SNP Thurs 10-8-09

Today was the longest day, 14.6 miles. After a protein bar for breakfast, we were off. I did pretty well the first 3 miles, then I met High Top Mountain. Or what I like to call, H.T. Mt. (Hella Tough Mt.) It was a 1000 climb in 2 miles. I kept stopping to catch my breath and adjust my pack. I finally told everyone to go ahead without me. I needed to take my time and I would meet them down the trail somewhere. I knew it was going to be a loooong and high mileage day, so I wanted to conserve energy, but still keep in time. I told myself I would be on top of that mountain by 12pm. That was my goal. If I don't keep any other goal today, I just wanted to be on top of that mountain by 12pm. I was having another mentally tough day. Questioning why was I out here? I was 3/4's of the way up that climb and about to lose it when I decided to just sit down on a log and compose myself. I think the cold temperature and the high miles for the day were playing mind games with me. I needed to relax and remember why I enjoyed this. And just when I needed it, that's when I saw her. I caught a glimpse of a little lady bug on my log. Ladybugs have always brought me luck. That was it, I was not going to spend another minute being unsure of myself. I was going to enjoy this, I was going to DO this, I was going to let go, just let it happen and stop trying to "time" every mile. So much for all my planning and organizing. I tossed it all out the window. I wanted an authentic thru hiker experience so I was going to surrender to what ever the thru-hiker gods had in store for me. I didn't realize it then, but I was giving myself permission to be free, completely free with no time frame, no goals, and no expectations. Just put one foot in front of the other and see what happens. I climbed that last .25 miles slowly without stopping and when I reached the top and saw that view, I had forgotten how rotten I was feeling earlier that morning. That little ladybug saved my hike that morning. Oh... and I made it up by noon :)

I decided to not rush to keep up with everyone, but to hike my own hike and enjoy this little accomplishment. So I dropped my pack and for 20 minutes, I sunned myself on that mountain top and took time to pat myself on the back for climbing up that beast. This peak felt familiar, like I had been here before. I want to say I think I climbed it back in college when I went on my first "real" backpacking trip during fall break. I've hiked a lot, but never backpacked like this. I remember my friend Marissa (a total NYC chick) whom I coerced to go on this adventure with me. She glared at me as she paused half way up the mountain to pull out her inhaler to catch her breath haha! Good memories. Thanks ECU outdoor department. You will never know how that 3 day trip changed my life. Anyways, it felt very familiar. After some beef jerky and the last of my water, I decided to move on. I knew that in 2 miles, There would be a shelter with a water source. Well, I walked not more than 50 yards, when I saw a yellow sign that said Spring, and there was the spring right there! No climbing down .33 miles to find it, but right there! My luck had already changed. :) I decided to just load up my nalgenes and skip the shelter. So I dropped my pack, pulled out the filter.

I was in the middle of pumping my second nalgene when I heard loud noises, like something big was crashing through the forest. My first thought was BEAR!! YEAH! I will get to see my first Shennie Bear! Then I thought BEAR! OH SHIT! my first Shennie bear is too close for comfort! RETREAT, ABORT, BAIL, RUN!!!! All my stuff was unpacked b/c I was busy getting water. Should I just run? Should I stand my ground? Should I just grab my stuff, move, and pack it a mile down the trail? I decided leave my pack and peek over the ridge to see and scare the bear away. Well, I peeked over and saw a hard working PTC volunteer (Potomac Appalachian Trail Club) hacking away at a section of the overgrown trail. He saw me and waved, I told him I thought he was a bear! We both laughed. I went over and thanked him for all the hard work the PTC volunteers have done, b/c the trail looked amazing. We chit chatted a bit about the trail and bears and he assured me I would see one soon. I finally returned to the spring and finished pumping my water, packed up, and hiked the 2 miles to the shelter. At the shelter, the sign said it was only 1.6 more miles to Powell gap. So I moved on ahead. When I got close enough to see the road crossing at Powell gap, I caught a glimpse of .....Ed!! He said he was nursing a blister and was thinking about road walking a bit. I decided I didn't want to be alone anymore so I'd join him. (Not to mention, I wasn't looking forward to the 2 mile climb we had coming after we crossed the road) We took a break, I ate a snack, and drank a liter of water.

So I was now a Skyline Road walker. Ok.... I can deal with that. (By the way, the road isn't all flat and easy, it's got hills and climbs too) After a mile, another PTC volunteer named Frank, pulls his car over and tells us about the (lack of) water situation at Pinefield Hut (our camp destination). Frank says, there is no water at the shelter spring, so in about 1.5 miles, we should load up with water at the ranger station. We thank him for the info and decide to stop at the ranger station, which was .5 miles from the road, but worth the extra mile of walking to get some water. We hike on for another 1/2 mile when a sweet older couple in an RV camper stop in the middle of the road and ask us "Are you guys thirsty?" Without skipping a beat, Ed and I say YES!, and the gentleman says, "Well how about a cold coke?" (HELL YA! diet coke is only my biggest craving while backpacking!) My first trail magic! Whoo hoo!! We thank him a million times and decide to sit on the side of the road and chug our cokes down. They will never know just how good that soda was or just how much it made my day. My luck has changed :)

After stopping a several overlooks (road walking the SNP offers waaaay more views then hiking it) We reach the turn off to the ranger station and who do we run into? LORI!!! Her and James huffed it up the 2 mile climb with no water! She was going to the ranger station get water and James was going to finish the hike, get his car and pick her up at the ranger station. We all walked the .5 miles to the ranger station, filled up, drank up, and waited for James to give us a ride. SCORE! more trail magic! James rolls in with Rylan in the passenger seat. They get water, while we try to stuff our packs in the back of James' SUV. He drives us 2 miles to the trail head and after thanks and good byes (James is leaving the trail to go to a family wedding) we hike the .5 miles, all down hill, into camp in great spirits by 5pm. I find two perfect trees and start hanging up my hammock.

While I was doing my camp chores, I started thinking about how I always thought I would be a purist when it came to hiking the AT. That I would hike ever single inch of the trail and not skip any of it. Well. I guess I'm a blue blazer, and I'm OK with that :) I believe in hiking your own hike. I would of missed all the little adventures and trail magic today if I stuck to the purist philosophy. Maybe there is something to this freedom thing... Let me work on it some more before I become a full blown blue blazer :)

After setting up a NICE hammock and tarp, seriously, probably my best set up yet. I checked out the privy at Pinefield Hut. The climb to it was pretty steep, but the mouldering privy was probably the best privy I have seen on the trail yet. It was clean. Well, as clean as a privy can get, and the wood chips definitely cut down the gross privy smell. (Three cheers to the PTC and the mouldering privy at Pinefield hut!) I changed clothes and met up with everyone around the shelter for dinner. Rylan had hiked in a magnum of wine, that was a perfect ending to this day. Yay for more trail magic!

There were three other hikers joining us at the shelter this evening. One seemed to want some privacy, he ate dinner, then headed straight to sleep in the shelter, so we left him alone. The other two were pretty nice. Yosemite Sam from San Francisco, who has never hiked the AT, always wanted to, and had plans to in the 70's, but never made it out east. So this was one of his "bucket list" items and he was thru hiking the SNP and headed on to W.V. Good for him! We had a good time chiding him on benefiting from John Muir's ill fated Hetch Hetchy fight. (If you're into the outdoors like we are into the outdoors, you might of caught the PBS National Park series, that's where the joke comes from.) and then Yosemite Sam's friend. I wish I would of remembered his name, he and Lori talked boy scouts, ALOT, for most of the evening. What a nice guy. Well, little did we know that Rylan had be recording our little chit chat segment for an episode of one of his Southeastern Backpackers. Yup, you heard it right, Sweetpea's voice, with some creative editing, will forever be Podcasted! I'm excited to hear how it turned out. I'll be sure to blog about THAT when it comes out. After what turned out to be an awesome day, we called it a night at hikers midnight (8pm) and hit the hay to rest up for our next day's adventure.

I slept good that night. Not sure if it was from all the hiking that tired me out, or the wine, but I slept GOOD. I woke up around 6:30am to pack up, eat breakfast, and start the trail with a fresh new outlook. It's going to be a good day :) Til next time. GET OUTDOORS!!!

SNP Wed 10-7-09

Official start of our 13.2 mile day was 8:45am. We hit the trail head after a yummy breakfast and for the first 3 miles I was able to keep up with everyone. It's pretty chilly out so I'm hiking in some long sleeves and my rain jacket to help block the wind. The problem was, when we stopped, I'd get chilled b/c my shirt was soaking wet from all the sweat and the wind would whip right through me. So needless to say, stops were very infrequent. The next 3.5 miles felt like they were all up hill climbs (Hazeltop and Bearfence Mt.). The climb up Hazeltop Mountain, WOW.... slow, steady, and up hill climb. It wasn't bad, in fact it was graded really nice, but it was a looooong constant climb. I finally saw what the term "GREEN TUNNEL" looked liked. I've heard so many people refer to the AT in VA as the green tunnel and for good reason. Not many views, but lots of trees. The boys took off, James complaining that he was a slow hiker (my ass!) was the first one up the mountain. Rylan was next. So it was Lori and I making our way up and up and up. I hope I didn't slow her down, she says I didn't, but maybe she was being polite?

Anyways, we finally make it up Hazeltop Mountain, Bearfence Mountain and Lewis Mountain and she says she's going into the Lewis Campground wayside to grab lunch. I tell her I'll wait for her at the campground. I pull out my fleece, throw it on and lay on a hill side in the sun and fall asleep. My snoring wakes me up 25 minutes later and I catch some RV campers in the next campsite staring at me like I'm some hiker trash hobo. HAHA! I wave hello and they just continue sipping on their hot coffee and staring. Not very friendly, oh well. So I get up, go over to the picnic table. I pull out my food bag, knowing I have to eat something to give me some energy, but not feeling hungry at all. I finally decide on some beef jerky and combos and I drink the last of my water. I get up to go to fill up my nalgenes with water from the campground pump and wonder how in the hell am I going to be able to keep up with these fast hikers. My 38 lb pack feels like 100 pounds on my back, my trail legs haven't shown up today, and I'm not sure I have what it takes to finish the 6.9 miles left to get to camp. It's a horrible day of hiking for me. I rarely get these but when I do, it messes with my head all day long. I'm stressing and just then, James, Rylan, and Lori come up. All in great happy moods. This is exactly what I need, to be surrounded by positive people. Without knowing it, they lift my spirits up. I apologize for being slow and they tell me not to worry, it's not a race, and that we have all day. Ahhhh... the stress gets lighter. James says we only have 5 more miles and Rylan grins and says, "no way, more like 4 miles." Now, I KNOW we have 6.9 to camp, but I play along. Hoping their right, the stress gets even lighter. I'm smiling now, I check out the profiles and realize, most of the 6.9 is either flat or down with just a couple of climbs. Off we go for the last part of our day. Lori and I talk ALOT during this section, we learn all about one another and each others family. We talk about everything from Boy scouts to Boob jobs. Great conversation! We make it to the South River Picnic area (our camp) around 4:45pm and and let me tell you, that last .1 miles was a BITCH. After a loooong 13.4 mile day, the last thing I want to see is a steep climb up, who cares if it's just .1 miles up, it's still an up! haha! Just then, James comes up from behind. He missed the turn off and continued down the trail for about a mile. Oops!

As soon as I get to the grassy area, about two feet off the trail, I drop my pack and just laid their for a good 10 minutes. I see that there's a water source and real bathrooms. I finally get up, pull out some dry warm clothes and head up to the bathrooms to change. I feel like a brand new person in my dry camp clothes and warm down vest. Off to find a camp spot. In the Shennies, you are not allowed to camp at designated picnic areas, so we just walked down the blue blaze trail a bit and stealth camped :) I found some perfect trees and had an awesome hang set up to make up for the crappy set up the night before. By now, I'm energized enough to climb back up to the picnic area for some water and then head down .1 miles to cook dinner with everyone. We finally got some good quality chilling time and I got to meet Gadget, he's a pretty famous fast hiker that started about 15 minutes before us and got to camp at 2pm! He IS fast. We were at lunch around 2pm. Anyways, what's amazing about this guy, is he's a fellow hammocker AND about 60 years old. I hope I'm in that awesome shape when I'm 60. Anyways, he's hiked the entire AT before and has come down to hang out with Rylan for the day.

During dinner, I was in awe at James' ultralight set up. He has made pretty much all of his cooking gear and it looked really cool. He even showed me his ultralight, ultra warm gloves from New Zealand made out of possum hair. Seriously. haha! Anyways, during the middle of dinner, Ed comes down the trail. He was with the rest of our group. They started out at 9:30am, three of them. But, alas, Ed was alone. Seems as if the other two in the group could only do about 6 miles before they bailed out. Let me tell you, this AT hiking/backpacking thing isn't for everyone. Some can handle it and some just can't. I'm lucky to be among the group that can. It's hard work, but very rewarding. It does something to me emotionally, spiritually, I don't know, it just does something to me that makes me want to come back. I'm glad I made it to camp, those were some hard earned miles to get here. Tomorrow is a new day.

So Ed comes up, he makes camp and just as we are finishing up, he is starting his dinner. We chat a while before everyone goes to bed. Ed and I decide to bear bag our food together. After a couple of tries, he makes and awesome bear bag toss and we store up our food for the night. I climb up to the restrooms one last time and then hit the hammock and am asleep by 8:30pm. I sleep so good I don't even wake up til the next morning. :)

I wake up and walk back up to the bathrooms to change back into my hiking clothes. Everyone is setting up for breakfast at the picnic table so I hurry and pack up my pack and go sit with them for a quick breakfast. I feel it, I have a feeling it's going to be a great day today. I think I finally got my trail legs. We will see.... Til next time GET OUTDOORS!!!

SNP Tues 10-6-09

I'm hiking the SHENNIES!!!!!!! After work on Tuesday, I drove 6 hours to Shenandoah National Park in northern VA to meet up with the group at Big Meadows Campground. The ride was pretty smooth until I entered the park at Swift Run Gap. I was immediately surrounded by thick fog, so thick that I couldn't even see the double yellow lines on the road! Oh, and it was 9pm and dark out. It made me nervous so I drove like 5 miles an hour for 15 miles up to the campground. I FINALLY get to the campground entrance and the check in desk is closed. I get out to see if there's a campground map and I can make out deer grazing five feet away from me. It was kind of scary, considering most deer are afraid of people and run away as soon as they see a human, but these deer just stood there, staring at me with their creepy glowing eyes in the thick fog. Then out of nowhere, I hear a quiet eery whooshing noise, see head lights, and the park ranger, in a golf cart, appears and asks me if she can help me with anything. I froze like a (normal) deer and stutter that I was looking for campsite A-9 to find the rest of my group. The ranger points me in the right direction and I jump back in my car, (lock the doors), and drive into the campground to find A-9. Luckily it's in the first loop. Unluckily, (is that a word?), I have to park far below, and climb, what looked like a big hill in the fog, but ended up being a small bump in the day time.

So I park, pull out my backpack and headlamp and head up to meet the other three campers in my group. DUDE the winds were whipping on top of that hill. I got chilly just walking up there. I have a feeling it's going to be a cold night. As I walk up, Lori from PA greets me with a warm hello and introduces me to Rylan and James. After quick intro's, I scope out a spot to hang my hammock up and start putting up the tarp. After I hang everything up, I chit chat a bit and learn that Lori is a Trail Dame! haha! She is the leader of the Delaware Vallery TD's, what a small world. I tell her I know Anna and SHOE and we decide we'll have alot to chat about during the hike! hahaha! James is a super ultra light backpacker from Northern VA who will only be hiking for two days. He's got a family wedding he's got to go back for. Rylan is from Alabama and is the famous Rylan Herring from Southeastern Backpackers podcasts. So I'm in some good company and am excited to start my week in the SHENNIES! After setting up, I learn that Rylan is also in a hammock, so I go check out his set up and my eyes glaze over at his JRB underquilt. (Jacks R Better) I'm drooling over it b/c I want one sooooo bad. So the JRB top and underquilt are his and I warn him to keep an eye out on them b/c I may just sneak up and thief it from him in the night. hahaha! He tells us that a fellow Hammock hanger by the name of SHUG, graciously offered to send him a hammock to test out during this trip. See, hammock people are awesome! We take care of one another. :) YAY SHUG! If you've never seen any of SHUG's hiking/hammocking videos, you're missing out. That guy is hoot! Just youtube, "shugemery" and be prepared to be entertained.

We finally call it a night and I'm a bit nervous about going to sleep in 40 degree weather. I'm hoping my little hammock set up will keep me warm. (Kicking myself in the head for not testing it out before hand.) I mean, I meant to test it out, but who wants to sleep in their backyard when they have a perfectly comfortable bed waiting inside? hahaha! I love my hammock (out in the woods) but I love my bed more. :) So off to sleep I go. I woke up once to tighten up the tarp b/c the winds and rain were doing a number on it. To be honest, I put up a really sloppy tarp, I didn't even tension it, so the loud flapping was keeping me awake. I know, I know.... lazy Sweetpea. I was just tired from the drive, and cold from the wind. But I should of know better. Bad set up means bad night's sleep. So I got up (in the RAIN) to fix it and fell back asleep til Lori woke me up at7am to get ready for our week long hike!

While packing up a wet tarp (arrggg!), I noticed 2 deer grazing about 3 feet from me. I yell over to Rylan and he laughs. I can't believe how brazen these deer are! We head over to Big Meadows lodge for breakfast and to park our cars at the trailhead near the amphitheater. The lodge has an amazing outdoor deck with a stellar view. We opted to eat inside on this chilly day. I've been fighting a cold, so I order a large OJ, which I down with some airborne tablets, and some french toast to make me feel better. :) After breakfast we head out for our first official day on the AT in the Shennies! Til next time. GET OUTDOORS!!!

Fall Disc Golf

Boo and I headed to a local disc golf course for some exercise on a perfect fall morning. The weather was absolutely BEAUTIFUL. I decided to finally wear my hiking skirt and I loved it. I felt like a girly girl, but an outdoorsy girly girl. The skirt performed great. I loved the little shorty shorts underneath it and it was comfortable. Anyways, we hit the course around 10:15am and was surprised at how fast we finished 18 holes. I was even more impressed that I wasn't tired after a quick round. I didn't even get out of breath on some of the hilly climbs we had to hike through. :) I played pretty well the first 9, but the back 9 really challenged me. Boo got a birdie on the 14th hole. It was an awesome shot, he just aimed that Frisbee, threw it, and it glided 50 feet, smacking the chains on the basket. We both looked at each other, speechless at what a pretty perfect throw that was. I doubled high fived him and another group in front of us saw it and yelled out what a sweet shot that was. Boo had a grin from ear to ear for the rest of the course. We finished up around 11:45am and zipped on up to my parents house for a Spaghetti and giant meatballs lunch! Til next time. GET OUTDOORS!!!

Cooked Feet!

Yup, I said it. Cooked FEET! Sounds gross, but that's what I'm about to do. I'm about to COOK (well, really bake) my newly purchased SOLE inserts in the oven at 200 degrees for 2 minutes. Then I'm going to slide them into my hiking boots and immediately stick my feet in my boots. My feets are going to get cooked! hahha! I went to the local REI store in search of some inserts for my boots. Seems as if I beat the crap out of the Superfeet inserts I bought in early May. So I need to find something a bit more sturdy. The guy in the shoe department recommended these, the website gives it great reviews and says: "The Heat-moldable three-layer design ensures a personalized fit and ample support to help control motion and absorb shock." And this is what I need. Because REI is awesome, I was able to return my old Superfeet for a full refund and apply the $30 to the new SOLE inserts, which were $45. So I paid $15 for some new inserts :) Got to love the return policy at REI! Will test them out this weekend on a hike. Til next time. GET OUTDOORS!!!

1/2 mile workout. Seriously.

Seriously, we walked around a middle school track for 1/2 mile Sunday evening. hahaha! It all started with a ride to Harris Teeter Grocery store to pick up a $1 movie rental at a red box. After we got the movie, we had all intentions of going home. Well.... we decided to peek into the local Block Buster that was closing down and promising "close out " prices. They lied. Nothing really worth stopping for. Most movies were still $14.99 to $7.99. So... we decided to go on home. Well, as we passed the local middle school, we saw this guy in the center of the track field, attempting to fly this ENORMOUS kite. We decided to pull over and see if we could watch. This kite was so big, I thought the guy would fly away if he got a big enough wind. So we parked the car and walked to the track. We were already wearing workout clothes, so we used the excuse of walking around the track to spy. hehehe! After one lap around the track, the guy decided to deflate his kite and wrap up his wrist straps and kite rope. Bummer, we didn't get to see the big ass kite fly :( Oh well. Boo thinks the kite was made for water kite surfing. Either way, it was a cool little adventure that got us outside. :) Til next time. GET OUTDOORS!!!

Dog, Rain, Miles

Today I decided to take my baby brown hound (chocolate lab) on Kings Mountain Trail, the 16 mile loop day hike. We both got up around 5:30am and snuck downstairs. Leaving Boo and little dog still asleep. I slipped on my hiking pants/shirt/new rain jacket/and boots, grabbed the leash, and my day pack. I was just about the sneak us out, when Boo and little dog appear at the foot of the stairs. I gave Boo a good morning kiss and he took little dog out so I could make a get away. If she knew that Thing 1 and I were about to go on a hike without her, she would of been pissed! I decided not to take her b/c I didn't think Thing 2's short little legs could handle the mileage. So she was to spend some quality time with Boo today. Thing 1 and I made our escape and were zooming down the highway at 6:15am. We made it to the Kings Mountain State Park around 7am (when the park opens) and after paying my $2 entrance fee we drove to the trailhead. It was still pretty dark and rainy out (it rained the entire time).

My brown hound and I stepped on the trail at exactly 7:15am and started our hike. Don't tell the state park, but he was off leash the entire time. He is such a good dog. He has learned to hike directly behind me and he listens to voice commands. Plus, we didn't see another human being the entire time we were out and I had a trek pole in each hand. Around mile 9, I found a stump to sit on and we took a 15 minute water/snack break. I have to say, that this time around on this trail, I wasn't stopping as much. In fact, I didn't stop on the uphill climbs the entire time. I think my lungs are almost in hiking shape!

We did catch glimpses of all kinds of wildlife. We saw several deer. Around mile 5, I heard a high pitched shriek and then saw 5 huge white tailed deer gallop up over a ridge and disappear on the other side. It sort of startled me b/c I didn't think deer made noises! We saw a couple of turtles right on the trail and around mile 12 we saw a coyote! At first I thought it was a fox, but it was too big to be a fox. It looked like a medium sized light brown dog with a fluffy tail. As soon as it saw us it took off. It freaked me out a bit b/c it was the first time I'd seen a coyote in the wild while hiking. I was worried it would follow us and try to get Thing 1 so we picked up the pace for the last 4 miles and finished really fast! I kept looking over my shoulders to make sure it wasn't following us. We finally got to the car at 1:30 pm. I couldn't believe what great time we made. Six hours and 15 minutes. That's almost 3 miles an hour hiking. Whoo hoo! My baby brown hound is a little bad ass! hahaha!

Just a couple of things about the hike. It rained the entire time and my new jacket kept me dry. It was quiet chilly, and when I stopped for water breaks, I would get cold really fast. I can definitely see how someone could get hypothermia out in the woods. I have to remember to carry a fleece with me next time. Rain all day equals slick ass rocks and bridges. I came across a stream crossing and as soon as I stepped on the mossy covered rock, I slipped and fell right on my bum. I froze for a second, waiting to feel pain, but I didn't feel a thing. I was O.K. If you look at the picture of the rock on the right, you'll see a perfect butt indention in the rock. How lucky was I that my bum fell perfectly in the indention. (and for those of you thinking it, NO I didn't MAKE that indention when I fell! hahhaa!) For the next part of my review on the hike, I'm going to write in small font b/c I'll be whispering.

I think Kings Mountain State Park saw/read my blog about my previous review/complaint about the section of trail on their (State) side of the park. Remember I said it was over grown and I had to climb over and under lots of down trees. Well, this time around I didn't have to climb or scoot under one down tree, and the trail was cut back considerably. It was actually really nice. Oh, and that big tree that was toppled over a bridge, well it was still there, but it was off the bridge and it looked like they were working on getting it cut up. It was like a whole new trail. I take it back South Carolina, you've regained my trust in trails once again. :) And no webbing! though I think you can credit the rain for that. I will say that I did have to step over 2 down trees on the federal (Kings Mountain Military Park) side, but it was raining all day and the rest of the trail was pretty immaculate.

All in all it was another great day (even in the rain) with my trust companion. Til Next time. GET OUTDOORS!!!

More hiking in Hot Springs

I woke up around 6:30am and just laid in my hammock, listening to the light rain pitter pat on my tarp. I finally got out and walked to the bathrooms, changed clothes and washed my face. When I got back, Boo was up and chit chatting with the others who had started making the community breakfast. We pulled our camp chairs around the morning fire that someone had lit and soaked in the atmosphere. Now I'm not normally a coffee drinker, but a hot cup of coffee with a hot chocolate packet stirred in was a perfect morning beverage. YUMMY! Breakfast was good. They had plates and plates of cheesey scrambled eggs, bacon, sausage, livermush (don't ask), fruit, and krispy cremes. I had a scoop of eggs, bacon, a sausage that Boo swears was the livermush, but I swear it wasn't, and a banana.

Afterwards, a group of us decided to go for a hike. On the Appalachian Trail (AT) from Tanyards Gap back into Hot Springs. It was only 6 miles, so Boo decided to test out his ankle for this hike. We all car pool up and park at the trail head. It starts with a walk on a pedestrian bridge over the highway then the AT climbs up for a good 1/2 mile. I didn't expect the climb right away. But felt confident about it when I didn't stop the entire way up :) Darby, Shrek, Macintyre, and Capital Bill put on a fast pace, but I was able to hang with the big boys and hold my own. We then hiked down into a gap talking about the music we listen to or sing in our head while hiking. I was surprised to find out that I'm not the only one that gets a song stuck in my head when I hike. For the next couple of miles the trail terrain was nice and rolling.

I decided to take a break before another big climb and so did everyone else. Darby was the only one that kept going! I found out later he made it into Hot Spings in 2 hours. He's a bad ass. As I was chit chatting away, guess who comes around the trail? Boo! He was only a few minutes behind us. :) We all start the climb together and soon Shrek and I kick it into gear and lose everyone. I think my heart rate and lungs are starting to play nicely together, (Finally!) cause on the climb I only stopped once. Shrek and I finally make it to the overlook (Lovers Leap) and take our time snapping photos, admiring the view of Hot Springs and the French Broad River below. Boo catches up to us for a bit. Now, I'm normally pretty fast on the down hill, but I was hiking with Shrek, and he hikes extremely slow going down hill, so it took us a while to climb down to Hot Springs. We made it back in 3 hours, but I know I could of easily shaved off at least 1/2 hour. When we get back to the campground we run into Darby and he asks if we saw anything interesting on the section of trail along the river. I look at Shrek, he looks at me and we both say "No, why?" Then he shows us the pictures he took of TWO copperhead snakes he came upon. He said it looked like they were in the middle of some snake love when he interuppted them. When snakes do "It", they get all tangled up and wrapped around one another. Thank GOD I didn't happen upon the snake loving session. I hate snakes.

Back at our campsite, I plop down in the camp chair and pull out a vitamin water from the cooler and chit chat with Shrek while I wait for Boo to arrive. Once he gets in, we all decide to walk down to Bluff Mountain Outfitters. NO trip to Hot Springs is complete without a trip into Bluff Mountain Outfitters. hahaha! I walk in, ooohh and ahhhing all the new stuff and realize it's freaking HOT in there. Boo decides he can't handle the stuffiness, so he tells me he'll wait outside, then asks if I noticed that sales guys I always see has cut his hair. I look over and dredlock guy chopped off his locks! how sad :( I finally get what I'm there for. Some Dr. Bonners soap. This stuff is like magic. I can use it to wash my hair, wash my laundry, wash my face, clean my camp dishes, AND brush my teeth with. All this in one little bottle. I picked up the lavender scent for future backpack outings. Shrek and I meet up with Boo and I notice he's limping. He's ankle swelled up a bit, so we decide to take it easy the rest of the night.

We get back in time for the community hot dog dinner to pick our pokers and start grilling up some dogs over an open fire. I love cooking hot dogs this way. They seem to taste better cooked over an open flame. After dinner everyone breaks off into circles of conversations around the fire. Boo and I relax in the camp chairs, watch the fire, and talk for hours. Around 9pm, we decide to take a stroll into town just to keep from falling asleep. If you've ever been to Hot Springs, you know it's an itty bitty little town. So it didn't take us long to walk the entire length. We stopped in front of Rock Bottoms and listened to the live musician strumming his guitar and in true music snobbery, Boo had to let me know how the guy didn't play the song right and left out a bunch of notes and rifts. To the untrained ear, it sounded pretty good. hahaha! We got back to the campground and decided to hang by the fire some more til others start hitting their hammocks. I open up the brownies that Boo made and soon everyone is enjoying them. Around 10:30 pm, we call it a night and crawl into our hammocks just in time. It started to rain. I slept snug as a bug all night and didn't wake up til 7:30am. Around 8am, Boo nudges me out of the hammock. We pack up, say our good byes, and drive home in the rain. It rained all weekend long and regardless, I had a nice time in the woods. Til next time. GET OUTDOORS!!!

Hikng Hot Springs

At 10am Boo dropped me off at the Allen gap (2234 elevation) trial head. It was cloudy, raining, and cold. I was wearing my new waterproof jacket I bought from Campmor and I wanted to test it out. (I had on my hiking skirt, but changed into pants b/c it was just to chilly.) As I left for my 12 mile SOBO hike to Hot Springs, I turned around to wave at Boo one last time. He had the most pitiful look on his face. I knew he hated leaving me on the side of the road in the pouring rain, with no cell connection. I had to put on a brave front for him, cause honestly, I was a bit nervous/excited. I'm a fair weather hiker, so the combination of the cold rain and 12 miles of wilderness had me a bit nervous. But deep down inside I wanted to prove to myself that I could do this. I could solo section hike in the rain on the AT. So off I climbed. And that first climb was a LONG climb up. The rhododendrum's trees/bushes kept me pretty covered so I didn't get hit too hard with the rain and my jacket did its job just fine. (Love the jacket by the way!) I finally get to the top (3200), after several false tops, and it's still raining, I climb down the other side (2800) and over the course of the next three miles, I climbed up and down 2 more mountains. I reached the Sping Mountain shelter (3300) at 12:30pm just as the sun started to peek through the clouds. I stopped for a much needed a water and lunch break. I flipped through the shelter registery to find my my fav 2009 trailjournal thru-hikers (Gangsta and Wags) and read their entries. It was pretty surreal reading it. It was like a, "they DO exist!" moment. I lounged around for a 1/2 hour reading and munching on a banana and granola bar before packing up. I said good bye to a small mouse that was kept his eye on me, waiting for me to leave the shelter. I pushed on. I climbed up and down another mountain to Hurricane Gap (2234) where I crossed two roads (probably a forestry road leading up to the fire tower) then climbed up Rich Mountian(3670). WHAT A CLIMB!!! I felt like it took forever, but as soon as I got to the fire tower side trail I grinned and remembered the last time I was here. (I wanted so bad to continue down the AT, but was just out for a weekend NOBO backpacking up to the Fire Tower from Hot Springs. Well now I know know what's down that AT trail, cause I just SOBO hiked it!) As soon as I got there, that ridiculous LMFAO song "I'm in Miami Trick" started pouring out of my mouth. I had to laugh at myself for even remembering the lyrics. "When I walk on the seen, Ya'll know me, cause I walk with a limp, like an old school pimp, a real O.G."

Anyways.... why that song at that moment? Who know's, it's catchy though. I felt AWESOME that I got up that mountain and I just started singing, jumping, and dancing. Oh, you know I was dancing hard too! hahaha! Thank goodness know one was around. I didn't climb the fire tower side trail this time, cause I've done it before. So I continued on the AT to the Roundtop Ridge Mountain Trail intersection. I took a quick 15 minute water/snack break before hiking the last four miles into Hot Springs. The Roundtop Ridge Mountain trail is actually the old AT trail before it was moved. So I was hiking, as I like to call it, the AT Classic :) I decided to go this way b/c I was doing the Tanyard Gap to Lovers Leap section tomorrow. Anways, I think that LMFAO song got me pumped (or it could of been a hiking high) cause I flew down the rest of the trail, I even ran in some areas. I finally got to River Road, turned left, and walked 1/4 mile to the bridge in Hot Springs. I rolled into the campground at 4pm and spent the rest of the afternoon catching up with fellow hammock hangers. Since Boo and I were there for the South Eastern Hammock Hangers Association (SEHHA) hang out. It was nice to sit around the campfire (in the rain, cause it didn't let up) and hang out. Boo was relieved to see me and had told everyone that if I wasn't back by 8pm, there would be a search party in route to come find me. hahhaa! You can bet I slept good in my hammock that night too. Til next time. GET OUTDOORS!!!

Diva gear

I finally found it!

I found the cutest little hiking skirt (with some shorty shorts underneath) and I am now the owner of an "Official Diva" piece of gear. I love it! It's cute, comfy, and girlie. I found it on the Campmor site. It's made out of the same material as my hiking pants, that's probably b/c my hiking pants came from campmor too. :) I need a reason to test it out! This weekend I think I'm going hiking....
(review to come later)