Day 13 - 30

Day 13 and 14

Franklin was nice. We stayed at the Budget Inn and ate at Cody's Roadhouse. Ron, the town commissioner, is a nice guy and gave us a ride back to the trail. Town has a way of sucking you in. It felt really good to be back on the trail. I did manage to purchase a better sleeping pad (it works great, and solved all my back pain problems). The three of us hiked 11 miles, staying the night at Wayah shelter.



Life on the trail isn't too bad. This is our typical routine:

Wake up at 7am. Eat breakfast and leave by 8am. Hike until noon. Take about a 30min break and cook/eat lunch. Hike 2-4 more hours, arriving at a shelter or campsite. Purify water. Cook dinner/eat. Brush teeth. Hang food (so the bears don't get it). Read. Sleep. Repeat.



This is what I typically eat:

Breakfast: 2 Oatmeal packets, one Hot Cocoa packet, Tea, Bagel or Pita Bread
Lunch: Mac N Cheese or Stuffing Mix or Loaded Mashed Potatoes, King Size Snickers Bar
Dinner: Rice/Pasta side, Tuna/Chicken/Salmon Packets
Spice for Flavor: Crushed Red Pepper Flakes, Gravy Mix (thx to Swift)
Snack: Trail Mix bag (mixed nuts + dried banana chips)

Total Calories: ~ 2,500

On our first night from leaving town we eat Hot Dogs. I also buy stuff to make S'mores. I'm always experimenting with different foods.


Day 15

Hiked 15.5 miles to Rufus Morgan Shelter. We found some semi-stale beer in a stream and totally drank it. I also found the New Testament and took it with me. I always wanted to read the Bible, and having something to read will help pass the time.

Day 16 (Fowler's last day hiking)

We hiked .8  miles into NOC (Nantahala Outdoors Center). At this time the NOC was still on seasonal hours. After waiting a bit, we resupplied at the outfitter, and ate lunch at the restaurant (which was delicious!). Josh had some "business" to take care of over the phone. Because it would take a long time to complete, he decided to part ways and meet up with us at Fontana Dam. Mo and I hiked 10.5 miles and stayed at the Locust Cove Gap campground. On the trail we met a guy who was legally blind. His name was Davy, and he had some wicked glasses. Really cool guy, and he was hiking some of the hardest terrain on the trail. Amazing

Day 17

Mo and I hiked 17 miles to the main road right before Fontana Dam. From there we used the phone to call the Fontana Lodge, confirmed Josh was indeed there, and got a shuttle to pick us up. Josh greeted us at the lodge and told us the bad news. Joshua "Sweet Cheeks" Fowler went weak sister on us and quit. I duno. He just wasn't having any fun. Nor did he have the desire to accomplish something as huge as the trail. I'm glad he came. It was great to see him again; he will be missed. Anyway, we stayed the night at the lodge, ate great food, and enjoyed a hot shower.

Day 18 / Great Smokey Mountains National Park Day One

We said our goodbyes to Josh, took the shuttle back to the trail, and took off. The first 2 miles took us across Fontana Dam. And then we hiked 11 miles into GSMNP. The weather was cold and all mist. I went up a tower but failed to see anything. We stayed the night at Mollies Ridge Shelter. At the shelter we meet up with Rockhound, another thru-hiker with previous AT experience. He was only 30 minutes ahead of us on the trail, when he saw two bears run off into the mist. There was a sign on the shelter warning of recent bear activity that resulted in people being mauled and killed. Creepy but exciting. At night the mist was so thick you could not see more than 3 feet in front of you.

Day 19 / Great Smokey Mountains National Park Day Two

What a great day! Sunshine and relatively warm temperatures. We hiked 17.2 miles to Silers Bald Shelter. On the way we ran into a former Marine grunt from 2/9 - "The Walking Dead." He had a compact guitar strapped to his pack. Although neither of us can play, Mo and I talked about bringing a guitar for the AT. It was neat seeing our idea in action. Rockhound stayed at the same shelter as us, and we questioned him for trail knowledge.

Day 20 / Great Smokey Mountains National Park Day Three

Hiked 15.5 miles to Icewater Spring Shelter. This day was rough. The trail was mostly thick snow and ice. I fell seven times! Overcast all day. We went up Clingman's Dome, the highest part of the AT, but there was nothing to see. It also rained on us.

Day 21 / Great Smokey Mountain National Park Day Four

Despite having previous knowledge of oncoming thunderstorms, the weather was calm in the morning and we started hiking. Big mistake. Four miles into the trail it started raining hard. And then came the thunder. We ran the next three miles, most of which was sheer ridgeline, to Pecks Corner Shelter. We spent the rest of the day and night held up in this shelter. The storm was intense. The rain became heavier, and turned into hail. But the lightning and sounds of thunder was heart warming.

Day 22 / Great Smokey Mountain National Park Day Five

We awoke to a beautiful day. But our hiking clothes were cold and wet. Nonetheless we took off and hiked 20.4 miles to Davenport Gap Shelter. Clear skies and sunshine led to many excellent pictures. It was especially cool to see the mountains poke out of the clouds as if they were islands. It reminded me of Hawaii and the ocean. This was our last day in GSMNP, and although it was epic, Mo and I were glad to be out.

Day 23 / Standing Bear is a pretty cool place

After hiking a few miles we came to Standing Bear Hiker Hostel. We met up again with Rockhound, who knows the owners of the hostel, and does work for stay. Standing Bear is simply amazing. Picture a rock garden yard, with a stream running down the center, and tiny cabins all over. It has a real homey feel. And the resupply store is fully stocked. Rockhound told us about the mad parties that go down here when the hiking season is in full swing. We wished we could have stayed, but since walking is what we do, we had to move on. We hiked a total of 18.9 miles and ended up at Roaring Fork Shelter. Just before the shelter is Max Patch. Max Patch is beautiful. It's a huge grassy bald that offers absolutely amazing views.

Day 24

We walked 15.2 miles to Deer Park Mountain Shelter. Tomorrow we stay at Hot Springs for a zero day. Since this was our eleventh night out from Franklin, we were very excited for Hot Springs.

Day 25

Mo and I walked 3 miles into Hot Springs and stayed at the Sunnybank Inn. Hot Springs was all we could have hoped for. Good food, an outfitter, post office, and library for internet access. Best of all, we met this amazing badass dude who went by his trail name Swift. Swift is 65 years old and retired. Within the last few years, he hiked the Appalachian Trail northbound twice. The first time he hiked it he road his bicycle from his home in Maine to Key West Florida, and then to Springer Mountain. He also owns a sailboat, which he takes from Maine to the Caribbean. In fact, when Haiti was devastated by the recent earthquake, he used his boat as a hostel for relief workers. Swift was full of many amazing stories, and a lot of useful information. This time he was section hiking the AT for fun. It's so hard to put Swift into words.

Day 26

Hot Springs was great but the trail is our purpose. Paul (trail name Wodie, we met him earlier on the AT and just now caught up to him) joined us, hiking 11 miles to Spring Mountain shelter. Mo bought a wind-up radio in Hot Springs. The trail just improved tenfold. Not only do we have music at the end of the day, but we also have the weather report. Bonus!

Day 27

The morning forecast said rain but we got heavy snow instead. Multiple feet of snow! We decided to move on, and hiked a total of 15 miles to Jerry Cabin Shelter. This was the worst day so far. The reason heavy snow sucks is because after it collects on the trees and bushes, it weighs them down and blocks the path. The only way past is to knock the snow off by hitting the limbs with your trekking poles. This usually ends with you getting covered in snow. Hiking was slow and it became dangerously cold. As soon as we made it to the shelter we immediately jumped into our sleeping bags to warm up. That night I woke up at 3am and put my boots in a garbage bag and cuddled up with them in my sleeping bag. The next morning I was the only one whose boots were not frozen. I've also tried different methods of drying wet socks. Sleeping with the socks under your sleeping pad does not work. If you sleep with the socks in your sleeping bag and under your body, the will mostly dry out. But it's not a perfect science...

Day 28

Thankfully the sun came out and melted most of the snow. It also warmed up everyone's boots. We walked another 15 miles to Hogback Shelter.

Day 29

Paul, Mo, and I went 20.7 miles to No Business Shelter. Not an easy day for a 20-miler. We hiked up to the summit of Big Bald. Another amazing bald with 360 degree epic views. Paul has a mouse trap with him. Every night that we've been with him he has caught a mouse. I'm thinking about picking up a trap for myself. Maybe I'll carry a bunch of traps and leave a few at each shelter. hmmmm

Day 30

After walking 6.3  miles we finally made it to Uncle Johnny's Hostel in Erwin TN. The date is March 9th, 2011. Mike's (Mo) knees no longer bother him, but he still wears two knee braces. I also still wear a knee brace on my right knee. Furthermore, Mike now wears wicking socks under his wool socks, eliminating all the rub problems his boots were causing him. We've come a long way so far, and have much, much father to go. The Appalachian Trail is truly an adventure of a lifetime.