We hiked from Trimpi Shelter this morning to a tent pad area 24 miles North. There were a few small, steep mountain climbs, but nothing that really slowed us down. As I was coming down a hill a little ahead of Optimus I heard a big russle around the corner. As I turned the corner I saw a black bear cub take off down into the valley! Real cool that I did not have to deal with the mother bear this time. Towards the end of our hike today we got to travel through some nice farm lands. The open fields with some berrys on the sides was a pleasant change to the mountains.
We also stopped in at a restaurant off of I-81. Optimus and I got the Bar-B-Q Special and some other stuff on the side. It was a great meal! Of course just as our damp shoes started to dry out, it rained again and got them soaked. Its ok though, the forecast for the rest of the week sounds nice and clear. We also set up a nice shelter with our two tarps. It took some time to do, but it worked out well. Thankfully it did not rain, because it probably would not have held up in a downpour.
"Our first attempt at the tarp shelter."
Today was different. Decided to push again, 25 miles. We Left Thomas Knob Shelter early hiking through the misty morning from the rainstorm the night before. It was unfortunate that it was misty because there would have been some good views over the long 3 mile stretch of balds throughout Mount Rogers Recreation Area. According to the Thru Hikers Companion there would be wild ponies out along the balds, but we did not run across any. Towards the later afternoon we got hit with our first real rainstorm while hiking. We probably hiked for 6 or 7 miles through the steady rain. Our shoes are a little damp tonight, but we will survive. The terrain also stayed fairly level and easy compared to the three southern states. Looks good for the future. We will try to start averaging higher mileage.We also have crossed the 500 mile marker today!
"Optimus descending Mount Rogers."
Got up around 6 this morning. Chances of thunderstorms in the afternoon inspired us to get an early start. We stopped at the gas station and grabbed some breakfast sandwiches and then went on to the trail. We traveled over the two highest mountains on the AT in Virginia on the first day. These include Whitetop Mountain, and Mount Rogers. Whitetop Mountain was really nice with views in all directions. The ascent up Mount Rogers was not anything special, but hopefully traveling over the summit and surronding balds tomorrow will be better. We ended the day at Thomas Knob Shelter. It was in a great location atop an open bald overlooking the surronding hills. The shelter was in great shape too with a double deck layout. The only issue was the water at the site was running dry and we had to filter it with a sock and then boil it. Great first day back on the trail from Damascus. We covered a total of 28 miles.
"The awesome view up to the summit of Whitetop Mountain."
So today we got dropped off by Socket and Flea and said our goodbyes. They will be spending most of July in Europe backpacking and traveling around the countries. Optimus and I, the remaining members of Team Excessive, spent the rest of the day napping and eating around Damascus. I had a better write up with a summary of our first month on the trail, but I was writing it in the public library and the power went out. So I will just write up some short statistics.
Our total mileage from Springer Mountain is 461.1. The mileage left to Katahdin is 1715.1. The quarter way point is around mile 544, which we should reach in about four days. We have completed 3 of 14 states. These include Georgia, North Carolina, and Tennessee. The longest state, Virginia, runs about 544 miles, covering one fourth of the trail. So hopefully one month from now we will be approaching the half way mark. After placing second in the Flotrack contest we don't have to worry about an extended break. So we will decide between the Flip Flop scenario or the normal Northbound scenario after we get through Virginia.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -I just finished my 10 day adventure on the AT with an easy 2 mile hike into Damascus, quoted in the Thru Hikers Companion as Trail Town USA. I got blisters in places I never knew existed on my feet and pooped at elevations that I did not know were possible. But I digress because this blog entry is not about team excessive and how we gorged ourselves at the KFC buffet today or how we enjoyed a few spirited games of bowling at the local watering hole, but is dedicated in honor of our wounded comrade, loyal friend, and excellent hiking companion, Mr. Cheesewhistle Mc. Stink. Cheesewhistle had been hiking with us until two days ago where an unfortunate set of circumstances wrenched our buddy from us. We found out today that the reason he could barely walk was he had a stress fracture in his tibia that caused compartment syndrome in his legs. Team excessive will never be the same without the commanding presence of Cheesewhistle. He was a true representation of the spirit of the AT, with his dedication to family, his low brow sense of humor(probably because we forced him there), and his never say die attitude. I may be getting a tad to sentimental here, but Cheesewhistle will be missed and we wish him the best in his recovery and with his future. And for my two cents the AT is a pretty awesome experience and if you think your intense enough to handle it I say go for it. -Andrew Varble aka Flea
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -Team Excessive truly lived up to its name. We took our last day as the team of four and did everything we wanted to experience. We awoke in the darkness just before 4 am. We packed our packs away from the shelter so we did not disturb the other hikers, and we hiked through the dark hours of the morning. That was quite a different experience. You get to watch the moon lower and the sun rise. An animal, possibly a bear, ran down the ridge after it heard us coming by. Night hiking was pretty awesome, and something that Adam and I will do again in the future.
Since we started our day early we also decided on doing a Marathon day. We originally planned on hiking only 27, but we ended up making it to a camp site 2 miles out of the town of Damascus. Total daily mileage puts us at 31 miles! So in one day we night hiked, completed a marathon, and broke the 30 mile in one day barrier.
We had a couple other notable points today. We passed 4 shelters and decided to camp under the stars. We have officially finished Tennessee, and crossed into the longest state on the trail, Virginia. With our remaining food, we had a feast at the end of the day. This feast consisted of noodles, beans, rice, mash potatoes, homemade chicken jerky, pepperoni, chicken, peanut butter, and crackers. It was a lot of food to prep for the KFC Taco Bell Buffet tomorrow!
"Flea suprised by the flash of my camera while night hiking."
Today was another long day for us. We traveled from the Kincora Hostel to the Vandeventer Shelter. Mileage total somewhere around 17.7. We went by some cool waterfalls at the start of the day and over Watauga Dam towards the end of the day. At the shelter there was an awesome view of a lake below! One of the best views so far on the trip. The weather was cool and breezy and it was a fairly good day. From Vandeventer we are only about 31 miles outside of Damascus VA. Also, 70 or 80 miles outside Damascus is the one quarter marker. It finally feels like we are getting somewhere!
"Laurel Fork Waterfall just after Kincora Hostel."
What a long day. We arose from the Applehouse Shelter at half past six and we were on the trail by seven thirty. We did not stop hiking until seven thirty in the evening. Twelve hours of hiking with a few breaks in between. In total for the day we ended up hitting 24 miles! We originally planned for only eighteen miles, but there was a really nice hostel, named Kincora, six miles downtrail. We got to the hostel, had some pizza, ate more dinner, and relaxed. Unfortunately, Cheesewhistle decided to bow out of his hike earlier than expected. His ankle has been hurting him pretty badly. We have another couple long days ahead of us, and we hope to be in Virginia by Thursday Evening!
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -We have hiked 3 days since Erwin, and have 4 days left until we get into Damascus VA. Today we hiked over some tough terrain with some great views. Hump Mountain and Grassy Ridge both provided 360 views with a cool thunderstorm off in the distance. Over Hump Mountain there were also 3 wild horses that followed Flea and Socket across the ridgeline.
We arrived at our destination today around 3pm, Applehouse Shelter. In total the mileage for the day equals 14.9. It feels great because we have finally exited the state of North Carolina and we are officially in the Tennessee section of the AT. No more riding the border of two states, having no idea which you are in. Only 75 miles in Tennessee and then into Virginia for a long time.
"Optimus, Socket, and Mr. Chips climbing up Hump Mountain."
So tonight is pretty sweet. We are sleeping at 6275 feet! It was quite a task to get up here though. In the last 3 miles of our hike, Team Excessive climbed over 2200 feet up to the summit of Roan Mountain. This is the last time that we will be above 6000 feet until Mount Washington in New Hampshire. Thats really hard to believe.
In total we did 15.2 miles today. It was much better today for everyone, and besides being a little sore, everyones tweaks are healing up. When we peaked Mount Roan today it was bliss. A local volunteer fire department was in the parking lot at the summit, and they were selling hamburgers and hot dogs. Lets just say we indulged in a couple, with some peaches that a nice lady gave us from the local market. It is beautiful at the summit with lots of Rhododendron trees with deep purple blooms. To top it off all of our backpacks are getting lighter with less food, and the terrain over the next 5 days is much easier than the past four. A new member is also hiking temporarily with us. Mr. Chips is an athletic guy in his forties that does sections of the AT every summer, during his break from teaching.
"Rhododendron atop Roan Mountain."
Today was tough. We had to climb out of the Nolichucky River Valley from 1700 feet to Unaka Mountain at over 5100 feet. The total mileage for the day was 16.4. During the course of the day we had 3 big climbs that shot us up 1000 feet each. The summit of Unaka Mountain was really cool. It was covered with spruce trees and the trail was just a random pathway through all of the spruce trees. Everyone on Team Excessive was feeling better today, but my ankle started feeling a bit sore on the final downhills. Hopefully by morning it will feel better.
Tomorrow will be an exciting day. We will be climbing Roan Mountain at over 6000 feet, and staying at the highest shelter on the entire trail, Roan Mountain Knob Shelter.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -We hiked down into the Nolichucky River Valley today from the camp site near Spivey Gap. It was a short day, but the downhills were tough on all of our joints. We got down onto the road and hitchhiked into Erwin TN about 4 miles away. It only took 2 minutes for the 5 of us to get rides into town. We all split the cost of a room at the Super 8 in town and we did our laundry down the road. The best part of the day consisted of going to Sonic Burger, McDonalds, and having a 6 pack of beer while watching television. A little note for future hikers. Never pay for a shuttle to or from the trail. Local residents always seem happy to lend us a ride into or out of town.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -Today was a relatively long day at 16.8 miles. Five of us hiked together the entire day. Optimus, Socket, Flea, Cheesewhistle, and me, Turok. We are now known on the trail as Team Excessive. We ended the day today at a campsite in Spivey Gap, about ten miles from the road intersection to Erwin. Hopefully tommorow we will be able to hitch into town and get a room for the night. An easy half day after a long day today. We will also be able to resupply our food for the long trail ahead towards Damascus.
We had a great view today, the best that I have seen on the trail yet. It was a summit called Big Bald. It is a large grassy mound sitting at over 5000 feet. You could see for 30 miles in every direction with the great weather we had today. Temperatures were in the 50s and 60s.
"From Left to Right. Cheesewhistle, Socket, Flea, Optimus, and Turok."
The hike today was pretty nice. The weather was cool and breezy and the terrain was fairly easy. We were finally able to refill on water at Flint Mountain Shelter, and trek the rest of the way to Hogback Ridge Shelter. In total it was a 14.9 mile hike. When we arrived at the shelter Marc and Varble, now trail named Socket and Flea, were already there waiting. The two hiked in 5 beers and a pint of whiskey for my birthday! It was pretty sweet. They also brought in 4 steaks and some potatoes. We boiled the potatoes, and rigged up a cool grill with old barbed wire fencing. It was a great birthday. Over the next two days we will be heading for Erwin TN were we will probably spend the night in town eating some fast food and having a few drinks.
"Flea and Optimus watching over the steaks."
Today we hiked from Spring Mountain Shelter to Jerrys Cabin Shelter. A hike of 15.4 miles. It was a long day with some tough climbs straight up a mountain. We hiked a ridgeline today for 2 miles and there was some cool stuff. Awesome views, a cool breeze, and tough terrain with necessary free climbs over the rocks. We also went out on Blackstack Cliffs and relaxed for some time looking over the farm fields in Tennessee. We also had to lug 4 extra pounds of water all day today. Jerrys Cabin Shelter is the first that I have run into that has a dried up water source. I guess the drought is extending into this year too.
My 22nd birthday is tommorow the 17th. Got a fairly short day into the shelter tommorow, and if all goes well Varble and Marc should be meeting us there in the evening for a 9 day session. We are doing much better on the Flotrack contest. Keep it up!
"Kevin at Blackstack Cliffs"
Hiked out of Hot Springs today along the French Broad River and back up into the hills. Just did 11 miles, nice and easy. Had lunch on top of a firetower, and then quickly made it to the shelter. Played cards among other things. We also met up with Zeek the Carpenter, an older guy that is thru hiking with his wife. Really cool guy. Adams back on the trek fairly well with no leg problems.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -After waking up Adam and I went to the Post Office and to the Outfitters in town to get some chemicals. Our water filter is not working and it has everyone working at the store stumped. We did away with the tent altogether and instead we each bought a 8 by 10 foot tarp. After that we took a short nap and went to a hostel uptown named LAs. We did our laundry, and watched some quality television, including Independence Day and Blades of Glory. LA cooked us a great BBQ chicken meal and she got us some Dr Pepper. We each even had our own rooms. All of that for 17 dollars, pretty sweet. Her dog, Annie, is awesome too. She can do this trick were she jumps up, grabs a rope, and spins furiously around in circles.
"Annie swinging on the rope."
Got up today before sunrise. Packed up my stuff atop Max Patch and watched the sun come up. Then ate a snickers and went on my way to Hot Springs. It was great sleeping up top the summit, but it was really windy all night long. Definitely going to buy a tarp and use that method more often.
Met up with Adam in Hot Springs around 2. We went swimming in the French Broad River and got some big double cheese burgers at the general store. We both spent the night hanging out with a staff member, Noah, at the campgrounds. It was a lot of fun. Lots of cool people around.
On another note, voting starts on Saturday for the Beijing Contest on Flotrack. I believe that you have to register to vote. So do that, and vote everyday giving our Coast to Coast video the maximum points. Hopefully I will get a long break in August! Thanks in advance.
"Sunrise at Max Patch."
It was a deceiving day today. North Carolina and Tennessee do not label all of the gaps between mountains. So a day in which you plan to go up two big climbs can turn into five or six. Made it to a place called Max Patch today. Then went on another two miles to a shelter, made dinner, hung up my food, and hiked light back to the Max Patch Summit and camped under the stars. Another hiker named Joe, who came out of Franklin NC, joined me for the night and let me borrow a tarp. It was really cool up top because you could see for 30 miles in all directions. Probably is going to be one of the best spots on this trip. But now I left myself a 20 hike for tomorrow. I will be getting up before sunrise to make the trek.
"Clouds billowing atop Max Patch"
Fun stuff. I was originally going to stay at the Davenport Shelter from Tri Corner Shelter, but I found out that there was a hostel 3 miles away from there. So I trekked 18 miles and got to the Standing Bear Hostel. It was a cool place. You get a bunk bed, shower, and laundry all for 15 dollars. It was located on an old tobacco farm and it was set up like that. A couple old cabins and everything else is outdoors with a nice fire pit. The owner Curtis treats all the hikers well and lets them do what they please. The honor system is also followed where if you take something make sure to pay for it when you check out. So now that I am 3 miles closer to Hot Springs I will try to take an easy day today and push into Hot Springs Friday afternoon.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -Great day! Hiked 20 miles from Mnt Collins Shelter to Tri Corner Shelter. Saw a small snake sunning on the trail, and also a peahen hanging around one of the shelters. Got some good images. Most of the day was spent on a ridgeline in the storm clouds. It was pretty awesome walking through the clouds and mist. Got to the shelter around 5 and got to hang around with a bunch of people who offered me extra food, which I took without hesitation. A women named Signage gave me a snickers and some other bars and also offered a place to stay in Central Virginia. Should be hitting up a hostel for wednesday night, and then on to Hot Springs for the weekend.
"Sally the peahen. I common visitor at Icewater Shelter."
Very interesting day today to say the least. I left my shelter around seven thirty in the morning and hiked for about 45 minutes. After coming around a routine switchback I look up and 10 meters off the trail are two 400 pound female black bears and a cub. Well being alone let's say I was pretty sure I was screwed. But almost immediately the three ran off down the hill at speeds I did not think bears could run at. That is not all though. Ten minutes later, heading downhill I hear something charging through the woods in my direction, and its the two big females. They were grunting and grawling just out of site threatening to charge me. So I do the first thing that you are supposed to do and I yell and hit the trees with my stick, and they run off down the hill again. Lets just say my first bear experience will hopefully be my last.
Today I hiked 20 miles from Spencer Field Shelter to Mt Collins Shelter. I climbed the highest peak on the entire Appalachian Trail at 6643 feet called Clingmans Dome! I seem to have lost all the other thru hikers I met last week. But not a problem, I will be meeting up with Adam at Hot Springs on Friday, and probably be taking a zero day there on Saturday.
"Top of Clingmans Dome"
Today I entered the Smokies National Park. It is essentially 70 miles with only one road and something like a 1000 bears. I walked into the park with a few older fellow thru hikers in there thirties, and ended up dropping them at the first hill. Which was almost 8 miles long. My shin started to be a discomfort so I stopped at Spence Field Shelter and called it a day at 17 miles.
On the way up that long hill into the park I stumbled across a couple large deer, and was able to get a couple pictures off. Nothing great, but at least it was some wildlife. I hope I can post more pictures later up North. I am staying in the shelter tonight with two kids going on a two week trip before going to college and an older guy at thirty who just loves to spend time in the park. Overall the park is a great place to hike. Total Mileage on AT is 180.3
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -First real zero day today. Went and relaxed all day at the Fontana Dam Shelter. Was pretty bored all day, but my legs needed the rest. There are about 8 people here tonight, and we all sat around from 5 until dark talking about the trail. Two southbound thru hikers gave us some advice about good places to stop down the road. Good day, ready to go tomorrow.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -I walked the remaining 22 miles to the Fontana Dam Shelter. But I really needed a Hotel room. Unfortunately they were filled up for Saturday because of a biker rally, so I got a room for Friday night. Got a shower and watched a few minutes of ESPN and went down to do laundry.
Well I guess the laundry room is the place to meet other hikers. There were 5 other thru hikers down there and we decided to have a good time. We bought a couple 12 packs and drank while doing laundry. And since there was a biker rally we had some fun listening to music and driving around in a rented golf cart that they got. Which by the way is an awesome investment. Since I got a room for Friday I am going to hang around for the afternoon on Saturday and take a zero mile day at the Fontana Dam Shelter, then hike into the Smokies on Sunday. Hopefully I will see a bear or rattlesnake! There will be bad cell service for the next week or so, so I will be slow on updates and there will probably be no images for awhile.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -Today sucked. By far the worst since I have been out here. Traveled just short of 23 miles from Wayah Shelter to Sassafras Gap Shelter. The terrain was truly madness. The last 12 miles of the day included dropping from 4600 feet to 1700 feet, back up to 4700 feet. The only benefit to that was an outfitter in the river valley. I resupplied my freeze dried food and ate most of a really greasy 16 inch pizza. I just could not get the rest down in time to make a shelter.
Now I am stuck at a fairly nice shelter in a very dark gap. ALONE. And of course its right next to a water source so the bugs are really annoying. I guess I had to do this at some point. Hopefully I tired myself out enough today so I can sleep through most of the night. On to Fontana Dam tomorrow.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -My first Marathon hike on the Appalachian Trail occurred today. It was actually slightly over a marathon at 26.9 miles! Great chunk of trail for one day. And to top it off I was not even that tired til the last 5 miles. For anyone following along closely I started the day at Carter Gap Shelter and ended at a brand new shelter called Wayah Shelter. Today involved 2 climbs over 5000 feet with observational towers on both. Awesome views in all directions with absolutely no signs of civilization besides the tower I stood on.
I did the first 16 miles with another thru hiker with the trail name Goat. We passed by one another a few times over the up and downs. I am not sure if we posted our trail names yet, but Adam is Optimus, and I am Turok.
"NC state regulations call for handicap accessible privies on top of a completely inaccessible mountain."
Today was a pretty good day. I traveled 20 miles from Plumorchard Gap Shelter to a crowded Carter Gap Shelter. I crossed into North Carolina and traveled another 15 miles. I also climbed to a summit over 5400 feet, that's over a mile above sea level.
I also met a few other thru hikers, two who are also from CT. I am on schedule and ready to travel far again tomorrow!
"This gnarled oak is the line for North Carolina."
I was charged by an animal today! But it was not a bear, or a hog, or anything dangerous, it was a bird. I put my pack down on the trail to readjust and this bird just ran at me hissing with its feathers flaring. Spooked the hell out of me. All I did was yell at it and the thing whimpered away like a dog.
Today I traveled from Unicoi Gap, paying 38 dollars for a cab ride to the trail head, to Plumorchard Gap Shelter. It was a trek of 21 miles. Because of a late start I traveled swiftly at over 3 mph, and was actually the first of 5 to the shelter. Anyway the plan is to exit Georgia tomorrow and head into North Carolina. Wish me luck, and hope Adams leg heals quickly. He was advised to just rest it for awhile.
"A group of butterflys off the trail."
Today we hitched a ride into Helen GA from the bottom of Blue Mountain. Two really nice people picked us up and told us all about the small tourist town. We went into the Best Western and got a nice room for only 35 dollars! We relaxed, went to Wendys, and drank a couple beers.
On a lower note, Adams shin has swelled up pretty bad and it has made it difficult for him to walk. I am going off alone for awhile through the Smokey Mountains while he heals. There are a couple other thru hikers that I can catch up to and hike with, so I will not be alone at the shelters. More information about Adams condition will be available shortly. He will be going to a medical center to get a diagnosis. Hopefully he will be able to rejoin in Hot Springs NC in a couple weeks.