day nine (march 30)

they had a good day today.  a day off proved to be very good decision.  they hiked 6.4 miles up two big mountains.

this picture of toby absolutely cracks me up!!!  joy!!!  when we packed all the food bags, i decided we would separate their daily ration.  it's either oatmeal or ramen for breakfast (alternate days), two cliff bars in a variety of flavors, a small baggie of powdered gatorade, and one freeze dried dinner to be shared.  greg told me it wasn't necessary to have separate baggies for each of them per day; they'd just share out of one.  i am grinning thinking about it.  i told him "no way!  you would take the other one down if you thought he'd gotten an extra cliff bar or oatmeal pack!"  these boys like their food and seeing that they have somehow managed to get an amazing looking sandwich is awesome.  tobe, you are adorable, mustard and mayonnaise in your beard and all 😝

leaving a comment :)

didn't realize i had made it harder than necessary to leave a comment.  now you can leave one anonymously :)

day seven (march 28)

sorry for missing a day.  somebody didn't send pictures or any rivoting information deemed blog-worthy - LOL!   from an outsider's perspective, here is what i am gathering.... this trail has earned a new level of respect from the big boys.  they finally made the decision that weds. they would take what is called a 'zero day'.  a day off.  zero meaning no miles crossed off.  their bodies pretty much demanded a break.  they've gone 53 miles in seven days and it's been all up and down mountains. greg said you climb about what would be equivalent to a flight of stairs, with 30 lbs. on your back, and then you stop for a minute to catch your breath.  then you repeat over and over again.  and you add to it that they're 60 and not in peak condition and you get old guys who are sore and tired... but determined 😋.  going down then takes a toll on your feet, knees, and hips. and many of the rocks are loose and you stumble repeatedly.  and then you get to sleep on the ground!  and you might be lucky enough to have been rained on all day!  you get the picture. they ended up in a little town at a holiday inn and ate a meal even though they could hardly stand the smell of themselves. greg said they definitely had a food buzz because they were giddy and goofy and didn't even care about how badly they smelled.

tomorrow, they hit the trail again feeling a little better than before.  they leave unicoi gap and go uphill 1,000 feet, downhill 1,000, then up another 1,500 feet where they will sleep on top.  i asked if there are several people along the way as the pictures seem to indicate, and he implied definitely yes. most of the people that left the same day they did, they've never seen again; but an average of 30 people are leaving springer mountain every day this time of year with most seeking to accomplish a life goal of thru hiking the AT --  all hoping to get to maine before october 15 when the mountain closes for the winter.

they anxiously await getting into the smokeys where small, rolling bumps will be commonplace.  the part they are in now is separating the men from the boys.  getting into north carolina and tennessee will feel like a walk in the park.  well, maybe not a park, but you get the idea.

p.s.  the little building in the fourth picture is the potty 😏

evening of day five (i think :)

some evening scenes.  beautiful for sure.  i imagined the hiking to be more solitary than these pictures reflect.  maybe all through the day it is and then at night people congregate?  seems safer that way. each person represents an individual journey -- all ended here at this point in time.  would be neat to know the stories.  deb, the second picture is the one he thought you'd be able to identify.... do you know?  my guess is you'll find out if you don't know already :)

day five (march 26)

smurf called this morning.  good to hear his voice.  he sounded well-rested and still excited.  he told me many stories about many people. in a nutshell, there is a crazy wide spectrum of types of people who do the AT.... from super athletic who run up and down the mountains to ones that are inching along.  i should have taken notes because details are now lacking.  i do remember his saying they stayed in a cabin last night with two other big guys!  they slept on a cot, had a shower, and washed their stinky clothes.  he said the southern couple of states and northern couple of states are, by far, the most challenging.  you are either going up or you are going down.  greg's struggle is the uphill because he gets winded.  toby's struggle are his knees on the downhill.  haven't received any pictures today, but i hope to get some.  will post if i do.  i will ask him to give me some more people details again because there are some interesting people hiking the AT.  i thank God for safety thus far.....

day four (march 25)

on top of blood mountain.  i see a drop of sweat of his nose.  must have been a hard hike.


tree of failure:  zoom in on tree and you will see boots hanging from people who quit.  25% of people who start thru hike quit after blood mountain at neel gap.

day three (friday, march 24)

got all these pictures today!  and a text.... "heading out from gooch mountain.  got our bootie kicked yesterday."  and later this text.., "stayed last night in gooch gap.  staying tonight in lance creek.  good day.  church group fed us breakfast and a man had sandwiches, chips, and gatorade at a road crossing. he did the trail a few years back and does this every year for thru hikers.  big climb tomorrow over blood mountain."

i talked with carrie today and we agree that it is neat to see the unique ways folks minister to hikers. so many ways to be a blessing to others.  nice to see smurf and toby on the receiving end of these acts of kindness.  the second picture had the caption of 'we meet rainer 'frodo boggins'.  Lord of the Rings fans might see the resemblance.

click here to read a little history about blood mountain:
http://www.unioncountyhistory.org/page3/page202/page27/page110/page110.html

evening day two

day two (thursday, march 23)

got this early today....  happy to see they are up and moving after their first night sleeping on the ground :)

day one (wednesday, march 22)

i am reminding myself here to ask ben to change the clumsy smurf in the header to papa smurf. because he's not clumsy.  his broken bone count tells a different story.  papa smurf gives me more confidence so papa smurf it will be.  and that's the trail name he has chosen.  toby settled on BG.  big guy.  today is the beginning of this long-awaited adventure for papa smurf and BG.  it's a beginning i will probably never forget.  second gulp in two days.


we are up early and eating at 7:30.  a friend texts and says she is thinking of us.  i take a quick picture of greg and toby to send to her.  as i am taking the picture, toby comments that this could be the last picture of them smiling together as friends - LOL!

they both want to get a picture taken at a famous landmark for the AT.  it's not the beginning of the trail technically, so not exactly sure why it is famous.  some people choose to start here and walk the extra 8.8 miles to the actual start at springer mountain.  if i knew then what i know now, these boys would have walked the extra 8.8!!!!  that or i would have paid big bucks to get them to springer mountain by some means other than me :)



the tiny map we had doesn't provide much detail.  at all.  amazingly, brianne had cell coverage and these backroads were on her GPS and her GPS actually worked!  thank you Lord!  the first road we were supposed to take has a ginormous pine tree that has come down in the storm.  back to tiny map.  new plan.  we find another mountain road to head up to springer mountain where the AT officially starts.  if you've ever been to haiti or rwanda, think of the roads.  did you know we have haitian type roads in georgia?  we do.  it is 8 miles switchbacking up to the top.  the roads were littered with downed branches from the storm.  i am driving white-knuckled on this one-way road praying we don't encounter another vehicle because i ain't backing down.  we may never get the momentum to get back up.  i am not the only one slightly freaked out (so thankful sarah and lydia made me look not quite so bad).  we made the painfully slow ascent and finally arrived at the parking lot where several other hikers were smiling and laughing.... what?!!!  maybe because they only had to walk 2,100 miles and didn't have to drive back down?



today was the big day for 30 hikers and they were in good spirits and ready to go!  we snapped a few pictures, prayed (with toby choking up about every other word), and gave our 'see you later' hugs.  it was harder than i thought it would be.



day one they walked 9.9 and set up tents for the night.  greg had reception and called about 6 pm to let us know they were making dinner and headed to bed (really he wanted to ease his conscience that we made it back to civilization :)  we are all relieved and happy they are finally on their way!

the adventure begins (tuesday, march 21)

let's just say it was an adventure before the adventure even started :)  the drive to amicalola falls was long, but uneventful and we were all thankful for the Lord's traveling mercies.  we arrived around 7:30 and ate in the beautiful lodge with breathtaking views.  it was so very good to see toby, carrie, brianne, and anaya already there!  during dinner, there were several flashes of lightning over the mountains.  and then the storm arrived in earnest!  wow.  i've been accused of having an overly dramatic flair when i've done adoption blogs but i promise this isn't being dramatic!  the lodge loses power and goes to generators.  the vaulted ceiling is leaking and we are told not to stand underneath the massive, rustic chandelier.  gulp.  the rain is coming down in sideways sheets.  we wait about an hour before attempting to get to the van so we can head to our cabins.  the lodge has called all campers in from the campground.  in come traipsing, lots of soaked campers and lots of happy dogs ;) we make a mad dash to the van and then into our cabins.  greg gets his final foot massage (his feet have been the ongoing problem area).  i ask greg what they will do if they are on the trail and a storm like this hits.  his answer, of course, is "we will get wet." 



p.s.  picture is sarah standing in front of a AT map showing length of trail from georgia to maine.  puts the length into perspective, yes?

the night before (monday, march 20)

Well, the time has finally arrived.  Tomorrow morning, most of the family heads to Georgia.  The Big Boys will head out from Amicalola Falls on Wednesday morning.  His pack is weighing in at 28 lbs. He's happy with that weight.  Sarah and I have been charged with documenting his trip along the way from pictures he will send and thoughts he will share when he's able to call.

Sarah and I tried to get all reporter like tonight and asked all the standard questions on how he's feeling, what's he thinking about, things like that.  He can't put any words to all the things he's experiencing right now.  I probably wouldn't be able to either.  He's planned and hiked and planned and hiked and bought supplies and packed food supplies and hiked and planned and bought more stuff.  And prayed.  And prayed.  He's just ready to quit thinking and talking about it and get the show on the road.  So tomorrow, we will do just that!