Day 24, March 24, 2009

It is about 9:00 pm and Giggles and I just got into our tent to go to sleep. It was a fun, but tiring day. We had an awesome morning because instead of waking up around 8:30 am and hitting the trail by 8:30 or 9 am, we didn’t leave until about 11:00 am. We woke up early, but we just stayed in our sleeping bags until about 9, ate breakfast and chilled with Indiana Jones. We only had a few hours of hiking to do to meet up with Topo’s parents, but they were not going to be there until 5:30 or 6:00 pm, so we enjoyed taking our time. We stopped at a really cook, old look-out tower about ½ mile off the trail for lunch. It was called Mount Camerer. The old tower looked like a beach house and we sat on some warm rocks in the sun and enjoyed a long lunch. Then the hike down to meet Topo’s parents was very flat and enjoyable. We saw a little garden snake, some gorgeous small waterfalls, and enjoyed the sunny, warm weather. We got the road where we were meeting the Palmers a little early, so we stopped at Standing Bear Hostel to hang out for a bit. Topo’s parents brought us a re-supply of food, a delicious dinner and Mosey back! We had roast beef sandwiches, Caesar salad, sweet tea, fresh berries, and brownies. Yummy. Plus, we finished the section of the trail in the Smoky Mountains National Park that dogs are not allowed on, so we were all excited to see our buddy Mosey again. We hiked 2 miles more up the trail after dinner to o……camping at Painter-Branter (spelling????) campsite. We met back up with our friend Evergreen tonight. I think I will sleep well tonight. XOXOXOXOXO OutLoud.

Day 23, March 23, 2009

Its about 5:30 pm and we are hanging out at Crosby Knob Shelter. We hiked about 13 miles today and got into the shelter around 3:00. We had warm weather today and there were some fair-weather clouds shading us. We hiked along the ridge line all day. There were many majestic views along the way. We stopped at a delightful grassy spot with a pretty view for lunch. We hiked about ½ the day with a friend we met a week or so ago on the trail, “Indiana Jones.” We spent the afternoon collecting firewood and hanging out. We are about to cook some dinner and have an awesome fire in the fireplace inside the shelter we are staying in. Tomorrow we get Mosey back! Topo’s parents are going to meet us in the evening with roast beef sandwiches and with our 4th partner in crime, Mosey. Good bye for now!

Day 22, March 22, 2009

Today was another great day in the Smokies. We hiked 4.9 miles out of the woods to Newfound Gap. There we met up with Topo’s girlfriend, Whitney, who brought us donuts and our food re-supply for the next 3 days. She came hiking with us for a few miles down the trail and then we stopped at a shelter for lunch. Soon after lunch we came to a place called Charlie’s Bunion. It was a rocky outcrop with an amazing view. Topo took an awesome picture of me jumping up with the view in the background. Then we hiked on. The weather was gorgeous. We hiked a total of 15.4 miles today. We met some more new people tonight. Some college students from Brown. They shared marshmallows with us and we toasted them over a fire that we build inside the shelter. We also played a fun word/charades game with them. It was a fun night. Time for bed. XOXO – good night.

Day 21, March 21, 2009

Today was another spectacular (and gorgeous) day. I just found out that we have now completed 200 miles on the AT. (editorial note by mom: "Wow, impressive.") We had beautiful, sunny weather all day during our 15 mile trek in Smoky Mountain National Park. We also summitted the highest peak on the AT today. It is called Clingman’s Dome and it is 6,643 feet high. At the top of the mountain, there was this crazy tower which you could walk up a ramp to get to a 360 degree view at the top. It was beautiful and we had no clouds blocking the view. Then we hiked on to Mount Collins Shelter. The high elevation is filled with balsam fir trees and the slightly cool fresh air smelled so great. We enjoyed the refreshing scents all day. Tonight we built another fire inside the shelter we are camping at. Trapper is here, along with a few other new people we had not met before tonight. There is also a 60 year old “ridge runner” that is staying at this shelter. He is a volunteer that cleans up the trail and does other maintenance all day as he hikes his territory. There are 3 ridge runners in the Smokies. They do a great job maintaining the area for us hikers and we appreciate them. Good night for now.

Day 20, March 20, 2009

It was a great day. We hiked 11 miles through the gorgeous Smoky Mountains and we had lovely weather all day long. It was about 32 degrees when we woke up this morning, but it was blue, sunny skies all day. The slightly chilly air and breeze was nice for the uphills. We hiked 3 peaks today including Rocky Top, N.C. We got the shelter at 3:45, so we had a while to hang out and collect firewood. Luckily there was room for us in the shelter, AND another fireplace inside the shelter. We cooker dinner, watched the colorful sunset and hung out around the fire. We met some more cook people tonight just in the Smokies. Just another fun day along the Appalachian Trail! Goodnight.

Days 17, 18, & 19. March 17-19, 2009

Well, we are back on the trail after taking off to Asheville for a bit. Tuesday was St. Patty’s day, we hiked 6 miles out to a road in Fontana Dam and Topo’s girlfriend, Whitney, drove up about an hour and a half to Asheville.

Sound Tribe Sector 9, my favorite band, just happened to be playing in Asheville, so we all went out to the show. When we got to town, we dropped Giggles off to hang out with her boyfriend, Dalton, and then we went to Topo’s sister’s house. We were lucky to have a sunny day because we were able to lay all of our wet gear out to dry in the sun. I hung out with Topo and his sister, until Korinne and a few others from Charleston came and picked me up on their way into town. We went to a hotel downtown, and then we went out to see Sound Tribe. Korinne brought me some clean, cotton, non-camping clothes to wear while I was not hiking for a few days. That was awesome! We chowed down on some delicious Mexican food on the way to the show. The STS9 show was great fun. I saw a lot of people I knew from Charleston and from Boone. After the show, Noah got into town! We hung out for a little while than I got to sleep in a real bed! Wednesday was our first day of no hiking, or a thru-hikers call it, a “zero- day”….and it was awesome. I woke up on the early side and it was an absolutely gorgeous out, so Noah and I walked around Asheville all day. We also ate at my favorite Asheville restaurant, Tupelo Honey Café. I had candies ginger cornbread with peach butter and grilled cheese (with goat cheese and havarti) and the best tomato soup ever! It was a wonderfully satisfying and awesome meal. After lunch, we just relaxed for the afternoon and than at sushi and Thai food for dinner…mmmmmmmm! I was tired, so we just took it easy for the rest of the night while Korinne and my other friends went to the show. Then this morning we left Asheville around 9:00 am to drive back to the trail, right where we left off. Today we entered Smoky Mountain National Park and hiked about 11 miles. It was sunny all day until about 4:30 pm, then the rains came pouring down on us. Luckily, there was room for us in the shelter, so we managed to stay fairly dry. The day off was nice and much needed, but it feels great to be back on the AT. We met a bunch of cool people in the shelter tonight and saw some people we already knew. This shelter is nice because it is big, sleeps 14 and has a covered cooking area and a stone fireplace inside the sleeping areas. A man named JD, his son (a 5th grader named “Close Call” and one of JD’s students (an 8th grader named “Bad Punster”) have been keeping the fire going all evening…..pretty nice for this damp, cold, night. Tomorrow is supposed to be pleasant for which we are grateful. We are going to hike about 12 miles further into the Smokies. Good night.

March 16, 2009 Day 16

DAY 16, March 16, 2009

Today was fun and empowering. We hiked 9 miles (mostly in the rain again) before we stopped at Brown Fork Shelter for lunch. After lunch, we hiked another 5-6 miles before we stopped for the night at a small shelter for the night at a place called Cable Gap. The shelter was full, but luckily we got here when the rain had just slowed down enough for us to put up our tents. We cooked dinner and we shared a fire with the people staying in and around the shelter. Now we are going to bed early because we are getting up at 6:45 am. We have to hike 6 miles out and meet Topo’s girlfriend, Whitney who is going to pick us up and drive us to Asheville. Tomorrow is St. Patrick’s Day and we are going to see Sound Tribe! Woooooooo hooooooooo! Then on Wednesday, we will take our first “Zero Day” as AT hikers call it. And get back to the trail on Thursday. It should be a great time. PEACE OUT YO!

Day 15! March 15 Yeee Haw
We woke up this morning to another foggy, damp, drizzly day. We packed up at the shelter and had a quick mile hike down to the Nantahala. The trail crosses right by the Nantahala Outdoor Center and over the Nantahala River. We took a quick look around at the N.D.C. and then headed back UP into the mountains – 6 miles up, that is!. The rain sort of subsided but it was still very foggy and rain was dripping off the trees. The coolness in the air was nice considering all of the uphill hiking. Even though we couldn’t see far off the trail, the trail itself and its borders were very pretty today. There was a few rock over-hangs, a water fallish type creek, lots of rock out-croppings, and many spots where the trees and brush outlining the trail formed an arch over the pathway. It was inviting and beautiful. The long uphill trek was very rewarding when we got to the top. On the way up, I passed by a friendly couple that gave me a piece of Amish Friendship bread. It was delicious! We stopped at a shelter where we planned to have lunch…and ended up just staying here for the night. It is still wet and raining out and the place we were planning on going to was only 3 more mils, and didn’t have a shelter. So we decided to tack on an extra 3 miles tomorrow’s plan and stay dry tonight. The shelter here is called Sassafras Gap. It holds about 12-16 people. There are 11 of us here tonight. We got kin kind of early since we cut the day short, so we have just been eating and hanging out. We also wrote out own mad-libs and played a game called contact. Tomorrow is going to be a long day, so I better get some sleep. Good night