Day 16: Siler Bald Shelter (Kind of...)

Hello all,

Wendy here with another update from the trail! We have finally squirmed out of the grasp of the beautiful Franklin, NC and managed to hole ourselves up back in the woods. Today was a short day (only about 4 miles) and we arrived at the shelter early. We were the first ones here for the day and decided to stay in the shelter for the night. Little did we know our plans would be changed for us...

About 30 minutes after we arrived, hikers began filing in to the shelter. First was Daypack, then Turtle, then a group of 3 hikers we haven't seen since Neels Gap! Sorry to say I can't remember one of their names but the other two are Ref and Jigsaw. The combination of all of us fills the entire shelter floor and we all settle in our bags to enjoy the short day before dinner.

About an hour passes before we are hit with 3 hikers; 2 Boy Scouts and a leader. They are very polite and decide that one scout will take a remaining spot along our feet on the shelter floor and the troop leader and the other scout would pitch their tent. While it wasn't the perfect set of conditions for tenting, they were willing to accept their spot outside in order to preserve the comfort of those of us that arrived early (mind you we are ALL thru hikers.)

This went swimmingly until there arrived an unnamed man in a ridiculous looking hat. He seemed to be under the influence of some substance that made him the most important individual on this earth and immediately began demanding that we squish together further to make room for him.

Let's keep in mind 2 things at this part of the story- we had already crammed the shelter to the max in order to fit the people we had fit AND the rain had ceased. Yet somehow this rain on the ground (we assume acidic) proved too much a challenge for dopey hat man to tent in and he instead went on insulting the thru hikers (including Breeze and I) because we could not find room for his delicate frame to hide from the rain that ended an hour ago.

More awkward insulting and muttering occurred and it was then that the other troop leader and two more scouts entered the ring. Preposterous, one might think, to say that even they could be brain dead enough to think that they could fit in the shelter (IT STILL ISN'T RAINING.) As it turned out, however, that is exactly what this retired marine and two scouts expected to do. At this point Breeze and I had become fed up with the backhanded comments from Acid Rain Hat Man and decided to be the bigger men (because 2 full grown adults chose not to be,) and told everyone we would leave and go tent in the lack of rain.

Think that would be the end of the story?! Not when A.R.H.M is involved. As we packed up so that his precious body could seek refuge from the soggy ground, we were once again berated and insulted because we were being babies and moving when they didn't ask us to move at all. Attempts to explain common courtesy and respect for personal space seemed to be one rung too high on the intelligence scale for ARHM and he continued spouting insults as we left.

All in all an eventful day that landed us with wet gear but a peaceful night sleep. Shame on these folks for giving both the military and Boy Scouts a bad image. I fear the scouts will be told we were in the wrong and they will go on to do the same things to people instead of simply being courteous. Hopefully that doesn't happen.

Until the next acid rain adventure,
Alex AKA Wendy

Day 15, Zero Day, Franklin, NC

Sorry everyone! I know you guys hang on my every word, so it must have been really upsetting to check the blog last night and find that there were no new posts. Good friends, good basketball, and great beer got the best of me this weekend, and I inadvertently shirked one of the only obligations I have left. Now let's see, where did we leave off...

Wendy and I had a nice, short hike into the parking lot near Franklin. No sooner did our boots hit the asphalt than a ride into town appeared. The infamous Baltimore Jack from Mountain Crossing Outfitters pulled up in a minivan, rolled down the window, and said "get in". And away we went.

Our arrival into Franklin could not have been better timed. Once a year, the city throws a "hiker bash" festival, complete with day and night time activities for thru hikers. Some of the downtown roads were sectioned off so that local artists, vendors, and friends of the trail could set up booths and displays. Mom and Dad, you would have loved it. Throngs of thru hikers have taken over the city. It's really awesome being a thru hiker in a hiker town. You really feel like a small part of something bigger than yourself.

As if the festival weren't enough, Wendy and I are also getting to spend the Easter/Wendy's birthday weekend with Wendy's family and fiancé, Jess! I haven't seen Jess since she graduated from Georgia Southern last May, so it was great to finally get to see her and catch up. Wendy's parents have been very kind and generous,feeding us extremely well, doing our laundry, and giving us rides around town so we can run our hiker errands. They even brought me an Easter basket and really made me feel like a part of the family. I cannot thank them enough for the hospitality :).  

I could write at length about this weekend, and about the entire trip in general. It's only been two weeks, but I can already feel subtle changes that the trail is making on my life. Don't worry, I'll go into more detail about this as I make my way down the trail. Hopefully more time and reflection will enable me to take some of my raw emotions and transforms them into words. Right now, the experience as a whole feels indescribable.

Sometimes it's hard for me to believe that I'm actually doing something this cool. I mean really, how awesome is this?!

See ya down the trail!

Breeze

Day 13: Lazy Day Over Albert

Hello all,

Wendy here with another trail update! We are perched at an absolutely gorgeous campsite around 1-1.5 miles south of Rock Gap Shelter. This leaves us with an easy day tomorrow so that we can hitch into Franklin early and get showered before my folks get in.

Today was an easy 10-11 mile day for both of us. Despite a relatively late start, a long lunch, and a huge climb up Mt Albert, we managed to make it into camp plenty early. Nothing beats these unmarked campsites when it comes to firewood; it is everywhere out here but the shelters are all picked over.

Another easy day and beautiful weather on the trail, here's to hoping it keeps up! Can't wait for nero-zero-nero in Franklin! (Zero is a zero mile day, nero is a close to zero mile day.)

Another cold night but Breeze and I will once again be snuggled in and warm. Until next time, folks!

<3
Wendy AKA Alex

Day 12, Carter Gap shelter, 93.9

This too shall pass.

Breeze here. It's amazing how quickly things can change out here, considering how slow everything seems to move. Folks drop out, the trail heads up hill, or then skies open up on you. Well this time, the tides shifted in our favor. Wendy just commented that I always seem to get the good days to blog. Maybe I'll just blog everyday.

We woke up this morning how we went to sleep last night: bitterly cold. Thankfully, the dark skies that loomed above us all day yesterday were gone, all remained was the bright sun and blue skies. It was our first sign of real sun in 4 days. The sun can change everything about by your day. Yesterday's lunch was a miserable, freezing cold rush. It was too snowy to even find a place to sit. We stopped just long enough to feed ourselves before the cold sank back in. Today, Wendy and I lounged on the sunny hillside, breaking for over an hour. It was so relaxing. It was so nice to be warm, even for a little while. Right now, I'm sitting around a nice fire with sycamore, red fox, and willy. It's been a great day.

The weather isn't the only thing that has changed quickly out here. Just a few days ago, today might have been a bad day for me and Wendy. The trail was super sloshy and snow was dripping on our heads all day. This morning, we tried to get our food bag down from the tree just to discover that the rope was stuck. We spent 30 minutes attempting to get it down (that was terrifying!). I spilt an entire quart of water that I had just got done filtering. At this point we are really embracing the trail life, and appreciating the small stuff so much more. Because as you all know, this too shall pass.

Breeze

P.s. I gave someone a trail name for the first time! I named him Gator bc she was wearing Florida gator colors. The funny thing is, he's from New Hampshire. (I thought of you, Darbs ;))

Day 11: Walking in a Winter Wonderland

Hello all!

Wendy here with yet another trail update! Today finds us at Standing Indian shelter (sound familiar Holden Hatfield?) for a cold night. Temps down to 18 with up to 28mph gusts!

There were no shelter spots available and I was pretty nervous about whether or not my tent could handle the weather. Luckily, Breeze and I are both sleeping comfortably! That is pretty surprising to say considering some of our day consisted of trudging through 2 foot snow drifts. The winter weather system sweeping the country is alive and well in the NC mountains!

The biggest piece of news, however, was our huge milestone today- we knocked out our first state! Georgia is successfully behind us and now we have to dance with one of the toughest states on the trail. NC is known for brutal climbs so we have our work cut out for us!

I'll leave you special late night people with a few pics (too many to choose from today !)

Until next time,
Your faithful servant Patsy... Err
Alex AKA Wendy

Day 10, Plum Orchard shelter, first 0 day

Hey everyone it's breeze!

The picture below pretty much sums up the day for me and Wendy. Beginning last night at around 7 pm, I have been out of my sleeping bag for maybe 30 minutes. Because of the weather and the fact that we have a few days to get to Franklin, we decided to take our first zero day of the trip. We don't feel bad about the decision though. Wendy's knee could use the rest, and several hikers who have thru hiked before also decided to spend the day here in the shelter.

The Appalachian trail is a fascinating place. One hiker drew up a metaphor that related the trail to a DMV. Only on the Appalachian trail and the DMV can you meet people from all walks of life. People that would never talk to each other in real life chat all day, and really enjoy each other's company. Retired teachers and doctors hang out all day with young college students, high school drops outs, stoners, and everything in between. But no group of people is more fascinating to me then the mountain men.

I met my first group of true mountain men today. They call themselves hiker trash, and are as hard core as hikers come. They are the modern day Huck Finn, except with massive beards and a smoking habit. All of them have completed a thru hike before, and most of them have completed multiple thru hikes on different trails (and they're only in their mid 20s). Most of their gear could be found in thrift stores or hiker boxes (people leave gear at hostels and outfitters that they don't want. Other hikers can come along and trade with the box if they see something they like). It's very tattered and worn bc of all the miles the gear has seen. They cook over an open fire every night and don't carry tents. They either stay in the shelters or cowboy camp. Oh, and did I mention that they do 20-30 mile days? One guys record is 56 miles in one session! As you get to know them, you begin to realize that they aren't like most thru hikers you meet on the trail or on the internet (they calls guys like me that talk about thru hiking at home "internet blazers"). This isn't some once in a lifetime adventure for them; this is their life. They aren't in between careers like I am. This is their career. There is a saying among thru hikers: if you make it all the way, you only come half way back. I'm beginning to see the validity of that statement.

Hanging out with them all day has been awesome. They are super cool, easy to talk to guys. They  have a wealth of knowledge and act as mentors out here for us new thru hikers. They may roll their eyes at our new, shiny gear straight from REI, but you can tell that they truly want everyone they meet to finish.

Trying to keep warm!

Breeze

Day 9: Plumorchard Shelter

Hello all!

Wendy here with yet another trail update, this one hailing from Plumorchard shelter. We are only about 2 miles from the North Carolina line! Even though we will have only hiked 79 miles by then, it will still feel like quite an accomplishment to cross into a new state.

Today was an easy 4 mile day for us, however my knee does not seem to want to improve any. We will be taking a 0 mile day tomorrow in order to line up with Franklin (and also enjoy this sweet 14 person shelter!) I am hoping that this will help my knee out, I am really struggling on the downhill sections.

The shelter has been great so far, we are packed in like sardines! Breeze chose to hang his hammock despite the nasty weather but still got to hang around and enjoy the shelter atmosphere with me.

The star of the shelter tonight had to be Pink Panther. She is a 9 year old thru hiker along with her parents who are home schooling her 4th grade year largely on the trail. What an amazing family! She is quite the character herself. I haven't seen her stop eating for about 4 hours now, she has used her cute little girl powers to swindle samples of just about everyone's food!

I live to die another day,
Alex AKA Wendy

PS Can't wait to see my family and my wonderful fiancée in just a few days! Love you guys, thanks for all the support you have given me already.