Friday, April 12, 2013
Ponies!
We went through the Grayson Highlands, which is now my favorite part of the trail! Hot sunny weather, beautiful views, and even wild ponies! I even rode one of them! Last night as rough weather but we made it through (soaking wet) and are at partnership shelter tonight near Marion, VA. When we hitched in to town, we tried for about half an hour to get a ride and got nothing. We even tried standing on each others shoulders (there were 6 of us). Finally we put our one girl out alone and a five guys hid behind the hill. The first car that saw her stopped! And we all piled in to a tiny 5 seated, needless to say the guy picking us up was a bit surprised to see all of us guys running into the car haha.
Wednesday, April 10, 2013
Virginia is for hikers
Made it out of Damascus yesterday and we are having some great weather! So nice, I had to sleep under the stars. We choked down on some larabars that Mr. Godbee sent us, thanks so much! Now we are chillin on a bald, taking a snack break and enjoying the awesome views. We are hiking with Hawaiian Panch, Carjacker, Tarzan, Coffee Pot, and Nickelodeon.
Tuesday, April 9, 2013
The Road to Damascus
Only Jacob Moxley would night hike 4.7 miles carrying 2 boxes of pizzas and a gallon of Gatorade. Thank you sir. You are incredible.
After about a 17 mile hike going up and down mountains and around a pretty lake, we got to Vandeventer Shelter Friday night where we knew Jacob would be meeting us to hike with us for the next couple of days. We knew Jacob would be there late so we went to bed a little after dark. At 10:30, we were rudely awakened to two pizzas and a gallon of Gatorade. It was the best rude awakening one could ask for. We shared some of the pizza with the other hikers in shelter (Rash, Gummy Bear, and Larry Boy) and caught up with Jacob for a little bit before going back to sleep.
In the morning, we saw a beautiful sunrise over clouds on top of a lake. It was really cool. Then we headed out to do about 22 miles with Jacob (man he's a fast hiker). Jacob plowed through at about 4 mph pace (light speed). It was great to hike with him, catch up, and hear about Marine Corps life.
Our 22 mile day, we were fortunate enough to get trail magic twice, 1st lunch and 2nd lunch! A guy named Nomad decided to get off the trail in Erwin to buy a van and do trail magic up and down the trail. Thank you Nomad!
The next day we crossed into Virginia (home for the next 550ish miles)! We made it to Damascus, had lunch, then Mr. Smith showed up to take Jacob back to his car. Thank you again Mr. Smith!
Since then, we've been chillin' in Damascus. We took a zero yesterday. We hung out by the river, ate a lot, and ate some more.
Side story: the other night, Gummy asked us if we had any plans for Katahdin. We said we didn't really have any yet, but then Rash piped up in his thick southern accent and said, "I know what I'm gonna do, I'm gonna cry like a bitch then go get me some lobster." Sounds like a pretty good plan to me.
We're headed out today! Shout out to everyone in the ATL. Sounds like it was a great weekend. Go Braves!
After about a 17 mile hike going up and down mountains and around a pretty lake, we got to Vandeventer Shelter Friday night where we knew Jacob would be meeting us to hike with us for the next couple of days. We knew Jacob would be there late so we went to bed a little after dark. At 10:30, we were rudely awakened to two pizzas and a gallon of Gatorade. It was the best rude awakening one could ask for. We shared some of the pizza with the other hikers in shelter (Rash, Gummy Bear, and Larry Boy) and caught up with Jacob for a little bit before going back to sleep.
In the morning, we saw a beautiful sunrise over clouds on top of a lake. It was really cool. Then we headed out to do about 22 miles with Jacob (man he's a fast hiker). Jacob plowed through at about 4 mph pace (light speed). It was great to hike with him, catch up, and hear about Marine Corps life.
Our 22 mile day, we were fortunate enough to get trail magic twice, 1st lunch and 2nd lunch! A guy named Nomad decided to get off the trail in Erwin to buy a van and do trail magic up and down the trail. Thank you Nomad!
The next day we crossed into Virginia (home for the next 550ish miles)! We made it to Damascus, had lunch, then Mr. Smith showed up to take Jacob back to his car. Thank you again Mr. Smith!
Since then, we've been chillin' in Damascus. We took a zero yesterday. We hung out by the river, ate a lot, and ate some more.
Side story: the other night, Gummy asked us if we had any plans for Katahdin. We said we didn't really have any yet, but then Rash piped up in his thick southern accent and said, "I know what I'm gonna do, I'm gonna cry like a bitch then go get me some lobster." Sounds like a pretty good plan to me.
We're headed out today! Shout out to everyone in the ATL. Sounds like it was a great weekend. Go Braves!
Sunday, April 7, 2013
"Bob Peoples gives his boots blisters."
Sorry for the delay in updating the blog. Here's a couple posts to cover what we've done.
We woke up April 4th to a beautiful sunrise at Overmountain Shelter. We had been told that the section of the trail we would be doing that day was the prettiest section in the south. Sure enough, it was.
We hiked over Little Hump and Big Hump (two balds with 360 degree views of the mountains in NC). We had clear skies and could even see the Black Mountains which contains Mt. Mitchell, the highest mountain east of the Rockies. Shortly after leaving the incredible views from Big Hump, we left North Carolina for good.
Most of the 20 thru-hikers from Overmountain were headed to Mountaineering Shelter which sleeps 14, so we wanted to get a spot. We had set out early because we had to resupply and get a package Brie had sent us to Roan Mountain, Tennessee. After about 30 minutes of standing by the road trying to get a hitch into town, a friendly lady who owns the Greasy Creak Hostel gave us a ride. She dropped us off at Bob's Dairyland where we ate lunch. Bob had hikers in mind when he created the Holy Cow Burger. We both had it. It contains 15 oz of hamburger meat, 6 slices of bacon, some ham, a couple onion rings, 3 slices of cheese, lettuce, and tomato. Then we had some ice cream. Needless to say, it was incredible.
After lunch, we walked over to the post office to pick up Brie's package. Thanks Brie! While at the post office, a nice lady in a red punch buggy offered us a ride to the grocery store and back to the trail, which saved us a lot of trouble. In all, going into town only costed us 2 and a half hours, and while hiking the next 10 miles to the shelter, we discovered we were ahead of 5 other hikers which easily allowed us to get a spot in the shelter.
The next day, it began to rain before we started hiking. It wasn't a hard rain but it was constant, got us wet, and cold. It quickly turned into a pretty miserable day. Not as miserable as Smuggles' day though. He randomly threw up and passed out for 20 minutes. When he woke up, he was wet and coming close to hypothermia. To make matters worse, he was the last one in the group so no one would walk upon him to help him out. To make matters even more worse, while doing his business, the branch upon which he was sitting broke. Rough day for Smuggles. Anyway, as I was getting closer to the shelter for lunch, some of the rain on my jacket was beginning to freeze and drips of rain from the leaves were turning to icicles. It was pretty cold. When I got to the shelter, I had to warm my hands up for 20 minutes before I had enough finger strength to mess with my food. We all left the shelter one by one knowing that with the easy terrain we could be to the hostel, Kincora in about 2 hours. So I popped my headphones in and left the dry shelter shivering. Hiking at brisk pace, I slowly began to warm up and thanks to James Taylor, all I could think of was Oh Mexico (apparently it's like 100 degrees down there).
Soon enough, we all made it to the hostel, owned by Bob Peoples. We took hot showers and Bob took us into town to get some food. Later that night, we got to hang out with Bob Peoples. He's incredibly smart man in probably his 70's who has a couple PhDs and has hiked many trails in Europe and South America. He told us of all sorts of knowledge I had never heard before. It was great to stay at his hostel and get to meet him. He's a very well respected man along the AT.
Another post coming soon.
- Matt
We woke up April 4th to a beautiful sunrise at Overmountain Shelter. We had been told that the section of the trail we would be doing that day was the prettiest section in the south. Sure enough, it was.
We hiked over Little Hump and Big Hump (two balds with 360 degree views of the mountains in NC). We had clear skies and could even see the Black Mountains which contains Mt. Mitchell, the highest mountain east of the Rockies. Shortly after leaving the incredible views from Big Hump, we left North Carolina for good.
Most of the 20 thru-hikers from Overmountain were headed to Mountaineering Shelter which sleeps 14, so we wanted to get a spot. We had set out early because we had to resupply and get a package Brie had sent us to Roan Mountain, Tennessee. After about 30 minutes of standing by the road trying to get a hitch into town, a friendly lady who owns the Greasy Creak Hostel gave us a ride. She dropped us off at Bob's Dairyland where we ate lunch. Bob had hikers in mind when he created the Holy Cow Burger. We both had it. It contains 15 oz of hamburger meat, 6 slices of bacon, some ham, a couple onion rings, 3 slices of cheese, lettuce, and tomato. Then we had some ice cream. Needless to say, it was incredible.
After lunch, we walked over to the post office to pick up Brie's package. Thanks Brie! While at the post office, a nice lady in a red punch buggy offered us a ride to the grocery store and back to the trail, which saved us a lot of trouble. In all, going into town only costed us 2 and a half hours, and while hiking the next 10 miles to the shelter, we discovered we were ahead of 5 other hikers which easily allowed us to get a spot in the shelter.
The next day, it began to rain before we started hiking. It wasn't a hard rain but it was constant, got us wet, and cold. It quickly turned into a pretty miserable day. Not as miserable as Smuggles' day though. He randomly threw up and passed out for 20 minutes. When he woke up, he was wet and coming close to hypothermia. To make matters worse, he was the last one in the group so no one would walk upon him to help him out. To make matters even more worse, while doing his business, the branch upon which he was sitting broke. Rough day for Smuggles. Anyway, as I was getting closer to the shelter for lunch, some of the rain on my jacket was beginning to freeze and drips of rain from the leaves were turning to icicles. It was pretty cold. When I got to the shelter, I had to warm my hands up for 20 minutes before I had enough finger strength to mess with my food. We all left the shelter one by one knowing that with the easy terrain we could be to the hostel, Kincora in about 2 hours. So I popped my headphones in and left the dry shelter shivering. Hiking at brisk pace, I slowly began to warm up and thanks to James Taylor, all I could think of was Oh Mexico (apparently it's like 100 degrees down there).
Soon enough, we all made it to the hostel, owned by Bob Peoples. We took hot showers and Bob took us into town to get some food. Later that night, we got to hang out with Bob Peoples. He's incredibly smart man in probably his 70's who has a couple PhDs and has hiked many trails in Europe and South America. He told us of all sorts of knowledge I had never heard before. It was great to stay at his hostel and get to meet him. He's a very well respected man along the AT.
Another post coming soon.
- Matt
Wednesday, April 3, 2013
Super Trail Magic
Thank you to Mr. and Mrs. Smith for taking us in for Easter! We got clean, ate good food, and had a great time. We got to go to their church with them and watch them sing in the choir while we sat in the pew with their friends the Williams'.
Also, Mr. Smith and his friend, Charlie Williams came and met us at Overmountain Shelter last night and grilled out half-pound burgers, sweet potatoes, Irish potatoes, chips and salsa, Yoohoos, Mtn dews, and ice cream sandwiches for all of us hikers there! It was so good! We knew there would be at least 8 thru-hikers there, but it turned out that after the Mr. Smith and Mr. Williams left, at least 10 more hikers showed up! Fortunately the Overmountain Shelter can hold at least 60 hikers comfortably.
Thanks again Mr. and Mrs. Smith! Y'all are incredible!
Also, Mr. Smith and his friend, Charlie Williams came and met us at Overmountain Shelter last night and grilled out half-pound burgers, sweet potatoes, Irish potatoes, chips and salsa, Yoohoos, Mtn dews, and ice cream sandwiches for all of us hikers there! It was so good! We knew there would be at least 8 thru-hikers there, but it turned out that after the Mr. Smith and Mr. Williams left, at least 10 more hikers showed up! Fortunately the Overmountain Shelter can hold at least 60 hikers comfortably.
Thanks again Mr. and Mrs. Smith! Y'all are incredible!
Birthday Surprise for Dirty Mike
It was Michael's birthday on Monday and to celebrate, we hiked 18 miles! Fortunately, at the end of the day, Mr. Blanchard showed up at the shelter to surprise Michael and bring him some presents and a cake! Michael was so surprised to see his dad walking up the trail.
Monday, April 1, 2013
Our Progress
We created a new page called "Our Progress" that will be updated on a monthly basis that will show you what we've done so far. Check it out!
Special thanks to my dad and brother, John and Charlie Williams for creating the charts!
Special thanks to my dad and brother, John and Charlie Williams for creating the charts!
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