day fourteen (april 4)

can you guess which is my favorite picture?  yip.  hiker smurf.  he got left in the kitchen sink window and it looks like he caught up with papa smurf somehow :)  well they've been on the trail for two weeks now.  a couple of times i didn't know if they'd get to this point.  the rain and storms have just made for some really really not fun days.  you're wet, the trail is wet, your pack is wet.  we've thanked the Lord many times for safety thus far and for in the storms specifically.  today was a clear and warm day and they were especially grateful.  temperatures are dropping, as they are here the next two days.  they've taken one zero day and plan for another one this thursday.  they are averaging 8 miles a day which isn't too bad considering the elevation changes.  they toppled over the 100 mile mark today.  great job boys!!!!

my sister emailed me this:  "Have you seen this perspective of the AT?  It shows the elevation changes.... aaauuuggghhhh.  overall 430,718 feet uphill and 429, 252 descending.  http://www.postholer.com/elevation/Appalachian-Trail/3

yip, they've seen this.  they are carrying several little maps showing each section with corresponding elevations in all its glory.

p.s. boys.  stay away from them chunky gals, you hear?

day twelve (april 2)

well, i got behind and now i can't tell you much about the pictures..... do they speak for themselves? okay, not so much.  i do know the one of greg shows THEY MADE IT TO NORTH CAROLINA! WOOT!  that's a big accomplishment because the big boys' big adventure is a butt kicker.  from what i gather, it's a combination of climbing mountains with sleeping on the hard, rocky, unforgiving ground. greg lamented friday night how he went from flying business class and staying in five star hotels to primitive living...  not really how he went from there to here, but why?!!!  LOL!  so, for the sake of keeping it real, the goal has been revised.  from hiking the 2,178 miles to making it through another day :)  they came into hiawassee on saturday where they scored a hotel room.  they washed clothes for the second time, ate good food, and slept in a bed.  a gloriously wonderful bed! that's the picture where toby is opening their food box that was waiting at the post office.  i have talked to smurf a couple of times and he usually laughs a good portion of it because he realizes the craziness of the stories he shares (we always do when it is after the fact, amen?).  he called from atop a mountain one night when it was 40 degrees with 20 mile an hour winds and cried thanking me for a text picture of the kids at beef cake burgers (his normal go to spot with them).  note to self:  no kid pics from special places.

they now have nine days before they will see a town again.  please say a prayer if you're reading this because storms are coming and there ain't nothing to do but keep on putting one foot in front of the other.

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.....