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.