Appalachian Trail
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Damascus, VA and Biking the Creeper Trail
Day 129 Yesterday was a great day. Despite getting turned around and hiking the long direction, the ponies, views, and my campsite all made up for it. And now, today was another great day. Today is the day I hike into Damascus, VA. Damascus is famous on the AT because it is the home of Trail Days, a yearly celebration of the AT. Trail Days is practically one massive party that takes place in March, so most NOBOs get to be a part of it. Thru hikers from all years will come to Trail Days, and they have a massive parade of all the thru hikers from throughout the years.…
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Marion, VA & The Grayson Highlands
Anddddd we’re back. Can you believe it? I bet some of you gave up on my blog. But, as I told you, I will finish my AT story for you! Day 120 This morning I sadly left the gorgeous Woods Hole Hostel behind me. Tentatively, I walked south through the woods, nervous that at any moment, bees, hornets, wasps (you name it) would appear from the trees to chase me down and sting me once more… luckily I remained sting free and, after taking a short detour to Trent’s grocery store for some snackeronies (see below), I ended the day 20.8 miles down the trail. Day 121 Waking up the…
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It’s Not Bears We Should Fear, its the BEES
“NOT THE BEES” – a quote not only from Wicker man, but from Reset, AT FF ’23. Day #: 119 Total Miles Hiked: 1,572 mi. Miles Remaining: 625 mi. This post can originally be found on The Trek. Day 115 – VA 620 Trout Creek (1501.7) to Niday shelter (1510.6) – 8.9 miles The day I waved goodbye to my family, also turned out to be a day of thunderstorms. My mom drove me to VA 620 Trout Creek in the afternoon. There we hugged, and as she pulled away, I began my climb up a hill. At this point, the sky was dark and cloudy, but no rain had…
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The VA Triple Crown: my sketchiest stunts, lowest moral, and a much needed family visit
Day #: 111 Total Miles Hiked: 1,501 mi. Miles Remaining: 696 mi. The Virginia Triple Crown The Virginia Triple crown is pretty famous on the AT. In fact, it holds one of the icons and most recognizable points along the entire Appalachian Trail, McAfee Knob. McAfee Knob is also the most popular hike in Virginia’s Blue Ridge. Needless to say, I was excited to finally have reached it. Virginia’s Triple Crown has three main viewpoints: Tinker Cliffs, McAfee Knob and Dragon’s Tooth (from North to South), all between VA 652 and VA 620 (Trout Creek). Tinker Cliffs give hikers a stunning view for 0.2 miles as one hikes along Tinker…
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Thru Hiking on a Budget & Taking Advantage of Prime Day Deals!
Thru-hikers come from all different backgrounds. Not all of us need to hike on a budget, but if you’re interested, these are some tricks I’ve used while on the AT to save myself money. Originally posted on The Trek Saving Money on Trail Creative Ways To Use/Get More Money on Trail (please note that I am NOT A FINANCIAL ADVISOR) Take Advantage of Gear Sales, like Amazon Prime Day Coming Up! Speaking of budgeting, one great way to do so is to buy your gear when it is on sale! For many thru hikers, gear is probably the most expensive part of the entire cost of the trail, so I…
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South to Shenandoah + Trail Angels
Before Shenandoah Days 96, 97, 98, and 99, miles 1172.5 to 1229.2 (56.7 miles total). I took the train from Washington DC out to Harpers Ferry. On the train I ran into Geisha Girl who was planning on spending the night in Harpers Ferry. I then neroed out 4 miles to a campsite. Since I had just come from Maine where there was never ending water. I forgot that water was some thing that needed to be kept track of, and I learned that lesson hard when I got to the campsite and there was no water. I hiked from Harpers Ferry to Front Royal, averaging around 20 miles a…
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The Evolution of My Gear at the Half Way Point
If you ever want to hear a thru-hiker ramble on for an hour or two, just ask about their gear. Not to overexaggerate, because I’m not, but our gear is our life out here. We literally may live-or-die (okay that is a bit of an exaggeration) by our gear. Mainly though, what gear we choose will define how comfortable we are on the trail, and extreme discomfort can make or break our motivation to stay on and finish the trail. The main things I thought about when initially compiling my gear list were: quality, weight, cost, and quantity (not all are mutually exclusive, for example, higher quality tends to be…
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Trail Names
Many of you, my lovely readers, have requested hearing the stories of how thru-hikers obtained their trail names. Well, ask and you shall receive (some of the time at least)! I’ve reached out to some of the thru-hikers I met on the northern portion of my flip flop and asked them to tell the story of how they received their names. Thus, these stories are told from their point of view. I hope you enjoy! The ways in which a thru-hiker obtains a trail name can vary. As you will read, some came onto the trail with names already, either from previous thru-hikes, or life experiences. Others obtained their trail…
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Between the Flip & the Flop: Acadia, ER Visits, and Washington DC
This post can originally be found on The Trek, here. Emergency Room visits! I am lucky enough to know someone in Maine who was able to pick me up from Baxter State Park. Remember how I mentioned that I noticed a swelling, hot, and painful feeling in my cheek in one of my last posts? Well by this point, I was convinced it was an infection. So instead of heading home, I was taken straight to the ER from Katahdin. The doctor in the ER diagnosed it as an abscess which needed to be cut opened and drained. The now hole-in-my-cheek was then stuffed with a packing and bandaged Two…
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Katahdin
Day #: 89 Miles Since Last Update: 5 mi. Total Miles Hiked: 1,173 mi. Miles Remaining: 1,025 mi. This post can originally be found on The Trek, here. Going up Katahdin As I wrote in my previous post, my tramily was placed in the Abol campground in Baxter State Park. This campground is ~2 miles from the Hunt trailhead (the official AT trail up Katahdin to Baxter Peak). Most thru-hikers will opt to slackpack Katahdin, leaving the majority of their things at a ranger station, and climbing Katahdin with a daypack, typically taking the Hunt trail up, and the Abol trail is trail known for basically being a giant boulder…
