Quick update:

Quick update:
Done! I completed my thruhike on the #AppalachianTrail yesterday at 1:21pm ET when I reached the access trail for the Appalachian Trail Conservancy at Harpers Ferry WV. I also beat the rain getting there!

Roughly speaking, eight months on the calendar since my 16 April start with six and a half months on trail.

I spent yesterday afternoon at the ATC headquarters, where the staff joined me to celebrate with Christmas cookies and sparkling cider. I also had my photo taken and added to the 2018 Hiker Book. Had fun talking with the ATC staffers and renewed my annual membership.

I also offered to help out and participate on the hiker Q&A panel at the 2019 Flip Flop Festival (details to be posted at http://www.flipflopfestival.org/).

I had dinner and spent the night at The Town's Inn (http://www.thetownsinn.com) on High Street, close to the train station. I'll be taking Amtrak home to DC this afternoon.

Once Christmas activities settle down, I'll get back to posting my backlog of daily trail updates and photos. I haven't forgotten.

Thanks for following! Have a wonderful Holiday season!

Quick(?) update:

Quick(?) update:
I'm at the beautiful Mountain Home "Cabbin" hostel outside of Front Royal after hiking through Shenandoah National Park for most of the week. Saturday was pretty easy, then Sunday began and ended with snow (only 5" total) and many time-consuming blowdowns near Loft Mountain campground. Skyline Drive was closed, so I spent most of Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday hiking 20+ mile days on the drive with forays onto the trail near the huts (shelters) at the start and end of the day (both the park rangers and Appalachian Trail Conservancy recommended hikers use the drive over the trail).

Thursday was all on the trail as most snow had thinned out, where I joined 50/50, another northbound flip-flop thruhiker I last saw in Daleville VA before Thanksgiving. He had only 10 miles left to complete his hike when I stopped at the Tom Floyd shelter just outside Front Royal.

I did the last four miles to the hostel this morning, and will zero here tomorrow to let my feet rest, eat, and wait out the flood watch for the rain tonight and tomorrow.

Only 60 miles to go! I expect to complete at Harpers Ferry on the 20th.

Quick update:

Quick update:
After crossing the James River footbridge last Saturday, I stopped at Stanimal's 328 hostel in Glasgow where I had a shower, did laundry, resupplied at Dollar General, and ate a large veggie pizza (the essentials) before moving on early Sunday.

Blowdowns are still a problem on the trail. Some sections are relatively easy, then there are miles of complex and difficult to bypass blowdowns (reports at https://www.appalachiantrail.org/home/explore-the-trail/trail-updates#VA are relatively accurate for Central Virginia where I passed through the thick of it, but clearing is happening after I passed).

I got into Stanimal's other hostel in Waynesboro this morning after nearly 4 miles of extensive, difficult blowdowns. I heard from the caretaker that Shenandoah ahead has about 100 trees down across each mile of trail, which corresponds to what I saw today and yesterday between Humpback Rocks and Rockfish Gap (pictures). Still, I want to press on early Saturday hoping trail crews make progress clearing the trail and terrain makes bypassing the damage easier. Oh, and up to 4" of additional snow is in the forecast for Sunday-Monday, plus temperatures in the low 20s overnight (my socks and boots were frozen this morning).

Enjoying my break now, though. Lots of food, and Internet to work on holiday shopping, as well as catching up on 2018 movie releases at the hostel. FWIW, I haven't encountered another thruhiker on the trail since a few days before Glasgow. Nice to have hostels and shelters to myself, though I did share Maupin Field shelter with a skunk Tuesday night and almost got sprayed, so it could be worse!

I'm really looking forward to getting home before Christmas. The long nights are giving me plenty of time to plan out a bathroom remodel, household cleanup, and other post retirement activities (develop a budget) when I return.

Quick update:

Quick update:
After two brutally cold, windy days on the #AppalachianTrail north of Daleville, I made an unscheduled stop at the Wattstull Inn in Buchanan VA. I was seriously concerned about frostbite with below freezing temperatures (as attested by my lemonade slush) and 40mph winds along the ridges. My fingers were numb from the start, despite my "windproof" gloves.

Thankfully, a trail angel gave me a ride 5 miles from the VA 614 trailhead (though in the back of a pickup, so still cold) to the Wattstull Inn, a very nice place with Foot of the Mountain restaurant onsite.

My fingers are still recovering (tingling, but I can tie boot laces again). Weather looks much warmer for the rest of the week, though a chance of rain.

There are also a lot of blowdowns (downed trees) across the trail from the recent ice storm, and I hear this continues north of Waynesboro and into Shenandoah National Park. This is slowing me down, but I've run into two volunteer trail crews hard at work removing them so I hope my delay improves the situation.

My next planned stop is at a hostel in Glasgow VA on Saturday.

Quick update:

Quick update:
Left the trail at Catawba VA on Tuesday after hiking Dragons Tooth and returned to northern Virginia on Wednesday for Thanksgiving with family.

My sister and brother-in-law are giving me a ride back to Daleville this afternoon so I will be back on the trail Sunday morning to see McAfee Knob and Tinker Cliffs.

Quick update:

Quick update:
Zeroing at Woods Hole hostel (http://woodsholehostel.com) outside Pearisburg during the ice storm today. A wonderful place to stay! Back on the trail tomorrow when the weather improves. Currently in Pearisburg for lunch and resupply.

Quick update:

Quick update:
Well, that didn't take long! I hiked 12 miles this morning in a cold rain and (after considerable debate) decided to check out the Bear Garden hostel just off the trail before continuing to the Knot Maul shelter two miles further.

I'm happy that I did! Roberta showed me the bunkroom and washroom. Fast WiFi, two boot dryers (yes!), free leftover Halloween candy and hot chocolate, free cereal breakfast, free milk, and a well-stocked fridge and cupboard of food items at very reasonable prices convinced me to stay today and tomorrow and avoid the worst of the rain and cold.

I don't like losing a day on the trail hiking tomorrow, but its better than a couple of cold, wet, sleepless nights in a shelter! And I signed up for Amazon Prime to get my down bag, so now I can listen to music and watch movies while waiting for better weather on Sunday.

Quick update:

Quick update:
I spent last night at the Relax Inn in Atkins VA near I-81, after a chicken fajita nacho lunch at El Burrito Loco and take out pizza dinner from the Sunoco minimart next door.

Getting ready for breakfast and return to the trail this morning, but not thrilled with the forecast for rain today and a very cold (18F?) Saturday night. I ordered a down sleeping bag from Amazon to supplement my 38 degree synthetic quilt but won't pick that up for a few days, yet.

Quick update:

Quick update:
I'm in my home state of Virginia! I crossed the state line from Tennessee yesterday after a rainy day on the #AppalachianTrail and got to Woodchuck's Hostel in Damascus for a zero day today. The hostel was full but made room for me on the couch last night after I had an excellent meatloaf dinner at the Damascus Diner.

Only about 550 miles to go (the longest section in any state), but its getting easier while the days are getting shorter, and I'm happy to be in my "backyard" now. I plan to keep to an average 15 miles per day with a finish before Christmas.

Quick update:

Quick update:
I arrived at Uncle Johnny's Nolichucky hostel (http://www.unclejohnnys.net) in Erwin TN this morning after a 20 mile hike yesterday. Nice to have a hot shower and clean clothes again.

I took the hostel's midday shuttle into town, had an all-you-can-eat pizza buffet and resupplied at the grocery store. I'm already anticipating the 5pm shuttle, probably for a Mexican dinner, and a morning shuttle for breakfast before I leave.

Either a short 5 mile day tomorrow or a 17 mile day, depending on how early I start. I'm hoping for the latter. The highest shelter on the AT, Roan High Knob at nearly 6200 feet, is coming up soon, but its getting too cold for me to overnight there with my current gear. Also expecting rain (snow?) over the next few days.

Quick update:

Quick update:
I completed my hike through Great Smoky Mountains National Park and arrived at the Hostel at Laughing Heart Lodge (http://www.laughingheartlodge.com) in Hot Springs NC yesterday afternoon for a zero (rest day) today.

Through information from other southbound hikers, I found my friend Production in Hot Springs at the same hostel. We last saw each other in Dalton MA back in June, and had not shared contact info (now remedied). We spent much of last night and today catching up and exchanging information about the trail ahead, but he is continuing south and I north tomorrow morning. It's been a very nice stay, and plenty of excellent town food to keep me going!

05 October

05 October
From: Muskrat Creek shelter
To: Carter Gap shelter
Mileage: 12.7
Weather: Mild to warm, sunny

I started out at 8:30am after Wildcat left.

After a descent and climb, I stopped at Standing Indian shelter, which had a rattlesnake skin nailed to a front post, and pieces of the shelter Bible in the fire pit (like hotel Bibles, some group puts small Bibles in every shelter, but don't understand why anyone would disrespect it in this way).

It was a 1000 foot climb, hot in the sun, and through a burn area to the Standing Indian summit.

I stopped for the night at Carter Gap shelter. There wad a large Christian group camping. Wildcat was already setup hammocking. There was a southbound section hiker in the shelter with a friend tenting.

I successfully threw my bear bag line on the first try, but almost messed it up later when I realized I forgot to add John's snack bag from my pocket. I had to use a long branch to retrieve the carabinier that was out of my reach).

Another talkative northbound hiker joined us in the shelter, and there was a lot of conversation as Wildcat and others gathered in the shelter to eat during a rainshower.

04 October

04 October
From: Dick's Creek Gap
To: Muskrat Creek shelter
Mileage: 12.2
Weather: Mild to warm, sunny

I took another shower in the morning after preparing my pack and joined others for the All You Can Eat cereal breakfast in the main room of the hostel. I had several bowls of Cocoa Puffs and Cheerios, along with a lot of my apple juice.

John took an 8am shuttle to Blue Ridge Gap to hike to the NC border than back to the Plumorchard shelter in Georgia for the night. He then planned to get the hostel shuttle into Hiawassee before returning home to Massachusetts. Before leaving, he gave me a big ziplock bag of raisins, dried cranberries and pistachios that he did not need.

I prompted the hostel owner Sir-Packs-A-Lot to give his briefing on 10 rules for thruhikers, usually reserved for the inexperienced hikers heading north in the Spring. He also let me use the hostel computer to print the AT thruhiker permit required at the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, still more than a week away.

I was given a short shuttle ride uphill to the trailhead. My pack was full, heavy with resupply and water, plus the snack bag from John.

I stopped at the Plumorchard shelter, which was downhill from the trail but had very nice piped stream water, a three level shelter, privy, and a bear box. I made a log entry and and had a lunch snack before leaving.

I met John/Second Chance returning from the NC border before I reached Blue Ridge Gap, and we exchanged well wishes.

It was a pleasant trail, with a slight climb to the NC border sign. Just beyond, I found a twisted old tree noted in AWOL's AT guide and chatted with a local hiker there.

I followed then passed her up a long, steep climb to the Couthouse Bald summit. It was relatively level to Muskrat Creek shelter after a couple of stream crossings. Now the trail stayed over 4000 feet elevation from the 3000s in Georgia.

I reached Muskrat Creek shelter and met Wildcat tenting. He is a local hiker doing a long segment to Hot Springs NC, north of the Smokies.

North Carolina did not provide cables or boxes for bear bags, so I had to work a bit to find a suitably high branch to throw my line over. Once done, I had dinner and hung my bag (PCT method). I also hung my pack in the shelter, hoping neither bears nor mice would visit.

03 October

03 October
From: Deep Gap shelter
To: Top of Georgia Hiker Center
Mileage: 4.6
Weather: Cool to mild, sunny and humid

I left the shelter before John, anxious to begin my Nero and catch a daily resupply shuttle into Hiawassee GA at the hostel.

Once I reached the busy two-lane road at Dick's Creek Gap, I followed the sign 0.7 miles downhill along the narrow shoulder to the hostel entrance.

The hostel is staffed by thruhikers, and Vagabond, a two time AT thruhiker (last when she was 70) got me signed in. I was happy to take a shower and exchange my clothes for hospital scrubs while mine got washed. I also availed myself of the free hot chocolate (3 cups, IIRC) when John arrived. Another couple of hikers arrived that I met at Neel Gap hostel, one a woman flip-flop thruhiker who was heading north like I was, joined by her boyfriend to their finish at McAfee Knob in Virginia (they are from Lynchburg VA). The boyfriend had an injury and they planned to take a day off.

I and the couple took the afternoon shuttle to town, where we had two hours before pickup. I went to an All You Can Eat buffet at Daniel's, which had Gone with the Wind posters and prayer reminders about, and had two rounds of heaping plates of southern comfort food with side dishes and dessert before I felt full. I then went to the nearby Dollar General store to resupply tuna packets, cookies, gummi bears, apple juice and lemonade drink mix before heading back to the pickup point at the Ingles grocery store. I noticed that the older grocery store next door had only a few customers, which was rather sad.

John and I shared the bunkhouse. The couple stayed in one of the tiny cabins on the property (same price per person).

I had a couple of cups of Neapolitan ice cream a previous guest left in the bunkhouse freezer before bed as my stomach found more room.

02 October

02 October
From: Blue Mountain shelter
To: Deep Gap shelter
Mileage: 16.2
Weather: Cool to mild, sunny

I was up at dawn (but after the women) to get an early start.

It was a long descent from Blue Mountain to Unicoi Gap, then a long climb up Rocky Mountain. On the way up, I passed Furnace and Milo coming south, who also warned me about the hornets. Milo had been stung. I recognized their names and their faces were familiar, and they recognized me, too. I believe we met at the Hikers Welcome hostel in Glencliff NH. I congratulated them on their nearly completed thruhike.

When I reached the campsite sign at the summit that the women told me about, I donned my fleece jacket and mosquito net jacket with hood, insulated buff head cover, gloves, zip-on legs for my convertible hiking pants, and a shot of DEET for good measure, then jogged quickly through the summit area without getting stung. I took the extra layers off on my way down, and passed the warning about the hornets to other southbound hikers I met.

The next peak to climb was Tray Mountain, the second highest peak in Georgia. I left an entry with the hornet warning in the log at the Tray Mountain shelter when I stopped for a snack.

I met "John from Massachusetts" (who I was told to expect by a couple of other hikers), trail name Second Chance, at Deep Gap shelter where I stopped. John, a very nice guy and recently retired police officer, was section hiking the AT in Georgia to the North Carolina border, which was 12.5 miles ahead. However, we both planned to stay at the Top of Georgia Hiker Center (and hostel, http://topofgeorgiahikingcenter.org) the next day, another Nero and resupply for me.

Although another man visited the shelter, apparently part of a group, he didn't return so it was just John and I at the shelter for the night. There was a bear box, and my food was in the Ursack, so I hoped it was safe from bears and rodents overnight.

01 October

01 October
From: Mountain Crossings hostel
To: Blue Mountain shelter
Mileage: 18.8
Weather: Cool to mild, cloudy to sunny

I didn't have a restful night at the Mountain Crossings hostel. It was a bit stuffy despite fans and dehumidifiers, but worse was the intermittent squeaks and scrambling sounds of rats in the paneling right beside my head. I realized my food bag was open on the floor and I hadn't opened the new rodent-resistant Ursack, yet, so I put the bag on the unoccupied top bunk and rolled it shut. I slept a little once I felt that the rats might stay on their side of the wall.

After eating a breakfast sandwich I bought the day before, I left around 8am. I almost visited a campsite that Beat Rap recommended for the view, but it wasn't close enough to the trail. I did stop at Low Gap shelter, which was down an access trail blocked by a couple fallen trees and not clearly blazed. I had a snack and made an entry in the log.

I nearly walked into a large spider web across the trail, complete with large spider in the middle. Unfortunately, I had to knock it down to get past.

Then I stepped right next to a 4 foot rattlesnake on the trail just before Poor Mountain. The snake moved its head when my foot went down and I saw it, did a very fast two-step down the trail before looking back and recognizing it was a rattler. Apparently the snake was as startled as I and did not have time to rattle a warning. I'm glad it showed restraint. I started paying more attention to the trail.

It was a nice gentle grade trail after Low Gap, following an old mountain road.

I passed and briefly chatted with the SoBo hiker and his parents that I met at Neel Gap as they headed for the Low Gap shelter for the night.

Just as I was getting tired, the trail became uneven and rocky for the last couple of miles to the Blue Mountain shelter. The shelter was very nice with a view on the ridge. Two women from the Raleigh NC area were already there on a section hike to Springer Mountain. They warned me about a hornets nest where they had been stung just past the summit of Rocky Mountain, the next peak north on the trail.

It was a cool night and very peaceful, despite a previous comment from Beat Rap that bears frequented the area.