Friday

I am sitting in the Laurel Fork shelter just outside of Hampton, TN. I
hiked 17.5 miles today, past a beautiful river, rock canyons, and a
huge waterfall. What a thrilling hike...the scenery just kept getting
better. It was a very warm day and I drank 5 liters of water today.
The cool thing about today was I hiked past the 400 mile marker this
morning. In fact, I am only 2 days away from the Virginia border.

I have a beautiful sunset going down behind the mountains with the
sound of the river in the background, and a steaming pot of...yes,
mashed potatoes for dinner.

Wednesday/Thursday

So, remember the rain storm I was hiking in for a couple of days?
Well, up on Roan mountain, it wasn't a rainstorm. I hiked 16 miles
yesterday through an absolute winter wonderland. It was stunningly
beautiful and absolutely treacherous all at the same time. The sun was
out so it was already melting the snow in the tops of the spruce tree
that encompassed the mountain. This was interesting because it was
raining chunks of ice and snow water all over me. The ground was a
combination of ice patches, slushy snow, and deep mud. It also has
about 50 false summits so you never felt like you were getting
anywhere. I finally got up and over the mountain to enter into the
Roan Highlands. I also got to sleep on a barn! How cool is that??? I
have always wanted to sleep in a big red barn. It came with a high
price though. Because it was so big, it held a LOT of hikers. That
only means one thing. Lots of loud snoring and farting. Seriously.

Today I hiked 18.3 miles over the most fabulous grassy balds. It was
incredible.... Views for miles and miles. The Roan Highlands are
everything I heard about and more. It was like walking from winter
yesterday, into a lovely spring day today. And I am back in my tent,
which I have been carrying around soaking wet for 3 days. It's a
little funky in here. And still wet. I am hoping it dries out
overnight but I am not holding my breath. Or maybe I should?

Tuesday

Well all I can say is 50-60% chance of isolated thunderstorms has a
whole new meaning for me. After spending a zero day (A SUNNY day mind
you) in the lovely little town of Erwin, I felt rested and excited to
get back to the trail. I had no idea that almost immediately after
stepping foot back on the trail, I would spend the next couple of days
trying not to drown. It has rained and rained and rained. The 15-25
mph winds that were forcasted yesterday turned into 40-50 mph gusts on
top of this "Beauty Spot" mountain that all the locals told me was
such a gorgeous place. I could hardly stand up and I could only see a
few feet in front of me. I had a few choice words about the beauty
spot that I will refrain from sharing. The good news is that Marge
and Lefty are doing fine, despite slogging around for two days with an
inch of water in the bottom of the boots, and it's suppose to be sunny
tomorrow. All is well and things are looking up.

Saturday

I am hanging out in a hotel in Erwin, TN.... Lovely small town USA. A
couple of other hikers and I moseyed down to the local duds n suds to
wash the trail out of our clothes. The guy that works there offered to
give us a ride to a restaurant and back to the hotel where we are
staying. It was so nice of him, especially because it was raining
buckets and we were several miles away. The best part was that "Doug"
had a small truck. I have never laughed so hard. 4 hikers in the back
of a truck in the pouring rain. I was especially surprised when Doug
turned onto the interstate. We didn't realize it was a shortcut back
to the hotel. Now that was a ride.

So where did we eat? Yep, the KFC buffet. Our choices were limited
(very limited) and of course I was all for it because you guessed
it..... All you can eat mashed potatoes. I am sad to report that the
mashed potatoes were not as good as my usual Idahoan garlic flavored
'taters out of a package. Of course they did have some nice overcooked
veggies and biscuits.

Today was a shorter day, about 11 miles, and mostly downhill. Downhill
is harder on the feet and knees than uphill. Unfortunately, my feet
are having some issues. So much so that I am taking an unplanned zero
day in this funky little town. Will keep the world updated on he
healing of Marge and Lefty (my feet).

Thursday

At the beginning of my hike, a fellow hiker told me, on a particularly
precarious section of trail, that she was taking "mindful steps". I
have taken these words to be my personal mantra and I think this is
the key to less twisted ankles, stumbles, and face plants. However,
what I have found is that because I am sporting my new dorky looking
"boonie" type hat to keep my ears from frying to a crisp, I must
occasionally look UP as well. It partially obstructs my vision because
of the brim and I have nearly knocked myself out cold on numerous
occasions. A couple of times I was able to see the low hanging branch
or blown down tree a few feet away. One time I looked up just in time
to see it a couple of inches away from my face, and one unlucky time I
never even knew what hit me. The moral of this story? Enjoy the views
from ALL directions.

I am camped near the Hogback ridge shelter 15 miles away from where I
started out this morning. I just love the names of these shelters.
Last night I heard coyotes howling and yipping all night. I also heard
a pair of owls yelling at eachother all night. It was a wild and crazy
night out here in the zoo. I won't be forgetting my earplugs tonight.

Pumpernickel...who came up with THAT word?

Today I felt like I was in some kind of outdoor sensory deprivation
experiment. First of all, I am hiking these days without any sort of
vision correction... Hand are too dirty for contact lenses (I thought
I was getting a nice farmers tan until I realized if I scrubbed hard
enough it comes off) and it is way too humid for glasses. I have
gotten somewhat used to it and I warn anybody behind me they should
not follow me (pardon the pun) "blindly" and should still look for
blazes on trees themselves. Then there's the hiking in the rain with a
rain jacket hood on your head. I hear nothing but "woosh woosh
woosh". It's a bit surreal and yet has a meditative quality to it. At
the beginning of my hike when it would rain, I had an ongoing paranoia
about all my stuff getting wet, but now I have accepted that yes,
everything gets wet (except what gets put into seam-sealed dry sacks
thankfully...then it only gets "damp") and it's okay. Guess what? So
far, everything that has gotten what eventually dries out! It is
really a miracle, and now I hike peacefully in the rain.... well today
anyway.
It eventually stopped raining and a heavy fog set in. I could only see
a few feet in front of me and it made for an eerie ridgetop hike this
afternoon. The sun even popped out and it was a warm breezy evening.
And yes, I had mashed potatoes for dinner. Yum.

Tuesday

I apologize for dropping off the face of the earth. I spent two days
in the lovely little town of Hot Springs, NC with Drew. The
interesting thing about Hot Springs, besides all the great history we
learned about it, is that it is a complete communication black hole.
At least for AT&T users. We stayed at Elmer's Sunnybank Inn. It was a
fabulous visit complete with delicious organic vegetarian meals. I
feel well fed and well rested.

I had a fairly short hiking day, as the 11 miles were not terribly
hard, although it rained pretty much continuously from when I started
out of town. I figured the first shelter would be pretty full on a
rainy day but it was fuller than full. I don't know how many people
they had jammed in that small wooden lean-to that was supposed to
house 5. I continued up the trail a while and found a fairly flat spot
to put up my tent. That's okay, I would rather be in my tent anyway.
So here I sit, listening to the rain enjoying the warmth of my
sleeping bag.

Humdinger...I just like that word

Blah Blah Blah nice hike... Blah Blah Blah nice weather...I know what
you really want to know...what I ate for dinner, right? That is all
hikers talk about, food....and ocasionally backpacking gear. But
usually food. So tonight I whipped up another package of, you guessed
it, Idahoan potatoes. (I have never really known how to pronounce
that... "idahoan"? Is the H silent?) Anyway, in a small package (ok so
it says it serves 4...right...like I couldn't actually eat 2 packages)
of Idahoian Russet instant potatoes with "real" butter flavor, there
are 39 listed ingredients. 39! Most of which do not sound like things
you would consider eating including silicon dioxide, you know, as an
anti-caking agent. Silicon dioxide??? Are you kidding me? What's the
moral of this story? Shut up, eat your mashed taters, and quit
reading the labels.

All kidding aside, I did hike up and over Max Patch today and what a
fabulous view! The wind was so strong I could hardly stand up (so
much for camping on top). It really was amazing and well worth a trip
up there if you're looking for a special place to hike in NC. When I
got to the top I remembered being up there when I was younger but I
did not remember how breathtaking it was. I made it 15.8 miles further
north today. I will be in Hot Springs by early Sunday morning.

Today was white powder day.

I just had a revelation that everything I ate today started out as
white powder. (OMG I need some fruits and vegetables.) I was the lucky
recipient of someone's extra baggie of instant vanilla pudding that I
had for breakfast this morning; all you have to do is add water.
(Thanks Red Hawk!) For lunch I made a package of dehydrated hummus in
a tortilla. You are supposed to add olive oil but alas I had none, so
I added extra garlic powder of course....ahhhem.... And for dinner I
prepared a package of instant mashed potatoes. Oh yeah, I did have a
granola bar and a Little Debbies Nutty bar. Ok I have nothing else to
say about the variety of my diet in content or color.

Today, I also did what every backpacker fears the most. I usually
remove my water reservoir from my backpack before filling it, but I
left it in because it's difficult to get it back in without taking
everything out of the pack first and YES I had some kind of spaz
attack and dumped almost a liter of water inside my pack. It was like
it had rained inside my pack. All I can say is that is a hard lesson
learned. I will not be doing that again.

Today was an amazing hike. Starting the day over 6,000' and dropping
to under 2,000' elev. is like walking to another planet. I started the
day in winter and ended in summer. The lower I got the warmer it got
and all the trees had leaves already and there were wildflowers
everywhere.... trilliums, firepinks, dutchmans britches, pussytoes,
phlox, spring beauties, solomons seal, toadshades, trout lilies, and
more. It was a beautiful day to end my hike through the Smokies. I had
been warned repeatedly about how hard it is to get through them, but I
had a fabulous time and could not have had better weather. I did hike
through feet of snow at times, and only occasionly wished I had
brought my gaitors, but I only postholed to my knees a few times.
So what's next you ask? Well, we shall all find out soon enough.

Wednesday I believe

Some days I don't really have anything interesting to say. I had a
really awesome hike today in absolutely beautiful weather. The views
were amazing and just kept getting better and better. Tomorrow is my
last day of hiking in the Smokies. I lose 4,500' in elevation in 15
miles. I think downhill is an understatement. I have already taken
ibuprofen in anticipation.

I am in a shelter with someone wearing a fuzzy green top hat and a
fake beard who asked me if I wanted a candy necklace. I told him my
mother told me never to take candy from creepy freakazoids in AT
shelters. That's all I have to say about that.

Update: "Green Abe" as he is known is super nice and totally harmless!

Tuesday April something

Gatlinburg, TN. Wow. What can I say? Funnel cakes and air-brushed t-
shirts, baby. That's what I'm talking about. Got up this morning and
hiked the 5 miles to Newfound gap. H.D Mama and her husband were
waiting for me to take a couple of us the 15 miles to town for a
resupply stop. We all ate at the Shoney's buffet and all I can say is
quantity over quality. That has got to be the biggest pile of mediocre
food I have ever shovelled in my mouth. But, I did finally get the
humongous glass of orange juice I have been craving for days. (No, I
don't have scurvy...I'm taking my multi vitamin every day...ok, most
days....that I remember). They did have a salad bar with a vegetable
or two that had not been cooked to absolute death. (I've never seen
grey green beans before). Then I went to the new NOC outfitters in
town and they are totally awesome...they have free shower for thru-
hikers and a free shuttle back to the trail. So I basically moved in
there for the afternoon waiting for the 4:00 shuttle. After I had a
shower (ooohhh what a difference a hot shower makes), I sat on their
covered porch in a rocking chair and watched the afternoon show that
is life on the strip in Gatlinburg, TN. After I got back on trail, I
hiked the 3 miles to Icewater spring shelter, where I sit this very
moment. Although I could have stayed in town and gone to the Ripley's
Believe it or Not museum or maybe the wax museum, I am thrilled to be
out of "civilization" and back on the trail.

Monday April 12?

Today I hiked 14 miles up and over Clingmans Dome (highest elevation
on the A.T. @ 6,643'). Can you say "false summits"? Everytime I
thought I was there I saw another peak I had to go up and over. What
an absolutely gorgeous hike....entered the spruce/fir forest and WOW!
It smelled like Christmas trees, which of course just made me think
about Christmas food. The views were incredible..miles and miles, 360
degrees views, ridges only as wide as the trail, and then the tower on
Clingmans dome. It was absolutely stunning.

Tonight I am in the Mt Collins shelter exactly at the 200 mile mark.
Somebody asked me what shelters were so here is my best description:
basically every 10-15 miles or so they have constructed a 3 sided
wooden or stone structure that has 1 or 2 wooden platforms that hold
anywhere from 6-12 hikers. They are sometimes infested with mice and
almost always infested with dirty hikers. They require you to stay in
them in the Smokies which means they are usually full. Very full. This
makes you feel a bit like you're in summer camp. You meet all sorts of
people from all over the place. I miss the solitude of camping
anywhere in my little tent, but I have enjoyed getting to know all
these other people immensely. It is quite the experience.

Sat night

It is beautiful here. I hiked up and over a hill and the other side
was solid wildflowers..... Spring beauties, actually. They are aptly
named. It was stunning. The Smokies are everything I hoped they would
be, funky old shelter included. Staying at the Mollies Ridge shelter
complete with surprising intermittent cell service and all.

Feet functioned well today and brought me about 12 miles farther north
on my journey. Thank you very tired feet. I appreciate all your fine
support. (I now talk very sweetly to them to make sure they know how
appreciated they are and keep them motivated for moving forward).
Ok time to sleep now.

Friday p.m. ?

Well here I sit in the Hike Inn near Fontana Dam, soaking my feet in
Epsom salts. I'm looking for a miracle here folks. These feet look
like I have been a participant in some sort of radical foot torture
experiment. Of course by the time you read this I will be either
through the Smokies or at least well into them, or maybe the nearest
foot doctors office. I hear there is not much cell service going on up
in those hills.

Had a great 11.5 mile hike today. Spring has definitely sprung around
here. I saw tons of white trilliums, toadshades, purple trilliums,
pussytoes, trout lillies, and lots of tiny green leaves on trees. It
was just beautiful.

So Nancy picked me up near the marina and took me back to the Inn so I
could have a shower and launder the clothes. What a difference that
makes. I'm a new woman! Then a couple of hikers and I went to dinner
at a great Mexican restaurant in Robbinsville (El Pacifico was
awesome...I give the veggie fajitas a huge thumbs up...ate every bite
AND a pint of Ben and Jerry's...yeah that's what I'm talkin about!)
and then they gave us a ride to Ingle's to resupply. So I should be
good to go with enough food to hike to Mexico or at least the other
side of the Smokies. My pack feels like it weighs more than I
do...again. As I look around this room, which looks like a hiker's
pack might have exploded in here, I am still trying to dry out
everything from the great flood of 2010. Things might be dry by the
time we are being dropped off at the trailhead at 7:45. So goodnight
for now.

Thursday, I could find out the date, but does it really matter?

I know, you're all tired of all the hiking in sunshiny weather tales,
so I have a whole new theme for today. I am going to have to call
today "high adventure". You know you're having an interesting day on
the trail when you find yourself just below the summit of the tallest
mountain around, huddled on your hands and knees (after throwing the
metal sticks of death to the ground) while a small hurricane goes by
over your head. I can relate this miserable tale now with a smile on
my face because I am warm and dry in the very center of a shelter
filled with at least twice as many people as it was designed to hold.
Yes, it was a very wet and windy 9.1 miles today, but I am only 11.5
away from Fontana Dam and tomorrow is supposed to be sunny. Now I
will be the one with every stitch of clothing I have hanging off the
back of my pack. Ok, maybe I will keep the undies inside the pack.

Wednesday. Ok I really don't know the date.

I have observed that long distance hikers are easily distinguishable
from weekend hikers for more reasons than the obvious....smelliness,
level of dirtiness, the uncontrollable excitement at the sight of
fresh fruit (I literally threw down my pack and RAN up two flights of
stone steps toward someone dangling a banana toward me), but it's
generally the array of clothing items hanging off the back of the pack
that really gives it away. It's usually socks and bandanas, but today
I saw underwear. Yep.

I had the fortunate occasion to be arriving this morning at the NOC
right at breakfast time. I had the most awesome medley of veggies and
potatoes and a huge biscuit. And a huge glass of OJ. Yummm. Oh yeah..
And a bathroom with running hot water. Wow.

The climbing finally came to a merciful end and here I stayed. Short
mileage day to the Sassafras Gap shelter (7.7) but I got a new blister
so I decided to take it easy and let the dogs rest. It was an awesome
warm day. Tomorrow is supposed to be thunderstormy so who knows where
I will end up. I am two days away from the Smokies and I am so
grateful the weather is looking so nice!

Tuesday 4/6/10

Ok. Remember I said last night I was camped over 5,000'? Well, this
ought to give you a clue about my day. I am camped 15 minutes away
from the NOC, as in Nantahala Outdoor Center, yes...as in the
river...approx 1,900' elev. Well what goes down must come up, at least
on this trail. So, you guessed it. 6 straight miles of climbing
tomorrow...in record high temps. Now don't get me wrong, I am not
complaining about the sun. Happy to have it. Everyone I saw today, I
mean EVERYONE was really sunburned, including me.

Everything is beginning to bud. I love to watch it before my very
eyes. I saw lots of violets, bloodroot, trailing arbutus, mayflower
(leaves), rattlesnake plantain, a hawk, a huge rat snake, and a poodle.

I was also fortunate enough to hike to climb Wesser fire tower and
have lunch today. It is the most spectacular 360 degree view I can
think of anywhere. You climb up two flights of seriously rickety
stairs to find an amazing gift awaits you.

Monday 4/5/10

Today's food for thought is this: When I hike with my cap on and it's
windy, my shadow in front of me looks like Krusty the Clown. What's
even scarier is that I caught myself trying to laugh like him, you
know, just to complete the effect.

I hiked 14.5 miles today. I hiked farther than I had intended but
sometimes the perfect camp spot is further away than you realize. I
am camped on what is called "Rocky Bald" (approx 5,000' elev.), which
I have erroneously in the past called Copper Ridge. I have camped here
many times before. In addition, I hiked over a spot on the trail today
where several years ago, I slipped on a wet rock and broke my wrist.
Thankfully, it was a mostly uneventful passage over the dreaded rocky
section. I did however, several miles later, have an interesting
incident. I will preface beforehand to the intently reading loved
ones, that I am OKAY....but, I do seem to be having weekly
altercations with the hiking poles. So far, they are winning. I must
also add that there have been many stumbles that have been avoided by
using these somewhat scary appliances. This time I was climbing over a
blowdown and somehow got my leg entangled with one resulting in what
must have been a fairly comical faceplant. I am sure I can chalk this
one up to operator error, but I still use them with a suspicious eye
and mixed emotions.

"Apple" was parked at Burningtown Gap feeding hikers caffeinated sodas
and cookies. Talk about a little kick to get you up a mountain! Thanks
Apple! That's just what we all needed.

Today was a great day for a hike

Warm, I mean really warm, sunny, and beautiful North Carolina scenery.
Drew drove me back to the trail on the motorcycle. What a sight that
must have been. Actually, you can see what a sight it was...check out
the picture somewhere on the right side of the page in one of those
slide show thingys. Awesome way to get to the trail in my opinion.
Although when I got off I was happy to give back the helmet and heavy
jacket. Made my pack feel lighter. Ok, not really, but I'm glad I'm
not so bad off that I have to hike with a helmet.

Today while I was hiking, for the second time, I heard a HUGE tree
fall over "down mountain" from me...on a windless day no less. Now I
don't know about you, but I'm pretty sure if I had not been there it
still would have made a really big noise. Just a thought for today...

So I will have to call today a success. Good ride, good hike, good
weather, and all digits pointing the correct direction. I am camped by
a gurgling stream near the Siler Bald shelter about 111 miles in. Just
a few to go...

Back on the trail again

Well I am happy to report that I am back in the game. After some
sunshine and rest my hand seems to be operating at a sufficient level.
At least for grasping a hiking pole anyway. It has been put back in
the correct position and is looking like the hand of a corpse less
every day! I am just going to try to take it easy and do everything
to let it continue heal properly....uhh....while walking in a
generally northern direction, that is. So here's to a Happy Easter to
all.