Trail Update
A Crowded Room…
It got cold last night… and I know tomorrow’s just going to be colder. I honestly don’t know if it’s just user error with a 1000FP horizontal baffle quilt, or...
Days 24 -28: Battling Mental Absurdities Through the Smokies
When I awoke at the Fontana Dam Shelter, I knew the day's climb into Great Smoky Mountains National Park was going to be tough. My feet were painful and hard...
“Trail Days” at the Grove Hostel
I woke up around 7:30 after rolling over a few times to go back to sleep. Last night I only wound up turning my phone off around 11 so I...
Meeting Tons of Southbound AT Hikers
This morning when I woke up, I was feeling a little bit sore. The last two mornings I’ve been a little sore. But I swear, I think it’s because of...
The Little Things in New Jersey
This week, I thought a lot about the little things that make you feel welcome when you travel away from home. You can always tell that a host has planned...
Day 36: Pack First into the Flooded Creek
Charles Dickens could have written my opening line for today: "It was the best of times and it was the worst of times." The rain has been incessant. Small streams...
Day 4, Otter you Waiting for?
Pollen pond, pollen pond! We set our alarms for 4:30 am. I was already getting restless around 4, but laid still for as long as I could manage. We packed...
So It Goes, I’m Yours to Keep and I’m Yours to Lose
Ya know, today almost started out perfectly. I woke up naturally around 7:30, which is the latest I’d normally accept getting up nowadays in the backcountry. Unlike the Daleville hotel...
4(0,000) Reasons Not to Camp at Limestone Spring
I woke to pre dawn at around 4:30am. There were 3 reasons for this being the time sleep ended for me. The first was light and my DCF tent. Light...
Final Farewells
Airport Thoughts When I first thru-hiked, I didn’t realize until after the final summit that I had used the several months-long galavant as a form of escape. I was running...