Due to the corona virus, Danny and I had to put our thru hike on hold. These next blog posts that you will be reading were our first 12 days on the Appalachian Trail. I am happy to say that while writing this we are packing our bags in North Carolina ready to start right where we had stoped. I hope you enjoy these first 12 days and there are more to come!
Day 2: Today marks a full day on the AT. It was a nice easy two mile walk to begin and we start the day with high hopes. Our first off trail excursion occurs when we hear of a waterfall. Three Forks Falls was about two hundred feet off trail and the two of us stopped to have a nice coffee break at the waterfall. Bellies full of warmth and our minds filled with the view of the gorgeous waterfall, we set off to continue. Today we hiked up Sassafras Mountain. Man oh man did it kick our butts. We stopped several times and when almost at the top, we found a campsite where we ate lunch. I’ve never loved the taste of broccoli more than in that moment. We originally had planned to stop at Gooch Gap Shelter, but by the time we got there it was only 4:30. Feet aching, we decided to push past and try to find a place to stealth camp. More and more steep hills on either side loom in the distance as we look for a flat piece of ground. We start making mental notes to ourselves as to potential yet not ideal places we could camp. About a mile and a half from the shelter, we came to a road and was greeted by Lady Poles, a class of ‘19 hiker who was our providing trail magic. I kid you not he was the chillest dude I’ve ever met. We chatted with him and Simon (another thruhiker that was at our shelter last night). We all sat around sharing stories and talks of what we hope to do. Lady Poles shared his experiences with us and some of the wild stories from his hike. “Man we were on top of some mountain above the tree lines and it just started pouring. Me and this cat named Caveman decided to hunker down but I had a hammock and couldn’t take it in the wind. Caveman invited me into the tent and we couldn’t even close it cuz I ain’t a small dude and neither was he. The rain turned to snow and we were frozen from the waist down. Next mornin’ I look at my hammock all twisted around the tree and it’s frozen solid. Caveman and I took turns peein’ on it till it thawed out.” You can’t make that up. That wasn’t apart of the job description...
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