Month: March 2016

So we’ve made it into Fontana Lake and are staying at the Fontana Lake Resort and Lodge. It was a five day trek from Franklin, but it sure feels like it was longer than that. It’s funny how the days out here feel – something that happened just the day before might feel like it was a month ago.

The first day out of Franklin we took really slow and easy. We had heavy packs and the weather was looking grim for the evening. We decided to stay at the Siler Bald Shelter, just 4.2 miles in. This is where we met Bailey and Josh, siblings who decided to thru-hike. We’ve been running into them daily since then. They’re from Colorado and make some of the best food I’ve seen backpacking, the whole camp is always envious. We got to the shelter by about 2, this was after a rather lazy morning in Franklin. I’m glad we decided to stay there because not long after we got there the weather got worse. It started with rain, then sleet, next was hail, and finally it just snowed. The forecast was for 1-2″ and that’s about what we got. Not enough that we had to post hole the next morning, but it was still a winter wonderland. We all stayed in the shelter, accompanied by Josh, Bailey, and Tetris. We’ve run into Tetris a few times, I like him. He carries a snoopie doll as a mascot, something that makes everyone smile. It was a cold night, but I did learn a trick. If you heat water to a near boil and put it in a Nalgene bottle, you have a hot water bottle. Stick it between your knees and you femoral artery will carry the heat all throughout your body. It works wonders until the water is cold and you’re just keeping it warm.

The next day was a lot of work. The downhills were slow because you had to be careful with your footing, and it was just cold in general. The high was about 38, so it was definitely the coldest backpacking I’ve ever done. My feet stayed nice and warm despite periodically being submerged in snow. We got to Cold Springs Shelter which only slept 6, all spots were taken. We got a nice spot on the ridge above the shelter, and wind wasn’t too bad. I was still cold though. My water bottle didn’t freeze though, but I suspect it was still below freezing outside my tent. The ground was frozen solid the next morning.

 

The following day was a lot warmer with a high in the 50’s. It was a really nice break from all the cold. We were treated with a spectacular view too, atop the Wesser Bald observation tower. It made a really good lunch spot! After lunch we descended to A. Rufus Morgan Shelter. Here we decided to stay in the shelter and have an early morning into the Nantahala Outdoor Center (NOC). The NOC does whitewater rafting and kayaking as well as zip lines. There was a restaurant that had a really nice breakfast. It was an awesome break from oatmeal every day. None of the girls finished their breakfast, which meant I ate about 2 and a half full sized breakfasts. I don’t think I’ve ever been so full before. It was amazing fuel for the rest of the day though. We had a 3000 foot climb out of the NOC and I felt strong the whole time. I was still full by lunch time, so didn’t really feel a need to stop. We got to Sassafras Gap Shelter atop the long climb and decided to push onward to Locust Cove Gap which just had tenting. I counted 22 tents that night, It was very tight. It’s alarming to think about how many people must try to camp there during the main thru-hiker bubble which I tried to avoid with an early start. A group of about 6 did a night hike with the full moon. They broke camp at 4 am, something I wasn’t about. I definitely want to try it later on though, it sounds peaceful.

 

The last night we went to Cable Gap Shelter. There was rain in the forecast but we were able to set up camp just before it started. It was a really nice evening spent listening to rain fall on my tent and reading my book.

Yesterday we just walked the 6 miles into Fontana Lake. We then checked into our room and got some lunch. Fontana Village is just the weirdest place. In the summer months its a large resort town, but in the off season it just feels empty. There are no residences it seems, just houses that are rented out to families on vacation. There’s mini golf, a pool, tennis courts, baseball, disc golf, and a cutesy general store. But it’s all closed right now. It was still a great place for a 21st birthday. The resort has a descent restaurant with a bar, so we had some fun. I will say though, no one checked my ID all day… oh well.

 

After a night of celebrating maybe too much, we decided to take a zero today. This will let us start the Smokies well rested and eager for adventure, something I fully expect out there. Photos from the last snow storm have me a little concerned, but I have good trust in my gear.

And now we just have to do this 21 more times… oh.

 

These last 5 days have been some of the best so far. We’ve gone past the Georgia/North Carolina border and I’m feeling strong! It’s also been a really nice feeling to have such a supportive group to hike with. In my last post it was just me, Brittany (now “My Shadow”) and Katrin (now “Finch”). I’m still hiking with them plus a fourth compatriot, Rubie (aka “Mountain Goat”). She’s an Ausie and is also from a coast town about 3 hours south of Sidney. As she’d say, we’re both sober 12 days from the ocean. Having a group of four has been a huge help here in Franklin. Splitting a room in an actual hotel four ways made it cheaper than a hostel, plus, there’s a pool. Not a very nice pool, but it was still a treat. It was also nice to go over all the logistics of sending food ahead two weeks. It would be a lot more rough managing that on my own. Our reasoning for doing this are as follows: the resupply in Fontana Village right before the Smokies isn’t the best, so this way we get to have everything a large grocery store can offer. There’s also a second resupply we did to Standing Bear Hostel just outside of the Smokies that will get us to Hot Springs NC. The plan so far is 5 days to Fontana Village, 6 days to the hostel outside of the Smokies, and then just 2 days to Hot Springs where we’re already planning our stay at the resort and celebrating my slightly belated 21st birthday.

The weather has been extremely forgiving for me so far. I haven’t had a night below freezing and I’ve had only one day of rain. I almost hope we get foul weather in the Smokies just so I had a good reason for all this winter sleeping gear. I’m sure it will happen but still, who really can tell. Here’s a good photo of us minus Mountain Goat. This was the evening before she joined us.

Here’s another photo from that campsite, we had a nice little fire going then.

A routine chore on the AT is filtering water.

Typically you’d think getting to the summit of a long climb would be exciting. Here’s what it looks like.

But this is where the majority of my time is spent, the trail.

Today we took a Zero and sent that food ahead. The beginning was very hectic, trying to figure out how many nights of food, how to get around town, and My Shadow even had to get some document notarized. I doubt we would have been able to accomplish all this if it weren’t for the amazing help of a man named David. We got his number from another shuttler in town and I honestly didn’t know what to expect. What happened was amazing. David is an older man, I’d say in his upper 80’s. He has a fast wit and a great humor. He basically said that he’d give us all a ride around town and even took us out to lunch (we covered the tab). It was an all you could eat Asian buffet, and it was honestly really good food. Not what I expected from such a place. He took us from our hotel to a bank, then the post office, then lunch, Walmart, an outfitter, and then back to our hotel. Oh, and he didn’t charge us, just said that “We take care of our hikers in North Carolina!”. He was damn right. Last night we were all too tired to go out for dinner so we just grabbed some food at the Ingles next to the hotel. Here’s me and My Shadow splitting a rotisserie chicken and 6 pack (a new staple of ours).

I’d say I’ve found a better group then I could ever had hoped for and am extremely grateful. Here’s to Katahdin!

-Orion, fed and content as could be…

After three days of hiking I’ve made it to Hiawassee. I’m not staying in town, but at the Top of Georgia Hostel, just .5 miles away from the AT. The first day from Neel Gap was pretty easy, I went a little over 11 miles and stayed at the Low Gap shelter. It was a nice place, the creek was really pretty. Here’s a little photo of my camp that night.

The next day was hard to predict. There was a slight chance of rain and thunderstorms all day, and I didn’t want to put myself on top of Tray Mountain in a thunderstorm, so I had to plan around that. At Unicoi Gap I had another instance of trail magic. There was a church group out doing some bbq and they even had some fruit! I took a banana with me on the trail and had it for breakfast the next day. It was all really nice, but once the proselytizing started I thanked them for the food and headed on.

That night I camped at an old cheese factory that had been abandoned since the 18oo’s. The only sign of a past building was a road that went through the area, Tray mountain road I believe. The weather was really nice all day, and there wasn’t a drop of rain. That changed.

The rain started as a light drizzle at about 4 am. It only grew stronger and stronger. By the time I needed to get going it was a complete downpour. I was soaked. Everything inside my tent stayed relatively dry, but I think I could have pitched my tent in a much better direction. I learned that if my head or feet are pointed towards the wind, I should be ok, but if a vestibule is getting the brute force of the wind, I will get wet. The things you learn. All in all, it was fine, but I needed to stay in a shelter the next night.

Rather than have a long 13 mile day after a night of rain, I decided to call it just 3 miles before Dicks Creek Gap. This was a good choice because I was going to need a reservation at Top of Georgia Hostel. I was able to call at Deep Gap shelter. I got an awesome nights sleep that night, despite people reporting sounds of mice running around the shelter. I had ear plugs so that helped.

This morning I took a nice stroll through 3 miles of beautiful forest and came to TOG hostel near 10:30. This gave me plenty of time to take a shower, get my laundry done, and go into town with some friends. Lunch was amazing! I had a spicy blue cheese burger with tater tots and a side salad. After all that we went to Ingles, essentially Safeway. There I resupplied all my food that I’ll need until Franklin, NC. The plan tonight is to have some stir fry. It’s hard to get veggies on the trail, so it seemed like a good choice. I’ll be sharing with Brittany from South Dakota and Katrin from Berlin. We all started the same day and seem to have a similar daily pace. It seems our paths will meet many a times.

Here’s us in our scrubs they give us.

I’m never sure when I’ll post next, but I’m pretty sure it will be after I leave Georgia. Talk to y’all then!

-Orion

So yesterday I decided to push on to Neels Gap. It was a long day, just under 16 miles, and so far I’m glad with how I feel. Soreness, but no pain. Being 20 certainly has its perks. One thing that made the day particularly challenging was climbing over Blood Mountain. It was a gradual enough of an climb, but the descent was pretty rough. I think that’s why everyone’s knees hurt. Here’s the view from the top:

Another reason to push was the new bear canister requirement section covering 6 miles before Neels. Hardly anyone uses bear cans who is thru-hiking, so the camp before that gets extremely over populated. That wasn’t too appealing to me, so I just skipped it.

Over the next few days rain is expected, but thankfully it won’t be too cold. My next planned re-supply is going to be in Hiawassee, about three days from now.

Here’s another photo that gives a sense of what hiking here in the morning is like.

All right, well I’ll probably talk to you guys again in Hiawassee.

-Orion

 

The AT is often talked about as being an intense roller coaster of many ups and downs. In general, the ups become more frequent and are the things you remember, while the downs become drowned out.

So far, my time on the trail has been at a constant high. Everything is new and fresh, and the minor imperfections don’t seem to matter. It’s much like the honey moon phase of any relationship. However, for some people disaster can strike early.

Last night a college girl on spring break was boiling some water to put in a Nalgene bottle to keep warm. If you don’t want to hear about burns, then skip to the next paragraph. She was sitting at the picnic bench next to the shelter and made a hand motion that knocked her pot of boiling water off her stove. The water poured on her lap, and her thighs were instantly covered in the worst burns I’ve ever seen. It was really, really bad. Like melt the skin off bad.

Thankfully, the shelter was close to Hightower  gap which has a dirt road going through. Someone went with cell service and called for help. About 4 hours later a group of six volunteer firefighters I believe arrived with a gurney and some medical supplies. It was actually quite reassuring seeing how accessible the area is. Definitely not like the sierras. 

All in all it was a really shitty experience that still makes me cringe. Tonight, I think everyone cooked on the ground…

Except me. I didn’t even cook. After I had lunch at the shelter, a trail Angel showed up letting us all know about some trail magic  that was happening at the next gap. Beer and hot dogs, 1.5 miles down the trail. Having already set up camp, I didn’t want to pack up, but I decide a round trip of 3 miles was worth it. And it was. A big thanks to them, I wish I wrote down their names.

Tomorrow I’ll either be camping at lance creek or just go all the way to Neel Gap, my first resupply. It all depends on how I feel then. 

-Orion 

 

So here I am, sitting next to my tent on a rock, at Springer Mountain shelter. It’s my second night, but the first officially on the AT. There are a lot less people than I had originally imagined, but it’s still early in the day. I’m just glad I have a nice campsite.

Yesterday was spent traveling. I woke up at 2:30 to catch my plane, and ended up in the Max Eperson shelter next to the Amicalola visitors center. I got a ride from Ron Brown, he has a shuttle service that covers the southern end of the AT. If you’re in need of a ride near the beginning, I recommend him. Here I am next to the archway that leads to the AT approach trail.

It was a long night. Remember when you were a kid, and you couldn’t sleep at all Christmas Eve because of how excited you were?  Well it was a lot like that. I kept waking up thinking it was dawn only to look at my watch and see that it was just 3 or 4.

Eventually, morning came and I started my coffee and oatmeal. I signed in at the register and peaked at some of the other hikers on the trail. Several people started on New Year’s Day, I wonder where they are now.

The hike up the falls was nice. I honestly don’t think the approach trail was as bad as everyone said. If it were 8000 ft higher, it would be different. I’m glad that’s the backpacking I’m used to.

After the initial climb, it was just a lot of P.U.D.s (pointless ups and downs). This continued until the climb up to springer mountain, the southern terminus of the AT.

Here’s the view from the top. Here I am next to the sign.

Right now I’m going to read some of The Night Kingdoms (an awesome book by my brother) and then make some dinner. I think it’s going to be an early night for me.

-Orion, now on the AT

Some people have asked me what kind of things I will be taking with me on my thru-hike, so I thought I’d make this to show you all.

First I’ll start with my clothing.

On the top I have my base layers, both merino wool, two pairs of synthetic underwear, camp socks, two pairs of hiking socks, gloves, and a beanie. Both of my merino base layers will be what I sleep in, and I will also use them to keep warm on the colder days. Next on the left is my outerwear. I’ll have both a down jacket and a lightweight fleece, as well as a rain jacket and rain pants. I may send one of the thermal layers back once it gets hotter, but I’m expecting lots of cold weather in March. There is also a lightweight long sleeve shirt that I find very nice to keep the sun and ticks off me. Then, to the right there are my two synthetic shirts, my hat, some synthetic hiking pants, and some lightweight shorts.

Next is my sleep system.

 

Because it is so wet on the AT, I will be using a dry down sleeping bag. Hopefully I won’t have to put its hydrophobic properties to the test, but it is a last resort. This bag is rated down to 20 degrees and my thermarest has an R value of 5.7 (the measure of thermal resistance) I think I will be plenty warm with this. I opted for the Neoair Xtherm rather than my foam pad just to get the extra comfort and warmth, and it wasn’t too many more ounces. There’s also an inflatable pillow. I’ve never used one before, but I wanted to be as comfortable as possible and it’s pretty small.

And this is what my home will be for the next 6 months!

I know it’s not very impressive, but it’s a nice light tent. I’m not at the point where I can go with just a tarp, there’s just something about having a piece of mesh between me in the bugs, even if it is a tad more heavy. That being said, this is a very lightweight tent. It’s a Tarptent Notch, and weighs in at just 27 ounces. Most of the weight is saved due to the fact that it doesn’t have any poles. I use trekking poles to pitch it. Here it is setup:

Probably the most common question people have is how I’m going to get all of my food. Unlike the PCT or CDT, the AT doesn’t require prepared food drops. I’ll be stoping at different stores along the way that are either in towns that the AT goes through or ones that I can hitchhike to nearby. Here’s where my food goes: 

I’ve opted to hang my food the whole time. This both saves weight and precious space in my pack, but that’s where the advantages end. It’s not resistant to any animal that would really want to get in it, so that’s why I have rope and carabiner, to hang it up.

Next is my kitchen

There are people who don’t even bring a stove on the AT, but that just wasn’t an option for me. I’m the type of person who needs at least one warm meal per day. I’ll be using the MSR Microrocket, a canister stove. My pot is the perfect size for one person, and I’ve got my coffee mug, also very important. Other than that, I’ll have a small sponge, some camp suds, some lighters, and my trusty spoon. It might be surprising, but all of this minus the fuel canister fits inside the pot!

Next up, water purification.

I’ll be using the Sawyer Squeeze for most of my filtering. The purification tablets on the left are handy if I need to purify lots of water and don’t need it soon, like at camp. The syringe is for backlashing the filter, and on the right is my reservoir for water sources. I’ll be drinking out of Smartwater bottles, a thru hiker staple apparently. They’re just lighter than a Nalgene bottle, also they have the same thread as the Sawyer Squeeze.

Here’s some of the other things I’m bringing:

There’s my knife, an emergency blanket, my sunnies, a journal and pencil, a compass, my wallet, and last but by far not least, my guidebook. Without that thing I’d be dead in the water. In case something does happen, I do have a PDF copy on my phone. One thing I forgot to include in this photo was my pack cover, it should get some good use.

In case you’re interested, here’s my toiletries:

I have lots of blister treatments, hopefully I’ll never have to use them. Other than the obvious things there’s a tick remover key, ear plugs, a camp towel, sunscreen and bug repellent, and my drugs. I’ll be bringing ibuprofen, Benadryl, and 10 Doxycycline (take two after a tick bight to avoid a case of Lyme Disease). I wouldn’t normally bring Doxycycline, but after looking at a map of Lyme Disease prevalence in the US (which overlaps the AT), I thought it would be a good idea to ask my doctor, he was onboard.

Here’s all of the electronics I’ll bring:

Here you have my phone, a nook, charging cables, a 5200 mAh battery, all my cables, a headlamp, and some headphones. I don’t plan on listening to any music on the trail, but it can be a good mood booster when rain is pouring down your tent. Don’t ask about the sim card, it’s a long story. My phone is going to serve as a camera as well as my way to blog, so sorry if the quality diminishes once I start.

And finally, the whole ensemble:

Everything fits sparing hardly any room inside a Üla Circuit. This is a great backpack and I’m really happy with it so far, it should be a comfy ride. For shoes I’m using Brooks Cascadia 11’s, trail runners. These won’t make it close to finishing the whole trail, but will get me a good ways there. Also, I don’t think I ever mentioned it, but those crocs are my camp shoes. And lastly, my trekking poles. They are Komperdells and have lasted me a while so far, overall a good pair.

So that’s just about it then. If you have any other kinds of questions feel free to leave a reply.

-Orion