(3/1) Successful Miles

     Today was hard but we achieved our goal. We started off the morning by crossing the 100 mile mark on the AT, meaning that we have hiked 100 official miles on the Appalachian Trail (not including the approach trail). This was particularly rewarding, as we are told that more than half of the people who will quit, quit before 100 miles in. We have no plans of stopping any time soon.

     Before crossing the 100 mile mark we had to summit Mt Albert, which was not an easy climb. It was a very clear and beautiful morning, despite the difficulty of the hike.

     There is a watch tower on top which was used as a fire lookout. Unfortunately the top of the tower was locked.

     The view from the peak of Albert was incredible. 

     From Mt Albert we went down hill for a long time. We only stopped for infrequent breaks and we made very good time before noon, covering almost 9 miles. After seeing the progress we had already made we felt very good about ourselves and slowed down considerably. As we passed through the lower laying sections of the trail we only had sporadic views. But they were quite good when we got them.

     For most of the day we just put our heads down and moved forward, as we had so many miles to cover. The snow had not entirely melted yet, making some sections of the trail quite slippery and arduous. Nevertheless, we made it to camp around 5:30 pm, giving us plenty of time to set up and eat.

     And I am eating a lot these day. There’s a concept on the trail called hiker-hunger. This is where your body comes to expect the massive energy output that we are expending, so it demands a massive calorie input. Basically you feel like you’re starving no matter how much or how often you eat. I’m not sure if I have full on hiker hunger yet, but I can eat well over 2000 calories and still feel very hungry. 

     Other than hiker hunger, we held up pretty well today despite covering so many miles. Only over the last 3 or so miles did I have any trouble from my knee. I would say that stretching has almost entirely solved my problem.

     Tomorrow we expect rain starting in the late morning and getting heavier throughout the day. We hope to hike 19 miles to an outfitter called the NOC (Nahntahala Outdoor Center) (bad spelling, no internet to look it up, but that’s close). Once we hit the NOC we will resupply and take a day off of hiking to let our bodies rest. Maybe some of the other hikers we have encountered so far will meet us there.

Goodnight.

Walker