Bryson Hikes the AT

Author’s note: sorry for the long wait this time! I’ve repeatedly found myself somewhere without service when I’m ready to post this, and then adding a day on, ad nauseum. I’ll try and return to more frequent updates!

5/7 Mile 404 – Mountaineer Falls

After a great breakfast at 19E, we continued on. Jones Falls was a fun waterfall to explore, we did the little side trail to it and it was totally worth the effort. The falls were beautiful, and someone placed ropes to aid in the steep climb to the top of the falls, where we played around for a little while.

Because of how much we enjoyed camping away from the shelter the last time we did it, we decided to stop at a group of sites off on their own where someone had already built a fire ring, just before Mountaineer Falls. We got set up, and then it began raining heavily for a bit. Perfect timing to duck into the tents and do some snacking. Eventually, yelling between the tents, we decided to go for a quick shower under the falls. We were already wet, may as well be wet and a little cleaner. We got ready and made our way up to where the water actually dropped, and took turns under the flow. It was bone-chillingly cold. It felt like your brain was actually getting colder. It was a whole lot of silly fun, though; we were laughing the whole time. It was super invigorating, we all felt amazing afterwards.

Afterwards, we got a great fire going, even in the now-light rain. We’ve taken to packing out some luxuries for the first night out of each town, and roasted hot dogs over the fire. As a surprise dessert, I had secretly packed out frozen strawberries, whipped cream, and shortcake shells to make strawberry shortcakes, which were a huge hit with the group. They were fantastic, made even better by having them way out in the woods. Another first for Teabag and Aaron as well.

5/8 Mile 421.3 – Laurel Falls

Nice of Teabag to rekindle the fire before we all woke up this morning! So we had a lovely, slow breakfast as a group before departing. Teabag, Gwen and I hiked most of the day together. When we got to Laurel Falls, Aaron was already in the frigid water. It felt awesome, even though it was still crazy cold. The rest of us were clearly cold, and asked Aaron if he was at one point, because it didn’t seem like it. His reply was “I’m Canadian!” This was the first time I’ve actually been in water deep enough to really swim in on trail, and it was great. Two waterfalls in a row! Gwen, Billy Bob, Sprout, Teabag and I found a good site a bit past the falls, still near the river. Love a campsite where you can hear water.

5/9 Mile 437.7 – Vandeventer Shelter

Hitchhiked into Hampton for a quick resupply today. We only spent a couple of hours in town, but we had a great time. After resupplying at the dollar general, we were approached by Mike, who asked us if we often tried local restaurants in town. We replied that we sometimes did, and he offered to buy us lunch at the tiny little restaurant across the street, which we obviously accepted. The special that day was pork chops, and they were great. You know how many small towns only have one or two real restaurants? This was that, and Gwen, Teabag, and Aaron were excited to try that type of place for the first time. I was super excited to be there as well; the food was very good, as was the conversation with Mike about life in and around Hampton and Elizabethtown.

5/10 Mile 470.4 – Damascus, VA

First 30+ mile day today! 32.7 to be specific. Didn’t start the day thinking it would be that long. Gwen, Aaron, Teabag and I originally did 23 miles, which is already a pretty big push. It was a nice, but tiring, day. There was this section Aaron and I hiked together where the trail went through this massive meadow filled with yellow flowers.

Toward the end of the day we were hiking separately again, and I saw a bear just before arriving at camp. A word on my previous bear encounters, by the way: when I thought I saw those two bears in the Smokies, they were some distance away through some brush, and I realized that those might just have been feral hogs (there are a good number of those in that area). This wasn’t like that; it was a clear as day black bear on the trail in front of me, maybe 25 yards away. It took off as soon as it saw me, which is a good thing. That means it’s still afraid of humans.

I arrived at camp and set up in a nice little pine grove, then ate a big dinner. Then, however, Rambo showed up. He was currently on mile 32, planning to push the rest of the way to Damascus. Tempted by the idea of our first 30 and non-instant coffee in the morning, Teabag and I (and another guy I’d just met named Tailwind) joined him for a little night hike. It was only my second time night hiking out here, and my first time night hiking with a group. The weather was perfect for it, and we had pleasant talks about why and how we’re out here on the trail, among other things. Rambo was glad to have the company, he was feeling the miles. The last two miles seemed to stretch on forever, I was on mile 31 for the day already and getting so sore. We did eventually get to Damascus, and set up at the first place we saw tents, The Place Hostel, run by a local Methodist Church. Apparently it is the oldest hostel on trail, and was originally opened to support riders of the Trans-American bike ride. We decided to cowboy camp due to the lovely weather and how tired we were, another first for me.

5/11-5/12 Mile 470.4 – Damascus, VA

It was a relaxing two days of rest and resupply in Damascus, my first double zero (thanks to just pushing in instead of doing that last 10 miles in the morning). Gwen sent 9 pounds of stuff back to France, which he was very happy to get off of his back. I ate at the diner three times in Damascus, it was excellent.

5/13 Mile 486.7 – Lost Mountain

Felt good to be back on trail after two full days off. It’s odd how being in town for too long feels weird now. I (and others have said the same) have started to feel like being in the woods is the normal state of things and being in town for too long can be a bit overwhelming to the senses.

5/14 Mile 504.3 – Wise Shelter (campsites just past it)

I’ve never been so excited to see a pony! I thought I was going to make it through the Grayson Highlands without seeing one of the famous wild ponies; I’d chatted with two of my friends, they’d already seen them two miles back. Apparently those ones had gone elsewhere, and I was bummed, thinking I was out of luck, when this gentleman appeared out of the fog:

Also, I passed 500 miles today (and visited the highest point in Virginia)!

At another stellar campsite as I type this. There are only three of us here: me, Gwen, and a new friend we’ve made named Double H (and her dog Huckleberry). We’re within earshot of a rushing river to put us to sleep, and had a really nice fireside chat about all sorts of things, the three of us have a lot in common. It’s such a pleasure to make a new friend out here that you immediately really vibe well with. We finished the evening with some honey sleepytime tea that I made for the three of us, and now I’m winding down in my tent.

5/15 Mile 521.8 – Campsite along Bobby’s Trail

Got to see a whole lot more ponies this morning! It was like something out of a nature documentary: Gwen and I were hiking along and I heard a neigh. We paused and ventured a couple hundred yards off trail to find them, and stumbled upon a herd of at least a dozen!

As I type this, Gwen and I are hanging out in the shelter where we stopped for lunch. We got here right as the rain started, so decided to wait it out, and it’s been a lovely little midday break. I’ve been reading and journaling. Gwen’s napping in the corner, I might end up doing the same. The rain appears to be just about done, so we’ll probably move on pretty soon. After I make a pot of coffee, of course.

Note: I did in fact end up napping in the shelter earlier after lunch. Was wonderful, I definitely needed it.

When we got hiking again after our midday siesta, it was odd but pleasant how it felt like a whole new day. We ended up settling down at a quiet little site just a bit down a blue-blazed trail with a friend I’ve met before named Jam-In-A-Bag. He’s French Canadian, and it was a little funny hearing the typical debate over the logistics of hanging a bear bag happen in French instead of English between him and Gwen.

5/3 345.5

What a stellar town day. We hiked about 7 miles to Uncle Johnny’s hostel, then got a ride into Erwin. After resupplying at Food City (where they were nice enough to give thru hikers the member discount just because) we hitchhiked to a Mexican Restaurant for lunch. Fantastic food, and thanks to Tyler, the former owner of the outfitter in town, for the ride! A chimichanga and horchata was exactly the right thing for the moment.

Hitching once more, we were immediately picked up by Lucas, a fantastic guy whom we got to know over the course of the afternoon. He came to the Steel Rail coffeeshop with us where we had a lovely conversation about life and the trail, and also encountered a table full of our trail friends. Lucas insisted on buying our coffee, and then drove us back by Food City for a couple more items (more on those later), then back to Uncle Johnny’s. Such a kind person, thank you again! This trail really introduces you to a lot of fundamentally good people.

Upon our return to Uncle Johnny’s, we took turns showering while Queen and Zeppelin played in the background, then hopped back on trail. The additional supplies we picked up on the second food city trip were part of a plan with Medic T and Teabag, and we met them (and a couple new friends, Tripwire and Lilo) at a campsite a couple miles down the trail from town and had our own little trail cookout, complete with brats and beer. Gwen had also picked up some brie and wine and enjoyed his first taste of home in a while. We shared that before the cookout, and it was absolutely lovely. Wine and cheese on trail, the luxury! After dinner, Teabag (who is English, and prides himself on the quality of his tea) made us some lovely mint tea. Someone pointed out that we shared an element of each of our home countries that night, which I thought was nice.

All in all, a perfect town day where we got some miles in and our town chores done, met some fantastic folks, and ended the day with a lovely gathering with friends in the woods.

5/4 361.4

Back on trail and cranking out the miles through some big ups and downs. Lovely warm and sunny day, which was a nice change from the chilly wind we’ve had a lot of recently. Breakfast was, alongside my usual grits and coffee, pain lait au chocolat, courtesy of Gwen and some extra buns from the night before (bread and chocolate is a common French snack, I learned). The hiking was good, and we got some nice Trail Magic a couple miles before Beauty Spot, which lived up to its name. We ate lunch there, still working on leftover hotdogs and chips from the cookout the night before.

In the afternoon we got into some lovely pine forest that was reminiscent of the Smokies!

To cap off a beautiful day of hiking, Gwen had in town yesterday made a plan to make the trail version of one of his favorite things to cook at home, pasta with goat cheese and pesto. He cooked that for both of us for dinner. It was truly excellent, and such a thoughtful thing of him to do. Definitely one of my favorite trail meals so far.

After dinner, we joined Jumanji, Medic T, Teabag, and Tuna Experience around the fire for a bit. Good fire and lovely conversation as always.

5/5 Mile 379

This morning Teabag joined Gwen and I, and it was great! Lots of conversation about music and concert experiences, cities, and life in general. Another warm and pleasant one. We started hearing rumors of excellent taco-based trail magic about 5 miles out, and they did not disappoint! News travels fast on trail. Along the way there, Aaron joined us. Something we had a little laugh over: in this group we had someone from England, France, the US, and Canada. We had all the original WWII Allies!

We stopped at the trail magic, organized by some 2022 thru hikers, and had tacos, brownies, chips, soda, and fruit to our hearts’ content. This was some of the best trail magic I’ve ever seen.

Eventually, we did finish up at the trail magic with a coffee each, and move on. We split up for a bit of solo hiking, although I ran back into Aaron eventually and we hiked together a while, talking about Canada and history and other things. The terrain once more became this amazing high spruce forest, one of my favorite biomes on trail, and one that is apparently heavily endangered in the Southern Appalachians. We eventually got to the shelter, which is actually the highest in elevation on the whole trail! I don’t typically stay in shelters, but the four of us decided we all wanted to stay in this one, partially cause it’s a cool one with a full upstairs and partially for the bragging rights. That’s actually where I am as I type this, upstairs in the highest shelter on the AT.

5/6 Mile 395.3

Did about 16 miles before 3 PM today. Two big uphills with gorgeous views most of the way; there were points where you could see a mile+ of the trail as it stretched up these huge balds, it was so impressive. I love the Roan Highlands. Gwen and I hiked with Teabag again this morning, it was lovely. He’s another person with whom the hiking conversation flows very easily, and we have shockingly similar tastes in things like movies and music. Aaron joined us for lunch among a nice rock formation just past the day’s big summit.

Again, perfect hiking weather. After the massive downhill to the road crossing and a lovely chance encounter with Rolodex’s family, we got picked up to go to the Station at 19E. What a cool hostel! We stayed upstairs, and downstairs is a bar and music hall. We showered and did our laundry, got some excellent wood fired pizza at Smokey Mountain Bakers, then came back to the Station to catch the Preston Benfield Band show. They were really, really good. I was thrilled when the guitarist brought out a vintage Gibson steel guitar for a couple amazing solos. While we were all enjoying the music, I had a big reunion with someone I haven’t seen since Georgia, Fork Man! We hiked together a lot in those first days, and like I’ve said before, it’s amazing how emotional reunions like that are out here. This trail can make you feel like you’ve known someone for years after just a few days together.

4/30 Mile 301.8 Jerry Cabin

Satisfyingly difficult push today. Weather started out cold, wet, and slippery, and the terrain meant we had to be super careful. It eventually dried up, but stayed pretty cold. There was a lot of up and down, including one of the hardest continuous climbs we’ve had so far on trail; it seemed to go on forever. To top it all off, there was a rock-scrambly ridgewalk of around 1.4 miles. This part was a whole lot of fun, scrambling over boulders along the top of an exposed ridgeline with incredible mountain views off both sides. The fact that we got through all of today’s challenges, still had a great time, and still did some good miles was pretty confidence-inducing. Also, a milestone: we passed 300 miles!

5/1 Mile 317.3 Hogback Ridge

Pleasant but quite cold 15 and a half miles. Some nice trail magic from a man named Omissimus, got an ice cream sandwich and a mountain dew. Being on trail reeeeaaally makes you appreciate any cold carbonated drink.

Really happy that Gwen and I started hiking together, our hiking styles naturally mesh well and the conversation flows so easily about every topic you can think of. Also, fun fact, it just so happens that we were only born 12 days apart!

5/2 Mile 338 No Business Knob

Big day today! First 20+ miler! Not an easy one either, the push up to Big Bald was a struggle. There was a moment where Gwen was like “Oh hey, look at that bald wayyy up there across the valley” and then half an hour later, guess where we were. It was a nice day for a push, though. Summitted Big Bald with Sprout, Teabag, Gwen, and Billy Bob. Then we all pressed on to the next shelter for a big lunch, which was about our halfway point for the day. Some well timed trail magic on our way to lunch, including pasta salad, brownies, bananas, and La Croix. Hard to believe I’ve officially been out here a month!

There was quite a bit of climbing for our first 20 miler, but all in all, I feel pretty good. I’ve got the start of what might become my first blisters on trail on my heels, but we’ll see. Was happy to see Jessie and Kory roll into camp today, it’s been a few days! Jessie pulled a full marathon to get here today!

Note: This post will just cover through Saturday. There are some pictures I need to get from Gwen, so I’ll do another when we get to Erwin for our next resupply. All is going well, though, and I’m at mile 317.3 as I post this!

4/27 274.9

Rainy 18 miles into Hot Springs. Gwen and I joined Sprout and Billy Bob, and we all held a pretty nice pace and had a lovely hike in the rain. Thanks once more to Snore’s parents for some of the best trail magic yet, that fire when we stopped for a break in the cold rain was absolutely excellent. I found out that Billy Bob is also a pilot, so we had a nice long conversation about that. Definitely want to come fly the Hudson corridor with you sometime!

4/28 274.9

Very necessary zero day in Hot Springs, and it was wonderful. By the way, have I defined “zero day” yet on here? It just means a day when you don’t do any AT miles.

Country fried steak at the diner is exactly what I needed for breakfast. It was pretty neat being there for several folks’ first diner breakfast, as our group that morning came from South Africa, the UK, Quebec, France, and the US. I had to think a bit when I was asked to explain what biscuits are. Gwen and I had all our town chores done by noon, so it was absolutely amazing to just have the rest of the day to relax, nap, make phone calls, whatever. And then, Snore’s parents, once again being incredibly generous and awesome, hosted us all for fantastic smash burgers at their camper in the Hot Springs campground. Finally, a group of us finished off the evening at the Spring Creek Tavern before calling it a night. Perfect zero day.

4/29 285.9

Nice day getting back on trail. Leaving town was kinda fun because Gwen and I had at least three separate encounters along the way where we randomly encountered friends as we left town (some of those have already joined us where I’m camping now as I write this). Gorgeous views climbing above the French Broad River after leaving Hot Springs.

4/24 223.4

Well, the free shuttle was full, but with our thumbs out for less than a minute on the main street in Gatlinburg, Glenn and Joyce were kind enough to give Rambo, Chilidog, and I a ride back to Newfound Gap. Thanks again! Pleasant hiking again today, we couldn’t have timed the weather better for the Smokies. And today the views were near-constant.

4/25 241.8

Finished the Smokies! TONS of downhill today (like 5000ish feet total leaving the Smokies). I’ll sure miss that gorgeous spruce forest. We did descend into full spring foliage, though. Everything was just beginning to bud up in the Smokies (which was neat because of visibility and it really felt like early Spring extended just for us). Down here, everything is nearly fully leafed out at this point. Feels like a different world.

After finishing the Smokies and encountering some lovely trail magic (thanks to Snore’s parents and to the other amazing duo who were there celebrating a 10th thru hiker anniversary) I picked a site just off the trail a bit past Standing Bear Farms, a hostel. After setting up, I walked the .2 to the hostel because I figured some friends of mine would be there, and they sure were! Not only did I get to see Sprout, Jessie, and Rambo who I’ve hiked with recently, but Gwen, Pyro, Nick, and Hannah, all of whom I’ve known since early in the trail, were there. It was a lovely reunion, and I hung out for hours to catch up with folks. It’s amazing how running into someone you hiked a few days with soon after you started the trail feels like a reunion with an old, dear friend you haven’t seen in years.

4/26 257.0

After encountering Gwen last night at standing bear, I heard his voice saying Hello outside my tent as I was packing up this morning! I finished packing up, and then we hiked all day together. Today was rainy, but not in an unpleasant way. One of those rains that lends a misty, mystical, rainforest feel to everything. Gwen and I were so invested in the conversation, today’s 15ish miles absolutely flew by. We didn’t stop talking for the whole 7 hours or so of hiking, and it was lovely, especially on a wet day like today. We also made it to the famous Max Patch!

A couple fun stats: we passed the 10% point back at 220 miles! And, this became my longest hike so far at mile 231!

4/22 Mile 197.2

Had some pounding rain over night, but luckily it only started once I was in my tent for the night and ended in the morning. The day initially seemed like it was going to be cold and damp, but lightened up and got pleasant within a couple hours. I decided to make it a shorter one. I’d been pushing hard the previous few days, and got to Double Spring Gap which turned out to be a lovely little shelter and campground. The Smokies have changed entirely yet again! Everything is gorgeous, Christmas-tree-scented balsam forest now. Some friends I encountered at Double Spring and I concocted a plan for the next day. More on that next.

First, a little side note on that book I showed a picture of in the last post: I was reading that before bed, and tonight I just happened to read the section about the author’s hike through the Smokies and up Clingman’s Dome in particular.

4/23 Mile 207.7

As planned the night before, Jessie, Rambo, Jules, Chilidog, and myself got up at 5:30ish in order to leave by 6:30. This meant we got to do a lovely sunrise hike to Clingman’s Dome. It was gorgeous, and so incredibly peaceful. I left just before the rest of the group, so I did it solo. Climbing Clingman’s as the sun rose through that spruce forest is one of the most awesome (in the original sense of the word) things I’ve ever done. At each break in the trees, you could see clouds pooled in the valleys below. Pictures do not do the experience justice at all, but here are a few anyway.

The next part of our plan was to reach Newfound Gap by 12:30, because a free shuttle operated by some friendly folks would take us into Gatlinburg (we even got some trail magic before getting on the shuttle). That way, we still got over 10 miles for the day, but also got to have pretty much a full town day. The plan worked beautifully. I’d never been to Gatlinburg, and it was a lot of fun. We accomplished the normal “town chores” quickly (shower, laundry, resupply) and then had the rest of the day to just hang out. The amount I ate is truly astounding. First we walked the length of the strip just to check out our options, then grabbed a pitcher at a rooftop bar. We went to Smoky Mountain Brewery to eat and I had a 14oz ribeye with a Caesar salad, baked Mac and cheese, and broccoli with beer cheese, which was incredible. Back at our hotel, because we all needed a break after that meal, we noticed Moneyball was on, so I got to see that finally (for the first time, great movie). Then, incredibly, we were hungry again. So we walked over to Cici’s, which has an all you can eat pizza and pasta buffet, and closed it down. Lovely town day, and we did it all while also ending the day 10 miles further down the trail than we started! The free shuttle will take us back to Newfound Gap in the morning!

Another side note: ran into Gwen, the French friend I mentioned a while ago, at Newfound! Was great to see him, it’s been forever (it feels like). He had been to Gatlinburg the day before and was getting back on trail when we saw him, and described Gatlinburg as “like Disney without Mickey Mouse” and I think that’s pretty accurate.

4/19 Mile 154.5

Pushed some miles! Since I slept inside at the NOC, I didn’t have to tear down camp and could get moving at 7:30AM. Decided to see how far I’d go if I went pretty much all day with a fullish pack, and made about 17.5 miles or so. Not bad for early in the trail with some crazy elevation change. Pretty little solo site off on its own yesterday as well; haven’t had that many of those on this trail, so it’s fun when it happens.

4/20 Mile 172.3

Very full day today! Was trading places back and forth with a nice guy named Weatherman on the way to Fontana. Some nice trail magic that we both got along the way too, shout-out to Marvel and everyone else who provided that! Turns out that whole crew was actually from Bloomington, IL, which was a fun little surprise.

I got to the Fontana Marina, and it turns out that it’s basically a floating resupply spot! An Australian hiker named Mental who I’ve run into before and I had a beer and a lovely chat sitting at tables they had on sortof the “back porch” of the Marina Store area. We eventually did the final mile or so to the “Fontana Hilton,” a shelter that holds like 18 and is famous or being the only shelter on trail with a hot shower. I decided not to stay because it and it’s camping area were super full already, and it looked like lovely weather for some evening hiking into the Smokies. I did, however, take advantage of that hot shower before I took off.

There were 7 miles or so from the Fontana Hilton to the first campable place in the Smokies (the Smokies are unique in that you’re required to camp at specific places where there are bear cables). The first couple miles, though, took me to and over the Fontana Dam, which was really neat to look at! It’s huge, and is one of those very mid-century industrial type pieces of infrastructure. Built by the TVA, and you can tell.

I was really glad I kept hiking instead of staying at the “Hilton.” The evening light was lovely as I passed the dam and entered Smokey Mountain National Park, and once inside the park I didn’t see another hiker until I hit camp. I did do my first mile or so of night hiking on the trail, which was fun. Being in the Smokeys, I did assume anything I heard walking around was a bear. Shout-out to Aaron, who saw me looking around confused with my headlamp once I got here and led me to an available campsite. This place has a confusing layout during the day, but at night it was near impossible to see where the little site trails were.

4/21 Mile 189.8

Big wildlife day today! Just out of camp I saw a bobcat! He was directly on the trail, a little bigger than my cat Ollie, except with a little bobtail and ear tufts. He sped up and trotted away from me down the trail when he saw me. I also saw my first two bears of the trail! They were just past Rocky Top (stellar views there, by the way). I saw them through some trees and underbrush, and as soon as they saw me they grunted and took off in the opposite direction, so most of what I saw of them is their rear ends as they ran off. Today was my first time seeing either bears or a bobcat in the wild!

The Smokies are a wondrous place for solo hiking. This was some of the most uninterrupted solo hiking I’ve had on this trail, and it felt pretty magical. Huge environmental diversity here; the forest feels so old growth and lush, but then there are areas up above 5,000 feet that feel almost like high desert.

Also, for anyone who wonders about my reading habits out here, yes I do choose books by weight. I finished the first book I brought with me a few days ago. I passed it along to Josh, who had mentioned that he wanted it next. Since he’s a little bit behind me right now, I left it in the logbook box in a shelter that I knew he’d be passing the next day, then texted him to let him know where it was. My next book had to be something I could find at the Nantahala Outdoor Center (I checked the hiker box for anything abandoned first, a friend found a copy of 1984 in a hiker box once). Since my options were mostly things like hardback copies of A Walk in the Woods and guides to edible mushrooms, I ended up going with Walking With Spring, Earl Shaffer’s memoir of the very first AT thru hike, back in 1948. Seems appropriate.

Nice little 8 miles or so after getting dropped off back at Rock Gap by Britches’s Aunt Barb on Sunday. Ended up being glad I stopped there, because we’ve started to have the sad realization that some more of us are going to separate for now, due to different paces. So camping at Siler Bald was a lovely time with Travis, Josh, Britches, Feral Goat, Olivia and I together, as was the next day when I hiked through the morning with Travis and Josh, and then everyone arrived to the Wayah Bald fire tower one after another and had a lovely little lunch and hangout. The weather was gorgeous. We did one last mile or so all as one group to the Wayah Bald Shelter, and then I said my difficult goodbyes (for now, and for some folks for the third time that day as we continued running into each other and hanging out) as I continued on. I say “for now” because I know I’ll see everyone again soon; either on the trail as our paces continue to change and folks catch up, or after the trail (we’re already making plans to meet up, and I can’t wait). Again, it’s absolutely incredible how close I’ve begun to feel to these folks over the past few weeks, and I’m so glad I met each of them.

I continued on after saying goodbye (for now) at Wayah, and camped at Big Branch last night. That put me less than 10 miles from the Nantahala Outdoor Center, where I am now. The hike here was gorgeous: there was a spot called The Jump-Off with a stunning view toward the Smokies, and then a long, steep descent toward the NOC with a lovely view a good chunk of the way. Some ridge-walking too, which is always nice, what with the mountain views on both sides. What a lovely spot to resupply and have some good food and drinks! I picked up my first mail drop (thanks Grammy Nae and Gramps!) had a beer with some trail acquaintances, and then made some phone calls to catch up with folks while sitting by the Nantahala and watching whitewater kayakers practice. When I was getting ready to head back out on trail, I happened to run into a hiker I talked to yesterday named Master Splinter, who happened to have an extra bed in the room he booked here, so we went and got some food at the NOC restaurant (chicken fried chicken!) and now I’m getting ready to sleep in my 3rd real bed on trail (although this one is more of a summer-camp style bunk).

(Written 4/15)

Yesterday was a rainy one, although not as cold as the last time it was wet, which was nice. Josh and I ran back into each other and hiked together up Albert Mountain, and made it through our 100th mile of the AT! It was a neat climb, and had some of our first scrambles up rocks that we’ve done on the trail.

I ended up camping at Rock Gap. Side note about that: the conversation around the shelter last night before I went back to my tent was particularly fun. There were two Australian hikers, a French Canadian hiker, and a German hiker there, with the rest of us being from the US. It’s so neat to have so many people with so many very different life experiences in the same place with the same goal.

This morning 4 of us got picked up by Britches’s Dad at Rock Gap. Today was fantastic! We ate great barbecue for lunch, resupplied at Walmart, and ate at the fabulous restaurant where Britches used to work for dinner (The Crown, in Brasstown, NC; the pork tenderloin was absolutely incredible). We’re staying with Britches’s grandma tonight before getting back on trail in the morning. Thanks so much to Jason Deck for lunch and dinner, to Grandma Jo for the incredible hospitality and to Barb or the ride back to the trail! We all had such a lovely time and it was so good to meet and talk with everyone.

It’s so neat how abundant the trail magic has been around here. I actually overshot my intended campsite the other day, but that just happened to result in getting to Dick’s Creek Gap at the same time as a) someone was cooking burgers for hikers at the trailhead and b) the free shuttle Hiawassee operates to take hikers into town was getting ready to go. Wandering and I had happened to get there at the same time, so we (and Totoro) got burgers, then went into town. We resupplied, which was an overwhelming experience, as this was my first time in a full grocery store on trail. We both got all sorts of snacks from the bulk section. Then, as it turns out, the mayor was actually hosting a cookout for hikers, so we got more burgers, hot dogs, brownies, and all sorts of other good things. Lovely time hanging out in Hiawassee. Eventually I took the free shuttle back and camped near the trailhead, to be near the hostel I was headed to the next day.

The next day was my first ever hostel day on the trail, which was great. First shower and first clean clothes since April 2! And everyone at Around the Bend was so nice. My friend Brady and I rode the free shuttle into Hiawassee again, and this time we checked out the brewery in town. A couple local beers and some fish and chips has never been that exciting, it was awesome! And then when we got back to the hostel, we all hung out in the common area, had some wine, used the leg massagers and such that they had there, and just relaxed before heading back to the trail the next day. Someone there could even play guitar, so she played and we had a little singalong.

First day post hostel was nice, I felt so refreshed. I was making good time, but ended up stopping at Bly Gap, just past the North Carolina border (!), because I encountered some friends and they were about to make a fire, which sounded nice. First state done, 13 more to go!

Today was my first 15 miler of this trail. Starting to step the pace up a bit, and it’s feeling good! I’m glad I took the first bit so easy, but I’m ready to start doing some more miles. All of us kinda held each other to the easy pace, which is good because it was tempting to just go for it early on, which is probably a bad idea on a 2000 mile hike. I ended up going a little further than originally intended because I encountered my friends Travis and Josh, a father and son doing the trail together who I’ve really enjoyed hiking with. Josh was actually one of the very first folks I met on the approach trail. So I decided to hike a little further with them, and we’re here at Carter Gap shelter, which has had a reputation for bears recently, but we’ll see!

Morning update: no bear encounters at Carter.