Day 6: Zero in Hiawassee

Our zero mile day (commonly called a Zero in the hiking world) in Hiawassee was just what I needed to heal up and feel better. We woke up pretty early, ate breakfast at the Subway, talked about our hiking plan, and started in on the chores that needed to be done. We sorted laundry and set up the tent. We laid the sleeping bags over a railing in the sun so they could air out and dry out a little. I brushed Sheila and brushed her teeth. We then decided to take a break and walk up to the local grocery store, Ingles, for lunch and resupply. We have been jokingly calling the place Inglés (as in the Spanish word for english), so we had a lot of fun walking around and deciding what we would eat for the next ten days. We decided to stock up on all the hiker favorites, things that are lightweight but calorie-packed like Ramen and Snickers. We had also heard about this great recipe for a backpacker's Pad Thai that called for chunky peanut butter in chicken-flavored Ramen with a little hot sauce added. I was particularly stoked about this meal option, as Pad Thai is one of my favorite foods. We also bought a lot of trail bars and these great breakfast biscuits that would be sure to get us going in the morning. For lunch, we settled on a great Ingles deli sub made with Boar's Head meats. We agreed to only eat half today so we could eat the other half on the trail the next day. We also bought a bag of Cheez-Its, which were a wonderfully salty and cheesey snack to balance all of the sweet and bland trail bars. When dinner time rolled around, we walked up to the local all-you-can-eat (AYCE) buffet, Daniel's. We heard from our shuttle driver that they had a pretty great salad bar and we were in desperate need of some veggies. The salad bar ended up being only okay, and everything else was fried. I had an entire plate of deep-fried, brown meats. Since the veggie options weren't spectacular, we opted to finish off with a dessert of raw broccoli (the only real vegetable on the bar besides cucumbers). Feeling pretty satisfied, we hiked back to the motel to pack our bags and get ready to hit the trail the next day. We ended up sharing a couple of beers with a couple of other hikers, Honeybun and Derrick, who had pulled a 19 mile day to get into town. They were both planning to zero as a result. I think they might have been ex-military, but I could be wrong. We had a great night overall, and were excited to get back out there. My leg was feeling much, much better, but even so, we talked about taking it slow once we hit the trail, doing low-mileage days just to make sure everything would be alright. Sheila relished her time in town, sleeping most of the day away.

Day 7: Tesnatee to Low Gap Shelter  We woke up pretty early in order to get our bags packed and be ready by our 9am shuttle departure time. Our driver ended up knocking on our door at 8:15am, which made me feel rushed. We hit the post office so Chase could fill out his change of address form and then headed to the gap. I was feeling pretty ready to take on the day. The man who drove us back to the gap seemed nice enough, kind of your "good ol' boy" type. We got to the gap a little after 9:30am and started our huff up out of the gap carrying 10 days worth of food and full water. Just before setting off, we met a hiker named Penguinman whom we had met at the base of Springer our second day on the trail. At the time, he had been heading up to the top with his wife in order to get some pictures of him signing the register and near the plaque, etc. His wife was wearing a big, puffy parka with faux fur around the hood and a pair of baggy jeans. We heard later on that she wasn't able to get up to the top of Springer, and I'm not surprised. It was really icy that day. Anyway, we met Penguinman again and set off from the bottom of Tesnatee Gap. The climb was just as hard as it had been two days ago, but by taking it at an easy pace with lots of stops to rest, we made it to the top without incident. We were passed by quite a few hikers on the way, but we made it! There were several great views from the top of the gap. It was such a beautiful and sunny day, you could actually see the outline of Atlanta in the distance. Seeing the hazy outline of a gigantic city from the top of a mountain will certainly make you feel very small. After sightseeing for a bit, we pushed on to Hogpen Gap and ate our lunch of leftover subs in a little clearing. Some section hikers passed us while we ate, as did Penguinman, who had stopped at Hogpen to get water. We took our time and made it to Low Gap Shelter by about 3pm. The shelter area was really beautiful and the water source was great. There were many great places to tent as well. The section hikers who passed us earlier were setting up in the shelter and building a fire. We all chatted a bit as I signed the register, and then we went off to set up our tent. Some other thru-hikers trickled in as we set up camp and made dinner. Trish and her boyfriend Jessie recognized us from the blogosphere because of Sheila. She has made us so popular! Trisha was really funny and thinking back on that night, I hope we bump into them again soon. A couple of solo thru-hikers joined our little group, including a guy named Gizmo who had hiked from Ft. Lauderdale, FL. The night at Low Gap marked his 66th on the trail. The last group to arrive was a couple that I had actually been in contact with a little pre-trail, Kristin and Eric (now known as Icicle and Quailman). They were super awesome and I was really glad we got to meet them. If it wasn't for having to pull off the trail for a day, we may have not met them so soon! Our little group of hikers stayed up until 9pm, talking and passing a flask around the campfire. So many great stories were told and lots of great coversation was had that night. It was probably one of my favorite nights on the trail, and I'm very grateful for the zero in Hiawassee for making it possible! Day 8: Low Gap Shelter to Blue Mountain Shelter After such a great night, Chase and I woke up and got out of camp later than we wanted to. This wasn't that big of a deal, since we were planning a pretty low mileage day anyway. While we packed up camp, Icicle and Quailman offered to carry some of our weight for us to help my leg recover and take some of the burden off of Chase. They were planning a shorter day as well and seemed really eager to help out, so we graciously accepted their offer. They hiked a bit faster than us, so even though we got out of camp earlier, they passed us in the first few miles. Taking it easy allowed us to really take in the scenery. It was another warm, lovely day on the trail filled with sunshine and a few great views. The beauty of hiking in the winter is that you almost always have a view of the mountains surrounding you. We took our last break of the day 3 miles from the shelter. The terrain looked really easy, so I wasn't worried about worsening my injury at all, but this last bit of the hike ended up being tons of rocks. Rocks are terrible because they wear your feet out if you walk on them, they can move and make you roll an ankle very easily, and you have to slow way down to avoid either of those things. We finally made it the shelter a little after Icicle and Quailman. They were still plopped on the ground eating what they could, which is a pretty common practice (eat first, everything else second) after a day of hiking. Chase set up the tent while I gathered water and signed the register. We also collected firewood and got ready to have a little campfire that night. That is the great thing about getting into camp early; so much time to do things before it gets dark and cold. We ended up sitting around with them until about 8pm. They were planning on zeroing at the shelter the next day to let Icicle rest a little, as she was thinking she might have pulled a muscle in her calf hiking through the rocks. It was nice being able to hang out with them a second night and get to know them more. We finished off the last of the booze we packed in and called it a night. Day 9: Blue Mountain Shelter to Rocky Mountain Our ninth day on the trail was pretty interesting. We woke up later than we wanted (as usual), took a group photo with Icicle and Quailman, said our good-byes, and hit the trail. It was very cold and windy, so we stopped a little way down the trail and put our mid layers back on. I have these Outdoor Research Flurry mittens that are amazing. Even in the high winds, my hands were toasty warm. We hiked down into Unicoi Gap feeling very good. The pain in my leg seemed to have disappeared entirely. We were already craving a burger, so we decided to try our hand at hitching and to grab lunch in Hiawassee. Chase stood out by the road while I hung back at the parking lot because I was feeling a bit shy. 15 minutes or so went by with no luck, and I was putting my pack on to keep going up the trail when a white SUV pulled in to drop off a hiker. The elderly couple kindly offered to take all 3 of us into town. They ended up buying us lunch from Hardee's which was an incredible piece of trail magic! Even Sheila got a burger! From the Hardee's we walked over to the Ingles and restocked on snacks. Chase had been eating like a bear already, and we needed more snacks to keep him happy. We also picked up some Terra chips for Icicle and Quailman! $40 later, we had to hitch back out the gap. We set off down the road and waited until we were on the edge of town to stick our thumbs out. It really was embarrassing for me, but after a few minutes, it seemed like the natural thing to do. In a trail town like Hiawassee, we didn't expect to wait long for a ride, and we didn't. A gentleman in an older Chevy truck picked us up as he was leaving town. Sheila and I jumped in the back of the truck and off we went! Unfortunately, the guy was about to run out of gas, so he had to drop us off about 2 miles from the gap and head back to town. I guess when we picked us up he thought we were going to Dick's Creek Gap. Anyway, we stuck our thumbs out again, this time on a country mountian highway between two small towns. It seemed like more people were driving into Hiawassee than into Helen, and we didn't get a ride until we were about a mile from the gap. It seems like when you have no hope left, the trail provides. A guy named Mike picked us up. His kids own the Hayloft restaurant in Helen, GA. He told us that at the Hayloft, they will come pick you up from the gap to eat lunch! That would have been good for us to know earlier in the day! Because of the unexpected hitching adventure, we didn't get back to the gap until 4 o'clock. We checked the guide and decided we could only get to the campsite on top of Rocky Mountain before nightfall. My leg  was feeling a bit sore from walking on the road with out trekking poles, but as soon as my feet touched the mountain, everything felt fine. We climbed out of the gap and arrived sooner than expected at the campsite. The camping area was beautiful; nice grassy and mossy spot with a view of the town below. As night fell, the city lights came to life below and provided a contrast to the starry night above. It was a cold and windy night on top of the mountain. At this point, life on the trail was beginning to normalize and really feel like home. Day 10: Rocky Mountain to Sassafras Gap Because I was feeling better, we decided to push our miles up a little and get to Sassafras Gap that day. We got out of camp pretty early, but the wind was bitterly cold and seemed to cut through to the bone. It was a foggy morning but as the sun rose and teh fog burned off, the day proved to be sunny and warm again. The great weather really made my mood soar. We made great time to Tray Mountain Shelter, where we took a longer break to get water and eat lunch. On the way out of the shelter, we ended up running into Icicle and Quailman! They were planning on camping at Sassafras Gap and to go into Hiawassee from Dick's Creek Gap the next day. We let them hike on ahead and continued to take it easy on our longest day since my injury yet. We met a group of hikers from Germany at Steeltrap Gap as we were taking a break. They were also heading for Sassafras and was wondering how to signal to their third hiking buddy that they moved on. I was changing my pants at the time. No time for modesty on the trail! ;) The Patagonia Houdini wind pants I was wearing as hiking pants had torn a bit in the seat of the pants and I didn't want to further damage them, so I changed to just hiking in my base layer bottoms. We moved on ahead of the Germas, but they caught up and passed us soon after. The last few miles to Sassafras Gap were mostly uphill, and it took us longer to reach the gap than I thought. I was trying not to feel too down about moving slow; after all I was still recovering. We met up with Icicle and Quailman and set up our tent near theirs. I have them the Terra chips and they seemed really grateful! I guess they were on their last portions of food before resupply in Hiawassee. We shared the bag between the four us as we set up home for the night. No campfire that night; we were all pretty beat and we were looking at a harder day in terms of elevation changes for that next day. It was a quiet night indeed. 

Posting blog updates has proven to be a little more sparse than we anticipated. I promise to try and do better! Chores tend to eat up your free time when you get into camp, especially if you arrive late. Also, I tend to be so tired at the end of the night that I fall asleep by 8pm. I have been keeping up a written journal to help reflect on the days past. 

Day 5: Slaughter Creek to Tesnatee Gap

Our fifth day on the trail started beautifully. We woke up around 4am, looked at each other, and said "Let's do this!" We were packed and on the trail up to Blood Mountain by 730am. There was a heavy fog that enveloped everything, making the trail seem more magical and mystical than normal. Chase got a great shot of me walking up to the old Blood Mountain shelter. The fog makes it extra eerie and awesome. No views for us that day, but I wasn't concerned about that. FOOD. Hot, delicious food was waiting for us at Neels Gap. The wind was ripping across Blood, dragging the clouds behind, but I wasn't interested in sight seeing. The rocks were slick with the dampness that comes from touching the clouds, but I paid it no mind. I trugged on with a singular goal; reach Neels Gap or die trying. I even ignored the burning pain in my leg that was becoming worse by the second.

Reaching Neels Gap was a great feeling. The climb down Blood seemed to last an enternity, but we were there right on schedule. Chase went in and ordered a pizza and started a tab. Starting a tab at an outfitter is really amazing, and I'm very glad that Mountain Crossings offers such a service. We ate one Red Baron pizza, 3 bags of chips, a turkey sandwhich, some beef jerky, and I had an apple juice while Chase chugged a Coke. We stocked up on Ramen, peanut butter, trailbars, and Snickers to get us through the next three days before we would head into Hiawassee. 

We left Mountain Crossings with full bellies and a head full of worries about the impending severe thunderstorm that was forecast to hit the trail that night. We decided that we needed to stay in a shelter to stay safe from what promised to be torrential rain and lots of lightning. With all of the down and weakend trees in the area from last week's ice storm, we were worried about being crushed while we slept. We decided to push our longest day yet, and try to reach Whitley Gap Shelter. 

I was okay with this plan. We had to push hard and fast, but I thought I was capable of it. We stopped to get water and I set off like a bat out of hell to make up the time lost. My leg was burning, but I wouldn't accept defeat. We zoomed past many a pretty site and I lost interest in my surroundings. Finally, on the way down into Tesnatee Gap from Cowrock Mountain, I lost it.

I stopped for a break and was getting up as Chase was hiking up behind me. He is normally much faster than I am, to give you an idea about how fast I was moving. My leg was in burning pain and Chase was commenting that it was only 0.7mi from the Gap to the entrance of the shelter, and then another 1.2mi to the shelter. I spit at him, "This must be just SO EASY for you!" And I trugged off without another word. I made it to the bottom of the gap, berating myself for lashing out at him, but also feeling sorry for myself because I was weak. I thought about all of the people I was proving right by not being able to cut it, by not being able to handle another step on the AT. I broke down crying on the way up out of Tesnatee, which is a very steep climb. My leg was screaming at me, I was feeling soft and weak and foolish, and I couldn't go on. Chase, being who he is, just hugged me and took my pack off. We sat on the trail, and I cried a bit more, and we decided to go into town. I needed to rest, to recoup, and get my head together.

Thankfully, there was service on the road, and we were able to call a shuttle. While we waited, we cooked up a pot of Ramen and ate. A wonderful woman named Sally picked us up and drove us down to Hiawassee, a good 30 miles from Tesnatee. She was a fisherwoman from the Tampa area, so we all bonded over the ocean, and that miraculous feeling you get when you wade into calm waters at sunrise. Remembering that feeling made me a bit homesick, but it also brought me back to a centered place in my head and my heart. I remembered why I was hiking in the first place.

Sally drove us to the ATM, pointed out the all-you-can-eat (AYCE) buffet in town, and dropped us at the Hiawassee Budget Inn. We checked in and threw all of our gear in the room, made sure Sheila was settled, and headed up to the Dairy Queen for a burger and a sundae. After eating, I opened up to Chase a bit about why I was feeling so down and why I felt like I needed to press harder. I wanted to keep up with the few people we had met and I wanted to meet more hikers. I wanted to belong to the trail. I wanted my hiking legs now. We made a pact to communicate more and to take it easy when we got back on the trail. We also decided to take a full zero in Hiawassee the next day to help the strain in my leg get better.

Back at the motel, we met some other thru-hikers as we sat on the porch drinking a Fat Tire, two guys named Asshole and Blackbeard. Both had hitched in from Dick's Creek Gap and were a little crazy. Asshole had some great stories from the trail and some good advice. It was nice to talk to them about their experiences. Talking with them made me feel like an actual member of the Appalachian Trail community. 

We feel asleep happier and more experienced than the day before. It's true what they say; a hot shower, a hot meal, and a warm bed can heal all wounds from the trail.