Smudgy Cheeks Day 41 (Saturday, May 7) 308.6 miles total

I hiked 7.4 miles to the next shelter.  There were a lot of rocks and boulder fields to walk over.  It's starting to make my feet stronger.  I can tell that my muscles in my feet are changing.  Early today it was mostly cloudy and rainy but it cleared up as I walked up a big mountain hill today.

Protein, just kidding

No problem, I'm getting good at these rock scrambles!

Blurry because of the rain

Smudgy Cheeks Day 40 (Friday, May 6th, 2016) 301.2 miles total!!

I hiked nine miles today in the cold rain.  The clothes I hike in are wet now.  I'm going to try to dry them.  I'm also going to charge up my electronics for the rest of the day.  I'm happy I hit 300 miles today!  This is such an accomplishment.  We are also hanging out with Tricks again tonight.

It's hard to hike up rock scrambles in the rain.

You've got to watch for double blazes.  That means the trail is going to turn soon!

The Sprout Day 7 (Sunday, April 3rd)

This sign is about 190 miles off!

Last night was a very cold night!  We heard that it was -5 degrees with the windchill. I woke up last night around 12-1 to the sound of rain.  I jumped up and got my bag because the rain was coming into the hut sideways.  I didn't want all of my gear to get wet.  It turned to sleet and then snow.  We were lucky because the rain, sleet, and snow didn't blow into the shelter (the hut is pretty open to the elements.)

Last night was the first night I was really comfortable in my mummy bag.  It was so cold that I didn't even think about unzipping and stretching my legs out.  I can't wait until the day I get rid of the sleeping bag and use a light blanket.

There was one hiker with us last night and a bunch of Boys Scouts camping at the campsites near the shelter.  It was so windy last night that two of their tents blew over!  I think I'm going to start setting up our tent every night, even if we do sleep in a shelter.   It's a good backup plan in case it starts raining.

A group of the Boy Scouts

After we started hiking today we all warmed up pretty quick.  We had a really good view today on top of Stony Man Mountain. You can see so far and there are a few little towns in the different valleys.  We came across our first rock scramble today too!

Baba Ghanoush helping Bubbles find a firm spot for her feet.

Stony Man Mountain Overlook

The Three Amigo's on Stony Man Mountain Overlook

The Sprout and Baba Ghanoush

Our first rock scramble

Bubbles and The Sprout

In the second half of our day we went to Skyland Resort.  It is a really nice place!  We sat and had a roast beef sandwich.  I bet they are used to hikers coming in to refuel but this place was really nice and there were not many hikers around at the time.  We had cell service so we were able to get ahold of everyone and we were able to charge our phones and battery packs.  After a long cold night, it was nice to sit down, eat, and get all of our plans ready for the next few days.

The Three Amigos enjoying our sandwiches at Skyland Resort.

Time to sit and let our feet rest!

A spring to refresh our empty Platypi!

Bear Bag Pole.  Needs to be 100-200 feet away from camp, 10 feet up, and 4 feet out

Our tent is set up so that we can throw our packs into the tent if it rains tonight (when the rain comes in sideway the hut doesn't keep us dry!!) Byrd's Nest Shelter #3

Day:  7

Miles hiked:  10.9

Miles off trail to shelter:  0

Total Miles hiked on the trail:  76.9

Blisters:  0

Real Bears:   0

Deer:  11

Squirrels:  8

Chipmunk:  1

Snail:  1