Tag: Appalachian Trail
-
Virginia’s Triple Crown
Let me say it this way: Virginia is long. It holds the most miles of the AT, and stretches just inside the VA border between West Virginia. Although Virginia has some amazing views (Grayson Highlands, the crowns, Shenandoah), each is bookmarked by a long week of what feels like nothing. We left Pearisburg, VA, with…
-
Lessons of a broken spoon
One day after we left Damascus, I snapped my plastic spoon in my jar of peanut butter at lunch. It was a clean break at the base of the spoon, leaving me with a very tiny scoop and no handle. It would be four days before I had an opportunity to get another spoon. The…
-
The Grayson Highlands: Hiking with the ponies
Last May, Church Mouse and I were planning on doing a 10-day backpacking trip. At the time, it would’ve been the longest trip either of us had been on. It was supposed to be a test of sorts, a can we actually do this hike. I wanted to do a section of the AT, but…
-
Easter Sunday
We spent Easter Sunday in the woods. I’d hoped that we’d be close enough to town that we could celebrate Christ’s return to life in church, but with some bad weather, sick tramily members, and minor injuries, we took a couple slow days and were in the middle of nowhere. Good Friday we spent in…
-
Roan Mountain and the Roan Highlands
It’s been a weird, long, draining week. Our shortest day was 15 miles, and the majority of the time we were pushing 17s. We even hit a twenty coming out of Hot Springs, and let me tell you… 20 miles with a fully loaded pack is a long day. At least it still is for…
-
Things I’ve learned after one month of thru-hiking the Appalachian Trail
It’s April 1, and Church Mouse and I have been on trail for 32 days. Currently, I’m sprawled out on my hotel bed watching the lightning strike outside. We hiked under a tornado warning into Erwin, Tennessee, yesterday. Our weekly zero is today: We hiked in stinking, sore, out of food, and very ready for…
-
The shadow of deja vu
One of the grand adventures of hiking is that there are always new faces. Every time you come to a shelter or campsite, there is at least one new person, usually more. Of course, there are people you hike the same sleep as, people you see in shelters again and again, like Happy, Drive Thru…
-
Burgers and trail magic
Church Mouse and I have been craving burgers, almost from the beginning of hiking. That thick, juicy flavor, the mayonnaise and sauces, the bun, the veggie toppings, hot off a grill with a side of french fries… you get the picture. However, burgers have been surprisingly hard for us to get. In Hiawassee, we thought…
-
Hey, Church Mouse
“Hey Sami.” Drive Thru and Frosty were eating breakfast a tent spot away from us at Wesser Bald Shelter. We’d both gotten there about the same time last night, both of us late enough to have missed the good spots. We’d both spent the night sleeping on roots and inclines, though our incline was a…
-
Wandering trails
We’ve been working on upping our mileage on the trail. To get back home on time, we need to be consistently hitting 15 miles or more a day by the time we’re out of the Smokies (aka, next week). We’ve made from 8-mile days to 11-mile days, and now we’ve been doing 13-15 mile days.…