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Hello North Carolina!
100 Miles!
Even if I had to leave the trail today, I’d feel a tremendous sense of accomplishment just to be able to say that I hiked 100 miles of the Appalachian Trail.
Mountain After Mountain
This trail has serious mountains y’all! Blood Mountain 4300 ft; Tray Mountain 4400 ft; Courthouse Bald 4700 ft; Standing Indian 5400 ft. At one point I considered changing my trail name to “she who hikes mountains.” And we haven’t even hit the Smokies yet.
OMG the RAIN
There have been beautiful views with sunny skies and miserable days of slogging through downpours when the trail itself becomes a stream. Packing up a soggy dirty tent in the rain is a special kind of hell.
Then there’s days in town when you rifle through the loaner clothes closet for something to wear while your clothes are in the wash. You know you’ve truly embraced a thru-hiker identity when you go to the grocery store in XL magenta leggings, a tie-dye t-shirt, and bright pink crocs and don’t even notice if people stare.
Bodhi says “People food rocks!”
Bodhi is enjoying his celebrity status, even being recognized on the street in Franklin NC. In addition to his newly discovered love of hamburgers, he’s decided pancakes are pretty good too as he was welcomed into the fellowship hall at First Baptist Church for breakfast this morning. The pastor himself drives the church van around the hiker hotels & hostels every morning to ferry us all to an awesome free breakfast.
Our pup now has a social media presence with his own Facebook page.
We’ll get back on the trail tomorrow (Saturday). Temperatures are supposed to drop to 28 degrees in town tomorrow night, colder of course in the mountains. But sunny skies and 62 degrees return by Monday. Cross your fingers that we won’t experience the infamous spring snowstorms in the Smokies!
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Comments 5
Enjoying following your writings peppered with your wit. Inspired by your courage and charisma, as you tackle challenges with a graceful/ grateful heart. May your encounters with humanity be personal and restorative, while your encounters with bears and such be few and at a distant.
So proud of you three! What a great first couple of weeks, even with challenging weather.
You look happy in recent pictures. Compared to the one at the beginning of the trail, you look glowing. Hope it continues to be glorious and that the weather improves.
Cheering you on from home, where, btw, it snowed (a little) last night.
Congrats on the 100 miles! Really enjoying your updates.
Saw your post and realized that my husband and I saw you, your husband and Bodhi on the trail up to Wesser Bald Firetower yesterday, Mar 29. We were heading back down the trail and ya’ll were heading up. You were a little ahead of your husband and Bodhi because we talked to your husband a minute. Good luck with the rest of your journey.
Congratulations on 100 miles!! Watching your journey with awe! (Or maybe it’s awwww.)