“I feel crunchy today,” I mumbled over my oatmeal, which I was eating hydrated compliments of last night’s rainstorm.
“Crunchy in your clothes, or your soul?” Hobz asked. … More Seven Days on the Appalachian Trail, Day 5: hermit graves & wild mushrooms
“Are there rules?” I asked Hobz, imagining how this would have played out if we had arrived to find six people already in residence.
“No pitching your tent inside the shelter,” he said. “That’s about it.” Stories he told us over the next few days would help me understand that, if we had turned up to find the shelter already full, we would have just asked everyone to scoot over and wedged ourselves in, sad little sardines on a wooden shelf. You get real cozy with strangers on the Appalachian Trail. … More Seven Days on the Appalachian Trail, Day 4: rain, moonlight, and sharing pants
With my watch registering 7.2 miles hiked (thank gods!! only another mile to go!!) we called a break for lunch.
Hobz reviewed our progress on the trail map. “Three miles left,” he said, squinting doubtfully at the clock and then at my stupid backpack.
“Three…. whole… miles?” I whimpered. My watch is a vile traitor. I know it gives me more credit than I deserve, but this was ridiculous. I somehow managed to keep my weeping on the inside. … More Seven Days on the Appalachian Trail, Day 3: my hummingbird heart gets me there
Hobz was already out on the AT, and he would be arriving here at the end of a 16-mile day. I sent him a nervous text message, encouraging him to walk JUST A LITTLE FASTER because we didn’t know what to do in this rather creepy neck of the Tennessee forest. … More Seven Days on the Appalachian Trail, Day 2: less wet, more raccoons
We promptly stripped off every piece of clothing we were wearing, wrung five or six cups of water out into the trash can, then hung them up to dry. I then pulled my even-wetter backup outfit out of my backpack, poured about two inches of water out of the bottom of the backpack, and decided to go to dinner wrapped in a bedsheet. … More Seven Days on the Appalachian Trail, Day 1: there should be an ark around here somewhere?
A transcription of the journal entries shown in these photos begins below the last photo. A more proper blog post with lots of photos will be up soon! Transcription: Saturday, July 23 to Monday, July 25, 2002SHENANDOAH NATIONAL PARK Five-star tours from the King and Queen of the park! Pat and Dyanne are family friends … More Laura’s Journal: Three Days in Shenandoah
Transcription of journal page photos can be found below. A more traditional blogpost of this hike can be found HERE along with lots of pictures. Trail Map Says: 10.0 miles Laura’s Watch Says: 10.34 miles Elevation Gain: 962 feet Elevation Loss: 2,828 feet Start Time 8:41 am End Time: 2:09pm Active Hiking Time: 4:31 Average … More Laura’s Journal: AT 7 – we survive!
Transcription of journal page photos can be found below. A more traditional blogpost of this hike can be found HERE along with lots of pictures. Trail Map Says: 11.4 miles Laura’s Watch Says: 11.95 miles Elevation Gain: 2,262 feet (2,274?) Elevation Loss: 2,070 Start Time: 8:39 am End Time: 4:05pm Active Hiking Time: 5:39 Average … More Laura’s Journal: AT 6 – less water, more mushrooms
Transcription of journal page photos can be found below. A more traditional blogpost of this hike can be found HERE along with lots of pictures. So yesterday: turns out we’re on an unusually dry section of the trail. Hobz took a look at available water stops when we stopped at Watauga Dam. The few springs … More Laura’s Journal: AT 5, I feed four people ‘shrooms (and no one dies or has “excess fun”)
Transcription of journal page photos can be found below. A more traditional blogpost of this hike can be found HERE along with lots of pictures. Trail Map Says: 9.2 miles Laura’s Watch Says: 10.59 miles Elevation Gain: 2,777 feet (2,864?) Elevation Loss: 1,286 feet Start Time: 8:15 am End Time: 3:57pm 3:37? Active Hiking Time: … More Laura’s Journal: AT 4, or, how I got into Hobz’s pants
Thither & Yon 