Sprout Day 182 (Sunday, September 25, 2016)

We got to the campsite late last night and I didn't sleep the best. Our tent was on an incline and the people at the shelter were loud. On the weekend a lot of people go out and camp around McAfee Knob because it is such an iconic place and because it's only about 4 miles from the trailhead parking lot.

We woke up early today. My alarm went off at 4:45 and I got up and started to pack my things. The whole game plan was to get up to Mcafee Knob for the sunrise. We didn't get much of a sunrise because the fog was so heavy. We had a great time but there were so many people up at the Knob by the time it was light it was a little crazy. Someone got engaged up there and a lot of their friends hiked up for that and also a lot of day hikers were there. The weather was perfect for hiking so I couldn't blame them for wanting to get out for a hike.

Once we got down to the parking lot at Route 311 we called the Four Pines Hostel and they sent the dragon wagon to come get us. Blank, the driver, was at the hostel doing work for stay. The dragon wagon is an old astro van with a huge dragon painted on the side. Blank was nice he took us through the gas station before we went to the hostel.

Four pines has been great.  When we first got there we got our laundry together and took showers, it felt great to take a shower and we really needed one after the hot and humid week.

We went to a restaurant called Home Place and it was the best food I've had in a long time (probably one of the best restaurants I’ve ever been to). I wasn’t sure what to expect because it just looked like a huge house with a parking lot. It was an all you can eat southern cooking family style restaurant. I heard the fried chicken was the best around. We didn't have to wait too long for a table. We all had to decide what to get - the choices were two meats and a bunch of different sides to choose from. We ended up getting fried chicken and ham for the meat and mashed potatoes with gravy, green beans, biscuits, apple butter, and an apple cinnamon side. Everything was delicious but I will never forget the fried chicken, The fried chicken was so good it melted in your mouth and the sides were delicious. We also got cobbler and iv cream for dessert it was so good.

Day: 182
Miles hiked: 4.4
Total Miles hiked on the trail: 1486.6
Baby Bear: 1
Bald Eagle: 1
Bluegill: 2
Butterflies: 8
Chipmunks: 3
Cows: 24
Crawfish: 1
Deer: 20
Donkeys: 2
Grouse: 1
Horses: 15
Hummingbird: 1
Inchworm: 1
Really Big Dog: 1
Mice: 2
Moose: 2
Nest of bugs: 2
Newts: 2
Owl: 1
Rabbit: 1
Red Squirrel: 1
Skunk: 1
Snail: 1
Snake: 3
Squirrels: 12
Toads: 3
Trout: 2
Turkeys: 4
Turtles: 107
Vultures: 6
Woodpecker: 1

Sprout Day 91 (Sunday, June 26th, 2016) (NEED PICTURES)

We got back on the trail today after having a zero yesterday with Poppa Lip and Mb. The hotel stay and family time were amazing and much needed. Freddy, aka Flying Dutchman, came out to hike the trail with us. He's planning on staying until we summit Katahdin. We're excited to have him on our team!

We're at the same spot as Smudgy Cheeks so we're hoping all of us can stick together until we finish Maine and Katahdin. Flying Dutchman brought a backpacking guitar and he said he would try to teach me some songs. I'm excited to learn a few tunes, I've always loved the guitar.

We took it easy today to let Flying Dutchman adjust to the trail and to kind of get an idea of what a whole day consists of. There's a lot involved in backpacking. We did around 7 miles today. We plan on waking up early and getting on the trail to bust out some miles early in the day. We're going to try to do something around 15 miles tomorrow.

We woke up today and finished packing our backpacks at the hotel and all met for the breakfast buffet. I ate so much since I knew this would be the last meal I didn't have to cook for myself on a small stove and because who knows when I'll be at a buffet again, haha. I filled my pockets with to-go peanut butter and packets of honey too! We made our way to the trail and had to say our goodbyes to Poppa Lip and Mb.

Poppa Lip surprised us by showing up on Friday. He told us he had a golf outing he had to go to and wouldn't be able to make it! It was hard leaving them but also a little easier since Freddy was going to be with us now! We're so excited he's on the trail!! Whiskers took a zero with us and got to meet some of the family. It's always nice to introduce our trail family to our family. We're happy Whiskers is with us too because he's a great person to hike with and fun to be around. It makes it great hiking the trail with other people that are trying to accomplish the same goals.

We had an awesome weekend with everyone and ate so much, watched tv, swam, and soaked in the hot tub. Everything was perfect!

We're happy to be back on the AT and can't wait to get to New Hampshire.  The Whites are going to be tough but I know we can do this.  Especially if we stick together and help each other along the way.

Day: 91
Miles hiked: 7
Total Miles hiked on the trail: 814
Bears: 0
Bluegill: 2
Butterflies: 8
Chipmunks: 3
Cows: 24
Crawfish: 1
Deer: 20
Donkeys: 2
Horses: 12
Hummingbird: 1
Inchworm: 1
Really Big Dog: 1
Mice: 2
Nest of bugs: 2
Newts: 2
Owl: 1
Rabbit: 1
Skunk: 1
Snail: 1
Snake: 2
Squirrels: 11
Toads: 3
Trout: 2
Turkeys: 4
Turtles: 107
Vultures: 6
Woodpecker: 1