At the Top of Georgia Hostel, free shuttle service is provided. I received shuttles into town the past two nights. This morning, Bob gave us a ride back to the trail. Bob, a.k.a. Sir-Packs-Alot, is the owner of the hostel and former an AT thru hiker. But Bob not only hiked the AT, he also hiked the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT) and the Contintinal Divide Trail (CDT). Bob has the elite distinction as being a triple crowner. Elite, because only about 200 people have successfully thru hiked all three trails. The PCT is 2,663 miles from Mexico to Canada by way of California, Oregon, and Washington. The CDT, is 3,100 miles from Mexico to Canada through New Mexico, Colorado, Wyoming, Idaho, and Montana. A triple crowner will hike more than 7,900 miles with a vertical gain of over 1,000,000 feet. For an extra challenge, try thru hiking all three trails in one year. This was done by hiker, Mathew Hazley, in 2005. My friend, Tony, completed his triple crown last year. Bob is now the second triple crowner I've met.
Bob dropped us off at the trail and within a few miles, we made it to the GA-NC border.
Just past the border, there is an old and twisted tree that is often photographed. I was hiking with Growler, Canyonman, Bill Nye, and a girl named Whisper. We hiked over 16 miles and spent the night at Standing Indian Shelter. While hiking with Bill Nye all day, we were continuously singing the Bill Nye theme song. This got me thinking, it would be nice if I had a theme song of my own. I could be hiking along the AT with my own theme song.
Mon 3/31
We spent the night in the shelter. Sleeping in the shelter is nice, especially in inclement weather or when you just don't feel like setting up your tent. But beware of mice. All night, we could hear the mice scurrying back and forth in the shelter. If food is left in your pack, the mice will get to the food and gnaw through your pack in the process. Even if you hang your pack on the wall, the mice can still get to it. At the shelter, there were strings hanging from the rafters with a stick at the bottom end so you can hang your pack from the ceiling. But apparently, this still wasn't sufficient. There were aluminum cans on the middle of the string to prevent mice from climbing down the string to get to your pack. I headed out in the morning with Whisper and Canyonman. Growler and Bill Nye were still sleeping. I had a chance during the day to experiment with some new camera filters. Canyonman and I climbed Albert Mountain in the evening. This might be the steepest part on the trail so far. The Albert Mountain fire tower was at the top. And after another 16 mile day, we made it to Long Branch Shelter. I've now hiked over 100 miles on the AT.
Tues 4/1
I hiked about four miles on the morning and took a break at Rock Gap. Whisper and Canyonman came down and joined me just as a couple day hikers were finishing their hike and getting back to their car. We were offered a ride to town. I was planning on getting to Franklin anyway so that I could resupply. Whisper came too since there is a gear shop in Franklin and she needed new boots. Whisper may be a low talker but she is definitely a powerhouse on the trail. We get to Franklin which is a really cool little town. A man approachs us at the gear shop and offers to drive us around town so we can eat lunch and go to the grocery store. The man's name is Intense and he tells us it can be spelled as either 'Intense' or 'In-tents.' Intense is a retired computer scientist from Cleveland and decided to move to Franklin after a failed thru hike attempt about 10 years ago. At the grocery store, I bought 10 days worth of food. My plan was to take half with me and ship the other half to Fontana Village where it is more difficult to resupply. I'll need enough food from Fontana to make it through the Smokies. Intense took us to lunch at the Huddle House which is basically like a Waffle House. He bought us all lunch and drove us back to the trail. Intense will definetly be getting a postcard from Maine! And we weren't the only ones that had an amazing experience in Franklin. People that provide assistance to thru hikers are called trail angels and Franklin has a lot of trail angels. Canyonman got a ride into town by a local restaurant owner and got to eat at his restaurant. Bill Nye got to go to someone's home and received a home cooked meal and a place to sleep for the night. There was another large group of hikers that night. They were out to dinner and a stranger paid the bill - for all 12 of them! When we got back to the trail, we hiked to Siler Bald Shelter. Every time we stopped along the trail, all I wanted to do was eat. Not because I was hungry, but because I didn't want to carry the weight. Although my pack was still lighter than most, I had just resupplied and now had a full food bag. I've decided not to think of this journey as a 2,000 mile hike, but rather a 2,000 mile eating competition.
Wed 4/2
In the morning, we ran up to the top of Siler Bald which is two tenths of a mile off trail. This gave us full 360ยบ panoramic views of the surrounding mountains. We could see the Smokies from where we were. There are many bald mountains in North Carolina. We went to Wayah Bald and received some trail magic. The guy had a table set up and was offering gatorade, donuts, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, and chips. There was also a fire tower. We then hiked just past Cold Spring Shelter and camped alongside the trail.
Thurs 4/3
We hiked about 11 miles down the mountain to get to the Nantahala Outdoor Center. It was very steep decent but we got to see another fire tower and we were able to get to the NOC by noon. I enjoy hiking in groups but It's also nice to hike alone sometimes. I hiked with Whisper, Growler, and Stevie Wander. If I were by myself, I would have taken a break at the fire tower and at a place called The Jumpoff, both of which had spectacular views. But I got to the NOC by noon was was able to eat at a restaurant and take a shower. I was happy. We hung out for the rest of the day and paid $20 a person to sleep in the bunkhouse.
Fri 4/4
The NOC had a hiker festival going on this weekend. The NOC is a resort along the river that has whitewater rafting and zip-lines. There was a big sign advertising a half marathon happening on Saturday and the packet pick-up was today. I went over and talked with the race director, Run Bum. I mentioned that I'm a thru hiker and wanted to run. He was super excited about me running and told me I can run for free since I'm a thru hiker. The hikers all thought I was crazy, but I didn't care. I just thought it would be fun. Besides, I have to live up to my new trial name!
In the evening, they had filmmaker, Chris Gallaway, give a presentation and show clips from a movie that he is currently working on about hiking the AT. I had known about Gallaway's project from reading about it online. He and his wife, Sunshine, live in Asheville and I wanted to contact them while I was spending time in Asheville before my hike. I never got around to doing that. Now here they are showing their movie. I talked with Sunshine afterward she gave me her number telling me I have a place to stay when I get back to Asheville. They are such an awesome couple and the story is truly inspirational. Check them out here and make a donation if you can so they can finish the film.
After Gallaway's presentation, there was a screening of a film called Mile… Mile & a Half. This was a documentary about the John Muir Trail in California. This is another awesome film about a another great trail. I really want to hike this trial as well.
The NOC provided free camping this night thanks to the hiker festival. Canvas tents were set up and I had a nice place to sleep.
What an amazing journey you are on. Good luck with the half. Hopefully it is a flat course:)
ReplyDelete