Climbing 10K of Vert and Entering North Carolina

This morning was absolutely freezing! Last night was cold, but my sleeping bag and liner along with my layers did a good job of keeping me comfortable. There were only a couple hours in the early morning where I felt a tiny bit cold. But I was still warm enough. I just rolled over on my side and put my head inside my quilt. Then quickly I was toasty as could be.

I got up around 4:30am to make a hot drink. I had already poured my water into my toaks titanium cup the night before. And it was frozen solid! I couldn’t move the spoon at all, which was inside the cup. That was a wild sight. I guess it did get pretty cold last night. But I just put the frozen water onto my stove and melted it down. Then make a mocha and continued to lay in my tent. It was tempting to stay forever.

Hiking down the trail as the sun began to rise.

Before popping my air pad I crept out of my tent to use the privy. Then came back to get packed up. It wasn’t as bad out as it seemed! I kept my alpha and wind layers on for the descent down to Unicoi Gap because it was cold. But planned to take it all off before the climb out of the gap. We set out in the dark around 5:30am. The descent was nice and easy and I listened to music to get me going. Then we got down to the quiet road in the dark. I took all my layers off, and even the wind pants. Just keep my wind shirt and gloves on. It was freezing out! We’d warm up quickly on the climb though.

Crossing Unicoi Gap in the dark.

I had remembered the climb out of Unicoi Gap as being very difficult. It kicked my butt last time. But this morning it felt gradual, and I never once felt like I had to stop to rest. I felt strong and made my way up quickly. The first climb ended and we had a brief descent. But it hardly had time to cool down before we began the next one. Which was even longer than the first. Once again though I felt solid. The grade was absolutely perfect, and didn’t get me breathing too heavy or make my calves burn at all. We’re getting so much stronger already even after only a few short days on the AT. I was a bit nervous about the transition. I know in 2022 Professor Carl had some issues transitioning between the road and the trail. Such a quick change can cause injury easily. And I know all too well about it, as that was likely the cause of my calf muscle tear in 2023 on the international Appalachian trail.

An incredible sunrise this morning from one of the high points.

This time though I’ve felt incredibly good. My body feels strong and I can tell that I’m building muscle quickly to adjust. Once we got to the top of the second big climb we passed a spur trail for a shelter. Then did a little bit more elevation gain before the trail leveled out a bit and eventually brought us downhill. The next couple of hours we were constantly climbing a smaller hill and then descending. Then repeating the process over and over as we made our way to Dick’s Gap.

Around 9am we passed the first hiker of the day. The two of us both said hello to him and gave a wave. But he just looked over and didn’t say a word. How lovely! It’s funny that people can act like that on a trail like the AT. Sure, maybe he had a rough night last night in the cold. But now the sun was out and it was much warmer relative to last night. A simple hello would have been nice. Once he was well behind us, we jokingly said to ourselves that his trail name should be Grumpy.

Walking on the trail through cover of rhododendron.

Those next couple of hours were fairly cruisy. There were a couple longer climbs which got me huffing and puffing. But most were pretty tame. At one point we did have another long climb. This time the grade was much less forgiving. I felt my calf muscles begin to burn pretty early on. And even had to stop for a few seconds on two occasions before continuing on. It’s funny how some climbs can feel so easy, even though they are very steep. But certain grades hit just right to make your calves burn, even when you’re not out of breath. Around this time we passed another hiker who was really nice and friendly. We talked to him for a bit, which was perfect timing. I loved the chance to take a second and let my calves calm down. Then we proceeded up the remainder of that climb.

It was a relief to get up top and begin descending again. That one really got me! The rest of the trail toward Dick’s Gap though only had some moderate climbs. Which went by quickly in only one song or two. Sometimes I judge a climb off of how many songs it takes to get up it. Then we only had another hour or so to go to get to the road. The time flew by quickly as we continued along.

A snow covered segment of the trail.

We wound up passing two more hikers a little while after that. Then ran into two day hikers going the opposite direction, with an adorable dog named lollipop. The guy said he had some trail magic, and offered us both a tootsie pop! What a treat. I enjoyed that as we walked for the next half an hour down to the road. As we got closer I gave a call to Stanimal’s Around the Bend Hostel. It’s only .6 miles off trail, but with a 30 mile day ahead of us I didn’t want to add any mileage.

The guy who runs the place said his shuttle driver would be there when we arrived. Then we walked the last mile out to the road. Colin was there to pick us up. He also hiked the AT in 2023! But I don’t believe our paths ever crossed. He’s going out again to hike the trail this year, and starts very soon. He drove us the short distance down to the hostel. Then we headed inside to grab our boxes. I got two boxes shipped there which I’m very excited about. One was a bunch of goodies from Stay Wyld Organics.

They make gummies and sublingual strips which are all infused with blends of organic mushrooms. The gummies are loaded with a blend of different mushrooms, such as lions mane, turkey tail, reishi, shitake, and a few other mushrooms. Apparently they are great for energy and overall health. The sublingual version is similar, and I got one box that has energy from green tea. The other is more for immunity and is loaded with alot of the same mushrooms and nutrients as the gummies. I’m partnering with them and plan to try these goodies out and report back. I think adding some nutrients and vitamins is going to be very good for me. Especially ones that are easy to consume. There are a lot of benefits to those mushrooms, and it will be cool to see if I notice a difference while taking them.

Stay Wyld makes a bunch of different goodies, all infused with mushrooms blends and other nutrients! They are supposed to be good for energy and your immune system. I’m excited to give these a try.

I also got a package from Odd Balls, which makes granola type energy bites which are also loaded with a blend of mushrooms. The ones I got are cherry flavored and smelt really good. After I went through both packages I just relaxed at the hostel. The owner was there, and we apparently met on the AT in 2023 when I was in the hundred mile wilderness. That day was one of the hardest hiking days of the year. It was pouring rain from the moment that we broke down our tents until well into the night.

Odd Balls energy balls, a quick snack infused with mushrooms blends and other nutrients!

We never got a break from it. And all of the shelters that we went past over the course of the day were loaded with section hikers who were zeroing on trail to avoid the rain. But we had to do an almost 30 mile day in the rain because of a food drop the following day from Shaw’s Hiker Hostel. It was actually Long Shot who brought the food drop out to us! That was the first time that we had met, and it’s funny to see how our paths have crossed over the years since then.

Around the Bend Hostel.

While we were at Around the Bend we decided to make some oven pizzas. Then just lounged around, drinking soda, and talking to the guys who worked there. The place was lovely and everyone was so nice. It was ridiculously tempting to stay. They had offered to slack pack us the next 6 miles to the next road too. But we were hoping to go another 10+ miles for the day. That would enable us to get to the road tomorrow evening where we can get a ride into Franklin.

At this point in the day we had already gone 20 miles with over 5,000 feet of elevation gain. It was so toasty inside the hostel, and the thought of staying there flashed through my mind multiple times. But it would be ideal to get into Franklin tomorrow night. A friend of mine who I met on the PCT in 2022 lives in the area and even offered to drive us into town. So I knew we had to hike out and get the additional miles in. Otherwise we would certainly not be making it to Franklin tomorrow night.

By the fireplace in Stanimal’s Around the Bend Hostel.

One of the guys from the hostel offered to drive us back to the trailhead. Which was a quick jaunt down the road. Then he dropped us off and we continued hiking from there. We only had another 11 or so miles to go for the day. But there was 4,000 feet of elevation gain through that section. So it was going to be a long rest of the day.

Setting back out from Dick’s Gap.

The climbing was nice and gradual for the first couple of hours though. The hills we had to go up were just brief enough. The grade was just right, so even though we were climbing a lot it didn’t feel too bad.

Dick’s Gap.

Then right around 4pm we crossed out of Georgia and into North Carolina! Yet another state down! 3 down, and 21 more to go. I knew that just after the border crossing we would have some big climbs to do. Last time I was here those climbs wrecked me. But it was so cold out that I was looking forward to warming up on the climbs.

Crossing out of Georgia and into North Carolina! 3 states down, 21 to go!

The first climb after the border was a butt kicker. But wasn’t as bad as I remembered. It slowed me down a bit and I stopped once or twice to rest briefly. Then continued up. By now it was freezing cold out, but the climbs were keeping me hot. As soon as we got up top though and the trail leveled out I was cold. I put my gloves on and was still cold. Because I was only wearing shorts and my wind shirt, which was wide open. The clothing was ideal for the uphills. But was really cold otherwise.

The next climb was much longer and felt more difficult than the previous. I stopped two or three times for a few seconds to give my calves a chance to rest. Then just kept on moving to get up to the top. From there we only had a little more elevation gain to do for the day. We stopped off pretty quickly to fill up our water bottles for tonight and tomorrow morning.

I love the forest of rhododendrons that surrounds the trail at times.

While we filtered water I put all of my layers on. I was uncomfortably cold! But we were almost at the top of the climb now. So I knew I wouldn’t be over heating. It felt wonderful to be layered up and feel comfortable. This was the warmest I’d been all day long. Right as we got up top of that last climb we passed over the 10,000 mark for vertical gain for the day. Today we did over 30 miles with more than 10,000 feet of gain! I felt proud to have accomplished that. It’s a bit feat on a trail such as the AT. And even though a couple of the climbs slowed me down, we still maintained a 3MPH pace all day long. We even stopped off for almost 2 hours at Around the Bend hostel. But still made it to camp around 6pm.

Making our way to the Muskrat Creek Shelter in the snow.

Both of us were hoping that when we arrived at Muskrat Creek Shelter, the shelter would be empty. This was an unbelievably big day. And all I wanted to do was set up inside and be able to relax. We didn’t see many hikers today, so I was hopeful. But it’s hard to judge where hikers are at any given time.

We got to the shelter right around 6pm. There were a ton of hikers set up in tents near the shelter. But the shelter itself was empty! So we got set up inside and cooked dinner at the picnic table. Then I got into my quilt and got comfortable. It was already freezing out. So it felt wonderful to get comfortable in my quilt for the night.

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!