Sprout Day 219-220 (Tuesday & Wednesday, November 1-2, 2016)

We hiked a little over 13 miles to get in to Hot Springs. It was a tough hike because it was hot and humid and the terrain was rough. Coming down into town was really rocky. It's crazy because the weather is unseasonably hot right now but it can change at anytime. One day it's hot and the next it's cold. We've heard from northbound hikers that there was snow in the Smokies last week.

We hiked out of Hot Springs today and went another 13 miles. We are staying at Walnut Mountain Shelter. We're staying up the hill from the shelter and can see the Smokies from here! It's amazing to see what we're about to climb. The climb into the smokies is ridiculous.

Hot Springs was a great trail town. As soon as we walked into town we stopped by the local pub, I think the name was Spring Creek Tavern, for burgers and a drink. It was really good. We had to go next door to the Outfitters to get our permit for the Smokies. You have to get online, pay $20, and print off a piece of paper and carry it with you to the Smokies. After that we went down to the Laughing Heart Hostel and paid $10 to tent outside. Then, we picked up our resupply package.

There's a really good local market that makes good subs so we each got a sub, ate half, and packed the other half out today for lunch. We were planning on leaving Laughing Heart early today but we forgot we had to send stuff home and had to wait on the post office to open. They didn't open until 9:00 a.m. After the post office one thing lead to another and we didn't get out of town until around 11:00.

It was a tough climb out of Hot Springs and the heat didn't help. Since it's November we saw a bunch of bear hunters out today with their dogs. We were sitting at the top of the first climb, eating the other half of that sub, and saw a dog walking down trail. He had a couple GPS collars on so we knew it was someone's hunting dog. Not too long after that we heard a bunch of dogs barking and howling and knew they were on a bear. About an hour later we saw two hunters walking up the trail and I stopped to talk to them for a minute. They said they've killed 7 bears in the past 2 days and that they'll get at least 45 this year. They're only allowed one bear per hunter but they hunt in big groups and everyone helps each other out. They said the dogs have been on two bears today. We will see a lot of bears in the smokies because they're protected there. No hunting in the Smokies. I bet all the bears around here are making a run for the Smoky Mountains!

Water has been so dry lately so we had Poppa Lip send us some Aquamira drops for when there's just stagnant water. If there's not too much flow, and the water looks nasty, I'd rather filter and chemically treat it. Plus there are two hikers about a day in front of us who had the norovirus. It doesn’t matter what filter you have it - won't filter out noro. It has to be chemically treated it too. I don't want either of us to get sick this late in the hike. We have to finish strong and to do that we need to be healthy.

Day: 219-220
Miles hiked: 25.7
Total Miles hiked on the trail: 1933.9
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

Flying Dutchman Day 3 (Tuesday, June 28th, 2016)

Today we climbed to Killington Peak and went to a ski lodge.  There was running water, toilets, and several spots where we could plug in our phones.  While relaxing in the ski resort it began to rain heavily and we had a great view being on the second highest peak in Vermont. 

During the hike today the climb was rocky and I had to pay attention closely.  I fell one time when I tired to go on top of one rock.  I learned never to go on top of a rock but to look for a seem in which I can put my foot in order to prevent slipping. 

We also met some cool hikers.  One couple was from Southern Florida.  After being in the ski resort we hung around in the Cooper Lodge Shelter and I played a couple of songs.  

Me climbing up rocks

Selfie on top of Killington Peak

Whiskers, Sprout, and Bubbles at the Ski Resort

Playing songs in the shelter after our hike today

Day: 3
Miles hiked: 4.3
Total Miles hiked on the trail: 32.9

Smudgy Cheeks Day 48 (Saturday, May 14) 369.6 miles total

I hiked 10 miles today out of Pennsylvania and into New Jersey.  It was a nice hike but it was also a little bit rocky today on top of the mountains.  There were great views though and I ran into a lot of backpacking Boy Scouts.

Welcome to New Jersey

So Beautiful

360 degree view, PA on the left, NJ on the right

Sprout Day 45 (Wednesday, May 11th, 2016)

It's been great hiking the trail.  Even though Pennsylvania has been extremely rocky we never lost the determination and drive to keep going.  We came up on a lookout earlier today, I stopped to enjoy the view and had time to sit and think and just look at my surroundings.

There's a fire ban in Pennsylvania because it's been dry and wildfires have been along the trail. I can't wait until we can have a fire again! I love having a campfire.

This has been a great experience so far and I'm excited to see what obstacles lie ahead of us. No matter what, if we stick together we will be fine!  I feel like we're a strong team and can accomplish anything we put our minds towards!

View from the trial today

910.1 miles to Katahdin!!

Rockin' the trail!

Day:  45

Miles hiked:  13.8

Total Miles hiked on the trail:  421.9

Bears:   0

Butterflies:  8

Chipmunks:  3

Cows:  24

Crawfish:  1

Deer:  20

Horses:  12

Inchworm:  1

Really Big Dog:  1

Mice:  2

Nest of bugs:  2

Newt:  1

Porcupine: 1

Rabbit:  1

Skunk:  1

Snail:  1

Snake:  1

Squirrels:  11

Toads:  2

Trout:  2

Turkeys:  4

Turtles:  107

Vultures:  6

Woodpecker:  1

Smudgy Cheeks Day 43 (Monday, May 9) 325.4 miles total

I hiked 6.8 miles to the next shelter.  Today was perfect weather.  It was also rocky but not like it was yesterday which was a nice change of pace.  I'm glad I'm at the shelter so that I can relax for the rest of the day.

Cool curvy tree

Awesome landcape

Ahhhh, no rocks on the trail!

Thought this was a cool sign

Smudgy Cheeks Day 39 (Thursday, May 5) 292.1 miles total

I hiked six miles to the next shelter out of Port Clinton, PA.  It was up hill most of the day.  The saddest thing happened on the trail today.  I stopped at a Wawa and bought a sub.  I strapped it onto my pack and took off.  I must not have strapped it down tight enough because it dropped off my pack somewhere on the trail.  I'm sad.  Oh well, I'm going to relax and wait for the rest of the Amigos to get here.

I thought this was a cool tree

You can barely see Port Clinton through the trees

Very rocky

Smudgy Cheeks Day 38 (Wednesday, May 4) 286.4 miles total

I hiked nine miles into Port Clinton, PA today.  It was very rocky again. The first thing I had to do was to take a shower and do laundry.  I smell like a high school football team locker room after a hard fought battle on the football field because of all of this rain.  I'm going to relax with Tricks and the other two Amigos.  There is a pavilion here where we can camp for free.  Awesome!!

Such a great burger!!

Time for the fries!

Smudgy Cheeks Day 36 (Monday, May 2) 262.3 total miles

I hiked four miles to the 501 Shelter today.  It's starting to get very rocky.  There are boulders you have to actually hike through on the trail!  I got a shuttle ride into town (Pine Grove, PA) to get some food!  I went to McDonald's and got a Big Mac, two cheeseburgers, a McDouble, a McChicken, and a large fry!  Hiker hunger is real!!  I'm stuffed and ready for bed!

French and Indian War history!

Trail History

Wish it wasn't Monday so I can order pizza, they deliver to the shelter!

The 501 Shelter was pretty cool!

You can see more of the shelter here.  It was nice to be in an enclosed shelter.

On the trial today

Smudgy Cheeks Day 30 (Tuesday, April 26) 211.8 miles total

We walked 7.3 miles to the hut.  It was a great downhill climb until I realized that I ran out of water (for the third time!)  To make matters worse the mountain I had to climb up took forever.  It felt like it kept going up forever, then it got very rocky.  At the top of the mountain there was a pipeline that I had to walk over.  It was weird!

Now that I'm at the shelter I'm going to spend the rest of the day suntanning, hydrating, and taking it easy.

I love the little bridges over little streams

It was a beautiful day

Some of the trail looked like it would make a perfect puzzle

Suntanning at the shelter

Refilling my water after I ran out!