A YouTube Subscriber Saves Us From a Storm

This morning I woke up around 5:30am at the shelter. Then we got packed up quickly and got moving. We only have about 25 miles to go to get to the trailhead where you’re able to hitch into Heflin. But instead, we’re getting picked up by a game named Andy who watches my videos. He’s going to bring us into Oxford, a larger town just down the road from Heflin.

It was a pretty cold morning as we got going. I kept my alpha layers on even though we had a small climb to start the day. We got up to the top quickly though and then were doing alot of downhill. Every now and then we would go up a small hill. But it would be very brief and the trail was just rolling on and off like that for the rest of the day.

A Pinhoti trail marker on a tree this morning.

Eventually it warmed up and I was able to take my layers off. It was still cool out, but the occasional climb was helping to keep me warm. The river weaved along a narrow ridge line and then would drop us down to cross a river here and there. We managed to keep our feet dry and just rock hop across all of the crossings.

It was a quiet day and we were surprised not to see any wildlife. We haven’t seen much of anything since getting on the Pinhoti. Not even deer or many birds at all. But we did see the first salamander this morning! It was right on the trail and was really big. I love the red salamanders and newts that you see through this section of trail and on the Appalachian trail.

A cute little salamander right on the trail.

Every now and then the trail crossed over a road. I was surprised how many water caches there were at the trailheads. Even though there are a ton of natural water sources through this area. The past couple days the water situation has been a lot more dry. But there weren’t as many intersecting roads where water could be cached. We wound up carrying water for anywhere from 10-17 miles at a time the last two days.

Punisher walking past a large sign on trail.

Time went by quickly and we never stopped off for a break. We just kept moving, heading toward the trailhead. Toward the end of the day we crossed over another road. Then were able to just walk the road for a few miles to shave off some of the zig zagging trail miles ahead. Which meant we could get to the trailhead almost an hour or so earlier than expected. We couldn’t get picked up until around 2:30, but I didn’t mind the idea of just sitting around for an hour before our ride came.

The trail brought you out onto a road for a while. So we just stayed on the road to shave off a couple miles.

Around 1pm I turned my phone on and had a missed call from my mom. So I called her back and we caught up for a while as I walked along the road. Then right around the time that I finished up on the phone, we were arriving at the trailhead. The trail crossed over some railroad tracks and then the trailhead was right there. We got comfortable and put our layers back on. Then had to wait about an hour for our ride to come. Today we did about 3,300 feet of elevation gain. Even though it felt like a pretty causal and easy day.

Crossing over the train tracks before arriving at the trailhead where you can hitch into Heflin.

As we sat there a guy hiked out from the woods. He saw us and recognized us because he follows Fresh Ground. Then he wound up talking to us for a while. His name was John and he was curious about what we were doing. He knew we were making our way up the east coast. But then started asking if we were ever going to hike the other long trails, the PCT and CDT. When we told him that we were, he asked when. And was really surprised when we told him we were doing them this year. He actually said, “Well you’re not doing that calendar year triple crown though, right?” Which was funny because we are!

The trailhead where we sat to wait for Andy.

Before he left he asked if we needed anything and we said we were all set. But then he pulled out his wallet and gave us each $20 just to help us along! That was such a nice surprise. Lunch is on John today! I can’t explain how appreciative I am for all of the kind people who have helped us out so far this year. The generosity has been unbelievable and all of the support is really going to help get us all the way to the end. This is going to be a long year, but every little bit of support is so unbelievably helpful.

Around 2:45pm Andy drove by to pick us up. Then he drove us into Oxford to get us set up for the night. He drove us over to the quality inn, which was right in the center of everything. There were so many fast food places, restaurants, and grocery stores. Andy booked us a room for tonight and tomorrow so that we can take a zero day! What a guy. We ran into him the other day on the trail. And he had previously reached out to me to see about helping us in this area. It’s so funny how things work out.

Once we were checked in Andy headed out. And he invited us to go to dinner tonight with him and his sons. So we’ll just hang out at the room for a while and get showered up. Then go to dinner with him later on tonight. It was so unbelievably nice of him to put us up tonight. This is going to be my first zero day on the entire trail! Which I’m really excited about. The weather tomorrow looks really cold and rainy. But unfortunately so does Wednesday. There’s a big storm rolling in. I wish it could have worked out to get into town tomorrow night and then zero on Wednesday. But we’re also still very ahead of schedule.

Originally I was hoping to hit the AT at the start of march. Instead, we’re going to be arriving at the AT within the next week! So if for some reason the weather is awful the next few days and we have to do a short day or head back into town, it won’t be the end of the world. That’s the beautiful thing about doing 30 mile days for the last 5 weeks straight and also doing the shortcuts that we did through Florida. Now we are far ahead of schedule.

We were both starving so once we checked in we walked down the road to a Zaxby’s to grab some food. Then brought it back to the room to just chill out and eat. I took a nice hot shower and then set up my electronics to charge. Then we watched some tv and hung out until 6pm, when Andy came back to pick us up.

Zaxby’s for late lunch!

Right around 6pm Andy swung by and grabbed us. Then drove us down the road to a place called Jefferson’s, which apparently had amazing wings. The restaurant did all sorts of other dishes too though. I immediately saw a Patty melt on the menu and was sold. I have this personal rule that if there is a Patty melt on the menu somewhere, I almost always get it. This one was served on Texas toast too which sounded amazing. Patty melts are basically just grilled cheese burgers, typically with grilled onions and thousand island on top.

Jefferson’s, where we had dinner with Andy and his sons.

Andy’s sons arrived and then all of us ordered and just spent the rest of the time talking. They were all super nice and it was a really great time. It’s awesome when you can meet people for the first time and still have great enjoyable conversation. Then the food came and we all went quiet! It was time to eat. I got the Patty melt sweet potato fries which were great. And I drank probably 3 huge glasses of water. I clearly haven’t been drinking enough lately. The sandwich was so good but I couldn’t finish it all. Only a couple hours ago we feasted on Zaxby’s. But now I’ll have half a sandwich to eat later on.

Everybody finished up and then we headed out. But before dropping us back off at the motel, Andy asked if we wanted to go to Walmart! The Walmart was a ways down the road from the motel. So the only way to get there would have been taking an uber. Or just trying to resupply at a different grocery store nearby. But Walmart always had everything you could need. So we headed over there to grab everything quickly. I got some snacks and food, but not too much. I still have a few meals and a decent amount of snacks. The best part of Walmart though is all of the odds and ends you can get. The travel sized wipes, tooth paste, contact solution, etc. I also got a half gallon of chocolate milk, a coconut water, and a green juice. Now I’m good to go! Tomorrow we’re just planning on relaxing all day and eating as much as possible.

Hanging out at the motel room for the rest of the night.

After that, Andy drove us back to the motel and dropped us off. It’s so incredible all that he has done for us today and how much he wants to help. He even offered for us to do laundry at his home if we need to. As well as possibly picking us up over the next couple of days or slack packing us if the weather is bad. It’s great to know that and have the option of support with this weather rolling in.

The rest of the night we just lounged at the room and watched tv. I’m so excited to be zeroing tomorrow. Which means we can sleep in as late as we want tomorrow! The latest we’ve slept in this entire trail was probably around 7am. Most days we’re up by 5:30-6am at the absolute latest. So this is going to be a real treat. I stayed up pretty late watching a movie. Then eventually rolled over and headed off to bed.

If you enjoyed this blog and would like to support my hike by buying me a soda or a snack along the way, there is a “Tip the Author” button below! It links directly to my Venmo. Any and all support is incredibly appreciated!