Month: April 2016

I’m here in Marion VA with Ptarmigan and Tetris. We’ve been meeting up at shelters for a while, I guess our pace matches well. The Grayson Highlands have been amazing here on the AT. It’s been a treat walking amongst wild ponies. Although I must say wild is a bit of a stretch. They are very familiar with people. As you approach them they usualy come up to you smelling your pockets for food. Sometimes they lick your arms and back, I’m assuming for salt in my sweat. I like to think of them basically as giant dogs that sit around and eat grass. 

The ponies weren’t the only great thing of the highlands, the views were pretty stunning too.

Another cool thing about The Grayson Highlands was that we passed the 500 mile mark. It was only 30 miles past Damascus, but it still felt like a big achievement. 
After the highlands we dropped into another nice deciduous forest. The trails were easy going, but there were some sections with bad rocks. The last day we decided to do a 23 mile push to partnership shelter. It was only .2 miles away from the Mount Rogers visitor center, where we ordered pizza for delivery. This was my first day over 20 miles, but I think it was well worth it in the end. This morning we went to the visitor center and caught a bus into Marion. It’s not a typical transit route, you have to call an hour ahead to let them know you want to be picked up. Today was spent mostly consuming food we can’t get out on the trail. Things like fruits, rotisserie chicken, and milkshakes. We also made gin and tonics.

I’ve really enjoyed Virginia so far. Unfortunately the highlands are pretty unique. People often referrer to Virginia as the green tunnel at this point. Hopefully it doesn’t get me down that much, so far everything’s been great. My next resupply will be in Bland Virginia, about three days away. Keeping resupplies so close is a good way to keep pack weight down, but I don’t aim on staying in town. I wouldn’t mind keeping the pace up a bit. 

Until next time,

-Orion

So it’s late right now so this is probably going to be pretty short. I got to Virginia, which was pretty cool. Virginia is thought of sometimes as this big wall that thru-hikers need to climb over. It’s in this state that most people lose the honeymoon phase with the trail and get what’s called the Virginia blues. I’m under the impression that it isn’t so much of something about the state, but rather the fact that a quarter of the AT is in Virginia. Rather than thinking of progress in therms of miles they might think of it in states completed. We have three down and only eleven to go, that sort of thing. I’m trying to not think of completion in these terms, but rather in time. I’ve been here for six weeks now, and a typical thru-hike takes six months. So I’m about a quarter the way done, even if I’ve only walked 470 miles.

Coming into Damascus wasn’t so bad. I mostly followed a ridge line so the terrain was relatively flat. This meant that I could really cram in those miles. Although I was having a lot of problems with blisters. My heels, pinkies, and then the sole of my foot under my arch. The strange part is that I never had these issues before, only in the last week or so. Hopefully the culprit was a worn out insole and super feet will fix it.

 

 

Today I took a zero. This allowed my feet to heal up and it also gave me ample time to do a resupply. Tetris and I shared a room at Dave’s Place, a hostel like place with private rooms. Instead of beds we just get wooden platforms where you put your therm-a-rest, but the price is unbeatable. $21 a night for the two of us. This includes a shower but there was no laundry. For that we went to Crazy Lary’s, another hostel. Next door there is a thrift shop so I spent $2 on some town clothes. That way I could wash everything I own and not have to be naked under my rain gear. On my way out of town I’ll just donate them back.

Dinner was the real treat. A mile down a dirt trail next to the road there is the Damascus brewery. They don’t have any food, just 8 beers on tap. This wasn’t an issue, I just walked in with a large pizza from across the way. Ptarmigan and I shared this and enjoyed our time with some thru-hikers of last year. They were here doing trail magic for the current thru’s. It was awesome talking to them and getting advice on different parts of the trail. Apparently I have to find a good group of people and rent a car in Massachusetts, and then drive to six flags. It sounded like an awesome break from the trail.

 

 

 

 

This next section goes into the Grayson Highlands, a favorite part for many thru-hikers. I hear there are feral ponies, so I’m quite excited. As for my next resupply I’m not entirely sure. Probably head into Marion in 60 miles or push another day into Atkins. Marion has more to offer but I always like to push on a little further. Depending on my cell coverage I may post earlier, but it’s about four or five days away.

Until next time,

-Orion

Here I am, sitting next to Watauga Lake outside of Hampton with 5 bars of LTE service so I thought I’d do a little update. The breakfast at Mountain Harbour was definitely as good as people were saying if not better. They had baked eggs, a potato gratin, fruit salad, bacon, sausage, ham, French toast, biscuits and gravy, and a cherry danish. I ate about 3 good plates  worth and several cups of coffee. I wish I had my phone with me so I could share some photos. Leaving the b&b was pretty hard that morning, I think we all wanted to stay longer than one night. 

I’m sure it was because of the breakfast, but that day I flew over the hills. I wasn’t even hungry during lunch but decided to eat anyway. It was an awesome day with a nice waterfall and warm weather. I could smell the flowers and lots of butterflies were out and about. 

 

 

 

 
The next day we walked by Laurel falls, which was a really nice lunch spot before going into Hampton. No swimming though, apparently there is a really nasty whirlpool. 

From the AT there was a one mile trail into Hampton. I walked into town and went into the McDonalds with Tetris, Mumbles and Ptarmigan. It wasn’t the greatest, but it was fun being stared at by locals. After 2nd lunch we did our resupply and walked to a campsite next to Laurel Creek and the town trail. One thing we did pack out was some 24 oz. beers. Once we got to camp we stuck them in the creek so they’d be relatively cold. That and a nice campfire made it a pretty memorable campsite. 

 

 
I also jumped into the creek which made me feel as clean as after a shower. So far I think this was my favorite town stop. Super cheap but still refreshing and comfortable. 

My next post will probably be in Damascus, the first town of Virginia. I’ll either get their Thursday afternoon or Friday morning, we’ll see what happens. 

-Orion

Today I left the North Carolina for the last time on the AT. For the last 230 miles I’ve been skirting the NC/TN border and there was a good section before that just in NC. A lot of good people and awesome times were had in this last section. Not that it’s a huge accomplishment, or even a good indication of how much of the AT I’ve done, but having another state down feels good.

 

Right now I’m staying at Mountain Harbour, a hostel and b&b just 0.3 miles down the road from the AT crossing. It’s a nice place with a legendary breakfast. What’s even better is that it’s buffet style, so I’ll probably be good for lunch tomorrow too.

My first night out of Erwin I didn’t quite get as far as I was hoping, the breakfast shuttle into town took a bit longer than I had thought. All’s well that ends well, so it didn’t really matter that much in the end. I ended up not camping by a shelter, rather a small campsite with a piped spring. It was really nice, as there are only four of us at that camp. Not that I don’t like people, but it’s nice to have a quite camp with a good campfire.

The next day was rather typical. A nice 13.9 mile walk in the woods, but there weren’t any views and it was a little mundane. There was however a good climb in the morning into a dense spruce forest which was a little different, but as soon as we descended it was back to trees with no leaves.

 

The days that followed were some of the prettiest so far. Views from mountain tops, balds with large clearings, and I even slept in an old barn that was repurposed as a shelter. I passed Roan High Knob shelter, the highest on the AT. Unfortunately I walked past the turn off trail completely so I didn’t actually stop and see it. Overmountain shelter, the one that used to be a barn was really cool. I decided I’d stay in the shelter even though the weather was good because it was a pretty original shelter. Instead of staying up top like most people did, I cowboy camped on the lower platform where I got to see the sunrise. It wasn’t spectacular, but I enjoyed it nonetheless.

 

Lately I’ve been noticing how amazing all of the people around me are. It’s really been such a treat to share all this with them. People who come out here for so many different reasons. The things I’ve picked up on, life lessons especially from older thru hikers. It’s all been so valuable. I just hope I remember it all.

The plan so far is to take about 2 maybe 3 days to get into Hampton, and then I’ll get the rest of the food I need to take me into Damascus, VA. Whether or not I stay in Hampton is to be determined.

Until then,

-Orion

A common saying for solo thru hikers is “hike your own hike”. It encompasses just about everything it means to be out here. I’m not by myself on the AT, not by any means. There are tons of others out here for many different reasons. But in the end this is an individual battle. Making it to Katahdin is only achievable if I decide to keep going. A group is really nice, but even then you have to remember to hike your own hike. I left my group today, they stayed at the shelter and I pushed into the rain. I miss the familiarity of them allready, as meeting new people has always been a bit of a challenge for me. But in the end that was another reason to hike my own hike. Forceing myself into new situations to build a stronger person.

Anyways, now for my recap since Hot Springs.

I took another zero before leaving. Tie, one of the caretakers offered me and Kodak another work for stay and we took it. The work was easy and didn’t take that long, so the work part really didn’t impact our day. I was even allowed to use the piano at the chapel next door which was a real treat.

Leaving Hot Springs was bitter sweet. I needed to get back to the trail, but at the same time Hot Springs was so nice. I liked starting my day just walking down the main drag though, it was a good farewell. The climb out also gave me some fantastic views of the sleepy little town.

The rest of the day was just hiking. That night snow and hale were forecasted, but the shelter was full when I arrived. I was confident in my tent though, especially after the downpour in the smokies. I stayed dry, but it sure was cold. I didn’t get much sleep that night, probably should have made a hot water bottle.

The next two days were pretty plain. Georgeous views from Bald Mountain. I sang some night on bald mountain because after that there was Bald Mountain Shelter where I stayed. I did also get the best trail magic so far. A man named Paul from Ashville NC was cooking eggs and potatoes. I ate a full heap and could still eat more. It was awesome of him to do that. He said he thru hiked in 2007 so we had some good talks about that.

Last night and today I got rained on. Staying in the shelter made my morning routine pretty easy, no wet tent and all. Then I headed out. The mud slowed me down quite a bit. I had one good fall, luckily nothing hurt, but I was much more careful after that. All of my rain gear is muddy now though, but it’ll wash off.

I’m staying at Uncle Jonnies hostel in Erwin TN. I caught the shuttle into town for dinner and had a large plate of Enchiladas Picosas and a glass of Negra Modelo. I know, Mexican food in Tennessee? What was I thinking?! But it was actually pretty good, an authentic place owned by a Mexican family who moved here. Tomorrow it looks like I’ll take the same shuttle for breakfast and then I’ll be off toward Hampton, my next resupply.

-Orion

I’m here at the Hot Springs public library and I’ve made it through the Great Smokie Mountain National Park. Sorry that I didn’t do a small update in the middle of the trip. I was going to, but right before I uploaded it I wanted to change a photo, instead of deleting just the photo, I accidentally deleted the entire post. It was annoying so I gave up and slept.

This post is just going to be a general overview and some of my impressions of the smokies. I’ll put up all of my favorite pictures too.

The beginning of the smokies was very wet. It didn’t actually rain that much, but the fog was quite heavy. It’s obvious how the smokies got their name now. There were some times when the fog would clear ever so slightly and you were met with these amazing views. I’d say until now, we haven’t come across a true mountain. Unfortunately I had my phone buried in my pack to prevent it from getting wet that day.

The weather by mid day 2 was spectacular. We had clear skies and warm weather. It’s so nice to have sun after just a day and a half of intense fog. It really helps at drying everything out. We had lunch just below rocky top. What made the views just that much better was the fact we were facing southwest. These were ridges we had all ready gone over, something that made me feel accomplished.

Day two was also when we started getting into the coniferous forests. I’m not sure what kind they were, pines or fir trees? I should know more about this. This was a really nice change because until then, everything was deciduous.

The weather would stay nice until day 5 or so. We got a good downpour that night and I didn’t get a spot in the shelter. Everything was fine though. I got to test my tent in a deluge and stayed completely dry.

The smokies also were the highest part of the AT. Clingman’s Dome at 6,644 feet is the highest part. People often joke about the Appalachian Trail being all down hill from here. Another fun part of Clingman’s Dome was all of the tourists. It makes a thru-hiker feel like a celebrity, with people always asking you questions and wishing you good luck.

The weather improved once more and we got to Standing Bear Hostel. This was a rather… interesting place. I think Arlo Guthrie would be the appropriate music choice. There were dogs running around, a roster, and a few cats. The place was built by hand and I don’t think a single code was followed. It was overall a really awesome place and the guy who runs it is a character. I’d recommend it.

After the Smokies it was just a three day walk into Hot Springs. So far the town has been my favorite on the trail. The food and beer have been excellent, and I even got to do a work for stay at the hostel here.

Overall, the Smokies have been my favorite part of the AT. Many people would disagree with me, due to an increase of bad weather and more regulation. We were lucky though, only a few periods of soggy weather, it never got to cold, and I didn’t mind more regulations. I will say that it’s nice now that I can camp wherever I choose, and I don’t have to worry about being kicked out of a shelter due to people with reservations. Everything outside of the Smokies and the White Mountains are on a first come first serve basis.

My next resupply will be in Erwin, roughly 5 days from now. Oh, and I also got a mohawk.

-Orion