2020 Spring Semester

       We slept in this morning. After getting to camp in the dark last night we didn’t fall asleep until after 10. We had a stream nearby which gave us some pleasant white noise and a pretty steady wind keeping our tents around 50 degrees.       Finally at 8:30 am we woke up. It was nice sleeping in and we were still on trail faster than if we had stayed in town. By 9:20 we were hiking and heading uphill toward Unaka Mt. This mountain was 5200 feet high but still managed to be nearly the toughest mountain we have climbed yet. Don’t get me wrong 5200 feet is a high mountain on the east coast but it isn’t even close to the highest mountain we have climbed so far. What made Unaka difficult was the gradual uphill climb combined with the extra weight from our resupply.       The climb took place over 12 miles. And those 12 miles took us like 7 hours. We took a lot of breaks for food and to rest our legs. The top of Unaka wa...

       We slept in this morning. There was a lot of rain last night and the some pretty strong gusts of wind. By the time the sun came up neither of us had moved, hoping for the rain to pass. Eventually we got up and packed up.         The morning had rain showers off and on. We couldn’t decide if it was better to wear the rain gear and sweat or take it off and just let the rain fall on us. By the late morning the rain had passed and we were just hiking in fog. Pretty soon the fog cleared too, but the clouds stuck around.        We only had to go 16 miles today to make it into Erwin. By 1 pm we had gone 9 miles so we stopped for lunch at the No Business Shelter, pleased with our progress. We haven’t been seeing many other people. There’s the occasional section hiker and some through hikers we have met before, but we might go a whole day without seeing anyone.        After lunch the...

       I feel asleep looking at the stars last night. And I woke up to a gorgeous sunrise.         Tyler and I packed up and we’re out of camp by 8 am. We thought we might get to Fresh Grounds for breakfast so we were motivated to make good time over the first three miles of the day. When we got to Devil Spring Gap, where Fresh Grounds was last set up, he was gone. We herd tell that he was at Sam’s Gap, about 10 miles ahead. Our motivation continued throughout the morning, but sadly we did not run into Fresh Grounds today.         The morning passed quickly. Thankfully the rain held out and we had decent views for most of the day. The trail was relatively flat, but we still crossed over a couple 4000 foot mountains before the afternoon.         We stopped for lunch at Sam’s Gap around 1 pm then started heading up our first challenging mountain of the day: Big Bald. After lunch, w...

        It was an early morning for us. Last night there was a pretty intense thunder storm and a lot of rain. I slept restlessly through the storm and heavy winds. We started moving around 6:45 and were on the trail at 8 am as the sun came up.        The morning was overcast and foggy. It rained off and on for our first couple hours on trail. Nevertheless, we made decent time. After hiking 7 miles before 11 am we stopped for lunch at Laurel Mt Shelter. While we ate a section hiker passed through and talked with us about his hiking experiences.        Lunch was a nice break, but we were back to hiking in a half hour. The trail became very steep very quickly as we ascended back up to 4000 feet. We crossed over a ridge where we would have had excellent views if not for the fog.        Then we hiked our first and only full-on mountain of the day, Big Butt. Yes, the name of the mountain is Big...

     Leaving the comfort of town has always been difficult for us to do. It’s almost like getting out of bed for work on a cold morning. We want to be hiking but the initial discomfort of beginning the hike slows us down a little. After waking up around 7 am, we went to breakfast at the same diner where we ate dinner last night. I got so much food that I could barely finish it, and I almost didn’t need to eat the rest of the day.      While at breakfast, a man who had through hiked in the past came over to talk to us. He shared his love of the south and asked us about trail magic then paid for our breakfast. It’s surprising and encouraging when a total stranger is that generous with us. The only way that I can think to react is with gratitude and a growing desire to give the same generosity to others in the future.      After breakfast we went to the grocery store to buy our resupply. We got about 4 days of food, enough to take us to Erwi...

      Last night there was some very heavy rain. But I had one of my best nights sleep in the trail yet. After getting to camp early yesterday we were able to get to sleep before the rain really hit. I only woke up once or twice last night, but when I did the rain was coming down hard.        We woke up early then immediately decided to sleep in. Around 8 we got up for real, ate breakfast, filtered water, and got on the trail. Pretty soon the weather turned warm and to patchy clouds. We climbed two mountains today before descending down to Hot Springs.        First thing in the morning we climbed Walnut Mountain. We got to the peak pretty early, around 10 am. There weren’t great views from the peak, but after dropping down to the next gap, we ran into some gorgeous woods.        Then we started ascending our final mountain of the day, Bluff Mountain. We had some cool views of Bluff Mountain during the...

      We camped just outside of the Standing Bear hostel property right next to a river. Usually it’s not good practice to camp near water (flash floods, more animals) but we took the chance this time.    The temperature and the sound of rushing water made for perfect sleeping conditions. We woke up around 7 am and started packing up in a light rain.        After eating breakfast and getting on trail, we felt like we were struggling to move as quickly as normal. Something about taking a smaller mile day makes it harder to start hiking the next morning. It’s almost like your body has inertia from hiking a longer distance the previous day.       Today we hiked two mountains of note. First, we ascended back out of the gap where Standing Bear is located and hiked up Snowbird Mt. Despite the clouds we were able to see some of the mountain range around us. This section of North Carolina reminded Tyler and me of Georgia, with...