Wednesday, 20 June Destination: Groundhog Creek Shelter Today’s Miles: 10.5 Start Location: Davenport Gap Shelter Trip Miles: 249.5 Well, Little Dance showed up last night around seven. It was just him and I in the shelter. I was out by 6:45, he was still asleep. I am glad to be out of the Smokies and…
Month: June 2018
2018 AT – Day Twenty One – Halfway
Tuesday, 19 June Destination: Davenport Gap Shelter Today’s Miles: 14.8 Start Location: Tri- Corner Knob Shelter Trip Miles: 239.0 Passed the halfway point of my hike today. Two hundred forty of four hundred seventy done. Feeling good and looking forward to the rest as well as getting back home. Late last night, a hiker that…
2018 AT – Day Twenty – Full Shelter
Monday, 18 June Destination: Tri- Corner Knob Shelter Today’s Miles: 12.6 Start Location: Icewater Spring Shelter Trip Miles: 224.2 Full shelter last night. We fit fourteen in with a capacity of twelve. Family of eight, group of three and three thru hikers including myself. One of the guys snored really loud. Slept in until 6:30…
2018 AT – Day Nineteen – Back to the Trail
Sunday, 17 June – Back to the Trail Destination: Icewater Spring Shelter Today’s Miles: 3.1 Start Location: Newfound Gap Trip Miles: 211.6 Back to the hotel after dinner last night to start packing. Early to bed. Enjoyed a real breakfast and did final packing. Checkout was eleven so I drove back to the trail at…
2018 AT – Day Eighteen – Gatlinburg
Saturday, 16 June – Gatlinburg Destination: Gatlinburg Today’s Miles: 0 Start Location: Gatlinburg Trip Miles: 208.5 Spent the day at the pool and in the outdoor hot tub. Relaxed, resupplied with the boxes Dolora brought and went out to dinner. 2018 Appalachian Trail Album
2018 AT – Day Seventeen – Highest Point on the AT
Friday, 15 June – Highest Point on the AT Destination: Clingmans Dome Today’s Miles: 16.4 Start Location: Spence Field Shelter Trip Miles: 208.5 After six last night, an older Polish couple, who currently live in Chicago, came in. They had reservations at Russell Field Shelter but it was closed because of aggressive bear activity. With only two…
2018 AT – Day Sixteen – Mama Bear and Baby Bear
Thursday, 14 June – Mama Bear and Baby Bear Destination: Spence Field Shelter Today’s Miles: 17.8 Start Location: Fontana Hilton Trip Miles: 192.1 Well today I got up close and personal with mama bear. The Smokies are famous for black bears. I hiked into the Great Smoky Mountains National Park early this morning. Around noon,…
2018 AT – Day Fifteen – Fontana “Hilton”
Wednesday, 13 June – Fontana “Hilton” Destination: Fontana Dam Shelter Today’s Miles: 12.8 Start Location: Brown Fork Gap Shelter Trip Miles: 174.3 I slept in a little since today was a shorter day. Spoke with the six guys who stayed at the shelter last night and was hiking at 7:30. Today was relatively easy compared…
2018 AT – Day Fourteen – Up, Up, Up
Tuesday, 12 June – Up, Up, Up Destination: Brown Fork Gap Shelter Today’s Miles: 16.0 Start Location: NOC Trip Miles: 161.5 Lee, Half Ration, came into the bunk house last night. I had met him at Cold Spring Shelter the night before. Just him and I in the bunk house. There were a couple of…
2018 AT – Day Thirteen – Nantahala Outdoor Center
Monday, 11 June – Nantahala Outdoor Center Destination: Nantahala Outdoor Center Today’s Miles: 11.7 Start Location: Cold Spring Shelter Trip Miles: 145.5 It continued to thunderstorm for a while last night followed by on and off rain. Things were pretty wet in the morning. I packed up a wet tent and food bag. I was…