300 Miles!

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YES!  We are really enjoying this trip and getting a great kick-start on our weight loss objective.

Escaping Town

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Once we were in Hot Springs...it was initially hard to escape.   But once we were out, there were some more great views waiting for us.

Taste of Hot Springs

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We loved this town!  It was a great place to take a hiking break.

Daydreaming of Laundry and Food

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We're outside of Hot Springs, which was the first place in 150 miles that we were able to clean up.

Max Patch

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First far-reaching meadowy views. Beautiful!

More Junk Food

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Wet Night at Groundhog Creek Shelter

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Up Snowbird Mtn

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This was a beautiful, sunny spot.  The FAA tower that was in this area was referred to in one of the shelter logbooks as an NAS secret alien communications spot.  Gotta love it.
Who's the handsome guy in the photo?

Lost Socks

Buck thought he was going to give some 'ripe' socks a good cleaning by putting them under a rock in a running creek. A long storm came in and the creek rose. We were busy visiting with some great company and forgot about the socks. Alas, I snapped this pic of Buck looking for his socks - without success - the next day. 
Maybe we'll be inspired to write a related poem - Ode to Lost Socks?  Nah, I'll just continue to remind him of this misadventure as we pass over other running water sources.

Hostel at Davenport Gap

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What a great group of fun characters here! Spent a great, rainy night with them.

Out of the Smoky Mtns

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Davenport Shelter - Alittle Different

All the Smokies' shelters used to look something like this - like a dark human zoo although it kept hikers and their food safe from inquiring bears. Doesn't Buck look sad hanging out in the cage? Apparently the design had to be changed because folks would intentionally leave food outside the fence to attract and see bears. That put a hiker coming into the shelter in danger. One good thing about the redesign - the new shelters are more open and include a piece of clear fiberglass that lets in more light. The second pic was taken by the ridgerunner outside the shelter. Gotta love our camp shoes.

Backpacking a Smokies Ridgeline

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I've said it before but the pictures can't do it justice.  Its not the same as experiencing it with all your senses.

Poptarts On Charlie's Bunion

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We caught one of our first sunrises before this video was taken - pic below.
As the video and pics shows, we were the first ones here this day. Amazing! And yes that is Buck pretending to climb.

Tattoos R Us

I walk into Newfound Gap and experienced a bit of culture shock - coming from the peaceful, natural trail to this parking lot of tourists coming to view the gap. I got pulled into a vortex of people asking me to take pics of them by the state boundary sign. Finally I asked a family of five if they would return the favor and take one of me. The grandfather in the group joined me for this pic - yelling out that I was pinching his butt.
This is Gary. When I told him my name he immediately pulled up his shirt saying I was already famous. When I told him the exposed tattoo above his left breast said "Lori", he didn't miss a beat and pulled up the other side which said "Lisa". Didn't ask him about any other tattoos ... or where they might be.

These Guys Brought Magic With Them

We met Dude and Woodstock at one of the Smoky Mtn shelters who were great company. These guys were industrious, creating a fire to help keep the chill off.
We shared outdoor stories. The Dude shared some GREAT venison jerky and dehydrated cherry tomatoes that he had made.  In a moment of irony,we were eating the jerky when a tame doe came around to discern if we would share any food.
There was a great moon that night too that we all enjoyed. When we remarked that it seemed that they brought the moon, Dude used a good campfire story voice to respond ... "Maybe we aren't really here. Maybe we were two hikers that were killed at this site ten years ago and sometimes we come back." 

Clingman's Dome

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Below are some additional photos from the area.
We've posted a separate blog re: a neat couple we met at the Dome.  
One photo we didn't capture from this area were some root balls of some massive trees that had been pulled up and lay exposed from a massive storm.  The root balls were 8-10 feet in diameters and had pulled up large boulders with them.  In the shaded areas, it provided an eerie eerie effect.  You thought the roots were going to start moving.

Record Setters

We had a nice visit with this fit, engaging couple on Clingsman's Dome. There was a funny coincidence re: the AT. They had been in Maine 3 days ago. Someone mentioned that the AT was nearby so they hiked to Katahdin - the AT's northern terminus. The next day they spontaneously decided to visit the southern point of the AT (Springer Mtn) so they did it - cruising down the AT via a plane ride in a day. Guess they could hold some kind of AT record!
Next day they came up to the highest point on all the AT - Clingmans Dome. Glad they did and we had a chance to meet them. Sounds like they make the most of everyday, with great attitudes.  The visit gave us some extra energy for the rest of the day. 

Storing Food Away From Bears

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Besides bears, rain and small critters are other considerations when we daily decide where to store our food.

Inspirational Is An Understatement

We ran across this quiet gentlemen at a couple of the Smoky Mtn shelters. You notice right off that he has a great speaking voice. Turns out that he was on the trail for a few days of mental and physical rejuvenatation. From what, you ask? Whew! Let's see. He and his wife run a facility in GA for international refugees. Their focus changes depending on the most pressing needs e.g.  any one at risk of being executed by death camps if they are deported?
They are running his facility from a site originally intended to be a manufacturing site for simple solar devices for everyday use that Don created. (He is a mechanical engineer). The plan is to get back to this project in the future.
Don does a great deal of work with Habitat for Humanity - initially in the US but lately overseas. He had an amazing story of christians and muslims celebrating together for the first time in years after they did some Habitat for Humanity building in their community in Lebanon. He is also working to create a similar program in NORTH Korea. No kidding.
Oh, he was also one of the first 200 people Al Gore trained to spread the global warming message.
Bottom line - here is a very authentic someone going out and following his passions with thoughtfulness, resilience and tenacity. 
I understand he's written some nonfiction books about some of his experiences - Don Moseley. Looking forward to finding them!
Oh and he decided to leave the trail alittle early and shared some yummy food. Trail magic!

AT FAQs

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We have enjoyed reading comments, related stories and insights from everyone while on the trail. Although we haven't figured out how to respond via our phone, wanted to do something.
Warning: This is a longer vid!!

Three Generations of Hikers

This group of hikers were efficient during their few days out. Folks had assigned jobs and you could tell each had selected their Mtn House meals (pricey, yummy) before the trip.
Granddad was the gentle organizer and is a retired paramedic that sometimes had to make rescues on the AT. He, his son and grandson have hiked together before.
Everyone already had trailnames.  The granddad's trailname was Dragon Butt (draggin butt) because he was he slowest hiker in his group. His son (hardrock) is an amateur athlete celebrated his birthday the day we took his pic. Rounding up the group are: Trailmaster, DoubleUp, Freeloader.

Sample of Our GORP Mixtures

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Gorp is a high energy snack that we've found essential on the trail. Its contents are different every time, depending on what we find in the dollar stores or other food locales.
By the time of this resupply, we had been without any gorp for about 5 days (we had to make do with other snacks) so we went alittle crazy!
In this video, Buck gets to rub it in that I could not find peanut butter m & ms (sniff, whimper) to include in my gorp.

Baloo - Smokies' Current RidgeRunner

Another great trail character.......
While we were in the Smoky Mtns, we had the pleasure of sharing a couple nights with Billy Jones, the current area ridge runner. Great company! He thru hiked in 2006 (trailname Baloo, from the Jungle Book), had current info on MANY trail areas and his passion for the great outdoors is evident. He even brings a pruning saw with him to help the volunteers clear the trails. On our last morning in the Smokies we saw a 100 lb bear that was interested in the shelter. Billy shared a pic he got - I was so excited that I forgot how to use my camera. So an extra thanks to Billy for sharing the attached pic. Billy pointed out to all 8 of us (it was a FULL shelter night, complete with three snorers, one with sleep apnea to boot) that the bear had a tag which meant that he had already gotten familiar with human contacts. Hope the bear gets scared before he has to be relocated or worse.
Billy has a myriad of interests and a great sense of humor.
Asked him what was happening with the Olympics and ticked off some inspiring snippets.
Mentioned that some of my kin were from Baxley GA. He mentioned he was there for a race (running) where he had signed in as Hill Billy Jones. Apparently the audience cheered when they called out his name.

First Days in the Smokies

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In the Smokies, you almost have to stay in shelters.  Unless the weather is really nasty, we generally prefer to tent. 
Anyway, met some great folks and saw some great sights at our first two shelters in the Smokies. Will post a couple separate photos + stories as well.
 

Official Entry Into The Smokies

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And so begins our longest mileage yet before our next resupply.  

And yes, a firetower got the best of us.

Crossing The Fontana Dam

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This is the largest US dam east of the Mississippi River, built in 3 years. Amazing. 

The attached pics were taken at the dam. Understand that the tree with the fuzzy nut is a chestnut - haven't been able to verify. Beautiful morning.

Eight Day Resupply

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It was alittle eerie seeing Miatas everywhere in Fontana Village. Although the two miles between the shelter and the village was a bit steep and curvy, snapped a few pics that day. The weather was warm but clear. The grounds near the dam includes a shelter (called Fontana Hilton) that includes a nearby shower - so wonderful it makes me cry - even though it was off season so alittle dirty. Showering in your crocs -yeah!