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Drowning in the Roan Highlands
It started raining around 0600, and I slept in thinking the rain would stop, only to realize that it would rain for the next few days pretty much non-stop. I had a sad looking puppy sitting out in the rain, waiting for me to finish tearing down camp. “Mamwich” told me that I would love
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A Rickety Log Step Detour
Bo and I started rolling around 0800 and were careful to avoid the glass shards on our departure. We had some more road walking, and we watched an otter scurry across the road! When Bo and I hit the 107 road, all the FarOut comments began to make sense because up until then, I hadn’t
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A Raft Ride before the Helene Detour
I got to sleep in until 0730, since the raft doesn’t start taking people across the Nolichucky River until 0900. The bridge was taken out during Helene, and you could see remnants of the bridge scattered throughout the water. It flows pretty quickly, and there is rebar and other sharp debris in the water, so
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A Little Bike Ride on the Interstate
It started storming around 8 or 9 pm last night, and there was lots of thunder and lightning, but little rain, fortunately. My tent was still wet this morning. I decided to push 11 miles today to Erwin and get there a day early rather than sit at camp from noon until dark and get into
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If it’s Big and Bald, it’s Bald Mtn
I woke up to it raining around 0600, so I snoozed for a bit, hoping it would pass. I didn’t cook this morning and got rolling around 0800. I’ve been getting frustrated trying to figure out logistics to see some friends. It’s hard to plan out days ahead where I will be in order to
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Two Butts Go Over Big Butt Mtn
I slept in a bit this morning. Bo and I camped alone, which was a nice change. We got rolling around 0800, and we climbed up and over Big Butt Mtn–there was no view sadly. Then we meandered through berry patches, which sadly had no berries yet. Bo and I walked up on another thru-hiker
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Walking the Ridge to 300 Miles!
I met “3rd Generation” this morning. There were some tough downhills with Bo. I’ve still been feeling really rushed. Rushed to get to Fontana to drop off Bo and then rushed to pick him up in Davenport, rushed to meet friends, and make calls. I also realized that I’m walking in essence to my dad,
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A Hot Springs Breakfast Frenzy
Bo and I had a quick 3 miles down to Hot Springs, NC. Thoughts of breakfast from the Smokey Mtn Diner fueled me with each step I took. I spent the 3 miles day dreaming of what I would order. Hot Springs was hit pretty hard from Helene. At the Diner, I set Bo up
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A Brutal Chaffing before the Springs
I had a slow morning and forgot Bo’s plastic 2L food bowl somewhere at the shelter. Spoons left before me, and we are shooting for the same shelter for the evening. I had a very tough morning. My thighs apparently chaffed pretty bad yesterday, and I didn’t realize until this morning. My skin is red
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Climbing up to Max Patch
I slept in under around 8am and packed up. Jon brought us coffee to the picnic table outside. We left around 0930 and made another Walmart stop since Spoons lost his toothbrush and toothpaste. We got dropped off at I40 and had another big climb of 5000ft ahead of us. Spoons and I hiked 12
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One Hitch on Interstate Later
Spoons and I woke up at 0600 to roll out by 0630 and be down by I40 around 0800. We passed Andre, his cousin, Alpha, Thirsty Boy, Poptart, and 6 – String tenting a few miles from the shelter. We got down to hwy 32, and there were no cars, so we decided to head
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Mt Cammerer Lookout
It rained on us a bit last night, and we heard thunder cracks all around. I walked through snag city–very steep with little top soil. I walked up on 3 deer crossing the trail, they spooked and took off. I saw some interesting coral things and mushrooms along the way. I felt better today, my
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Climbing Charlie’s Bunion
During the night, my sleeping pad kept leaking and going flat. I had to keep blowing it up all throughout the night and kept getting occasional shivers. I awoke in the morning pretty abruptly when I heard the words “bear” and “bags.” I tore out of my tent to see if I was the unlucky
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Walking Through a Sea of Tourists
I was surrounded by snoring hikers last night in the shelter and did not sleep very well as a result. I will be pitching my tent outside of the shelter from now on in the Smokies. I’ve realized that people complain a lot out on the trail and in daily life. Everyone has a different
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Hitching into Gatlinburg
Today, I have a quick 5 miles to where the trail splits to Clingman’s Dome trail, which leads down to the parking lot. The crew that stayed at the shelter last night are all planning to catch the 1230 shuttle into Gatlinburg. It was a beautiful morning. Rays of sunshine penetrated through the limbs of
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Saddling Up for Kuwohi
I said goodbye to “A-Team” today over oatmeal. There were lots of great views, mushrooms, and of course…climbing. There were more people on the trail as well. Saw many day hikers who aren’t nearly as friendly as thru-hikers. Whenever I would try to chat with them, they would just stare at me or completely ignore
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Into the Smokies!
I woke up around 7 am this morning. I packed everything up and ate my trashcan pizza as I was walking up the hill toward the trail. On the way up I said goodbye to “Pooh Bear” who is taking a zero today in order to pick up a package from the post office. There
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Falling into Fontana
All through the night, as “Cutt,” Bo and I slept in the shelter, the mice in the rafters scurried all around. Early in the morning, one fell from the ceiling onto the floor and scampered off, startling all of us. I said goodbye to “Cutt” this morning as I was continuing NOBO, and he was
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The Uncanny Glass Eye
Bo and I rolled out early this morning in order to beat the rain and to put some distance between us and the other dog owner. It was a pretty foggy morning, and we walked downhill into a parking lot where they were doing construction. It was strange to hear so much noise after being
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Two Swamp Puppies Left the NOC
Bo and I slept in this morning, since the hostel staff had a parade to attend where their son with down syndrome would be walking escorted in a parade for his school. For breakfast, “Poppins ” let me have some of her left over pizza and then I made a cup of coffee up at
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Over the Mtn & through the Rainforest, to NOC We Go
Bo and I walked through a rainforest this morning. We woke up early to try and beat the rain and got about an hour of dryness before the clouds opened up. It was a very steep, wet, and rocky descent off Wesser Bald. I made Bo walk behind me, blocking him with my poles–of course
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Wesser Bald Lookout
The sun rose behind the privy this morning, and the wind wafted its pungent aromas toward the sleeping hikers, which served as an abrupt wake-up call. Bo and I rolled out at 0800, and I fell asleep reading around 2000 last night–I could definitely tell I was a bit sleep deprived. There were beautiful overlooks
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Follow the Easter Eggs to the Van!
The shuttle from the Grove Hostel picked Bo and I up from the Inn at 0645 and took us back to Winding Stair Gap. On the way to the gap, we watched the sunrise in the distance and started hiking at 0700. Bo and I are trying to walk slower today to give my feet
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A Zero Logistical Day in Franklin
Today, Bo and I had a lovely morning. We walked a mile to the post office to ship a few things home–saying goodbye to my old shoes that walked 100 miles of the trail and look like they walked at least 500, haha. Then we walked up the big hill to the square to meet
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A Franklin Get-A-Way
It’s a Nero day! I packed up camp and walked about 0.1 miles down to the parking lot where “Widget’s” family had come with trail magic! Her boyfriend, kids, and sister had brought her van down, and her sister plans to hike with her for a few days. There was sausage, eggs, coffee, donuts, pepperoni
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The Treacherous Albert Mtn Fire Tower
Bo and I cruised to Albert Mtn Fire Tower, where we were met with a nearly vertical rocky climb to the top. There were lots of downed trees to cross, which presents a challenge when your dog is attached to your waist and wants to go under trees that you cannot fit through with a
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Interrogation before Standing Indian Mtn
Bo and I rolled out at 0800 and put some quick miles under our belts before running into Forest Service personnel in the Deep Gap parking lot. They questioned us to see if we saw anything strange or had any information in regard to the start of the wildfire. There is some speculation, whether it
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A Firey Pass into North Carolina
It was much cooler today. Bo and I cranked out 8 miles before lunchtime. On the hike, we met another guy with an aggressive pitbull. He had to pull the dog way off trail as we passed, and interestingly, the guy was smoking cigarettes… which would prove to be even more interesting as the day
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A Sweltering Day of Climbs
Bo and I awoke before 7am today and watched the sunrise over the mountains right behind our tent. I decided to cook oatmeal this morning, so it took us a little longer to get moving today. We made pretty good time today, except that the uphills were killing me. Bo wasn’t pulling as much as
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A Heavy Trek up to Tray Mtn
Bo and I had a big breakfast the morning, filled with eggs, sausage, hashbrowns, endless fruit pancakes, and coffee. Once again, everyone gave Bo their leftovers, and I delivered more sausage to Daisy. “Poppins,” Daisy, Bo, and I were shuttled together back to Unicoi Gap, and it was a very steep climb to begin with
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Recouping at the Hostel
We had a peaceful morning, filled with endless fruit pancakes, coffee, and a smoothie. Other hikers gave me their sausage to give to Bo and Daisy (our fellow dog roommate, dog of “Popins”). We missed yoga at 0630 this morning, opting to sleep. We will try to catch it tomorrow morning! I’ve been enjoying foot
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Why Have a Trail When You Can Have Rocks!?
We had our quickest tear down time yet, right at one hour. It helped that we had to go another mile to fetch water today. It was a very foggy and mossy morning. There was so much fog that we had no idea what was coming our way, other than the 15 ft in front
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Connection Grows in the Woods
We slept warmer last night, and our tear down time was quicker. Bo wore his boots today, as we had a big climb to start off our morning. His paw is really bothering him, it looks like he’s started to lick it raw so I can him a pain med and an antibiotic to tide
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The Notorious Blood Mtn Summit before the Pizza
This morning, I learned of a few ways that I can decrease my camp tear downtime. By watching others in the morning, I’ve adopted waking up right before sunrise, grabbing water and food bags before tearing down camp. Then, I can filter water and prep lunch for the day while I wait for breakfast to
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The Pesky 4-legged Enemy
It was a chilly night in the 40s, I’ll have to wear more clothes at night going forward. I had my first encounter with a dreaded little mouse. It’s impressive how such a small creature can alter your day and plans for the next few days. I had placed my food bag in a bear
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The Calm After the Storm
This morning began just a bit after sunrise, and it was on this very morning where Bo and I learned another very valuable lesson. People outside the tent started stirring, and the other dogs started barking. So, of course, Bo had to go and investigate, resulting in him tearing a hole in the mesh of
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An Aloof Springer Mtn Summit
After tearing down camp in the rain at Black Gap, Bo and I set off towards Springer Mtn to meet with my friends for one last time. It was a 1.5-mile trek to Springer and then a mile descent to the parking lot. Bo and I arrived at the terminus only to discover that the
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Down to Georiga Roadie
On April 3rd, my friends and I began our journey down to Georgia to drop off yours truly and Bowen on the Appalacian Trail. We stayed at the Cascades Inn in Tiger, GA, and got to be right on the water. The next day, we drove down to Juliet, GA, to check out the Whistle
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Maple Before the Trail
Hi everyone! Today is one month before Bowen and I set forth on the Appalachian Trail for our thru-hike. In order to prepare for the trail, Bowen and I moved back in with my dad and we have been making maple syrup since January. Our Maple Festival is fast approaching and will take place this
Bryanna Folks 