Appalachian Trail - 2020

We are off trail.  After hiking 636 miles, the path forward seems almost impossible. Due to nearly every govenor issuing stay at home orders through our current and upcoming states, paired with closures and restrictions of hundreds of miles of forests and parks, Walker and I decided to suspend our hike in Pearisburg and get off trail.  The one organization designed to vouch for hikers completely turned their back on the 2020 AT class. The appalachian trail conservancy, recommended from the start that hikers quit no matter where they were on their journey. Personally, I suspect that the decision was probably made by a few directors at that top, who have probably never hiked before. I would love to hear the argument that people like Walker and I are going to spread the coronovirus. The week prior to us getting off trail, we went 5 days without seeing another hiker. The fact that the ATC presented us as people who were spreading disease is simply ridiculous. On top of that, we we...

The stream we camped next to last night gave a very relaxing sound to sleep next to. We woke up at 645 and were walking by 730. Since we had 22 miles to walk for the day, we figured we should start at a reasonable time in order to get into Pearisburg early enough that we could relax for a few hours.  The morning was in the high 30's / low 40's and mostly cloudy. To start the day we gained 1500 feet of elevation in 2 miles. From there however, the day looked relatively flew, with a few descents and ascents.  A few hours into the day however, when we were ascending a mountain, we noticed a peculiar sight. The rain, which had only recently started, was beginning to fall slower, appearing to be more of a wet snow than rain. It took us a minute to understand what was going on, or to even comprehend that it could be snowing. 2 days ago it was 85 degrees, now, it was snowing and boy did it ever snow.  By the time we stopped for lunch, the temps had plummeted and massive snowflak...

I slept good last night, but I wish that I got more. We enjoyed hanging out last night with everyone and were up a bit later than we usually are. Since we are usually in the woods, sunset is bed time, and sunrise is when you get up. Anyway, we got moving this morning and started packing up. At 830 we went to Arby's for breakfast where I got a bacon, egg, and cheese on a biscuit, a buffalo chicken sandwich, and hash browns. After eating this healthy breakfast, we got dropped off at the trail by 930. We thoroughly thanked Chuck for everything he did for us. Our goal for the day was to hike as many miles as we could. By tomorrow, we wanted to be in Pearisburg, meaning we had to hike 45 miles by tomorrow. We hiked alongside Osceola, Snackpack and Nor'easta for the morning and afternoon. After hiking 7 miles in the first 2 hours, we took a quick break and ate some snacks. We then hiked 6 miles in the next 2 hours and stopped for lunch. The temperature was in the high 60's, w...

Sleeping under the stars is an experience I will not forget, it is so wonderful. We woke up at 630 and started moving shortly after. Our pace quickened when we noticed a dark blue / purplish cloud rapidly approaching us. By the time we had everything packed up at 745 the cloud was directly over us and a few drops of rain were beginning to fall. By the time we got off the bald, which might have taken us a 45 seconds, a huge crash of thunder sounded behind us and lighting filled the sky. Then there was a deluge. Although the storm only lasted 30 minutes, the rain absolutely came down during that time. It was really something else. Our morning constisted of an 8 mile ridge walk. We couldn't see much of the first half due to the fog, but the second half was beautiful. There were massive boulders on the sides of the trail and when a view arose, we could look off to our west and see a small town in a bowl shaped valley. We stopped for lunch at "Jenkins Shelter." We read t...

If I thought yesterday was warm then I definetly ate my words today. By the time we woke up at 630, the temp was nearing 65. We packed up quick, ate some pop tarts, and started hiking. As we began our climb back into the mountains we realized that our packs did not feel as burdensome as they typically do with a 4 day resupply. There was one more thing we realized too, that ate 830 in the morning the temp was now 75 degrees. One final fun fact about Virginia, the water sources are not as abundant as in the other southern states. In NC you could go 3 miles and see 7 streams while in VA you can go 8 miles and see a single dry creek bed. Today was a sweat bath. The high reached 83. By the time we stopped for lunch the heat was overwhelming. We layed down in a shelter and drank two liters of water while eating lunch. After refilling our waters at the nearby stream we continued relaxing in the shade of the shelter. I easily could have stayed here all day long but as I began to recover so...

We slept great last night. The temp got into the low 50's which is just perfect sleeping weather. Some small animal or maybe even a small deer may have walkee through our campsite, but Walker moved and the thing scurried off. We fell asleep under the stars again but when we awoke there was a thin cloud cover so we didnt get a good sunrise. No issue there though. We were awake by 645 and on the trail by 745, which was the earliest we have been on the trail in quite some time. The morning had several small ridges that we climbed over, and as the blue sky came out so did the heat. Thankfully, the morning wasnt to hot. We had a beautiful view off of one of the mountains we climbed in the morning looking down below into Rye Valley. I was amazed at how green the grass was in the valley. There was a stream flowing through it and the surrounding mountains towered over the valley. The view looked like something out of a fantasy world. As the day progressed, so did the heat. By 11 the ...

Being dry has never felt better! We woke up to our first sunrise in quite some time. Surprisingly, I think the temps were in the low 30's. Our socks and shoes didnt freeze but they were mighty cold. We took our time getting breakfast ready, just enjoying the mountain views and soaking up the morning sun. Most of our day was spent enjoying the scenery and change of pace that virginia has. We now go up and over only a few mountains a day, instead of a few mountains every hour. Walker and I definerly agree that Virginia has treated us nicely so far. Everything that we have seen has been fantastic. At 130 we stopped for lunch. The temp was probably 60 degrees at this point and just felt fantastic. We layed out any gear that was still wet and enjoyed the afternoon sun. I'm not sure when exactly, but we really picked up the pace. We had a 2.5 mile climb up a mountain and we ended up doing it in 30 minutes. We rarely go that fast going downhill or on flat ground! Maybe our leg...

I'm not sure how much rain we got, but I wouldn't be shocked if it was an inch. It really rained hard last night. We got up at 745 and tore down camp. We ate a few pop tarts and started hiking by 845. After hiking for an hour or so, we walked through a green cow pasture where we heard a hundred birds chirping. We were perplexed by how many different bird chirps we were hearing at once. After leaving the pasture, we started our ascent up whitetop, 2000 feet of elevation gain in 3 miles. We took a break halfway up but made decent time. At this point in the day (10 am) the rain was starting to let up but the fog was still very thick. We didnt have any view from the top so we started our descent. While descending whitetop we started to notice that the trail had alot of water on it. In fact, the trail was basically a stream. There was so much water running off of the mountainside that the trail itself had become a stream. For the first hour of walking through these conditio...

I woke up at 715 feeling very refreshed. Over the years I have changed my sleeping style many time. The position that I wake up feeling most rested in now is when I can sleep on my back and sprawl out. Since I have a limited range of movement in my sleeping bag, it was nice to sleep how I would normally sleep at home. We finished packing up by 830 so I started heating up some pans for breakfast. Another nice feature about the room we stayed in was that it had a kitchen. Instead of going out to a diner and spending however much money, we got a dozen eggs and a pack of sausages for 6 dollars... pretty good deal. After mixing that all together in a pan and throwing cheese in as well, we were properly full. We left the inn around 1015 and started our walk through town. Just like in Hot Springs, the trail goes directly through main street. After walking the one mile in town, we crossed the road and started our ascent back into the mountains. I think Walker and I are getting better at ...

We are one month in. 31 days. I guess 30 days is a month as well as 28.... but 31 days is a month in my books. It sounds better to say we made it into Virginia in one month anyways. But how about that, Walker and I walked from Amicalola to Damascus in 31 days. My goodness. This whole trip still feels surreal to me. Like I said a few days ago, time feels very differently out here. Other than the two days we took off and rested up, every day has been hiking. I think in regular life you do multiple activities in one day. You drive to work, work, go to lunch, talk to different people, go home, see your family, talk to friends, maybe go to the gym or whatever other activity and then go to bed. Out here, we wake up, tear down camp, eat, walk, eat, walk, set up camp, eat, and go to bed. There are very few distractions. We are experiencing life in a very natural form. Yet even so, we have our own set of restrictions we live by. We do not have access to food, other than what we pack out with us...

Not one single rain drop fell from the sky today. We woke up at 8 this morning, after our hike yesterday we definetly slept well. We also awoke to an unfamiliar sight, sunlight and a blue sky. Although the morning was cold, somewhere in the high 30's, the warmth of the sun was fantastic. Being dry is such a blessing. We got on the trail by 930. Later than usual but not the end of the world. Other than the first few miles of the day, which were uphill, the rest of the day looked like minor ridges. Our topographical understanding of the day was correct and everything went smoothly. Not much to report, in general, we simply enjoyed the nice weather and the chance to dry our gear off. We made it to camp at 515 and had all of our chores done by 8. We plan on getting up earlier tomorrow in hope that we can get into Damascus in the early afternoon. We went slightly over 18 miles today, tomorrow will be slightly under 19. Tomorrow we cross into Virginia. Wow. Goodnight, Tyle...

I feel like I am becoming a broken record but oh my goodness did it ever absolutely pour last night! I am impressed by how much rain is able to fall from the sky.  Thankfully, Walker and I slept great, but we were slow getting out of bed in the morning. It really is a mental issue putting on a completely wet pair of clothes. It's really not even an issue, it's just annoying and in the moment I'd rather stay in my warm and dry sleeping bag.  We got up and got moving and had our morning routine done by 845. The rain had stopped by this point but the forest was still dripping wet, plus with a thick fog we were still basically in the rain cloud.  We 1015 we had walked a few miles and decided to take a quick food break and look at the map. Our goal for the day was 27 miles, or at least, this was the farthest we figured we could possibly go in the day if everything went our way.  Our morning and early afternoon were fairly standard. We talked about whatever came to us. We ...

Sleeping on a comfy mattress with cozy sheets is just the best. I slept incredible last night. It's funny, before starting this hike, I was rather particular about how I slept. Now, I could care less really, everything is comfortable and I'll sleep however. I'll be curious if that stays the same after the hike or if it will only be a short term change. We started moving this morning by 715. We had a fantastic breakfast of 3 chicken breasts. That was breakfast. It was good. We started packing up after breakfast and by 930 we were back on our way to the trail. It's hard leaving the comforts of every day life. I slept great, I ate good food, and chose whether or not I would get wet. I want to get to Maine. I dont care what conditions I have to go through to get there. I am determined. We have probably already faced every type of condition we are going to face. Now we just have to endure them for less than 1800 miles. As a side note, today is the start of our 5th we...

This will be a short post as I would rather be sleeping than looking at my phone.  We ate so much food today, took 3 showers, and layed in bed for most of the morning.  This afternoon we went and walked around at linville gorge... North Carolina and Tennessee are truly beautiful states. After going to three grocery stores in search of rice, we finally found enough food for a successful 4 day resupply.  The trail is calling.  Goodnight,  Tyler M. 

We woke up to the sound of freshgrounds setting up for breakfast. By 7 we were packed and sitting down for our best breakfast on trail. Eggs, bacon, potatoes, toast, bananas, oranges and sausage... life couldn't get much better.  By 8 we were on trail. Like I said in my previous blog, we only had to hike 15 miles today and the terrain / elevation was supposed to be easier hiking than it typically is.  By 915 we had gone 4 miles, the terrain was easy! After going up and down thousands of feet each day, walking with a few hundred feet of elevation gain / loss almost feels flat.  The trail was very muddy today though. With all the rain in the past week, there were sections that had several inches of mud. As for the trail itself, it was basically a creek. Water was flowing off of every ledge and right onto the trail. On a good note, we arent going to get dehydrated anytime soon on the AT.  We kept plugging away and we soon reached our two climbs for the day, little and b...

We woke up at 630 to a light rain. I got another night of okay sleep. I was talking with Walker and it seems like our sleep for some unknown reason comes in cycles. For 3 nights straight we sleep incredible, then for the next 4 night we toss and turn or are restless and only sleep okay. Not sure what causes it but its interesting that it's the same for both of us. We got on the trail by 8 and by 801 we understood that it was going to be a long wet day. The trail was flooded, the rain was pouring down, the forest itself was just soaked. Our goal for the day was a bit ambitious, but completely within reason. We wanted to go 24 miles from low gap to stan murray shelter. At 12 we stopped at clyde smith shelter for a break from the rain and a chance to eat lunch. When we arrived we met a fellow through hiker by the name of boots. Since we were wet and hungry, we asked boots about our mileage for the day, since we didnt want to get our guide book out at the time. Big mistake. I...

I got another great night of sleep again last night. We camped right on the edge of a stream and since we only got to bed at 10pm my body was ready to sleep. One aspect of the trail that does surprise me is how many people only sleep in shelters. I'd have to say that it's at least a 1 to 5 ratio, probably even more. Some shelters are built great, no drafts, no holes in the ceiling or walls, just an all around well built structure. At least half the shelters though are run down, floors are slightly uneven, holes in the wall, the flooring is made of plywood.... and so on. Even with that said, almost everyone we meet stays in shelters. Walker and I definetly enjoy the privacy of camping, and 95% of the time we have a more comfy and warm sleeping spot. Plus we can hang out and talk and not worry about waking other people up or just disturbing them in general. To each their own I guess. We packed up by 930 and started up the trail. The first 13 miles of the day trended uphill....

I slept okay last night. The wind gusts were probably mid to high 20 mph. I woke up several times to my tent poles / rainfly rattling about wildly against each other. Thankfully I staked everything down well and nothing was going anywhere. Even with this in mind, it is still somewhat nerve racking sleeping in a tent during a storm. When you are in a house, you typically dont worry about your foundation falling apart and part of your house blowing away.  We did not want to get out of our tents this morning. From 7 to 8 we layed in bed, hoping the rain would stop. By 8 we agreed that it was time to get the morning started so we broke down camp and got on road by 9. The rain was no more than a drizzle at this point but the woods were so wet that the forest was dripping with water. The fog was so wet that we basically were walking through mist..... just another typical morning in the appalachian mountains.  There is a certain pride that comes with bad weather. I don't mean the typ...

I cannot stress enough how nice it is to be sleeping in our tents again instead of a shelter. I almost slept through the night last night, which is rare for me to do at home. I only woke up once or twice... I slept good.  We got moving at 645 again and were on trail by 8. Our morning was very easy hiking. Other than a quick 200 feet of elevation gain, spread over .3 miles or so, the first hour of the day was flat / slightly downhill. My body gets acclimated to the trail quite easily when the conditions are not straight up or straight down. I often find that if my muscles get warmed up with minimal stress, and then I stretch them, that they will rarely get sore throughout the day.  Unlike yesterday where we spent the majority of the day climbing up and then down two large mountains, today was a combination of several ups and down. After the initial 4 miles, we gained 1700 feet over 2 miles. Then we went down 800 feet. Then back up 600, then down 1500. By 1 we had gone 12 miles....

Last night we experienced our first thunderstorm on the trail. For most of the early part of the night, we heard distant thunder. Around 1 or 2 am, the sky broke loose. Bright flashes of lighting illuminated the night time sky while loud crashes of thunder could be felt from inside our bags.... and it rained as well.  We woke up at 650, packed up our belongings inside our tent and put on our rain gear. Then we had the lovely joy of stepping out from our dry tent into the rain. I really dont mind getting wet... it just hurts your morale just slightly when you have to do it so early in the morning.  By 8 we were on our way on the trail, eating pop tarts as we went. The fog and rain clouds created quite the dark atmosphere for the morning. Coupled with thick rhododendrons, it almost felt as we were hiking at night.  All things considered, we still made faily good time. By 1045 we had gone 7 miles. We are also officially in cherokee national forest. Cherokee has excellent tra...