We are alive!

Hey! Been wondering where we have been? We have been to one of the most magical places on Earth... The Great Smoky Mountains! There hasn't been much cell service so I'll be updating the blog as soon as we settle in somewhere. SO MUCH TO SHARE!!!

D21 & 22

Day 21 - Packages

• Miles traveled: 0 (Zero day)
• Shelter: another great night in hobo village at the NOC
• High point: tie for packages and food
• Low point: the foreboading climb out tomorrow morning

We arrived into the NOC a day earlier than we expected. Towns or stops do that to you. They give you a little bit of drive or push you to just get there. Anyways we were expecting a package to be delivered at anytime on Wednesday so we decided we would stay for a zero.

We did our normal "zero" chores: laundry before shower and eat before purchasing resupply food for the next few days. All of these task are very important as is their order of operations. (FYI: this seems to be only important to me. Russ doesn't care in what order we do things and would probably do them all at once if he could.)

We cleaned and we ate!


We received packages too!!!

We received a box full of goodies from my friend April M. THANK YOU APRIL!!! Russ also received his new ankle braces from Amazon that will help him keep his ankles happy and healthy!
And a repost from our Instagram account. Our favorite photo yet.

Day 22 - Climb

• Miles traveled: 10.4
• Shelter: tent city at Locust Grove Gap
• High point: conquering the NOC climb
• Low point: not feeling well and hiking in the heat

We packed up our tent by the river. Noticed that the river was down considerably this morning. We headed back to the Rivers Edge restaurant for breakfast and to finish charging our phones and appliances.

Breakfast was very good but I was not feeling well afterwards so we hung around and hydrated. Once I was feeling better we began a climb that we were dreading for days.
We climbed over 3650ft out of the NOC in just under 8 miles. It was warm but the clouds kept providing some shade and cool breezes. It. Was. Hard. Some of the hardest stuff we have climbed since we started. We took our time and we took a lot of breaks.
We stopped at the top of Cheoah Bald for some amazing views before descending into Locust Grove gap where we are packed in like sardines. The terrain isn't great but it will work. We are exhausted but happy.

D19 & 20

Day 19 - Mountain Monday

• Miles Traveled: 9.7
  
• Shelter: tent on a hard slope at Big Branch Campsite
  
• High Point: Wayah Bald and tower
  
• Low Point: hitting hangry in 78°F

Breakfast of hiking champions, only when I can't find grits and hot sauce.

 

Finally got a photo of a wild hare! 

We had another great morning hiking. We hit Wyah Bald about 10am And the views were amazing. The weather is still phenomenal and we are happy to be hiking!!!

Since we started hiking we have heard this deep thumping sound in the woods. After talking to other hikers and doing a little bit of research on the internet we found that we were hearing a Grouse. I am still trying to figure out how to post videos in this blog. But we found a great video that explains what we are experiencing. Either was we trying to find this elusive Grouse and see him beat his wings.

(Cool) Grouse Informational Vid Link

Camped with Jelly Bean and her Dad. They were pleasant company for the evening.

Day 20 - Mostly random thoughts from the trail.

• Miles hiked: 9.6 miles
  
• Shelter: tent at hobo village on the Nantahala river
  
• High point: reaching a pivotal point that we drove past on the way to the trail head
  
• Low point: the descent into the NOC was brutal

We woke up at the bottom of our tent. The tent site from the previous night was anything but flat. This seems to be trend, but we shouldn't be surprised... It IS the mountains.

We hiked through more burn area and up to Wesser Bald for some amazing views.

I like to entertain the idea that I might be getting better at climbing mountains. This may not be entirely true but I do believe my aerobic activity threshold is getting better. Yes. That's is probably true.

The above photo is Russ on the top of a mountain as high as all the other mountains. He is at the very edge and going to descend the mountain along the trail. Photos don't do anything justice out here. It's the feeling you get when you are walking on a ridge and you have no idea where the trail can go from here.

Lizard. 

Also... Russ is eating skittles that he finds on the trail. I am not. We will see who survives the longest.

We had a very long and hard descent into the NOC (Nantahala Outdoor Center on the Nantahala River). I finally get why they say the downhills are harder than the uphills. It is all your weight (or most of it, if you are using hiking poles) coming down on one foot, one leg, one knee, one hip and all of your back. After a few thousand steps, you feel it in every joint. Crazy thing is... What goes up must come down. We were happy to reach the shore of the river and soak our feet in the cold water.

We also were guided to the best campsite on the river by some of our fellow hiking friends and enjoyed the river rushing by all night.

D 17&18 - Back at it!!

Day 17 4/8

• Miles Traveled: 1 duplicate mile
  
• Shelter: tent at Moore Creek
  
• High Point: getting back out on the trail
  
• Low Point: entirely too many hours of sleep
  

We headed out of Franklin after breakfast. We called a very nice trail angel listed in the guide book, Beverly Carini. She took us back to Winding Stair Gap. The same place in which we started from 4 days earlier.

She asked why we didn't go back to where we were picked up before and we explained that we were familiar with the trail, the terrain and we knew we had an out 6 miles in if Russ' ankle wasn't getting better. She accepted our donation and wished us well as we went on our way. We hiked about 1 mile in and set up camp for one more day of rest. We packed out some delicious deli sandwiches and lounged around camp.

We went to bed early (pre 5pm)because we were excited to hike the next day.

Day 18 4/9

• Miles traveled: total 7.6, 6.3 retraced miles, 2.3 new miles
  
• Shelter: tent at Wine spring campsite
  
• High point: NEW MILES & a cool creek to soak our feet
  
• Low point: the last two "new" miles were steep uphill to the campsite
  

We woke up excited and eager to hike. We were greeted with a cool morning and sun. The miles came easy and we were rewarded with spotting two deer. We haven't seen very much wildlife since we started. Squirrels, birds, the occasional chipmunk and one wild hare (or bunny, as I like to call them) is all that we have seen so far. 

We are taking it easy and slow. We have LAZER FOCUS on the trail. 

We topped our first NC bald, Siler Bald. We actually passed by the 0.5 mile side trail (blue blaze) the first time we hiked these miles. We did not miss this opportunity and the view was a great reward.

Excited to move forward but we are very cautious as we do not want to injure ourselves by going too far and fast, too soon.

PS the only snow we have seen. 

Days 14-16

• Miles Traveled: 0
  
• Shelter: Budget Inn & Knights Inn in Franklin NC
  
• High Point: Knights Inn upgrade
  
• Low Point: the few moments when we didn't know where to go

We have been in Franklin resting. Russ has been icing his ankle, using the aircast and slowly increasing his walking. I've been making sure he has ice, ibuprofen and taking it easy. The weather has been less than stellar. Wind, ice, snow and rain have passed through the area over the past few days. We have wanted to be out on the trail but haven't been too sad about missing this weather. We have seen lots of familiar faces around town and that has been comforting. The least comforting moment was when we walked up to the office of the hotel and asked to stay another night. We were staying night by night and evaluating Russ' ankle daily when we found out there wasn't any vacancy for the next night. It probably won't be the last time we feel a bit a fear on this adventure but it was unnerving not knowing whats next. We got some food and called around. We sorted it out after a while and found ourselves in a better place. Since then we have been taking care of chores and resupply. We are looking to check the ankle again tomorrow. We will be taking it easy and very slow but looking forward to getting back out there and the weather for the next few days.

D13

• Miles Traveled: 5.8
  
• Shelter: Budget Inn in Franklin NC
  
• High Point: sunny weather
  
• Low Point: $50.00 shuttle

Today was tough. We started hiking and it was beautiful. 

We were taking it slow but over time Russ' ankle hurt. He had a pain and it intensified the further we went. We decided to go back into town and take care of ourselves. 

We visited the urgent care because the ankle and foot doctor in the area couldnt take us till Friday (it was Tuesday. 😳)

D 12

Day 12 4/3

• Miles Traveled: 3.8 (Nero: close to zero miles)
  
• Shelter: Budget Inn in Franklin NC
• High Point: FOOD
• Low Point: Neros aren't nearly long enough (hince the name)

We hiked with a group of 8, headlamps blazing into the night at 6am headed from Rock Gap shelter the 3.8 miles over the mountain to the next shuttle pick up point. This was all in effort not to feel guilty of a zero mile day. The trek was different. It was crazy trekking mountains in the dark. It's like tunnel vision. You are completely focused on where your headlamp is pointing and putting one foot in front of the other. We went through fog and rain on this trip so we were really happy when a shuttle pulled up as we descended the last steps of the mountain. (Magic, as it wasn't supposed to arrive for another 1.5 hours)

We headed into Franklin, checked into the inn and headed to breakfast (it was only 9am) until our rooms were ready. Breakfast was delicious. I had a Dever omelette and Russ had a whole plate of food. Checked into our room, walked a 1.5 mile round trip to resupply and headed out to the outfitter for insoles and then to food. 

We stopped at Outdoor 76 to get me some insoles and meet a friend. 😊🐶 My current superfeet insoles were giving me blisters because the heel cup was smaller than the actual insole. Dumb. Anyways, the new SOLE insoles fit great, I got to love on a chocolate lab and we got a discount in the process. 

After we headed to the Lazy Hiker Brewery. Being Monday, there wasn't much open but we checked the internets and found great reviews of the food truck outside the brewery. I had the best, biggest shrimp Po boy of my life. 

We ate, we drank, and we made good friends.