Helene has decimated our local communities surrounding Asheville including the mountain towns of Marshall and Hot Springs that we as a family frequent and love. Our communities are hurting and it will take years to rebuild. Many friends and family have asked about how they can help especially if they’re…
Weekend Hike – Mt Mitchell Loop
Alltrails, you’re such a liar ! 😂 We had time for an afternoon hike today and picked this supposedly 5.9 mile, 3 hour hike and by the time we were done, it was more like 7 miles and more like 4 hours thanks to the tricky terrain. It was a…
Days 6-7 Bears Galore.
We are done a little early from our planned itinerary for #Life reasons but wow what an amazing trip. After leaving Mountain Crossing we dispersed camped a couple of nights and also hit some gnarly hills including Blue Mountain. I mentioned the creepy abandoned tent. That night, we had some…
Days 4-5 Zero Day and Reaching Mountain Crossings
On Day 4, we got picked up at Jarrard Gap to stay at Suches Wilderness Ranch for a resupply and Zero. My feet really needed the rest day. This place was a camper with a nice deck and outdoor shower. We spent our Zero Day replenishing calories (i.e. stuffing our…
Days 2 and 3 – Hawk Mountain Shelter to Jarrard Gap
We are currently taking a zero day at a fantastic little place in Suches, GA after 3 days on the trail. Our total mileage is around 26.3 miles not counting all the side quests off trail for water sources and shelters. Michael has shoes that are half a size too…
Day One – Springer Mountain to Hawk Mountain Shelter
We’re really doing this! This morning, our wonderful shuttle driver showed up bright at early at 7.30am in a souped up Jeep Wrangler to take us to the Springer Mountain Trailhead to begin our section hike. We hiked south for a (uphill) mile to get to the southern terminus and…
The Voices.
I’m a huge fan of Stephen King and am on my second read of the Dark Tower series. In Book 5 (Wolves of the Calla), the group visits a place called The Cave of Voices and it is the center for many important events. The cave got this name because…
Packing
I laid out my pack with my base items (no food and water). It is a good exercise to take one final look at the list. I discovered I could use a smaller bottle of multi-purpose soap and I’m rethinking my rain poncho situation. I ordered a Frogs Togs ultralight…
Two weeks out!
It’s getting real! We are two weeks out from our section hike of the AT. I’m in full logistics mode and here’s what we have so far: I also need to finalize my pack – this is a work in progress.
Shake down trip and Changes
Life throws curve balls and for us, it means we can no longer take a whole month off for a trip. We have two weeks and the JMT is going to be there another year. But with the two weeks, we are going to start section hiking the Appalachian Trail…