Trail Life

-

4/3 – 4/9

It's been a wild week hiking north. We covered plenty of miles, experienced world class trail magic, created new friendships, and inspired others to pick up trash along their hike. We are staying with Les and Cathy Murphy who have opened their mountain home to us. We're looking forward to hiking in the Great Smokey Mountain National Park next week.


As of right now we have covered 110 miles of the Appalachian Trail. The trail has been challenging in many aspects. Rocky trails and rainy days have led to technical/muddy  trail conditions.  We often stare off at beautiful  views  and it's rare we pass up a stream for a quick splash. The days are getting longer and the trail is getting more challenging as we approach the Smokeys (highest section of the AT) but we are playing it smart by taking our time and letting our bodies fully adjust to the trail. 


Whether your hiking Northbound or Southbound many hikers have the privilege to experience “Trail Magic”. Trail Magic is essentially any form of good fortune you experience while hiking. This good fortune can range from getting a ride into town to receiving a full course meal  randomly in the middle of the woods. We've had the good fortune of experiencing both of these forms of trail magic so far. It's hard to put into words the generosity we've already experienced on the trail. As I write this post Goose, Spice and I are literally moaning from overstuffed bellies. Thanks to Les and Cathy Murphy we have had two absolutely amazing dinners and breakfast at their gorgeous mountain home just outside of Franklin, North Carolina. In the midst of experiencing Trail Magic you can find yourself questioning whether not what you experience is real. I guess fairy tales are real. 


The only thing better than Trail Magic and the trail itself are the people you meet. Hikers from all over the world come to Georgia with the dream to hike the Appalachian Trail. Being twelve days into the hike we have had the opportunity to see the same group of folks day in and day out. The friendships we've already developed are priceless. Sharing stories about our lives before the trail and hearing everyone's different reasons for hiking has been refreshing to say the least. Everyday we look forward to seeing our fellow hikers at upcoming campsites and shelters. 


Packing It Out is staying positive and motivated for the coming weeks. Goose, Spice and myself can't thank you all enough for the support and encouragement we've received so far. As of right now we have collected right at 120 pounds of trash from the Appalachian Trail. I will be updated the progress tab as soon as I have access to a desktop computer. Thanks again for the support. 

Cheers,
Cap

Comments

  1. Sweet SpiritApril 11, 2015 at 9:50 PM

    Thanks for the update and special thanks to Cathy and Les for taking care of you all for a few days. I'm sure it felt good to sleep in a bed and eat real food!!

    Keep the trail pictures and stories coming ... I think about you all everyday. Love, Mom

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

ULD Hiking Shoe

-
Image
Ultimate Long Distance Hiking Shoe I'll just go ahead and be frank; I may have an addiction to footwear. From running sandals to work boots, shoes are definitely the piece of equipment I utilize the most and seemingly have the most variety of. It seems each shoe has a specific job, but more often than not I find myself using one shoe for everything. Does anyone else find themselves doing this!? During long distance hiking efforts, o The Lone Peak is the one shoe we see most often on the Pacific Crest Trail. We literally starting chanting "Follow Altra" at one point because you could always predict which way the trail went by the Altra marks in the dirt. Paul and I have worn the Lone Peak 2.5, 3.0, and 3.0 mid tops and can't say enough about them! I wanna focus this discussion on these three things: fit, durability and function. The combination of these three qualities can either make or break a shoe, and in regard to the Lone Peak, these qua...
Read more

A Farewell to the Desert

-
Image
We're off to see the Lizard, the wonderful Lizard of Mojav, EH! Hello again! We've been singing that jingle to the sound of the Wizard of Oz for a few weeks now and figured we had to share. Our days in the desert are coming to an end soon and I feel the need to share some of what we learned while living in this powerful landscape. We have experienced weather of all sorts - much of which was unexpected, we learned how to thrive from the animals - primarily lizards, and have been awed as well as attacked by plants - quite literally. The very thought of a desert conjures thoughts of extreme heat and sun exposure for many, although for some folks it even comes to mind as quite cold and even snowy. It all depends on the time of day and elevation. In our month of desert travel we have experienced windless 100 degree days, waterless expanses stretching over 40 miles, windy nights below freezing that left our tents coated with ice and hoarfrost, and even thunder-snowstorms that we w...
Read more