Hiking and Hanging

Friday afternoon I picked up Boo from work and we zoomed up to Hot Springs, NC to meet up with some fellow hammock hangers and to do some hiking. I had a date with a 13.5 mile section of the AT that I just HAD to do. hahaha! Seriously, I needed to complete that section in order to be officially done with the Hot Springs area.

We pulled in around 7pm, said hellos, mingled a bit, then strung up our hammocks just in time for the sun to disappear. That night we all gathered around the campfire, catching up, trading trail stories, and talking gear. I hope I have everyones names, but here's a list of who was all there; Gunner, Running Feather, Hanging Burrito, Suess, Hogg Tyed, Shrek, Snakeman, Detailed Man, Tweaky, Shadow Moss, Vic, Hoop Cheese, Ground Hog, Bearpaw, Sleeps with Skunks, me, Boo, and Tweaky's kids. We were quite a group! After the fire died down Boo and I finally slinked back to our hammocks and called it a night. It was just after 11pm and I had to get some sleep b/c I had a 7am shuttle I to catch the next morning.

I woke up around 5am the next day and tried my hardest to get back to sleep, but I was too wired and nervous about my hike. I was going to hike from Max Patch to I-40 by myself and it was a looong 13.5 miles. I've been stressing about it all week. Wondering if it was too much too soon, and trying not to scare myself silly for hiking alone. But I knew that once it was done, I could officially cross off that 50 mile section from I-40 to Allen Gap off. So I laid in my hammock til 6am pondering my day. I finally got up and playfully tried to wake up Boo, whom was sleeping so soundly I could hear his soft snores whistling in the air. Since it was still pitch black out, I poked my headlamp under his tarp and whispered, "good morning." His eyes fluttered open and in a low growl, he said "turn that god damn light off." I know when my usually playful husband is serious and boy was he dead serious. hahaha! I shut off the light and scurried to the bathrooms to change in to my hiking clothes. When I got back, he's out of the hammock milling around. He wants to see me off to the outfitter, which is only a short 2 minute walk up the road, but I let him be the protector that he is and hop in the car. We drive down the block in search of some breakfast, but I see that Bluff Mt. Outfitters is already open, so we stop, I decide to just grab a pack of crackers, some coffee and a cliff bar for breakfast. We meet up with my shuttle guy and after Boo senses that I'll be safe, he kisses me good bye. The shuttle guy and I hop into his minivan and start the windy road towards Max Patch. He's a nice Irish gentleman with some good stories about Ireland.

By 8am, I am stepping foot on the AT and headed SOBO for I-40. I'm excited and a bit nervous. After the first 1/2 mile of gradual climb, I start to psyche myself out and start thinking about all kinds of scary scenarios. I stop and force myself to breathe, then I shake my head around, as to get rid of all my silly thoughts. I ask god for a sign that everything's going to be safe and then guess what.... Around the bend in the trail from where I stopped I hear... "SWEETPEA!!" No joke! As I look over every ounce of panic leaves my body and I grin and exclaim, "GREENBEAN!!" We met over labor day weekend when Boo and I were hiking the AT NOBO into Damascus, VA and she was SOBO'ing it to Springer Mt, GA from Harpers Ferry WV. She was sitting having a snack at a shelter we decided to stop by for lunch. We chit chatted a bit before she started hiking again. What a relief it was to see her smiling, perky, familiar face and what a coincidence! We catch up a bit and I ask her how her hike's been so far. She said she spent the night on top of Max Patch last night and caught the most amazing sunrise she's ever seen, and that she's ready to be off the trail. Other than that, she was still in good spirits. I snap a picture of her and we continue hiking and chatting away for the next mile. As we start to climb up another mountain, I see her walking further away from me and I laugh and yell, "I guess this is where we leave each other." She turns around and I say, "I can totally tell your a long distance hiker, cause you go up at the same speed that you climb down a mountain. And I, the section hiker, go slow on the up." We both laugh and say good byes. I see her take off over the mountain as I follow, huffing and puffing away. That moment changed the hike for me that day. Just knowing Greenbean was on the trail with me and knowing I wasn't alone, made all the difference to me. Now that I had my head on straight, I hiked on, admiring all the sights, sounds, flowers, frogs, butterflies, and birds, feeling safe.

By 10am, I reached Ground Hog Shelter, I had hiked 5.8 miles in 2 hours! and I was feeling good. I stopped just past the shelter at a campsite with an inviting log just begging for me to sit on and for 30 mins. I rested, loaded up on water, and ate a PB and snickers fun size bar. I knew I had a 2 mile climb up Snowbird Mountain ahead of me, so I was resting my feet up. At 10:30am, I started the slow ascent and told myself I would be up there by at least 12pm and b/c at noon, I had some serious plans for an orange I bought earlier that morning. I slugged it up Snowbird one switchback at a time at a slow and steady pace that I surprised myself at how little I stopped going up. I finally saw a blinding light at the end of the tree tunnel and when I hiked up to it, it led me onto an open, flowery, butterfly filled, bald mountain top. It was so beautiful, I had to stop in awe at the view and the sights. From here, to the south, you can see the views of the Smokey Mountains, which are right on the otherside of I-40, and they looked monstrous! To the east was an stunning view as well. It was so pretty up there that I spent another 20 minutes, just taking pictures and admiring the spectacular view. By the way, this is one of those mountain tops you can drive up to and I would say the view is well worth the trip. But it's much more satisfying knowing I climbed up here to see it :) Oh, and it was 12pm on the dot when I emerged from the forest onto the bald :)

After gulping down my sweet juicy orange and drinking 1/2 liter of water, I rounded the top of Snowbird Mountain and started my 5.5 mile descent down to I-40. There were some rolling sections, but for the most part, it was down hill. Sometimes, going downhill is tougher than going up. I plugged away at the miles and around the 4th mile down, I ran into a stunningly beautiful woman, who looked to be around 56 yrs old. I mean she took my breathe away. She was so pretty she could of been a model. She was NOBO'ing to Hot Springs from Newfound Gap and it was her 4th day on the trail. She saw me first, since I had my head down, watching where I was stepping, trying to avoid those damn acorns sprinkled all over the trail. She asks me, "are you Sweetpea?" I look up, surprised that she knew my name and say, "Yes! I'm Sweetpea." She says, "Greenbean told me to look out for you. She wanted to let you know she would be at Standing Bear hostel." I say, "Cool! I bet she's like 3 hours ahead of me isn't she?" and laugh. She laughs too and says, "No, it was just a little while ago." WOW... I've almost kept up with Greenbean! I thank the beautiful lady (forgot to get her name) and continue down the trail, hoping to catch Greenbean before she walks up to the hostel. I make it to the gravel road, for the turn off up to the hostel and realize I only have 30 minutes to hike 1 mile to I-40. I stop, take a break and drink some water before I hop back on the trail. I finally get to the end with 10 minutes to spare, and climb down the stairs where I wait for Boo. I call him to let him know I'm done and when we hang up, I sit back, let my tired feet rest, and grin. It's 2:50pm and I just hiked 13.5 miles :) I glance over at I-40 and can hear the cars rushing by. I look up and I can see the beginning of the Smokey Mountains and think, someday soon, I'll be coming down that end of the AT.

Boo pulls in at exactly 3pm. His hike this afternoon went well. He hiked a 5 mile section of the AT in Hot Springs from Tanyard Gap back to Hot Springs then hung out with the rest of the hammock hangers. As soon he parks the car, I pop the back and pull out my flip flops and peel off my boots and socks. I sling my day pack in, close the trunk and hop in the front seat, letting all my muscles slowly relax and sink into the seat. aaaahhhh.... Boo and I ride with the windows down on so I can let the sweat evaporate off me and my clothes (and to air out the car in case I reek! haha!) We make the turn off I-40 towards Hot Springs and I tell Boo I am famished! We pull into a gas station that has a subway and we split a foot long Italian sub and I drink like 5 soda refills. It feels like the best lunch ever.

We finally pull out and drive back into Hot Springs the back way, from Max Patch to Hot Springs, and I see all the gang chillin' around the campsite. I pull out my chair and plop down to relax the rest of the day. Around 6:30pm, someone starts the fire for our hot dog roast and as I'm chit chatting with Detailed Man, I'm introduced to his wife Tweaky. Come to find out, Tweaky and I graduated from the same high school, the same year! We even lived in the same neighborhood! We knew of each other, but didn't know each other. After we talked a bit, we realized we could of been friends, we both grew up in SoCal and moved to NC our last year of high school. We had so much in common it was so funny! We talked the rest of the night, catching up about all the people we knew and what they were up to. Sometimes I really think we live in a tiny, tiny world.

I ate two roasted (burnt) dogs that night, had a great day hike that enabled me to cross off a section of the AT from my NC list, had a nice time catching up and chit chatting with fellow hammock hangers around the campfire, and fell asleep soundly in my hammock. It was a great day :) The next morning, Boo and I woke up, said good byes to everyone and hopped in the car and headed for home and to our dogs. It really was a nice weekend in Hot Springs :) Til next time... GET OUTDOORS!!!

US 91 to Damascus, VA.

This labor day weekend I had fully planned on crossing off a 30 mile section of the AT, but when Boo asked if he could come out backpacking with me, I jumped at the chance to make it a family event. So on Saturday morning, we loaded up the car with our packs, changes of clothes, last night's left over pizza, and two very excited dogs. I had picked a nice and easy 20 mile section for us to do over the 3 day weekend, where we actually crossed into Virginia and into the trail town of Damascus.

We pulled into Mt. Rogers Outfitters around 10:50am, just in time for our 11am shuttle ride out to US 91 in NC, our starting point. Our shuttle driver was Dave of Dave's Place/hostel. He was by far one of the nicest shuttle drivers I've encountered. On the trip up, he gave us lots of local history, trail knowledge, and water updates. I would definitely use him again for any other sections up in the area.

As we step out of the van, I'm slapped with a wall of cold temperatures. It's 62 degrees out! and it's windy and chilly for my short sleeves. I always seem to forgot how cold it gets up in the elevations, but it makes for great hiking weather. I've got my pack all set and am waiting on Boo to lace up his boots, when I glance over at the trail head. I can see the trail winding up over nice rolling meadow/pasture and I can't wait to step foot on the trail! The dogs are just as antsy as me. 10 minutes later at 12:15pm, we enter the turn stile and are officially hiking the AT!! The first .5 miles are nice, wide, gravel trail. The open meadow made for some amazing views of the surrounding valley's and mountains. It was just so pretty and picturesque. Let me tell you, the NC and TN section of the AT, or at least the sections I've hiked, have had some stunning, beautiful views. I'm really proud of the AT through my state :)

As we climb up the rolling pasture, we hit another stile and enter the woods with a nice climb up to the ridge. And for the rest of the trip that's where we will be, ridge walking. At the top of our gradual climb, we see Double Springs Shelter and decide to take a quick lunch. We meet a hiker sitting at the picnic table, her name is Green Bean and she is hiking from Harpers Ferry, WV to Springer Mt. GA, southbound. Damascus was her 1/2 point. I congratulate her and wish her the best. After munching on left over pizza, we hit the trail again, and hike on til 6pm. The trail is nice and rolling, nothing to steep or long, just enough to get your heart rate up. We cross over highway 421, hike a couple miles in and stop right before a spring and figured we had done a nice 8 miles at a good pace. At the campsite, we find a couple of good trees and begin hanging up our hammocks. I've got a new tarp that I'm eager to try out, it's made by OES and of Spinn material, so it's really crinkly sounding, and I'm hoping it won't be loud tonight. I get my tarp and hammock set up and go to hang the bear bag rope. When I get back, Boo is chilling in his hammock and the dogs are passed out. I unpack a poncho liner from the dog's pack and lay it down for them. They immediately get up and plop down on the poncho. I wonder if the grounds going to be to cold for them. I then pull out the alcohol stove and start preparing dinner. It takes forever to boil two cups of water for our dinner, and the wind is picking up, making it extra chilly tonight. We finally eat dinner and Boo likes the chicken pasta dehydrated recipe I got from Kellye. (Thanks Kellye!) We finish off with a small size Snickers, then bear bag the food and call it a night. While in my hammock nice and toasty warm, I wonder if Boo's going to be warm enough with just his poncho liner underquilt. I hope so, but we are definitely buying him a new underquilt soon.

I woke up the next day and found both dogs still curled up on the poncho liner. Boo was still snoring away, so I got up, watered the leaves and went to take down the food bags. When I got back, both dogs were up and stretching and Boo was slowly making his way out of the hammock. We packed everything up pretty quickly, ate a breakfast bar and hit the trail by 8am. Last night I had figured we had hiked 8 miles and new we had 13.5 left, so I thought we would take it easy and just hike 8 more and leave the last 5.5 til Monday.

About .25 miles into our hike, we finally find spring and it's a great flowing spring, so we top off all of our water bottles and bladders. (Usually I don't carry a water bladder. I hate drinking out of the tube and I hate the weight of it in my pack. In my mind, it's heavier than the two liter nalgenes I carry. It may not be true, but in my head it is! hahaha! Anways, I carried the extra 3 liter bladder for extra water for the dogs and in case this section happened to be dry.) So fully loaded up, we continue on and hike up and down small hills til we cross a forest road and gradually climb up to Abingdon Shelter. Around 10:30am we reach the shelter and I see a two dogs playing around. One is a giant St. Bernard and he just looked so funny to me. My chocolate lab snuck up behind him and scared the crap out of that giant dog. It was so funny to see a dog that big jump up and run away. hahaha! We see an older, bearded guy in the shelter and I ask him if he is Heavy Metal. He said he was, and I told him that Green Bean told us we would run into him in at this shelter. He is a character. He's NOBOing it to Harpers Ferry, so he's hiking around 1,000 miles and as soon as he gets to Damascus, he'll of completed 500 miles. While he was in the Smokies, he fell off the trail down a steep incline and lost his tent. So he's been hiking shelter to shelter ever since. He also had the gift of doing some serious Yogi-ing and guilted me into giving up some of our food. haha! Boo and I decide take a short water and snack break. All of us chug a ton of water and I volunteer to filter more to top us off. Well, an hour and a serious hike later, I made it back to the shelter. The trail down to the water source (sketchy water source) was steep and loooong. I seriously had more elevation gain on the jaunt to get water than I did the entire trip! haha! Reminded me of getting water on top of Standing Indian Mt., far and steep. I finally, breathlessly, climbed back up and joined Boo on the picnic table. Seems as if he and Heavy Metal became fast friends while I was gone. I told him I was ready to get back on the trail, so we threw on our packs, said goodbye, and headed NOBO. I waved to the St. Bernard owners and do you know what that big ass dog did? He spotted us, barked, and charged me and my lab! No joke. I ran down the trail screaming OH SHIT!! thinking I was about to become Bernard Bait and Boo just laughed at me. He said the big dog was just getting us back for scaring him. haha!

So we plodded on til 2pm where we found the nicest little camp spot and decided to stop for lunch. I pulled out all the fixings to make our black bean and ground beef dehydrated burritos, (another recipe courtesy of Kellye.) I got the water boiling and Boo lounged while I put out the tortillas, taco bell hot sauce packets, and cheese. In about 10 minutes we were feasting on some really good trail burritos. And the beans and meat reconstituted back up perfectly. I knew this recipe was a hit when Boo says it was the BEST trail meal he has ever had. (THANKS Kellye!!) After another hour and 1/2 of lounging, we set off around 3:30pm and I noted to Boo that we only had 5 more miles to go til Damascus, so if he wanted to take it easy or find a camp spot we could. He said that lunch really made him feel better, more energetic and he wanted to just finish up our hike. I was surprised and thought, surely, he would want to stop soon. He's known as Mr. SS7 (Slow and Steady 7 miler). But I put on my pack and we pushed on. I think just knowing that civilization was right around the corner made him more determined to make it into Damascus, cause he took off at a nice fast pace. Faster than I have ever seen him hike. Maybe this will make him more inclined to come out in the woods with me.

We got to the TN/VA state line and posed for the cheesey photo op. It's actually nice to say I've hiked both into NC and now out of NC/TN into VA. So it was a nice feeling. Now I just need to do the middle of NC/TN. haha! We knew we only had 3 miles left, so Boo kicked it into gear. We stopped to load up the dogs with water, then hiked the last mile down into Damascus and by 6pm, we were coming out the woods and into the town park! We walked under the AT "Welcome to Damascus" sign and through the park til I found a nice open area that I could sneak the dogs down into the river. I let them splash around and cool down before I joined Boo on a park bench. My feet ached so it felt good to sit for a bit. I looked over at Boo and said, you know you just hiked 13.5 miles today. He just grinned. I wonder if he wanted to get into town, or just not spend another night out in the woods? hmmmm..... I was so proud of him. All in all it was a great weekend. I realized that Boo could really be a great hiking partner, as long as I cook well on the trail. hahaha! I remembered how much I loved having the dogs out on the trail with me, and I enjoyed spending time with my little family out in the woods. Til next time... GET OUTDOORS!!!