Max Patch

Viking Funeral

Today I said goodbye to a close friend. I snapped a trekking pole coming out of the smokies and found an awesome walking staff at the shelter to replace it. I hiked close to 80 miles with that staff into Hot Springs. When I got my pole fixed in town, it didn't seem right to just throw the staff out so we gave it a Viking funeral.

Location:Andrews Ave S,Hot Springs,United States

Great Smoky Mountains National Park

Day 1

Got a late start today but still made good mileage. The climb up into the mountains was pretty tough but it was worth it. We decided to push on to the second shelter in the group of three to avoid the crowds. I’m sitting here now hoping that we don’t get thrown out of here. Through hikers only have a few spots reserved at each shelter. If any section hikers with reservations come along, we have to get out no matter what time of night it is.

Missing Jasper a whole lot right now, but I called the kennel and he is doing great. At least, that’s what they told me.

 

Day 2

Another huge mileage day. This park has a different vibe than the rest of the trail. People are still nice in general but seem to be a bit more on edge somehow. We hiked almost 16 miles through some really rough country. Should be a relatively easy day into Gatlinburg tomorrow.

Day 3

Wow, what a hard day. Today was the hardest day of hiking I’ve had so far on the AT. We hiked for over nine hours today and only covered about twelve miles! Climbed to the top of Clingman’s Dome (the highest point on the AT) today. The hike down was really brutal. There was 4-5 feet of snow on the trail and I was falling through it all of the time.

 

Made it into town and got some all you can eat goodness at Shoney’s. Also ran into Frankie the Sleeper from my 2nd night out at Hawk Mountain Shelter again here in town. It was good to see him again.

NOC to Fontana Dam

Day 1

Cold again! Long climb today back up into the mountains but now it’s a relatively easy hike into Fontana Dan. Almost seven miles of pure uphill to get here.

Seems like I left a great deal of my hiking partners behind at NOC and there are a few that are ahead of me. I’m looking forward to meeting up with some of them down the trail.

Happy birthday sis!

Day 2

Looooooooong day today. 15.1 miles from shelter to shelter. Jasper did really well, as usual. We also had some more trail magic today. Will and Way thru hiked in 09 and were passing through on their vacation. They had cookies and a cooler full of cold drinks for us. I’m getting spoiled!

I also picked up a trail name, finally. I’m going by Grateful for the rest of the trip so if you hear that name, that’s me.

Day 3

Our first day of rain this morning. Started raining at about 5am so I had to pack up my gear in the rain. All of the important stuff stayed dry and my tent didn’t leak, so I’m happy. About 20 minutes after I got on the trail, the rain stopped.

I sent Jasper off to his vacation while I hike through the Smokies. I really wasn’t expecting it, but as soon as they closed the door to the van and drove him away I started to tear up. I’m really going to miss hiking with him.

Zero day tomorrow to let my feet recuperate before the long trek through the mountains and more snow (eww). Wish me luck!

Franklin to NOC

Day 1

I learned today that if I take smaller steps up the hills, I get less tired. Who knew? I’ve always had trouble pacing myself but I managed to reign myself in today and it worked extremely well.

Jasper is doing great, as usual. Sight of the day was definitely the view from the top of Wayah Bald. I hiked out of the woods onto a paved trail and suddenly there was this huge stone tower in a clearing that provided the best views I’ve had in weeks. It was really unexpected and really beautiful.

Day 2

I CAN HAS CHEESBURGER? Yes. Yes I can. I was hiking along the trail today and came out of the woods near a road. Some kind soul had set up a grill and was cooking up cheeseburgers for all of the hikers! And there was a cooler of cold drinks too. I was blown away.

The hike was great too. We did another eleven mile day and by the end, Jasper was really tired for the first time on the whole trail.

Day 3

All downhill today and into the NOC. Jasper and I are staying in the bunkhouse for the night. It’s really spartan, but it’s warm and dry and I got to take a shower, do my laundry, and get a nice hot meal. I’m sitting here next to the river, watching people kayak in the whitewater while I wait for a pizza to magically appear in front of me. Heaven!

Hello North Carolina!

After a pretty long day of hiking I finally made it across my first state line! I’m sitting here in North Carolina getting set up for the night. For some reason, I was bone-weary after hiking these nine miles. More tired than I’ve been so far on the trail. The funniest part of the whole day happened when I sat down to get set up for the night. As soon as my butt hit the ground, my iPod started playing the ‘you won a battle’ song from Final Fantasy III. I couldn’t help but laugh extremely hard at that one.