The fourth day, April 2, was the first really hard day. We started earlier than usual, hoping to make it over Blood Mountain to Neel Gap and beyond before the forecasted rain. Going up this mountain wasn't so bad, but I felt very exhausted by the time we
This one's for all my critters. well this here's the story about a guy named Will surely loved his berries and he surely ate his fill went down in that holler and what did he see? just a doggie bag of berries from the doggie berry
On the way out of Whitley Gap shelter on April 4, a couple of ideas jumped out at me. I had heard of a phenomenon at least twice in the week. I don't know if there's a term for it, for now I'll call
A reflection on the hike from Springer Mountain to Hawk Mountain camp site on March 30. On the trail less than a mile past the Springer Mountain shelter and camp site, where I had spent my first night on the trail, I came across a parking lot. The lot was
Details of first day on the trail, March 29, 2024. Hiked down to the visitor center with a younger hiker I met last night at dinner. I watched him down four Heinekens the night before starting the trail, which I thought was pretty bold. We got oriented by the trail
By now I'm on Big Cedar Mountain and about 1.5 days from the first town. I've been writing and taking pictures, but phone reception isn't good enough in the camp sites to upload them. So my longer entries will be time delayed, and
To kick off the song, I started by writing some verses about folks I know back home. well this here's the story about a guy named Sam didn't eat his broccoli but he loved green eggs and ham went down in that holler and what did
Woke up today on the east coast. The first thing I did was eat some very special homemade granola, which presents me with a new crisis: all other granola is now ruined for me. Got a ride to the airport and said goodbyes, then a train and a shuttle to
I've left my home for the foreseeable future. The plan is to drive dad back down to Florida today, catch a plane to Atlanta on Thursday, then a shuttle to Amicalola Falls where I'll spend a night at the lodge then pick up my hangtag and
While in a holding pattern, I've taken some time to refine my starting food load. This initial supply will only last me about four days out of many, and it's very unlikely I'll be able to replace it exactly, but it still serves as
Dad was kind enough to drive up from Florida to bring me to the trail, but he ran into some problems last week. It sounds like the VA was able to fix the timing on his engine, so I should be able to make it down to Georgia in a
This year's Big Ears festival in Knoxville did not disappoint. I got to see a combination of acts I've seen before, acts I'd heard of but never seen, and I even opened my ears wide enough for surprises. The theme of the festival is