One month
This is the fantastic Bob Peoples (encountered on days 34-36)
Day 31: April 21
Weather: Sunny and chilly
Miles travelled: 12.3
Total miles on AT: 355.2
I woke up and went downstairs to the smell of coffee and bacon, and Seth's grandmother had made breakfast for us-- turkey bacon, sausage, biscuits and gravy. It was delicious, and I enjoyed talking with Seth's grandparents. His grandfather built their beautiful house in 1985, on a gorgeous plot of land surrounded by fields and forest and yet fairly close to the town of Bristol. We had a nice and relaxing morning before Bruce, Seth, Rylee, and I left in a car. Bruce dropped Seth, Rylee, and I off at the trail head about an hour away, and just as we had begun our walk, Seth decided that Rylee needed some time off of the trail and sent her home with his dad. It was a bittersweet moment because she's such a nice dog, but she was happy to be in the car and not walking. Seth and I decided to continue walking together as long as our pace is about the same.
Only 8 miles into my hike (Seth generally gets ahead of me and I don't see him till he stops), I rounded a corner to find trail magic! A guy had warm brownies, chips, banana bread, and cold sweet tea. It was a nice break before going up a climb. There were some people just behind me and I wanted to get away from them to hike in peace so I really booked it. I was totally exhausted and out of breath but pushing like I was being chased.
The scenery was beautiful and we came over some nice big balds. We came to a campsite around 2:30, having only gone 12.5 miles, and decided to spend the rest of the day there, building a firepit out of rocks and writing and not really doing much. It was a really pretty valley and the sun set perfectly down the middle.
Day 32: April 22
Weather: Sunny but chilly
Miles travelled: 22.3
Total miles on AT: 377.5
Having stopped so early the day before, Seth and I both wanted to try going 22.5 miles so we woke up early and started walking at 7:15. As usual, I lost him right away and walked pretty much without seeing anyone for 14 miles. I was walking really fast, knowing that I had so far to go and I didn't want to arrive late in the day and not get a spot in the shelter, so I didn't really take many pictures and probably missed seeing some really nice things.
After 14 miles, I caught Seth taking a lunch break, and then I kept up a good pace for another 4 miles before crashing. I felt totally exhausted and started crying for no good reason, feeling the cold and wind and slipping backwards in the mud. The hiking ended on a huge climb at the top of Roan Mountain, and as we walked the final 0.2 miles to the shelter, Seth sang "Happy month-trail-versary to you...". We got to the shelter at about 4:30, meaning we walked pretty dang quickly and it was great to know that I was capable of hiking so far over pretty difficult terrain. Such a change from just one month ago!
It was a four-walled wood shelter with a door, which was awesome and blocked the cold wind, making the night bearable. My sleeping pad has a teeny tiny hole so I woke up several times in the night to refill it and I didn't sleep very well.
Day 33: April 23, 2015
Weather: sunny, windy, chilly
Miles travelled: 16.3
Total miles on AT: 394.0
I wanted to take it kind of easy and I had to go into town to pick up a package, so Seth and I decided to shoot for about 16 miles and camp for the night.
It was a gorgeous day, sunny but windy, and we went over many big beautiful balds. I sang a lot and really enjoyed it. We stopped at a barn shelter that was incredible and lounged around with other hikers for an hour, enjoying the sunshine and the awesome view from the porch.
After that, we went over Hump Mountain, a huge bald mountain with "many false summits", which I dubbed the fakiest mountain of them all because it looked like you were at the top but you got there and still had hundreds of feet of climbing left.
We made it to town and had dinner at a burger place. I drank three Dr. Peppers and had a sugar rush, and then couldn't sleep until one in the morning, it was terrible. It's been kind of strange just walking with Seth because everyone assumes we're a couple even though we aren't, we just go at the same pace and like each others' company.
Day 34: April 24, 2015
Weather: sunny, chilly
Miles travelled: 24.7
Total miles on AT: 418.5
In the morning, I looked at the forecast (stormy at night into the next day) and, remembering the last rainy day, decided to hike 25 miles to a hostel. There was no question in my mind that I was going to do it, and I started strong. I crossed some really beautiful grassy fields and started to question my decision to pass by without stopping to lounge and snack and watch the sun cross the sky while getting sunburnt.
Seth was long gone and I was starting to lose steam by mile 16, and then I turned a corner and saw a shelter, which meant I'd somehow walked 18 miles in just under 6 hours. Seth was there, and we were both happy to see each other, as moral support. We'd done it, only 7 miles to the shelter with plenty of time in the day! With two miles to go, my feet were hurting pretty badly when we came across a lady who was hobbling and looked on the verge of tears. She told us she'd been having issues with her feet and had been trying everything-- insoles, massages, shoes-- and was going into town to get new insoles and maybe take some time off before continuing. I was incredibly impressed, she didn't seem to waver in her desire to thru hike, and when I was in exactly that position, I was ready to get off and go home right away.
We made it to the hostel at 5 and I was incredibly happy to discover it was mostly empty, with plenty of bunks left for everyone. I'm at the Kincora hostel, which is run by Bob Peoples. Bob Peoples is an awesome man who runs trail maintenance for a huge section of trail. He is also in charge of Hard Core, a huge trail maintenance effort that coordinates a hundred people for two days in May. Lots of thru hikers participate and he makes sure they have lots of free food and coordinates rides so that they can get back onto the trail where they left off.
Bob is from Boston and bought this portion of land with the intent of building a hostel with his wife. His criteria were that the land be right next to the trail and have a well, and when he found this property he bought it over the phone and then drove down to look at what he'd bought. He cut down the trees for the hostel and his house, and built it all himself. He said it was easy! The hostel is donation-based and has showers and bunks and laundry facilities and a kitchen and 8 cats, 2 raccoons, an opossum, and a dog. He pretty much takes in whatever needs it and takes care of them. I'm in awe of him.
With the storm forecast and the incredible lodgings, I decided to take an unplanned day off and enjoy the company of Bob Peoples and Seth and the motley of hikers hanging around.
Day 35: April 25, 2015
In the morning, I walked downstairs and then decided I wanted to hike. Bob said that he could drop me off further down the trail (he was dropping off some other hikers there) and I could walk the 9 miles along the trail backwards and end up at the hostel. That way I could leave my pack and get back in time to avoid the forecasted storm while not really taking a zero day.
It felt strange to be walking backwards-- without a pack-- and I felt like I was going really fast for the first hour and a half. I started with Seth but he got cell phone service and stopped and didn't see him again (I thought he was in front of me for a while). I walked down into valley next to a huge beautiful river and then walked very leisurely, enjoying the beautiful river and greenery.
I stopped at Laurel Falls for 10 or 15 minutes, enjoying how beautiful and grand they were, and from there it was a quick half hour back to the hostel, where Seth soon caught up. Three older men showed up in the afternoon and told us they would cook us a free spaghetti dinner and pancakes for breakfast in the morning. They talked to us we talked to them and listened to their stories.
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