Sprout Day 221 (Friday, November 3, 2016)

Last night, when we were sleeping, all of us thought we might of heard a bear outside of our tents. Bubbles, Whiskers, Toad, and I are still hiking together. There was definitely something out there walking around and crunching on apples or nuts. It wasn't a squirrel, it was a lot bigger.   Regardless, nothing happened other than hearing something rustling around right outside the tent.

Not too long after we left camp this morning dogs started barking real close in the area and not too long after that we heard two gunshots echo close by.

We hiked 20.3 miles and we're staying at Standing Bear Hostel. We set our tent up outside along with Toad but Whiskers got a bunk inside. It's supposed to rain tonight but I'm not too worried about it. As soon as we got here we set up camp and got a pizza from the hostel. They have a small resupply store but we have plenty of food. They sell frozen pizza and drinks and after a long day of hiking both of those sounded fantastic. Splat, another hiker we've been hiking around the past few days was here and some other section hikers. Two of the section hikers were from Akron and Massillon area. It's a small world and we couldn’t believe we saw someone from back home tonight.

We are basically camping at the base of the climb up to the Smoky Mountains and it’s unbelievable. All day I was getting a little view here and there of the climb that waits for us in the morning. It looks a little intimidating but I know we will we be fine. There's nothing the trail can throw at us at this point that we can't handle and I'm actually excited to get into the Smokies. We're probably going to see a lot more bears since there's no hunting in the Smoky Mountains. I'm going to be sure to hang my food bag a little higher and a little further out for the next week.

We got up early and got out of camp around 6:30. It felt good to get up, get breakfast on, and get packed and ready before the sun came up. It was nice making cowboy coffee today too. It hit the spot before we had to start hiking for the day. When I make cowboy coffee it reminds me of being a kid and spending time at Nanny and Papaw’s house. Nanny would always make coffee in the morning for Papaw using a French press, or something similar, and make it on the stove. It would make the whole house smell more like coffee than a regular coffee pot would. When I get the water boiling, and dump the grounds in, a huge steam full of the smell of coffee hits me right in the face. It always reminds me of being younger and spending time at their house.

We crossed over Max Patch today. It was awesome to be there. I remember watching videos back home last winter of other thru hikers hiking over this section. It's a huge bald area right before the Smoky Mountains. The views are some of the finest on the Appalachian Trail. It was a little cloudy, and the wind was blowing, but it was a beautiful 360 degree view.

We're only about 51 miles from being a 2000 miler and it's just overwhelming to think about! I'm really proud of how far we've made it and couldn't imagine being here with anyone else other than my best friend, Bubbles. It's great how well we help each other out and help each other accomplish so much while being out here.

Tomorrow our plan is to wake up early and make some breakfast and get moving. The problem is it's already 1:00 a.m. and I need to get to sleep so I can get up early and not be so tired. If it's raining hard in the morning we might sleep a little longer to see if it passes. It's going to be a tough climb tomorrow but I'm just happy we start first thing and get it over with! We got to take a shower today here at Standing Bear and I'm ready to get back on the grind tomorrow. We're just trying to finish  strong! 

Day: 221
Miles hiked: 25.7
Total Miles hiked on the trail: 1953.9
Baby Bear: 1
Bald Eagle: 1
Bear: 1
Bluegill: 2
Butterflies: 8
Chickens: 15
Chipmunks: 3
Cows: 24
Crawfish: 1
Deer: 21
Donkeys: 2
Groundhog: 1
Grouse: 1
Horses: 17
Hummingbird: 1
Inchworm: 1
Really Big Dog: 1
Mice: 2
Moose: 2
Nest of bugs: 2
Newts: 2
Owl: 1
Peacock: 1
Rabbit: 1
Red Squirrel: 1
Skunk: 1
Snail: 1
Snake: 3
Squirrels: 12
Toads:
Trout: 2
Turkeys: 4
Turtles: 107
Vultures: 6
Woodpecker: 1

Sprout Day 192 (Wednesday, October 5, 2016)

Woke up early but it was cooooooold so it took a few extra minutes to get moving and to get the motivation to get out of the sleeping bag!  We were planning on getting up at 5:00 or earlier but I ended up deflating the air mattress at 5:30. The sun isn’t rising until around 7:30 so I needed my headlamp.  The usual routine took place, I got up and put in a lot of water for breakfast and started taking the food bags down.  We had a couple packs of oatmeal and a lot of cowboy coffee for breakfast.

We set up camp 0.6 miles before Doc Knob Shelter and we had to stop there for water.  We were out of water and the next water source after Doc Knob was nine miles down the trail.  It took a little longer than expected there because the water source was a puddle in between a couple of big rocks.  You could hear the water flowing under the rocks but with this dry season all we had was the pool.  It was cold and clear so no complaints from us.

We had a good day overall.  There were a few climbs but nothing we haven't seen before.  The last half of the day was down a big decline and then relatively flat after that.  We hiked 16.3 miles and are staying at Dismal Falls Campsite. We plan on doing a little over 18 miles tomorrow and staying at Helveys Mill Shelter tomorrow night.  We heard from a couple of Northbounders that it is supposed to start raining tonight at midnight, then stop at some point, and rain during the early morning and most of the day tomorrow.  It made sense to just enjoy today for what it was and stay at Dismal Falls instead of pushing any further. If it's going to rain tomorrow we're going to get wet and there's nothing we can do.  At least we know it's only for one day.  We're getting picked up Saturday morning and we're going to be pretty close after hiking tomorrow. 

I think on the way out of here we're going to go to this store down the road called Trents. Hopefully we can get something good to drink and maybe a little treat to get us through the day since it's going to be bad weather.  Not sure what time we're getting up tomorrow.  I guess it all depends on how hard and if it is raining in the morning.  Fingers crossed we get up and it's still dry.  I'd like to be able to put everything away and keep the tent dry!  We've been getting bigger miles in lately and it feels good.  After we go to Works farmhouse on Saturday we’re probably going to try to start getting as close to 20 a day as we can.  I love being on the AT but I think it's time we get home and spend some time with family right before the holidays.  It's been a crazy ride and we still have a lot of miles left.  I’m excited to see what the rest of Virginia is like and really excited for the Smoky Mountains!

Day: 192
Miles hiked: 16.5
Total Miles hiked on the trail: 1584.4
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 178 (Wednesday, September 21, 2016)

We woke up at 5:45 a.m. and made breakfast and cowboy coffee. It was dark and the moon was still out so we grabbed our headlamps and started our daily routine. Once I've 100% decided I'm getting up for the day I sit up and immediately let the air out of my mattress. I have a quick release valve so when I open it there's no turning back! As soon as I get dressed I go grab the food bags and start boiling water. I usually have enough time to get most of my gear packed while the water is boiling and the coffee is settling.

It was a little cold this morning until the sun came up. We ended up going 12 miles to Cove Mountain Shelter. There's not any water for a good little stretch so we had to pack water up to the shelter a few miles and there's not going to be any for 6 miles tomorrow.

We packed up plenty for dinner and breakfast in the morning and enough to drink on until the next water source. Our packs were a little heavier towards the end of the day but we have to have water. We want to get up early tomorrow and get as far as we can because we still have 25 miles to Daleville.

Day: 178
Miles hiked: 11.9
Total Miles hiked on the trail: 1444.2
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: 2
Squirrels: 12
Toads: 3
Trout: 2
Turkeys: 4
Turtles: 107
Vultures: 6
Woodpecker: 1

Sprout Day 175 (Sunday, September 18, 2016)

Today we hiked 12.7 miles and we're staying at Matts Creek Shelter. It was a good day with only a couple of big climbs and one really big decline. The last four miles was kind of flat and was a great hiking trail.

We got up early at 6:00 a.m., before the sun rose, and made oatmeal and a pot of cowboy coffee. It was 8:00 a.m. by the time we cleaned, got packed, and were ready to go. We were going to go a little further than the Matts Creek Shelter but when we got into cell service area we saw it was supposed to rain at 7 off and on and throughout the night. We wanted to stay close to a shelter in case it rained too hard.

There are not many people on the trail down here right now. There is one other hiker at the shelter tonight, a girl in a hammock going south. I think she said she started in New Hampshire. We also met a nice day-hiker about a mile and a half from the shelter. He said he was planning on southbounding from Maine to his home town here in Virginia next year with his wife.

During our hike today we crossed the James River on the James River footbridge. At almost 1000 feet long it's the longest bridge on the Appalachian Trail. We heard from a couple different people and saw a sign about how bears have been a problem in this area in the recent weeks.

We heard the shelter we were wanting to stay at tomorrow has had bad problems with a bear coming around the shelter. All it takes is one hiker to not hang their food, or get too careless with their pack, and it ruins it for others behind them. Once a bear gets food from one person the bear associates people with food. We'll see how tomorrow goes and how tomorrow night is with the possible bear in the area. Maybe we will be able to go past the next shelter and get a little further down the trail!

Hopefully it isn't raining when we get up in the morning because I want to try to get out of bed early to make breakfast again. I'd like to get on the trail a couple hours earlier tomorrow.

Day: 175
Miles hiked: 12.7
Total Miles hiked on the trail: 1412.4
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: 2
Squirrels: 12

Toads: 3
Trout: 2
Turkeys: 4
Turtles: 107
Vultures: 6
Woodpecker: 1

Sprout Day 70 (Sunday, June 5th, 2016)

We had a rough start to the day because today was the day we separated from Mountain Man and Karma. It was time for their journey to take them down a different path and they decided to get off the trail and rent a car to travel the United States. We completely understand where they are coming from and wish them the best of luck! It's going to be weird not hiking with them because we've done almost 300 miles together on the AT. I know we will see them again in the future and look forward to it!

We got up and made one last batch of cowboy coffee and ate a small breakfast before parting ways. We lost Mountain Man and Karma but we sort of gained a new partner, Whiskers. We have been hiking together for the past few days and we hope it continues.

The terrain was steep up and down all day and it was slippery because the rocks were wet and there were a lot roots too. The roots are extra slippery so you really have to watch your step here. Earlier, right before a squeeze (the trail runs through boulders which have cracked in half) we took shelter right next to a big rock over hang. It was a perfect spot to stay dry and, while the heavy rain passed, we had lunch. I had two packs of tuna with crackers and an apple.

Wet trail today

View from the trail

Bubbles is watching her step!

Bubbles on the trail

It felt good getting to camp. We were happy we did 12 miles today. That puts us closer to Salisbury, we have 9.6 miles tomorrow. It will feel amazing to get a shower and to wash our laundry. When we arrived at camp today it was raining so hard. There wasn't too much we could do about it so we just set the tent up and made dinner. Our tent was soaked but we managed to dry off and get into some dry clothes. Hopefully the sun is shining tomorrow and we can dry out!

Day: 70
Miles hiked: 15.3
Total Miles hiked on the trail: 627.7
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

Bubbles Day 70 (Sunday, June 5th, 2016)

Today we got up and had our last pot of coffee with Mountain Man and Karma. It was a very difficult morning for me. I packed my things slowly and headed over to wake my trail family up to all have coffee together and say our goodbyes. When it was time to go I hugged Mountain Man and Karma. When Karma and I hugged I started to cry, and not the graceful one tear down your cheek cry, but an ugly Kim Kardashian cry (if you don't know what that means type in Kim kardashian crying on Google).  When I hugged Karma I could feel how much she loves me and I hope she felt my love too.  We hugged tight and long and then some more!  Then I turned and walked out onto the Appalachian trail, softly sobbing.  I felt like I left a big chunk of my heart with them. I literally experienced heartache. I don't think I can explain how close we got. I don't think unless you have long distance hiked, that you can fully understand the friendships.  The trail brings all sorts of people together that may have never interacted in the "real world" but we all share a common goal out here.  We all go through the same problems.  And knowing that I am not going to be sharing these experience with two members of my trail family hurts.

Mountain Man, Karma, Bubbles, Sprout, and Whiskers last morning together

As soon as we got on trail it started to rain. I told Karma the gods were weeping today because we were splitting up. I cried as much as the sky did, I couldn't help it.  Whiskers hiked with us today and that made me feel a little better and I tried not to cry as much in front of him. We are grateful to be hiking with him. It makes it easier.

I love the wildflowers on the trail

Moss covered rocks

Whiskers traversing a stream

When it really started to rain hard we sat under an overhang of rocks right before a cracked boulder on the trial (it’s similar to the Lemon Squeezer)  Robby, Whiskers, and I ate some food and relaxed, trying to wait out the rain.

The rain didn't let up. When we got to the campsite it started to rain even harder.  Putting up a tent in a torrential downpour is a challenge.  We figured it out by putting the rainfly up first and then got underneath and put up tent.  Everything was wet.  I sat on a hemlock stump and cooked dinner.  Water was streaming off both of my knees and the hood of my jacket like I was a gutter.  I was laughing until the Lightning started. Then, I started to get scared!  Not because of the lightning, but because I looked up and all the trees were swaying way too hard for me. I thought to myself "I'm going to die tonight"  We didn't die though and the rain let up.  I went to bed thinking of my dear friends and how much I missed them.

Sprout Day 40 (Friday, May 6th, 2016)

When we got to Windsor Furnace Shelter last night we decided to set the tent up since it wasn't raining yet.  The forecast called for rain all evening but we had not seen any (yet.)  It also didn't rain too much throughout the night, a little sprinkle a couple of times but nothing we couldn't handle.  I was happy to wake up in the morning to find it not raining.  I had enough time to get the main part of our tent under the shelter before the heavy rain hit.

We left our backpacks in the shelter last night just to be safe. It's nice to have our Switzerland friends with us, Mountain Man and Karma are such good people and great company.  We woke up and had cowboy coffee together, (we bought two packs of coffee in our last resupply.)

We started walking and it was raining pretty much all day.  I was hoping to get through the rocks with as little rain as possible but there's no stopping Mother Nature. I felt like Forrest in Forrest Gump.  It rained and it rained and it rained!  Not only was it raining but it was a cold rain.  Maggie and I walked with our Switzerland friends most of the day.  It's nice to be on the same schedule as Karma and Mountain Man because it's fun to hike with them.

We made pretty good time and got to Eckville Shelter around 2 and had plenty of time to dry our gear. I made a clothes line with my paracord and hung out clothes to dry.  I also got our rain fly for our tent and hung it in the rafters.  It's a nice shelter that sits right behind the caretaker's house. There's a clean water source and a shed with a solar shower and a flushing toilet!

As soon as we got to the shelter the four of us were trying so hard to find a pizza shop that would deliver or find a ride to go get pizza.  We weren't having any luck but right when I was about to make a dehydrated meal the caretaker came out and saved the day.  He offered to take us to pick up some pizza!  We were all so happy, especially because it's Friday night and we were going to have a pizza party!  Two other thru hikers showed up and a NoBo from Harper's Ferry was with us too.

The rocks in Pa keep getting more and more intense. I guess they're just going to keep getting worse.  They're a real pain the closer you get to New Jersey.  We passed the pinnacle today, the highest spot in Berks County Pennsylvania. I guess it started off being 7 rocks that the trail maintainers placed a long time ago and it has eventually turned into a huge cairn of rocks and is the highest point in PA.

I'm happy to say that even though it rained all day we had a great time and made the best of the situation.  No matter what the weather is doing it’s important to always have a good time and enjoy every minute of this journey. I don't have a lot of pictures because, even though I was told to get a waterproof phone, I thought for sure my Five and Below case and a ziplock bag would work great.

Eckville Shelter

We are drying all of our clothes in here!!!

Day:  40

Miles hiked:  9.1

Total Miles hiked on the trail:  370.7

Bears:   0

Butterfly:  8

Chipmunk:  3

Cows:  24

Crawfish:  1

Deer:  20

Horses:  12

Inchworm:  1

Really Big Dog:  1

Mouse:  2

Nest of bugs:  1

Newt:  1

Rabbit:  1

Skunk:  1

Snail:  1

Snake:  1

Squirrels:  11

Toad:  1

Trout:  2

Turkeys:  4

Turtles:  107

Vulture:  6

Woodpecker:  1

Bubbles Day 20 (Saturday, April 16th)

We woke up today and got ready to go.  We broke down our tent down, packed our food bags, and packed our bags.  We were ready to put our bags on our backs and leave Porterhouse when we decided that we were going to take our first true zero today!  We wanted to spend more time with Porterhouse.  We knew it was going to throw our schedule off but we didn’t care.  We need the physical and mental rest.  We made Porterhouse his first cowboy coffee and he is now a cowboy coffee fanatic!

I made a cup of coffee for T-Bone because he said he was really missing coffee.  We didn’t have any extra cups so we improvised and cut a can in half!  It worked out perfect.

Porterhouse and Sprout decided they needed supplies from Walmart so they left and I went to get water from the spring.  I washed some of my clothes (away from the spring).  While I was washing clothes I saw Quarter Mile leaving.  We had a nice talk.  She’s a super nice person and I really want to keep in touch with her.  Shout out to Quarter Mile!!  Love you girl!

When the boys got back Porterhouse had champagne, strawberries, and orange juice for mimosas, chai tea, epson salt, and a big pot to heat up water.  He said I was having a Bubbles Spa Day.  Talk about tranquility!!

We had the Mimosas, bacon, and eggs.  They were all divine!!  The guys also came back with a pork tenderloin for dinner and Coney dogs for an appetizer!  Anyone who knows me knows how much I love a coney dog.

I tried to soak my feet last night but my pot was way too small to heat up enough water.  By the time I had hot water in my pot, the water in the bin was cold.  When they went to Walmart Porterhouse bought me Epson salt and a big pot so I could soak my feet.  It was AAAmmaazzing!!  Porterhouse knew that my feet were hurting so he got all these things and called it my spa day!  What a great big brother!

After doing laundry I fell asleep next to the fire and the boys ate my third of the pork tenderloin and my corn on the cob!!  Typical!!

We had fun and spent the day laughing like old times.

Porterhouse busted out of his $10 Walmart sleeping bag!

Making cowboy coffee

T-Bone and Porterhouse

Porterhouse and T-Bone

Porterhouse, Bubbles, and T-Bone

Pine Knob Shelter

Bacon for breakfast!!

Spa Day Mimosas

Doing laundry

Eggs and bacon for breakfast

Spa day foot soak

Face Timing Rachel

Sunset after a great day!

Porterhouse and Sprout loving life!!

I love a Coney Dog!!!

Bubbles Day 15 (Monday, April 11th) Rollar Coaster Day 2!

We thought it might rain so we covered our packs today

We love to come up on streams

We've got to be really careful on these rocks to not roll an ankle!

Crazy that we had to walk over a highway on the trail!  (70 miles an hour!)

I slept really hard in the shelter and woke up happy and ready to finish the roller coaster.

The second day of the roller coaster was difficult and it took us almost six hours to complete.  After the roller coaster we still had about seven more miles to hike until we reached the next shelter.  We passed the Bear Den Hostel which made me think of Ox and how he stayed there.

Sprout and I hiked together for almost the entire day.  He walked ahead a little bit but would wait for me at the top of each hill/ mountain and in the valley on the trial.  After I passed the Virginia to West Virginia line I ran up the end of the mountain with John Denver’s Country Roads screaming, “We made it, we crossed a state line!”  Sprout was like, “What?  We did.”  He totally missed the sign!!!  I was going to walk down the hill with him to get a picture of him with the sign but he said that is okay, and we hiked on!

Half a state down...13.5 to go!

Was Poppa Lip on the trail with us?  Nice finger Sprout!

Directions to hostel on a tree

Flowers on the trail, aren't they cute?

When we were about three miles from camp I was tired and I needed some energy to get me to the shelter.   I stopped to make some coffee and Sprout went ahead. He wanted to get to camp to set up our tents and start to filter water.

Sprout and I finished the Roller Coaster together!!

Cowboy Coffee

Such a beautiful view

I'm not sure if this is a moth or butterfly but it is so cool!

After the Roller Coaster the trail became super easy and was so nice.  There was the perfect amount of wind.  The paths were covered in pine needles and it made the path like a pillow.  I was thankful for that as my feet are hurting!  I definitely think I need a bigger boot size.  My actual foot doesn’t hurt it’s really my toes.  I think they are getting scrunched.

I finally got my hiker hunger today.  I had a tortilla with peanut butter and crushed up cookie on it and it was delicious!

I’m thankful we are staying at the David Lessor Memorial Shelter tonight because it is absolutely beautiful.  There is even a porch swing hanging in the pavilion.  I’m excited to walk into Harper’s Ferry tomorrow.  This is the first town that we will walk through on the trail.  How cool would it be to live in a town where the AT actually comes through!!

Even though this is hazy I thought the evergreen was beautiful

The Sprout Day 6

Waiting for Bubbles

Here she is!

I woke up to the alarm around 5:00 a.m. and looked up from my sleeping bag.  It was raining. I immediately laid right back down and thought to myself, “I’m not walking in the rain this early, lol!”  Maggie woke up about an hour later and it was still raining so we both decided to wait it out.  

One of the Gaps

We got on the trail around 9:00 a.m. when the rain had pretty much stopped.  It was the perfect chance to get moving.  We had our rain gear on so now I know my pack cover doesn't leak!  We did 11 miles today.  We have a ton of miles to go but I think 65 is pretty good for our 6th day.

We are all happy we have each other for support out here!

After trying the cowboy coffee or jet fuel (another name White Walkers gave it) I threw the funnel and filters away.  More space, less weight is the motto out here!

Two Best Friends

Even with the rain most of the morning coals were still hot so we just made coffee over the fire. We had a raging fire last night!  This was the hut we stayed at on our shakedown hike a few months ago and heard a bear.   This time we were here with other people, plus White Walkers dogs would have chased off any bear that tried to come around camp.  A few hikers camping up the hill said they saw some sort of scratching post!  There was definitely a bear in that area but we didn't hear him last night.  I saw 6 deer today right on the trail.

Happy to be camping with Maggie

Brotherly Love!

2 more deer for the count

So far the average hiking day for us has been waking up early, getting into our hiking clothes, grabbing our food bags, and getting on the trail.  We've been walking a few miles and then stopping for breakfast.  While eating we make a game plan for the day and get moving. It’s better to get down the trail, especially if there are other campers in the hut. We're probably going to start to use our tents more but we've already planned the first couple hundred miles and we basically just planned hut to hut.  Then, once we get to camp we start to filter water. We always fill our platypus in our backpacks for the next day first.  We hike with 3 liters of water (I think that's 6 pounds) and we usually filter 9 more liters for cooking and drinking water while we're at camp. Next, we make dinner and we set up our tents, or if we're sleeping in the hut, we just put our sleeping pads and sleeping bags out.  Finally, we organize our bags and get our sleeping clothes ready. 9:00 p.m. is hiker's midnight!  Then we remember to check our bag for food wrappers from the day's hike, hang our food bags and go to bed!

Hanging our Food Bags (with other hikers also) 

Baba Ganoosh enjoying the views

Very Peaceful out here

Day:  6
Miles hiked:  11.6

Miles off trail to shelter:  0

Total Miles hiked on the trail:  66.4

Blisters:  0

Real Bears:   0

Deer:  11

Squirrels:  8

Chipmunk:  1

Snail:  1

I have no idea what this is.  Hopefully one of the Three Amigo's can explain it later!