6/3: Cornelius Creek

Hello all,

Since Breeze got to blog all last week while I was away for the wedding, you get a double dose of Wendy!

Today was a good but very tough first day for Zip (previously called Holden in another life.) We started the morning quickly with a 1000 foot climb followed closely by a 2000 foot climb! 3k is a serious day for newbie legs and he handled it like a champ! We finished our 12 miles by 5pm.

When we got to the shelter it was already quite busy. Eager to get some privacy, I wandered off and managed to find us a pretty great campsite with a fire ring. We quickly got our shelters setup and built an awesome fire! Zip's shelter system worked out very well and we were glad that we stopped by Walmart to get some last minute comfort items.

Tomorrow is a new day!

Wendy

6/2: Cove Mountain Shelter

Hello loyal followers,

Wendy here once again updating you from ground zero. It has been a while since you have heard from me! My great friends Evan Wallace and Brittney Creamer are now Mr. And Mrs. Wallace! Congratulations you two, I'm so happy for both of you and wish you the best. 

Well folks, the eagle has officially landed! I had a great trip back uphere, my loyal best man Joseph eagerly agreed to drive my friend Holden and I back to the trail today! As if I didn't owe him enough already (keep in mind he got us free stay in DC!) Holden is hiking with us until Harpers Ferry and we are super excited to have him out! The four of us had a great time hiking into the shelter today and I can't wait for the time spent with all of us!

Short post so that I can get some sleep before my first full day tomorrow!

Wendy

5/29: Campsite, 690.0

Hello everyone, it's Breeze. With Wendy gone, it looks like you'll be stuck with me for the next few days. Although it might be fun to let Luke blog a day or two. I'll see if he's up to it.

It's been so much fun having Luke around all the time again. I've really gotten used to having him around over the years, so his absense has been odd for me. I've really enjoyed bringing him out here and introducing him to this whole new world of thru hiking. Hiking with Luke has really made me remember what it was like my first week on the trail. After being out here so long, I've grown accustomed to seeing beautiful wide open views, wildlife, and rivers - I see them every day. Luke on the other hand is coming from Statesboro, GA. For those who do not know, Statesboro may be the flattest place on earth. Coming from Statesboro to the middle of the Appalachians is like stepping into a whole new world.  Every time there is even the slightest gap in the trees, Luke will stop and say, "Wow, the views here are so big! Are we going to see views like this all the time?" All I can do is smile. With Dragon's Tooth and McAfee Knob on the horizon, I believe the phrase is, "you ain't seen nothin' yet". Luke is also experiencing the AT growing pains. Stuff like struggling up mountains, figuring out what gear mistakes he made, or trying to determine out much food to buy all sounded like problems from my first week. Unfortunately, this is a process every thru hiker must go through. No matter how much advice you get or research you do, there are certain things you can only learn and figure out first hand. Luke is catching on very fast.

I'm really glad we are redoing this section of the trail. Rehiking the trail recalls a lot of memories from just a short time ago. I'm sure Luke is tired of me doing it, but all day I will tell him about stuff I did the first time I was here.

"Hey man, Wendy and I climbed this rock wall!" Or "Luke, this is the campsite where I met Aquaman!" Good times :).

Well, that's it for me. Talk to you tomorrow.

Breeze

5/28: Backtrack to Campsite, 680.0

Hello everyone! Breeze here at the end of a very joyous day. The reason for my joy is because my brother Luke has finally come to do some hiking with me! Man has his hair gotten long since I've last seen him! And of course he had lots of things to say about my scraggly beard. He has been planning to come do a big section with me for a while now, and the time has finally come. The coming of my brother unfortunately marked the simultaneous departure of Wendy. Because Wendy is going to be gone for a few days, Luke and I decided we would go back together and redo one of my favorite sections: The Keiffer Oak to Daleville! Included in this section is the Dragon's Tooth views, McAfee's Knob, and the Tinker Cliffs! If you're read my blog from 5/25, you'll know how much I loved this section. Luke has a lot to look forward to on this trip. By the time we hit Daleville he'll have seen many of the highlights thru hikers look forward to the entire trip.

Well Mrs. Cindy came to pick us up and away we went!  We spent the whole rest of the day catching up and telling stories. Sometimes I feel like I'm missing so much by being out here. When we got to camp, Luke had a huge surprise: RIBS! Can you believe that?! He was carrying an entire rack of ribs! It was a literal dream come true for me out here in the woods. Thank you so much Mom and Dad for being so thoughtful :). And thank you Luke for carrying it! Perfect end to a perfect day.
Breeze

5/27: 17 mile Slackpack into Daleville, 739.6

Hello everyone, it's Breeze. Daleville has been awesome! Wendy and I have had the best time hanging out with the ole gang, bumming around town from restaurant to restaurant. Today all of us decided to do a little southbound slack packing back to Daleville so that we could both do some hiking during the day and stay at the Howard Johnson one more night. Our master plan went off without a hitch! I was able to hike over 16 miles today and return "home" to a bed and food that I didn't have to cook.

Hanging out today with everyone was awesome! When you hike with the same people for multiple days, you really get to know them. Take Wooden Spoon for instance. She is an awesome girl that works in north Georgia as a therapist for people with mental disabilities. Her main focus is wilderness/nature therapy. She got her trail name because she makes wooden spoons as a hobby/side job. Some of her stuff is really cool! You should find her company on Facebook: Three Birds Spoon Company. I also found out that she worked at Philmont Scout Ranch while I was there back in 2007! Small world, right? While Wooden Spoon and I were talking about the Boy Scouts, Violet overheard that I was an Eagle Scout. She was thrilled to hear this because she came from a whole family of Eagle Scouts, including her dad and all her brothers. We talked for a while about all our scouting experiences and about my Eagle Scout Project (which she loved! ). For those that do not know, I built 2 large wheelchair accessible gardening boxes for a local nursing home.

If you've been following the blog, by now you've seen me mention Fool Hardy and Tumbleweed. They are an awesome couple from Maryland that have been together for over 6 years now. Tumbleweed is a comicbook artists that has some amazing stuff on her website. Google Jessi Sheron if you want to have your mind blown with her talent! Aquaman is another guy I've mentioned before. He went to school ride down the road from me at Auburn for Horticulture before moving out west. His thru hike is dedicated to his grandfather, whom died of ALS a few years back.  He is doing a charity walk to help raise money and awareness for this deadly disease.

I just thought I would take a moment and introduce you to just a handful of the amazing people I have met while thru hiking. What an incredible group.

Breeze

5/26: Daleville, VA

Hello all,

Wendy again with an update from le trail. Today we hiked into Daleville and stayed the night with some friends of ours. Besides a late morning beer magic, the 9 miles into town went by very quickly. We left camp at 7am to be sure we would make it in time for the BBQ meetup at noon. Unfortunately logistics were botched and we ended up having to split into two tables. That said, it was a blast!

Staying with Foolhardy and Tumbleweed was great! I really like hanging out with them. Also we got to see Tumbleweed (Jessi Sheron in real life)'s comic art. She is incredibly talented and if you are remotely interested in digital media I urge you to go check her out!

We had a great night and I got to have some great Mexican food! Another great day in town.

Wendy

5/25: Lamberts Meadow Campsite, 714.4

Wow! This has been without a doubt the best day I've had on the trail yet. Every single thing about this day was absolutely perfect. I only wish that everyone I knew was able to share today with me - It was that good. Hello everybody, it's Breeze. Let's begin.

Wendy and I left Catawba in extremely high spirits, for we were headed to the most iconic spot on the entire Appalachian Trail - McAfee Knob! McAfee Knob is home to a legendary cliff outlook where all thru hikers take a photo with their legs hanging off the side. 3.7 uphill miles stood between me and that view. Wendy and I knocked that out in right at an hour. We practically ran that mountain! The very best part about the climb up to McAfee Knob was passing day hikers! Here they come, on Memorial Day Weekend, with their tiny day packs and clean clothes, completely and totally out of breath. Wendy and I saw how many we could pass for sheer sport. Every time we passed one I would always be courteous, but in my head I would say, "Eat dust, day hiker!" One guy asked us how we were going up the hill so fast with full packs on. I shouted over my shoulder, "We walked over 700 miles to get here, that's how!" Once we got closer to the top, a day hiker told us we were about 15 minutes away. I thanked them for the information, but in my head I bet myself I could do it in 10. And I did. Silly day hiker! Don't get me wrong, thru hikers don't dislike day hikers. It's just that all thru hikers at this point are in ridiculously good shape, so you can only show off your mountain climbing abilities when day hikers are around.

Wendy and I hit McAfee Knob on the best possible day. Not only was it wonderful weather, but we got to hang out at the top with some of our best friends: Violet, Tumbleweed, Full Hardy, Aquaman, and Wooden Spoon. We had a great time at the knob, and also at the beautiful Tinker Cliffwalk a few miles down the trail. Later at camp, all the thru hikers got together and talked about what a perfect day it was. We built a fire and stayed up till hiker midnight telling jokes and stories from our trail experiences. We all laughed and shared our own stories of how we showed off in front of day hikers. Wendy said he liked to extend his legs a little extra to show off his trail calves! Rock em if you got em! Another popular topic of conversation was still the Homeplace restaurant - it was that good. I still can't believe they let us in that place. I kept expecting them to pull a curtain around our table, or nonchalantly light a candle or something. Everyone was dressed so nice, and we all smelled like goats! I wish a blog post could do a day like this more justice,  but unfortunately this is all I've got.

Until next time, 

Breeze