Walked past the Ranger's Mountain Camp today. There was a Blackhawk flying resupply missions in the area and then there were the aggressors harassing the students here and there. All bringing back memories. Weather last night was fair with some light rain and mild temps. The morning started out foggy and we had no view from Blood Mtn, the highest point in GA. From ther we dropped down to Neels Gap. This is famous for being the only building the AT goes through. There is an Outfitter who has a very profitable business re-outfitting Northbound hikers. We picked up our [View Full Entry]

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13.3 miles today had some trail magic at Woody Gap. Phexen's parents were waiting on him to ensure he was doing fine. They made us a nice lunch and we had a long talk. Phexen made much better time and made it in right behind us only dropping back 20 minutes. I guess the promise of food and family made him move faster. We passed through Gooch Gap, Liss Gap, Ramrock Mtn, Woody Gap, Big Cedar Mtn, Burnette Field Mtn and Turky Stamp Mtn. ending at Woods Hole Shelter. Our walk went quick and we are doing fine to date. [View Full Entry]

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Great night for sleeping, temp in the mid 50s, light breeze and no night creature visits. We were up at 6:45AM, walked down to the creek for water and made our morning oatmeal. Morning camp breaking chores seemed to have lost little effectiveness and all was stowed for walking. Beside Phexen there was one couple sleeping on the second level of the shelter (bear protection I guess). They must have been heavy sleepers, my cooking and our eating caused no abating in the snoring from the loft. We were on the trail by 8:30AM, a little early for us and quite [View Full Entry]

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Our shuttle arrived about 12:30 for the run down to Springer Mtn. The ride down was scenic and restful with someone else driving. Stopped in Blairsville, Ga for a late lunch/early supper. Then it was off to the trail. We headed up the trail .9mi to reach the Summit of Springer and the official start North, this was 6:45PM. We made that distance in 30 minutes and CC looked to the sky then at me. "The sun is still fairly high, let's quit wasting time and walk." Off we went. We hiked until 8PM covering 2.5 miles ending up at [View Full Entry]

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Left home yesterday and spent the afternoon in Rochester, NY with our daughter and her family. Never too much of the grandchildren. Finished off our re-supply boxes and took the first one to the Post Office myself. The clerk remarked about the address being AT hikers and the young woman who mailed her parents out boxes last year. The parents were supposed to stop in and say hello after their hike last year, but they never made it in. I asked her forgiveness and pleaded no knowledge of the promise. She was tickled to hear about how last year went and [View Full Entry]

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Hello everyone. We are getting ready to hit the trail again. Our plan is to drive down to North Carolina where we ended last year, park the car and shuttle down to Springer Mountain, GA. That is the Southern end of the AT, from there we will walk north the 287 miles back to the car. This should take roughly 30 days. We plan to do journal updates same as last year. The photos will however not be posted until after we return home. I think this will be the fastest way and save Matt his valuable personal time as he [View Full Entry]

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17 July Climbing Mt Katahdin People started stirring in the Katahdin Stream camp ground about 4:30AM. The climb up the mountain is a serious one, 5.2 miles up and down by the Hunt Trail. Most people who would climb today would not be “Thru Hikers” they would be weekenders, vacationers and summer camp kids. Last night as we walked past the Birches Shelters where the North bounders stay, they dark and empty. The Baxter State Park folks make every effort to make everyone aware of the arduous task of getting to the top of the mountain and safely down again. We [View Full Entry]

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Morning came with the sun. My two shelter companions were up by 5:45AM while I tried to get a few more winks in. I got up about 6:30 and started working on our stuff. One of the guys asked if I was going to make breakfast for my wife and me. I said, “Yes, I always do.” This, in turn, got me a puzzled look. I repeated what I had said the night before about it was my job and all CC needed to do on this trip was walk. I take care of the rest. The other guy said [View Full Entry]

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Mice running races in the dark, someone besides her husband snoring, bugs, noises and hot flashes all keep CC from sleeping well on the trail. If we tent most of those things are not problems, however when we do the shelters all cause her grief! Last night was no exception. People started pulling out by 6:45AM. I was up and working on hot breakfast by then and CC was ‘as one’ with her sleeping bag. It was 8AM by the time we were the last to leave the shelter. It was hard to say what the day would bring weather [View Full Entry]

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Zero Day Events, Good Food and Rest. Got up early and CC stayed in bed to rest. Went out to breakfast with the other hikers and Johnny. He makes three runs a day to town - breakfast, lunch and supper. He will run you by the post office, the store or where ever else you might need to go. Erwin, TN is quite spread out and his hostel is on one far end. We stayed at the Waffle House until 9AM when the Post Office opened, then he drove by there on the way home. Our box was there waiting all [View Full Entry]

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