Hi folks!

I’m writing to y’all from Skyland Resort at mile 935 of the AT in the Shenandoah! Skyland Resort has a restaurant, convenience store, and a number of motel-style “cabins” available for rent. I woke up this morning and hiked 5.5 miles as fast as I could to get here in time for breakfast, which ended at 10:00. There’s just something nice about a good breakfast with never-ending coffee. Overall, Skyland resort is a pretty good representation of the touristy nature of the national park. So far, this is the third area that has offered food and resupply, which means I’ve had to carry virtually no food weight through the Shenandoah! It’s been great. Also, I narrowly escaped a torrential downpour yesterday by hunkering down at Big Meadows Wayside.

The Shenandoah does have a seedy underbelly, though. Truly, when you venture away from the areas geared more toward car campers and glampers, things can be a little worse for wear. In particular, the shelters in the Shenandoah are less than ideal, with Hightop Hut getting my personal vote for most disgusting shelter in the trail. We hikers are pretty used to mice in the shelters; they’re kind of a minor nuisance that you learn to deal with. However, Hightop Hut boasted genuine rats. These things were bigger than squirrels, and were so bold as to pop out of nowhere to steal your gear. The shelter was so full of rat droppings that I dragged the picnic table under the canopy of the roof and set up where I thought I’d be safe. I was fool enough, though, to take my ear bud out and set it down on the platform for just a moment. With no hesitation, one of those beasties absconded with it, and proceeded to keep us up all night with the sound of chewing up my left headphone. Tragedy. Incidentally, the stay at the shelter the night before was mouse and rat free, as we found a black rat snake in the shelter, which I’m sure acted as a deterrent to most rodents!

Today is a lazier day for me, as I’ll only be doing about 15.5 miles. Since I’ve been back on trail, I’ve completed the following:

• 7/13: 14 mi
• 7/14: 20.9 mi
• 7/15: 20.9 mi
• 7/16: 21.7 mi
• 7/17: 24.1 mi

By the end of the day tomorrow, I’ll be in Front Royal, out of the national park, reunited with my tent, and ready to take a short break day. Today, the weather is finally cooler, with a high of just 75°F! Of course, the drawback is frequent spurts of rain. That’s not all bad, as maybe we’ll get some of these dry springs to get flowing again. Water has been few and far between on some sections; as long as 13.1 miles without water a few days ago (shoutout to a section hiker who saved my life with the gift of a vitamin water in that stretch!). I can’t wait to take a shower and do laundry. I have no sense of smell, but I’m sure I am pretty repugnant after all these hot, sweaty, damp days.

Alrighty, that’ll be it from me for now! I’ll chat with y’all later!

Hi folks!

I am here in Waynesboro, VA, where I’ll be entering the Shenandoah national park this morning! While I was gone, it did not get any cooler, as temperatures have still been hanging around 95°F highs. However, that looks like it may shift soon down to more bearable low to mid eighties, with some rain. I can’t wait!

My return to trail had me dropped off just about a mile away from the Priest Mountain shelter. This was a pretty treacherous journey, as my shuttle driver picked me up from Charlottesville airport in a Prius, and we had a mighty long, pothole riddled, deeply rutted, mountainous dirt road to traverse to get to the trail head. We paid little heed to the sign strongly advising we have a four-wheel drive vehicle. I’m surprised we made it. I got dropped off late at night in the middle of the woods and hiked one mile up to the shelter.

At the Priest, I met two other thru hikers: King Julian and CJ. So far, they’re the only thru hikers I’ve met in the two days since I’ve been back! Most folks are hundreds of miles north at this point; probably in New York or New Jersey territory, if not farther. I am definitely dropping back in ‘behind the bubble,’ so to speak. The trail is much emptier, which gives a whole different flavor and feel to the adventure. I can’t say I’m displeased, as it’s been neat, I think, to have seen not only to have gotten to experience the hyper-social nature of the bubble, but also the more mellow late season feel of the trail.

Some may wonder, “Alpine, do you think you’ll finish the trail before winter hits up north?” Great question, for which I have a well-reasoned response befitting my engineering approach to dilemmas. I sat down and calculated out that I need to maintain a 17.8 mile per day average for six days per week, affording myself one zero day on the seventh. If I maintain that pace, I’ll make it to Katahdin by the drop dead date of October 15th (when the park typically closes for the winter). I have even made a to-scale graphical representation of that pace that I’ll carry with me and update as I go along. Worry not, folks, I’ll make it!

Back to the Priest Mountain shelter. One fun and unique thing about that particular shelter is that hikers have turned the shelter log book into a confessional; one in which they confess their trail sins to the Priest. It made for a very hilarious read during breakfast. Hikers seem to have gravitated towards confessing trail sins centered around violating Leave No Trace principles, pooping in the woods, trail fornication, cheating the trail (skipping sections), and judging others. I’ve included some photos of folks’ sins as examples. Good stuff!

Since restarting, I hiked 14 miles on day 1, and 20.5 miles on day 2. The 20.5 miles I did yesterday were great, although I’m now hyper vigilant about poison ivy and Virginia creeper, which lurked almost constantly on the trail’s periphery. Like playing a game of Operation, don’t-touch-the-sides was the name of the game. They’re not getting me again! Waynesboro is a super hiker-friendly town, too. At Rockfish gap, I got some gourmet kettle corn from a food cart before getting a free shuttle ride into town from a local trail angel (hiker slang for a kind, generous person that helps out hikers). She dropped me off at Ming Garden Chinese buffet, where I ate a disgusting amount of some of the best Chinese buffet food I’ve had in a long while. After resupplying at the Kroger, a guy named Cherokee Mike gave me a lift to my AirBnB on his way to play horseshoes. I’m splitting the AirBnB with CJ, who I met two days earlier, and is a very nice person. The AirBnB is great, with super comfortable beds, plenty of amenities, and, most enticing of all, a carpeted bathroom!

That’s it for now, folks! I’ll check in a bit later in the Shenandoahs! Oh, and if any of y’all are Snapchat-inclined, I’ve redownloaded it, and have been posting some hiking stuff there, too! Feel free to search me out for more content there!

See ya!

Hi folks!

Good news! My poison ivy is 95% cured! I’ve gotten some good rest, some good food, and had a great break overall. It was nice to see people back home in Hayward, as well as work a little bit to re-pad my trail budget! I have a flight scheduled to head back to northern Virginia on Friday, when I will resume my trek north to Mt. Katahdin in Maine.

Another thing I spent some time focusing on during this break has been my gear. As a thru hiker, your gear is all you have. Before beginning a long trail, I’d be willing to bet that the majority of all planning done by aspiring thru hikers revolves around meticulously deciding what to bring along, and what can be left behind. On trail, weight is king, so one quickly learns how to pare down their ounces. So, today, I’d like to go over my own gear setup. We’ll go through all the items that I pack out on the AT, some pros and cons, some recommendations, and my general advice for others that might want to go on a long hike.

Thru hikers will generally put great importance into what’s referred to as “the big three”. Those are: your pack, tent, and sleeping bag. Sometimes, that’s extended to also include your sleeping pad. Together, these items comprise the biggest portion of your weight. For me, I have the following:

• Pack: Superior Wilderness Designs 50 L Movement pack
  • Awesome pack, I cannot recommend enough. Weighs less than a pound, and is made of Ultra 200X waterproof laminate fabric. 10/10. I also put a trash bag inside my pack that I pack all of my “must stay dry” items into, just in case.
• Tent: Zpacks Duplex
  • Not pictured, as it is getting repaired presently. However, this tent weighs just under one pound, is super roomy, and made of Dyneema. It’s single-walled, so it gets some condensation on the inside on colder nights, but is a great tent.
• Sleeping bag: Therm-a-Rest Hyperion 32°F
  • This is a down sleeping bag, and kind of overkill for the summer temperatures as they are now. I still like to have it though.
• Sleeping pad: Therm-a-Rest Neo Air X-Lite
  • I’ve had it for years, just patched a bunch of pinholes in it. It folds down to the size of a water bottle, though. When it was new, it sounded like you were sleeping on a bag of potato chips.

Also pictured with my pack are my trekking poles. They are Black Diamond Alpine Carbon Cork poles. I highly recommend trekking poles when hiking to get your arms in on the hiking action, as well as to offer balance and fall protection. I also have a tent that sets up with my trekking poles, so they are a necessary carry for that purpose.

The next heaviest stuff you’ll have is likely to be your clothes. What you wear is highly dependent on personal preference, but I carry the following wearables:

• 3 sets of underwear (2 for hiking, one for camp), Ex Officio brand
• 3 sets of socks (2 for hiking, one for camp), Darn Tough wool
  • Incidentally, Darn Tough has a lifetime warranty on their socks, and I just mailed a pair in to be replaced. Turns out, 800+ miles on a pair of socks may wear a hole through them, no matter how tough they are!
• 3 shirts (2 for hiking, one for camp; see a pattern here?)
  • Wear synthetic fabrics for hiking, never cotton. Cotton takes a long time to dry. My camp shirt is cotton, though.
• One pair of running shorts (Nike)
• One pair of joggers (Patagonia)
• A hat (got to represent my home state! 🧀)
• A jacket
  • This is new going back to the trail, but I swapped out my wool hoodie and my rain coat for an orange Brooks running rain jacket. It saved me about 1.3 pounds, as I just don’t need that heavy of a sweatshirt for this hellish summer, nor do I care as much about getting a little wet from the rain as I’m hiking.
• Sunglasses
  • Don’t go with anything expensive on these. I’ll be rocking a pair of my dad’s Smith & Wesson safety sunglasses, affectionately known as “Kenny Tingo’s”, as they are a part of his signature style. 😎
• Shoes: Hoka Speedgoat 5
  • I use these shoes for trail running back home. They are great shoes. My first pair lasted me over 700 trail miles, so they’re resilient, too. Shoes are one of the most important pieces of gear, but are highly personal. Play around with different brands and models to find what works for you.

And that’s it! Just keep your camp clothes religiously dry, and you’ll be fine. I keep my clothes that I’m not wearing in a Hyperlite brand dry bag that has a fleece-lined interior. At night, I turn it inside-out, put some clothes back in it, and use it as a pillow! It is one of my favorite pieces of gear!

Next, let’s talk about my kitchen. It’s a small setup, but is of vital importance to my hike. Not everybody cooks hot meals on trail, but I find that a warm meal at the end of the day is really reinvigorating to the body and spirit!

• 1 L titanium pot
  • With 1 L, you can cook two ramen blocks at the same time!
• Long-handled titanium spork
  • I am team spork for life (those spoonies can go pound sand), and a long handle makes it easy to reach down into dehydrated food bags!
• Stove: MSR Pocket Rocket
  • Screws right on top of a fuel canister. This is the most common type of stove you’ll see on the AT
• Fuel
• A lighter
• A knife
  • For sentimental reasons, I’m bringing along the groomsman gift Leatherman that my brother, Deric, gave me at his wedding. It’s heavier than one might want to carry, but it reminds me of him, so I’m taking it!

Water supplies come next! It’s a short, but important list.

• 1 L Smartwater bottle
  • Sometimes, I carry two of these. For whatever reason, Smartwater bottles are the unofficial bottle of the thru hiking community. Everybody has one.
• 2 L CNOC water bladder
• Sawyer Squeeze water filter

I always fill my water bladder with dirty water, and then squeeze it through my Sawyer filter into my Smartwater bottle (as pictured). Clean water is the only thing that goes in the bottle, with dirty water being the only thing that goes in the bladder.

Next comes toiletries and some assorted stuff:

• “The pharmacy”
  • My pill bottle has assorted drugs, including ibuprofen, Imodium, Benadryl, cold medicine, melatonin, and three orange Tik Taks. I’ve got Leukotape wrapped around it, which I use for blisters (way better than moleskin)
• Chapstick
• Toothbrush and toothpaste
• Anti-chafing stick
  • I wrapped duct tape (flying pig style) around this for miscellaneous repairs. Under the duct tape, there’s a needle and some thread for gear repairs, if needed. Also for popping blisters!
• Vinyl gear repair tape (as seen on my sleeping pad!)
• Nail clippers (so your toenails don’t get to looking like Fritos)
• Earplugs (for when folks snore in the shelter)
• Band-Aids
• A sponge for cleaning my pot
• Extra O-rings for my water filter
• Tweezers
• An epoxy heart my mom gave me ♥️
• A four-leafed clover (you know, for luck!)
• Money/debit card/ID

We’re in the home stretch, folks! Nextly, we’ll chat electronics.

• Not pictured is my phone, which is taking this photo. I have an iPhone 13 with an otterbox case.
• Anker 20,000 mAh power bank (will charge my phone 0-100% four times over)
• USB-C iPhone cable
• USB-C to USB-C cable (charges my power bank, headlamp, and headphones)
• Nitecore headlamp (has three brightness settings, and a red light mode so as not to blind your fellow hikers)
• Beats wireless earbuds (I listen to a lot of audiobooks, podcasts, and music on trail; use only one earbud at a time so you can hear other hikers, or rattlesnakes!)
• Anker 65W wall plug (has two USB-C ports, and one USB regular port; a monster of a charger)
• Garmin Fenix 5X and charging cable (that’s my watch; its battery lasts about one week, and I refuse to leave it at home)

That’s it, folks! That is all of the gear I will pack back out. I am sure you’re wondering how heavy that all is, so I’ll tell you. The total weight of all of one’s packed gear, which excludes weight you wear (the clothes on your back), as well as weight from consumables like food and water, is referred to as your base weight. I am extremely happy to report that my base weight is hanging at just about 12 pounds! Or, at least it will when I get my tent back. I have worked hard at whittling that weight down, and I can assure you it is worth it to carry less. You really feel like you can fly down the trail with this light of a pack.

Not included in base weight is food. Really, food becomes the single heaviest thing you carry. I bought food already for when I hit the trail on Friday, and it’s 10 lbs altogether. I’ve included a picture of my food resupply, which is pretty typical of what I tend to pack out. I know y’all are jealous, and wish that you, too, could be eating this day in and day out. You may understand why getting a good meal at a restaurant is enough to elicit tears of joy from a thru hiker. This food resupply is enough to last about 3 days.

Now you know a bit more about what we thru hikers carry! It’s everything you need, reduced down to 12 pounds, and loaded on your back. I hope this long post has been insightful and interesting. If anybody out there is looking to do their own hiking and wants to chat about gear, I’d be more than happy to talk your ear off; just send me a message! There’s nothing a thru hiker loves to talk about more than gear!

I’ll be back on the trail in two days! The next update I’ll give y’all, I’ll be in Shenandoah National Park. Until next time folks!

TLDR: gear is super important! Read the dang post!

Hi folks!

It’s been a sec since I’ve made a post, for which I apologize. Things can get quite busy on trail!

To summarize the most recent miles on trail, it has been super hot, and super dry. I don’t know if y’all pay attention to the weather across the country all that much, but if you did, you’d notice that the temperature in the east has been hanging around 100 °F most days, and that it hasn’t really rained much. Some old timer local that I chatted with for a bit said that VA hasn’t seen such a hot, dry summer in a long time. Apparently this is pretty anomalous in the grand scheme of things.

One thing that hikers need to pay attention to is water when it’s as dry as it is. A lot of the Appalachian Trail guides list out water sources along the trail, but it’s unwise right now to rely on these, as a lot of them are dried up. Especially when one gets up on a long ridgeline hike in the mountaintops, it hasn’t been uncommon to go 9 miles without having a water source at all. Considering it is so hot, this has posed a bit of a challenge for hiking. I had been in the habit of carrying no more than one liter of water with me, but I had to buy an additional water bottle to increase my carrying capacity to two liters, making sure to drink as much as possible to make up for the buckets of sweat that I pour out. It’s not only hot, but super humid, so I’ve pretty much had to get used to being soaked with sweat while hiking at all times. Yes, it’s gross, but it’s what we deal with! It makes me look forward to the cooler temperatures coming back as I head farther north and further towards the autumn!

Here’s a fun fact about the Appalachian mountains and the east in general: it’s pretty much covered in poison ivy. Now, I’ve never gotten poison ivy before. I had, in fact, just been boasting about this with another hiker in the very recent past. I believe somebody upstairs heard me when I said that, cracked their knuckles, and slapped me for my hubris, because almost no later than that day, I was struck with a horrible blight of poison ivy all over my back and arms. I’ll spare you the pictures, as they’d be liable to convince any number of y’all never to read this blog again, but I can assure you it was bad. I think what happened is that I must’ve inadvertently placed my shirt in some poison ivy and then put it back on. What’s worse, I didn’t realize I had it until I woke up in my tent in the middle of the night burning like fire. This meant that everything in my tent, especially my sleeping bag, was potentially contaminated with the heinous chemical that causes the itchy rash. Shoutout to Stanimal’s hiker hostel for allowing me to utilize virtually their entire backyard space as I spread out every piece of my gear and scrubbed it down with soap and water. As far as treatment goes, I couldn’t recommend more highly a good ‘ol’ dose of prednisone, as nothing else seemed to work to take the itch off.

That being said, I spent a few days slackpacking miles on the AT, as my back was totally covered in rash, and the last thing I wanted to do was carry a 30 lb pack over my rashy back in the 100 degree heat. If you recall from a previous post, slackpacking is when you pack just a day pack (a smaller pack with only the food and supplies you need for a single day of hiking) and pay a shuttle service to drop you off and pick you up to hike sections of the trail. For this, I leveraged the service at Stanimal’s in Glasgow, VA, where I set up my base of operations for a few days, with the intention of slackpacking the miles between Glasgow and Waynesboro. Some “purist” thru hikers certainly consider slackpacking to be cheating, but I think the circumstances called for it.

Of all the trail so far, Virginia has boasted some of my favorite miles. If you’ve never been to Virginia, it’s a beautiful and diverse state, laying claim to beautiful cliffside vistas, lush old-growth valleys with rivers running through them, and great people in all the towns along the way. The last stretch of Virginia will be the Shenandoah National Park, which I have heard called the “red carpet” of the AT. I am greatly looking forward to this stretch of trail, as it will be scenic, well-populated with interesting folks, and chock full of waysides for tourists, meaning that I won’t have to carry as much food! That’s always a plus when you’re hiking 20+ miles per day!

Lastly, y’all should know that I am going to take a short break from the trail. In the face of the heat, the poison ivy, and, admittedly, a bit of homesickness, I’m going to take a week-ish hiatus to travel back to Wisconsin for a bit of a reset. Rest assured, I will be coming back to the trail, and with plenty of time to finish before the winter strikes up north. I’ve actually just arrived in Hayward in time for Independence Day, a great time to visit with friends and family in the northland! If you’re reading this from Hayward, maybe I’ll see you over the course of the next week! I’ll be planning on flying back to the trail via Charlottesville, VA, refreshed, ready, and poison ivy free to tackle the Shenandoah’s, and the last of Virginia.

Until next time, folks! Happy 4th!

Hey folks!

As you could infer from the title, I’m once again shaving away miles northbound on the Appalachian Trail! I was dropped back on trail just this morning, and put in an easy 10.5 mile day to reacquaint myself with the mountains. I must say, the time off has softened me up a little bit. My short day has definitely got my feet and knees questioning why on earth they’re being subjected to more of this torture. However, I could not have asked for nicer weather to welcome me back out here, as I’m being treated to sunny, 78 degree, gentle breezes.

Deric’s wedding went great, so congratulations to Deric and Claire Tingo! It was great seeing everybody, and meeting folks from Claire’s family, too. Special shoutout to Jimmy’s Burn and Turn for catering some excellent food, too! Also, my brother got me a super neat custom Leatherman as a groomsman gift. Though it was too heavy for me to want to pack on trail, it is one incredibly cool, thoughtful gift. After the wedding, I was even able to convince my parents to go for a short hike in the badlands near Medora. Medora and the surrounding country are, without question, the most beautiful displays that North Dakota has to offer.

After NoDak, I flew my way back to the east coast. In particular, I paid a visit to Washington DC to do some sightseeing, and to visit my good friend, Caitlin Flynn! Aside from the overall swampy atmosphere and super crazed drivers, I really enjoyed my time in DC. It is a nice city, with loads of stuff to do. I visited some monuments, museums, ate some delicious ramen, and had a great time. It was even better, though, to catch up with Caitlin as well as meet her boyfriend Timmy over some Georgian food. Mind you, that’s Georgia the formerly Soviet country in Eurasia, not Georgia the formerly confederate state in the US. Having never had Georgian cuisine, I commend Caitlin for making some well-informed choices for our dinner, as well as respect Georgia for their cheese forward menu items. Top notch. Thanks, Caitlin, for providing such a fun excursion!

Back on trail, the folks I was hiking around when I left have now left me behind. Interestingly, though, I have re-met a bunch of folks that I had previously left behind. It’s been neat to see people that I last saw back in Georgia during my first week on trail. Today, I got my obligatory photo at McAfee Knob, which is said to be the most photographed spot on the AT. That’s for good reason, too. I am camped just 0.5 miles past the knob, and am considering waking up early, backtracking, and watching the sunrise at McAfee. We’ll see if morning Colin is feeling up to that.

That’s about it for now! That’s 715 miles down (about 32.5% for those so inclined) and many more to go! I’m glad to be back! Oh, and one last shoutout to Karri LaBarre. Karri, if you by some slim chance are reading this, I had a bag of your freeze dried spaghetti for dinner this evening, and it was delicious. My mom passed it onto me, who got it from Deb Jalowitz. Thanks!

Hi folks!

Today, I am writing to you all the way from Dickinson, North Dakota! That’s right, I made it out here for brother Deric and soon-to-be sister-in-law Claire’s wedding! It is great to see everybody! To get out here, I got off trail at Mike 710, just before Roanoke. A six hour train ride took me from Roanoke to Baltimore Washington airport, where I flew first to Denver? And then to Dickinson. Needless to say, I’m glad to be done traveling! We have an Air BNB for the week, and I’m really looking forward to a real bed for that time!

Before I go on, I’ve got to give a couple of major shout outs to folks that kindly sent me some stuff! First, a sincere thank you to Teresa Peters and the folks at Backroads Coffee for putting together a package of goodies and sending it along with my family! It was so thoughtful, thank you! As well, I was super excited to have a couple of frozen take and bake pizzas from Coop’s Pizza waiting for me here! What a delicious surprise! Thank you so much Deb, Sam, and the Coop’s crew! Those pizzas will be enjoyed tomorrow!

Speaking of trail magic, Memorial Day weekend brought all sorts of people to the trail, including loads of folks looking to feed us starving, weary hikers. It truly is a thing of beauty to emerge from the woods to somebody asking you if they can cook you eggs and bacon! These kindly people have all sorts of reasons to do the good that they do; maybe they hiked the trail at one point themselves and are looking to give back, maybe they’re out there to support a family member, or maybe they just like to spread some joy in the world. In any event, we are all grateful! Special thanks to Trail Angel Trish in Pearisburg, VA for shuttling me all over town for my resupply! And Stops, for a great breakfast. And so many more!

I think the award for favorite trail hostel has been usurped by Woods Hole Hostel. Neville and the folks working there have really built up a great place with everything a hiker could need, including some of the most delicious homemade food anywhere!

One particularly noteworthy day on trail this last stretch was a day I spent at Dismal Falls. I hiked 20 miles right away that day to end up at Dismal Falls by 1:30. I set up camp early, took a very cold swim in the pool below the falls, walked into town to get some hot food and a shower, and spent the evening watching the sunset over the falls. It made for a super relaxing, near perfect day.

You hear it often said that you should take shelter during severe thunderstorms. Recent experience has recently re-taught me how important that can be. I found myself out on the mountain near Dragon’s Tooth (a very impressive rock outcropping that makes up part of Virginia’s triple crown hikes) when I saw on the horizon some clouds so black that I was immediately inspired to GTFO. I, unfortunately, was not fast enough to get to proper shelter before the real storm hit. I was stricken by blinding rain and wind so strong I had to walk sideways against it. I later learned that a tornado had rolled through nearby, which struck me as no surprise considering I was literally dodging falling trees on the trail. I had to clamber through fallen trees to make it off trail as I became boxed in from the front and the rear. I eventually made it to Four Pines hostel, where I met up with all of the smarter, dryer hikers that had had the foresight to get off trail before a severe storm hit. The moral of the story is, perhaps you shouldn’t be out during very inclement weather. Any one of those trees could have fallen on me, so I consider myself lucky. I’ll be more careful in the future! I’m glad to say, too, that friends of mine that were also out in trail were reportedly unhurt.

I have fantastic news to share! I have retired my first pair of hiking shoes. My Hoka Speedgoats served me well for 710 miles, but I have to say that a trail running shoe is probably not meant for 700+ miles of abusive walking. Side by side photos show the difference between the old ones and the replacements. The replacement shoes are ones that I broke in with about 50 miles of walking prior to leaving for trail. Toward the end of the life of my shoes, I could feel every single rock and root on the trail.

Alright, I’m going to be accused of being antisocial if I continue typing much longer. I’ll be off trail for a little more than a week for this wedding and my travel back. I’ll check in in a bit!

Good morning, folks!

It’s been since my first time going through Damascus that I’ve posted an update, and since that time, I’ve continued to hike, gone back to trail days, picked up my new tent, been rained on almost every day, and officially crossed the 1/4 way point of the entire trail!

After leaving Damascus, I hiked on with Solar, a friend of mine on trail, with the intention of eventually catching a shuttle back for Trail Days. We hiked 65-ish miles before catching a shuttle back for the day. It really is a huge affair; probably 20,000 hikers descend upon this little 2,500-ish person town for three days of food, revelry, free hiking gear, food, drugs (if you’re into that), and food. I neglected to take any photos while I was there, but I swear it did exist.

At trail days, a lot of gear companies show up to offer free repairs to broken gear. I submitted my tent to Big Agnes to see what they could do about my rainfly zipper. They did their best, but recommended a total replacement of the zipper, which they couldn’t do onsite. In the end, I picked up my new tent, a Zpacks Duplex, and shipped my old tent home. Shoutout to Lady Slipper, a fellow Hayward, WI thru hiker, for helping me out by shipping that stuff out for me!

Also of note since my last update, I passed through the Grayson Highlands! This was my favorite stretch of the trail so far, offering gorgeous views. The highlands are known for their population of wild ponies, of which I saw plenty.

I’ll include one disgusting photo of how one’s foot can look at the end of the day of hiking in the wet, mud, and rain. I assure you, it looked that way for only a short while after taking off my wet socks and shoes! Proper foot care is super important out here, as they are the vehicle that’s taking you everywhere you go! To that end, I’m excited to be getting some new shoes soon, as my shoes are seeing the wear that comes with almost 600 miles of hiking.

So far, the trails in Virginia have been great; well-maintained and beautiful. I’m looking forward to what the rest of the state has to offer. I’m still 140 miles away from Roanoke, where I’ll get off trail for my brother’s wedding, but I’m right on schedule to make it there for my travel plans.

That’s it for today! Chat with y’all later!

Hi folks!

I have made it into Virginia! Currently, I’m waiting around in my room at the Dragonfly Inn, as the Damascus Diner does not open until 8:00 AM. I don’t know what kind of diner doesn’t open until 8:00, but I am looking forward to some breakfast and coffee.

Damascus is a nice little trail town that welcomes hikers to Virginia. With 544 miles of the trail in VA, almost one quarter of the entire trail courses its way through it. Hiking culture has coined the term “the Virginia blues” to describe the glum feeling of being in VA for a very long time, but I am looking forward to this part of the hike. The last time I was in VA, I ran the Blue Ridge Marathon in Roanoke – a beautiful race, in a neat little city. My green shirt that you see in many of my photos is from that race! Western Virginia is beautiful.

Some good news bad news here: I bought a new tent, but it won’t arrive in Damascus until Wednesday. This means that I either have to sit around for a couple of days, or hike on and shuttle back when it arrives. I believe I will do the later, as I’m not the biggest fan of sitting idle. Also, as the Damascus Trail Days festival is this upcoming weekend, I’m sure I’ll have no problem finding a ride back. What’s more, I have heard that Big Agnes (the manufacturer of my broken tent) will be at trail days offering tent repairs, so I could stand to have my busted tent mended so as to serve as a backup. I’ll keep y’all posted on the ongoing tent drama. For now, I’ll continue to hunker down each night in shelters or hostels.

Interestingly, some observant hiker realized that the total distance from the Iron Mountain shelter to the Marathon gas station in Damascus was exactly 26.2 miles, making it a marathon to Marathon. Coming to know this, I, of course, had to endeavor that. That is exactly the sort of wily nonsense that I can get behind. That is how I came to be in Damascus yesterday, making for my longest day of hiking yet. The best part was I had no knee or ankle pain whatsoever; just a strong day of hiking. It was a good sign to me that I have really acclimated well to walking these hills!

Lastly, I’ll fill y’all in on some travel plans I have up and coming. You see, my brother went ahead and planned a wedding right in the middle of my thru hike. I know, tamp down your anger; I was upset, too. What this means for me is that I had to devise a way to get off trail at the end of the month to get to Dickinson, ND. My plan is to get to Roanoke (roughly mile 710 on the AT) by May 28th, take a train to Baltimore airport, and fly on out there. I’ll be spending a week with family, and get to be in my brother Deric and soon-to-be sister in law Claire’s wedding. Between now and then, I’ll have to maintain an average daily mileage of 16.5. Pretty doable, I think. In future posts, I’ll fill you in on how I’m doing against that countdown.

That’s all for now, folks! I’m going to go enjoy some delicious breakfast food!

Hi Folks!

It’s been a sec since I’ve been able to write! I am doing well, still pressing northward! Today, I’m staying at The Refuge Hostel in Roan Mountain, TN. This is one of the nicest little hostels I’ve seen! Shoutout to April and Robert for this place! They’ve got a six bunk basement with a sweet little living room setup, and food options for partial resupply; not to mention free shuttles into town for groceries and restaurant food (always worth it, when you can get it)!

After leaving Hot Springs, NC, we had a stretch of really great weather. The leaves are starting to come in down here, so the trail is starting to become nice and shaded. Where the trail does poke up and out of the trees, the views have been amazing. Every now and again, we’re treated to treeless mountain peaks called balds. If you’re lucky enough to hit a bald when it’s clear out, it’s one of the best treats of the trail.

I continue to meet a bunch of great folks on the trail. I’ve hiked most recently with Zeke and Solo, who are staying at the hostel here tonight. Stopping at hostels in towns, or nightly at shelters is always a great way to catch up with all the people you’ve met while hiking. Usually, I roll into camp around 3:00, which gives plenty of time to set up camp, socialize, and, of course, eat tons of food!

If you’re curious what a food supply might look like, I’ve included a photo of the resupply I put together in Erwin, TN, where I stayed at Uncle Johnny’s Hostel. Note, for this resupply, I was going for five days of food, and I actually tried to target 4,000 calories of food per day by keeping track of calories as I threw things in my cart. This resulted in a laughably large amount of food. Honestly, it was so absurd, the hikers that witnessed me putting it together pressed me to weigh it, just to see what suffering I was about to subject myself to. Total, it was 13.7 lbs of food. And, two days out, I can attest that that is a ridiculous amount of food. It is so much to carry, and, personally, I have found it difficult to even eat 4,000 calories each day. This may change as the home goes on, but for now, I will learn and adjust.

The weather has, in the last couple of days, taken a turn for the very rainy and stormy. I’m staying here at The Refuge tonight primarily to dry out. Today’s hike consisted of 17 miles, 12 of which were in the pouring rain. Oh, and those beautiful balds I was talking about can become questionable gambles when you need to get up and over them in a thunderstorm… On top of this, the rainfly of my tent is out of commission. The zipper broke, which means I can’t keep the rain out of my front door. Not good. I’m debating having it repaired or replacing it. I have been asking my fellow hikers how they like their tents, weighing out pros and cons, and staying at AT shelters in the meantime.

Coming up, I’ll be passing into Virginia, at Damascus. There is a trail festival on May 17-19 called Trail Days that attracts a lot of hikers from all mileages on the trail. Really, hundreds of folks shuttle back to or forward to Damascus to hit the hiker fest. I’ll probably be passing through just about the right time. I have heard, too, that there are companies there that repair gear (such as tents!) and sell discounted gear (such as tents!), so it may be good to check out for a multitude of reasons. I’ll fill you in if I go, for sure.

Tomorrow, I’ll hit 400 miles on trail, and in two days, I’ll hit one month on trail! Two excellent milestones. I know a lot of folks have dropped out of the hike at this point, but I’ve got no designs on quitting anytime soon!

Also, feel free to ask any questions in the comments or reach out anytime, folks! I’d be happy to hear from y’all! Until next time!

Hi folks!

It’s been a second since I’ve had service enough to update y’all! This morning, I am typing to you from Smoky Mountain Diner in Hot Springs, NC! This is the first town that the AT passes directly through, making it a great place to take a break. I am intending to do just that; I’ll be taking a zero day today, no hiking at all. I can tell that my feet will thank me for one solid day of respite.

When last I left you, I’d been at Nantahala Outdoor Center. A rainy day climb out of Nantahala Gorge treated me to hail on top of Cheoah Bald, and the coldest night I’ve yet had on trail. It dipped below freezing, so I was sure to sleep with my water filter to prevent it from being ruined. I use a Sawyer Squeeze water filter, which is rendered useless if it freezes. I was glad, too, to have my thermal layers, as I had to wear every piece of clothing I had to sleep through the chilly night!

At the entrance to the Smokies is Fontana Dam, a large hydroelectric dam that the trail passes right over. It was neat that the trail passed over such a unique feature. Even better, though, was the Fontana Dam park, which included outlets to charge up electronics, and a hot shower in the park bathroom! The shelter at Fontana is often referred to by hikers as the Fontana Hilton. It was a fitting name for a ritzy place to bed down for the night.

After crossing the dam, I immediately entered into Great Smoky Mountains National Park. This meant an increase in both the number of people (day hikers and tourists abound!) and an increase in the wildlife. One evening, I helped a family build a campfire in exchange for s’mores (delectable), and I saw plenty of deer, wild hogs, and bears. In the early hours of the morning, I heard quite a commotion rushing my way. I realized when they got close that they were wild pigs. They were pretty small, maybe the size of a cocker spaniel. More shocking, though, was the 300-ish pound black bear that was chasing them! They passed by me by about 20 feet, so I just stood there and let them carry on. Quite a cool sight!

The Smokies also had Clingman’s Dome, the highest point on the whole Appalachian Trail. There was an observation tower at the top that treated me to panoramic views of the surrounding mountains. This was just one of the many views that the national park offered.

I think my feet and legs are finally getting dialed in to the whole hiking thing. I am sure that by the time I hit Virginia, my trail legs will be fully dialed in. My longest day so far has been 24 miles, but I’m averaging about 17 per day. After today’s day of rest, I’m sure I’ll be primed and ready to hit the trail with gusto!

I also had a run in with a rattlesnake yesterday! It was sunning in the trail, looking much like a root, where I came very close to stepping on it. It taught me to watch my step on the trail, but also ensured that every root that I saw for the rest of the day looked, to me, like a snake…

Anyway, I’ve got town chores to do today, including resupplying for the next stretch of trail, mailing home some gear I’ve judged I don’t need any longer, and eating plenty of delicious restaurant food while I’ve got the chance! I’ll check in with y’all next from Erwin, TN!