Hot Springs, NC

What a great city! The AT actually passes right through it!  The first thing we saw when coming off the trail was an awesome display from the Hot Springs 4th Grade class where they used different letters to write about things on the AT -- my favorite was "S is for Sticks!" (photos coming soon).  Now settled in for a night of Survivor, our residence for the night is half a mobile home situated right on the banks of the river.  Not only is this a great and friendly town, but tonight is their annual "River Fest!"  We are taking a quick break at the library to catch you up on the happenings of the previous several days before relaxing our tired feet for a few hours!  Since we last blogged...
  

We survived the Smokies!  Wow!  Some people get lucky and have a great experience wandering through the majestic Smoky Mountains... and some people get pelted with rain and hail the entire time.  We were glad to see them go, but know that they are probably awesome if you are able to look around, versus keeping your eyes directly on the trail so as not to slip and fall or step in a muddy pile of muck. 
  

Anywho's, we met some interesting characters the last few days.  One, Eric, works for awalkinthewoods.com and is very knowledgeable about the area.  Some of the things we learned from Eric:
  

A)  The coyotes in the park (like the one that Jeff saw) actually contain the DNA found in Grey Wolves, which explains why they are much larger than ordinary coyote's and appear more grey/white in color.

B) Its lichen season!  Anyone else out there excited about moss???? No???

C) Russell Field shelter (the one with the cage that we stayed at days back) used to get visited by over 10 bears a night... in 2009!  They actually had to shut that shelter down last year because of how frequently bears stopped by.  Add to that the fact that one of these bears invented "tent surfing," whereby he would jump into the air and land directly in the middle of the tent, smashing it flat.  The park service tried to catch him doing this by setting up a "dummy tent" and camera, but the bear was too smart... all they ended up with was a couple pictures of the bear and a picture of a flattened tent.  LOL. 
 

I'll skip talking about the day where we hiked in the rain and hail... HAIL! MAN!
 

We reached the famous Max Patch, a huge natural bald in the middle of the trail, yesterday.  Awaiting us at the top was hiker Mucho Gusto.  He met some friends at the top and was spreading trail love in the form of chocolate chip cookies made with duck eggs and ghiradelli chocolate --- that was seriously the most delicious cookie I have EVER had in my LIFE!  Much thanks to Mucho Gusto.  He is a fan of the trail and says he does something like that every year for the hikers -- his website is http://www.trailhound.com/.  The top of Max Patch seemed like walking on the moon -- great views on all sides!  On the top we met a nice couple who's daughter is the first female bike cop in Connecticut, stationed in New London -- small world!  The father had thru-hiked the AT in 1986 and said he still had his certificate.  When we reached the bottom of the hill we stopped at a nice grassy area to air out our tent in the hopes it would dry off.  There we were passed by a local hiking club that was there to see Max Patch.  Joker, an avid hiker, is 77 years old.  He said that he is bipolar and has hypermania during the months of April & May.  Rather than taking drugs his doctor prescribes, which has nasty side effects, he chooses to hike to get it out of his system.  He joked around with us a lot and said that his daughter says its not "hypermania," its "hiker mania."  After letting us in on those details he told us that Erwin, TN is a great place to retire and we should think about it for the future... lol.  Too funny!  This day was so pretty we just kept hiking.  Our plan to hike 16 miles turned into 20 miles, and would have been 23 straight into Hot Springs had the sunlight not left our sights.  We arrived at Deer Park Mountain Shelter at dark and set up our tent & cooked by headlamp.  We were camping by two guys, Jason & Evan, who we hadn't seen since we camped at Cheoah Bald over a week before.  20.5 miles was a loooooooong day, but it was a great day.  Today we woke up and had only 3 miles to get ourselves into Hot Springs.  After a great breakfast, showers and some clean laundry, we are ready to head out again tomorrow!   We should be to Erwin, TN in about 5 days. 
 

Hope to update some photos later... having some trouble at the library here! :0)

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HikeStrong 2010 - Jeff & Aly
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200 Miles and now in Tennessee!

 

 

 

New Pictures Uploaded here: http://picasaweb.google.com/HikeStrong2010

We started our Smoky Mountain Adventure at the Marina near Fontana Dam.  Sure, the shuttle would have taken us right to the visitors center AT the dam, but we had hopped off the trail a couple miles south of there at the Marina, so the Marina it was.  We started out fairly late in the day, so after some appropriate gawking at Fontana Dam, we crossed over it and into the Great Smoky Mountain National Park (GSMNP).  As with any other trail town, the climb out of Fontana Dam was mostly uphill all day.  We stopped at Birch Spring Gap campground where we were lucky enough to get one of the last two tent spots left.  It was there we met Sandman, Sideways, Ups, Indiana and a few other hikers who were staying the night.  There are two things required of hikers in the GSMNP:  1) you must have a back-country permit and 2) you must sleep in a shelter or at a designated campsite. 

We woke up the next day to the sound of raindrops falling down on the tent.  I think Jeff & I both thought if we fell back asleep for a while that the rain would go away, but it never did -- the 30% chance of rain the weatherman had promised us had turned into a 100% chance of all-day rain!  Nice!  We reluctantly put on our rain gear, packed up our tent and headed out.  Fueled by a couple Pop Tarts and the freezing cold day, we pushed on and did not take a break until 5 miles later at Mollie Ridge Shelter.  There we warmed up to a fire Sandman had built and when we saw a break in the storm we headed out again.  A few miles later we reached Russell Field Shelter, one of the last shelters in the GSMNP that still has a "bear cage" attached to the front of it, and decided we would go no further.  The elevation of the Smokies stays between 5K & 6K feet most of the time, and with the cold front that had moved in, temperatures were low and we were worn out.  We managed to build a fire from a pile of wet wood, and were soon joined by Sandman, Ups, Sideways, Indiana, Freight Train & Boomer.  While Jeff was out gathering wood, he actually ran across our first Coyote!  He said the coyote was about 15 feet from him and when it noticed Jeff, it dropped its jaw open as if suprised, turned, and ran off into the woods.  When Ups & Sideways arrived, they mentioned that a bear had come into our campground the previous night and sniffed up against their tent.  They scared it off successfully... the second time it came to their tent.  Between that story and the coyote, I was glad to be staying in a shelter that had a cage on the front.  Sleeping in the shelter wasnt too bad, but the snoring and the threat of mice attacks keep you from really having a "good" nights sleep. 

The next morning we were on a 16+ mile mission to get to Double Spring Gap Shelter.  It was cold, rainy & wet so really the only things I remember about the hike that day were: 1) we cooked lunch for the first time... Ramen, 2) there was a TON more uphills than the map we had showed & 3) Jeff saw a bear right before we got to the shelter we were camping at... yes, he saw a BEAR! Gaw!  Double Spring Gap Shelter is the last shelter before Clingmans Dome (the highest point on the AT at 6,684 feet), so it was pretty busy.  O, Boomer, Freight Train, Mama Bear & Papa Bear were all there along with a bunch of other thru-hikers we have met in previous days.  Luckily, the shelter was full so we were able to pitch our tent in a grassy patch next to the shelter. 

The next morning we got up very early by our standards (around 615) with the hopes of getting over Clingmans Dome and down into Gatlinburg before some really terrible weather hit us.  I stretched in my sleeping bag and put my hand against the side of the tent only to discover that it was frozen!  LOL!  The whole area had frosted over overnight and was blanketed in white.  As we were tearing down camp we were lucky enough to see our first deer, a doe and two fawns, that came very close to camp.  After taking some pictures and chatting with our new friends Mama & Papa Bear, we headed up the mountain.  We took a breakfast break at the top of Clingmans Dome Tower and then started our sprint down the mountain and into Gatlinburg.  The trail was highly affected by the previous days' storms, with lots of trees blown over, mud and snow.  When we reached Newfound Gap we were on a mission to find a ride into Gatlinburg... we were both craving some Wendy's pretty bad :0).  After 5 minutes of trying to hitch a ride, a nice lady approched us with offerings of chocolate chip cookies and an apple --- she said her daughter had thru-hiked the AT last year and said the best kind of "trail magic" came in the form of food.  She was right and we were thankful!  Soon after a trail maintainer/volunteer named Steve offered us a ride into town in exchange for some help changing out a donation box at the gap.  He was pretty knowledgeable about the trail and gave us a few bits of information I was glad to hear AFTER I was in the car -- 1) there are over 2,000 bears in the GSMNP & 2) the reason there is still a cage on Russell Field Shelter where we stayed is because there is a "mean old bear up there that keeps having cubs"... great!  He said that there were so many bears in the park that we would probably get stuck in a "bear jam" before we get into Gatlinburg, meaning there would be a traffic jam because someone in their car saw a bear.  Sure enough, less than 2 minutes after he said that, there was a bear up the hill alongside the road with about a hundred people trying to take a picture. 

We were glad to be in Gatlinburg and took a couple days off there to rest and ride out some storms.  Luckily, the day we got into town was their annual "Rib Fest!"  HA!  In all seriousness, it was a nice break and we were glad to be out of the cold for a couple days.  My most exciting moment was when we were walking down the street and all of a sudden we were reunited with my "Jacket Buddies" from Neels Gap!  It was great to see them after so many days and good to know we were all still on the trail. 

Thats it for now... I hope to blog a little more frequently so we can all avoid these huge diary entries like I just wrote! :0)   Talk to you all soon! 

Styx & Bones

--
HikeStrong 2010 - Jeff & Aly
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Photo Album Links

We were FINALLY able to get some new photo's uploaded!!! You can find our state-to-state albums by going to this link!!!

http://picasaweb.google.com/HikeStrong2010

Headed into the Great Smoky Mountains!

Hey everyone! We stopped here in Fontana Dam, NC for a nights rest and to pick up one of mom's great resupply boxes! We haven't had a phone signal in a few days and probably won't again for about 4 more when we reach Gatlinburg, TN. We are headed across Fontana Dam and into the Great Smokey Mountains now... hope the rain in the forecast goes away!!! ~Styx & Bones -- HikeStrong 2010 - Jeff & Aly Want to receive our blog updates by email? Send a note to HikeStrong2010@gmail.com to be added to our distribution list!

Room With A View

We had a long, tough, 8.1 mile uphill climb to Cheoah Bald today, but being able to camp at the top makes it all worth it!  We saw our first sunset tonight and hope to catch the sunrise in the morning.  One of our campsite neighbors said he saw a bear down the hill about a half hour ago... I hope he's just messing with us, but he was pretty excited about it.

Other things we saw today:  2 lizards, an aquamarine colored bug, a 4 foot long black snake, our new friends Convinced, Breathless, Bad Dinner & 7 D's... and a pile of human poo alongside the trail... bad form!

~Styx & Bones

Happy National High Five Day!

What a beautiful (and a little rainy) day here at the Nantahala Outdoor Center in North Carolina!  Since we last blogged we've traveled 67.5 more miles and into a new state!  We hit our 100 mile mark when we stopped for a snack break in the middle of a stream.  Now at mile 135 we have the Great Smokey Mountains in our sights and just a few days away.  To recap what's been going on...

We've been meeting some fun people along the way and seeing some really cool sights.  When we crossed the NC border into Bly Gap, we met a crew of hikers we would leapfrog with the next few days - Trashman, One Life, Laid Back, Turtledove & Timber. 

As we hiked into Deep Gap we were passed by a hiker in all black that we'd seen several times in previous days.  As he passed us he muttered something about seeing a cheeseburger in his future, but we thought he was kind of crazy and laughed it off.  When we got to the gap, sure enough, Red Truck, Green Truck and Brown Trout (previous thru hikers) were throwing their eighth annual "feed the hikers weekend."  It was there we learned that our friend in black was actually "Baltimore Jack," the very same man who wrote the resupply book we are basing all of our mail drops on.  He has hiked the Appalachian Trail eight times, all northbound, starting back in 1995.  We have since hiked ahead of Jack, but hope to see him again in the near future.  After some chili dogs and beer we hiked on to Beech Gap campground where we camped right next to one of those pesky "bear sanctuary" signs.

Camping at Beech Gap was interesting to say the least.  I awoke several times to the sound of either owls hooting or coyotes howling all over the forest on different sides of us.  Thankfully I was too tired to really care, but Jeff barely slept a wink.  The first thing he said to me the next morning was that he thought a bear tried to get our food bag from the tree we hung it in, and that he thought whatever was hooting/howling had caught and killed something.  Yikes!  I couldn't help but think of the quiet lady who was sleeping ten yards from us in only a sleeping bag with head net... she must have been scared to death that night.

We had some challenging hikes the next couple days.  Albert mountain seemed nearly vertical with steps and rock climbs all the way to the top... but it was still very fun.  At the top was a fire watch tower and a fantastic view.  The next day we saw the fire tower in the distance and couldn't believe we'd hiked that far!  A couple days later we met Bad Dinner, a fast hiker who was on a mission to reach the NOC and eat a huge pizza.  It inspired us to do the same... and so we did!  We caught up with him, the big crew from Bly Gap, Number One Son and his dad all at the NOC.  We shared a few PBRs with 7 D's and Number One Son and took a break today to do laundry with Bad Dinner and watch Survivor tonight!  Anyone notice a trend with us and Survivor?

Speaking of trail names, we've been going by "Styx & Bones."  When we left CT, our buddy Dave joked that when we were done hiking we would be nothing but a pile of sticks and bones.  Since Jeff's last name is Bonelli, Bones fit.  I wasn't sold on Sticks until one day we were hiking along... I almost fell for probably the 10th time, but caught myself with my trusty trekking poles.  I shouted to Jeff, "MAN I love these sticks! If it weren't for these sticks my trail name would be Faceplant!"  Then I knew it fit... but I spelled it like Styx because, you know, they sing Mr. Roboto!  Domo Arigato!  LOL!

Styx & Bones OUT!
~highest mileage day = 19.1 miles into Franklin, NC to watch Celebrity Apprentice

Why oh why do we keep seeing this sign everywhere?

Including next to our campsite...

Goodbye, Georgia...Hello, North Carolina!!!

We are in Hiawassee, GA tonight, resting up and hunkered down for another exciting installment of Survivor!  :0)  We are excited to be just 10 miles from our first border crossing into North Carolina!  To recap the last few days...

 

Earlier in the week we hiked to Neels Gap, a well-known place on the trail to meet up with your fellow hikers, stay the night in a hostel and have the experts at the Mountain Crossings outfitter sanity check your gear.  We saw some new friends along the way, Orange Moon, Gingersnap & Jaime who we'd been hiking with since the beginning.  As we were climbing Blood Mountain, one of the tallest climbs in Georgia, I was wiped out and we decided to take a break halfway up.  This is when we experienced our 2nd dose of "trail magic," a 16oz Fruit Punch NOS Energy Drink left right next to the very spot we stopped -- let me say it put a huge spring in our step for the rest of the hike up and down into Neels Gap.  When we arrived there, the "Trail Dames" were throwing a BBQ for all of us Thru-Hikers, and we were so thankful for that!  Nothing better than burgers and hot dogs after a long day of hiking!  After checking into the hostel, we went to the Outfitter and had our packs audited by Logan.  We had whittled our pack contents down to the barest essentials, so there was not much for him to audit, but he did fit us with some super-sweet 2lb Granite Gear packs that we are extremely happy with.  Our night in the hostel was OK.  It was great to chat with other hikers but it was too loud to sleep -- 16 bunks with people snoring and moving around made it almost impossible to catch a wink.  Needless to say we were the first ones to leave the next morning -- out the door by 6:30!!!

 

The next day we hiked about 11 miles into Low Gap, where we arrived early, cleaned up and played cribbage on grandpa's old wooden travel set -- I brought the rules so Jeff would quit saying I was making them up :0).  We both had really sore feet from hiking, and Jeff hobbled around camp most of the evening whining about "chafing". lol!      "Bulldog", the high school principle, and "Old Blue Eyes" camped next to us.  We spent the evening talking about hiking strategy - Jeff & I decided that we needed to change ours if we wanted to make it to Maine.  Before we left the next morning "Bulldog" videotaped us for one of his high school video class projects -- he says it will be on YouTube eventually as "Bulldog on the AT." 

 

The next day we implemented our hiking strategy change from "go, go, get there" to "lets hike a bit, take an afternoon siesta, then hike some more."  So far it seems to be a much better strategy.  We hiked 6 miles to Blue Mountain shelter, relaxed for a couple hours, and then hiked the rest of the afternoon as it started to cool off.  We ran into Emily Maple on our way up Rocky Mountain and took a break with her halfway up at a nice stream.  Our original plan was to go 13 miles that day and camp at the old Cheese Factory Site.  However, there looked like there were some raging wildfires on some nearby mountains, so I agreed to go 15 miles to the shelter on top of Tray Mountain, meaning we would have to cross 3 huge mountains to get there.  On the way down Rocky Mountain, I was hiking along to "Fireflies" by Owl City when I realized I was going to fall.  My trusty trekking poles kept me from falling down the slope of the mountain, but I still toppled head-first down the trail, eventually landing on my backpack with my head going downhill.  I tried to get up, but it was almost impossible... so there I was, laying on my backpack like a turtle on its shell, wriggling around trying to sit up.  It took a LOT of effort, but I finally sat up.  You would think I would inspect myself for damage at this point, but instead I took a couple pictures... lol.  When I took my earphones out, I heard Jeff down the trail singing some random song from his Ipod.  There he was dancing in the middle of the trail completely oblivious.  Hilarious.  When we got to Indian Grave Gap we saw a sign that said the fires were a controlled burn, so I calmed down a little bit, but Jeff was still set on getting to Tray Mountain Shelter.  I was so exhausted, and whiney, but we kept going.  At the top of Tray Mountain there was a great view of North Carolina -- I can't believe we are so close!!!  We arrived in camp near dark, cooked dinner and hit the sack. 

 

The next day we had 11 miles to get to Dicks Creek Gap, which is 11 miles up the highway from Hiawassee where we planned to stop, rest, and resupply.  When we hit the road we met a great couple, Bob & Cathy from Ohio, who offered us a ride into town in their camper.  They not only took us into Hiawassee, but they stopped on the way in order for us to pick up mom's first resupply box at the Blueberry Patch Hostel.  After some much needed Dairy Queen, we checked into the motel and the desk clerk made sure to put us in a room next to the washer & dryer -- lol.

 

Headed off to Franklin, NC in the morning!

 

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HikeStrong 2010 - Jeff & Aly
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HikeStrong 2010 - Jeff & Aly
Want to receive our blog updates by email?  Send a note to HikeStrong2010@gmail.com to be added to our distribution list!

Trail Magic, Showers & Survivor

 

Our third day on the trail was a challenge after a very exhausting day two. It was 80 degrees and sunny, with almost zero leaves on the trees. We took a break for lunch at Gooch Gap & after about a half an hour our friend from the first day, Marty, arrived. We were sure he was ahead of us on the trail, but at one point he and two other guys took a wrong turn down a steep 2 mile long trail that led directly to an Army Ranger training camp -- not good!!! After the steep climb back up the trail, he was too tired to push on and made camp at the base of Sassafrass mountain. We hiked with Marty pretty much the rest of the day and ended up at Woody Gap near Suches, GA. As we got closer to Woody Gap, we both began to run low on water and eventually ran out just before getting there. In our dehydrated states, we were dying to find the spring to fill up. To our dismay, it was a trickle of dirty water down a hillside. As we treated our half-and-half of dirt and water, two guys we had passed earlier showed up. One of them, Tyler (right), offered beers, water, oranges and a ride into Dahlonega -- he had parked his truck at the gap three days prior. Jeff & I were both pretty sunburnt despite lathering on the sunscreen, and Jeff was nursing some pretty good blisters, so we took them up on their offer and spent a night with some Bud Lights and our favorite, Survivor :0).

Showered, clothes washed and farmers tans in full effect, we are ready to hit the trail again in the morning. We mailed off 8lbs of gear we'd been carrying and will most likely get lighter packs once we get to Neels Gap. Being somewhat rookies to this thru-hiking thing, you don't really think about the difference a few pounds of pack, or a few ounces of soap add up to when you are carrying it on your back over mountains in the heat. Lessons learned, lol, and I am sure there will be more in the future! All that matters is that we are having a total blast and are meeting tons of cool people. It seems like everywhere we go everyone is interested to know what we are doing -- are we thru-hiking? where did we start? where are we from? Everyone has tips and tricks and stories of their own and it is great to be here to hear them. We even ran into our friend "Genuine Draft" here at the place we are staying. Small world.

Talk to you guys soon!!!

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HikeStrong 2010 - Jeff & Aly
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21.2 down, a whole bunch more to go!

So far so good!  We hiked the agonizingly steep approach trail to Springer Mountain yesterday and enjoyed a nice lunch on top, knowing full well the approach trail doesn't even count!  We camped at Stover Creek shelter with some friends we met along the way, Marty & Genuine Draft.  GD has her "trail name" from hiking a few years ago - we are still waiting for that moment where we get or choose our own.  Today was a long day.  We woke up later than pretty much everyone else and hiked with GD to Hawk Mountain shelter for lunch.  After 11 and some change miles over mountains and through the woods we made camp at Justus Creek campsite... we are sooooo thrilled to be here!  Still working on the plan for tomorrow!
OH, and our campsite neighbor is thru-hiking just like us.  He's 80 years old and a total rock star!