Make it count: Day # 33

Tuesday, April 14 - Day #33 - AT Hike

Miles Hiked Today - 0
Total Miles Hiked on AT - 379.8/2,193 (17.32%)

Zero Day in Damascus - The Dancing Bear Inn

Total States Completed - 1/14

When I kept my blog in 2010 when I travelled around Europe for 287 days - I occasionally did a “State of the Journey” post. That’s sort of the intention today.

In general - I’m very happy with where things stand right now. This past Saturday, April 11th - I had hoped to be at 350 miles. I checked in at 353.6 miles. This first month has been tough - no way to get around that. The weather, the steep hills, the body soreness — these have all been challenges. I feel like the ground work has been laid down. The weather should start getting warmer soon, the trail itself will start to flatten out, and my trail legs are getting stronger. As I sit here icing my calves in my hotel room - I see this being all part of the journey. 1/5 completed!!! I know I’m not quite at 20% on miles - but I’m actually over 20% on expected days to finish - 33/154 (21.42%). Keep it rolling with me and let’s have some fun!

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A) Elevation

Total Overall Ascent - 472,407’
Total Overall Descent - 470,931’

Total Ascent Completed - 89,648’/472,407’ (18.98%)

Total Descent Completed - 90,030’/470,931 (19.12%)

***For Comparison:

AT —- 2,193 miles in length with 472,407’ ascent and 470,931’ descent.
215’ - ascent/mile

PCT —- 2,650 miles in length with 489,418’ ascent and 488,411 descent.
184’ - ascent/mile

CDT —- 3,100 miles in length with roughly 457,000’ ascent & descent
147’ - ascent/mile

Conclusion - The AT has very steep climbs throughout. The trail is not made for pack animals like the PCT. There are very few switchbacks. Hills are straight up - making the AT much more physically demanding

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B). Camping vs Hotel

Camping - 23 days
Hotel - 10 days
— Day #1 - Amicalola Falls Lodge, GA
— Day #4 - Blood Mtn Cabin, Neels Gap, GA
— Day#10-11 - Budget Inn in Franklin, NC
— Day #22-23 - Mountain Inn in Erwin, TN
— Day #27 - Mountain Harbour B&B in Roan Mtn, TN
— Day #29 - Boots Off Hostal, TN
— Day #32-33 - Dancing Bear Inn in Damascus, Virginia

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C). Total Zero Days

Zeros - 3
— Day # 11 - Franklin, NC
— Day # 23 - Erwin, TN
— Day # 33 - Damascus, Virginia

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D). Total Rain Days

16 total days with rain/snow. 16/33 (48.48%)

Days — 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 11, 12, 13, 19, 20, 21, 26, 27, 31, 32, 33

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E). People

My Tramily has split into 2 groups of 4. I’m between them now.

Group #1
—Maddy (Downhill) - Dance instructor. Fast hiker. Met on the 1st night of camping
—Pepper - worked in US Virgin Islands for 4 years on a boat. Been bitten by Nurse Shark
—-Cascade - Young, super friendly girl. Hammock sleeper
— Pan - from Maine. Makes his own little fire each night for cooking vs using a stove

Group #2
—Nora (Shotput) - travelling nurse, Catholic background
—-Abby - lived briefly in New Zealand with her boyfriend
—-Wilson - from Philly. Really chill & nice guy.
—-Triple B - has done the northern portion of AT already. Just needs to make Delaware River to complete his thru-hike
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Others:
—-Caleb (Quick Silver) - super fast. Trained at Level 10 on treadmill and walked 3.5 miles/hr
—-Crispy - one of the brothers I met the night before I bypassed the Smokies. He and Stretch bypassed at the same time as me.
—-Stretch - brother of Crispy. They are both with Caleb now - blazing 20+ miles/day. They’re texting with updates on occasion to Pepper
—-French Press - from Germany. Works at SAP.
—Beekeeper - hiking with French Press. Works as a beekeeper
—Jet - met at Mountain Harbour B&B - Lives in Colorado Springs. Air Force vet
—Slow Down - met at Mountain Harbour B&B. Bitten by copperhead last year on trail. Hurt leg in NH - back for 2nd try
—-2-can - just officially met 2 days ago. Really fast hiker. Walking mostly independent
—-Jordan (road rash) - she walks with her dog Sadie. We climbed to Roan High Shelter together
—-Direction & his son - from Lancaster, PA. Both in hammocks. Walked with them into Erwin, TN
—-Always & Sunshine - a couple I had a chance to walk with during the days in the snow. Super friendly
—-Jello & Yard Sale - couple I walked with a few days around Hot Springs, NC & Max Patch
—-Jiffy & Courtney - they are in the group 1-2 days in front of me. Met them a few days back when they night hiked 11 miles starting at 6:30pm
—- Fire-God- hiking independent. Wants to call me Mr Clean. Always starts the fire each night
—-Dudeman - retired paramedic from central North Carolina. His wife (Majestic) follows him around in RV and occasionally gives us Trail Magic
—-Donut - was walking with Dudeman. They started at the same time
—-Noble - met the night before hiking to Neels Gap. He’s doing the AT to complete the Triple Crown
—- Chipping Away - friendly, older women. Keeping slow & steady. Met early in Georgia
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Others (that have left trail):
—-Kyle - hiked with for a couple days into Franklin, NC. Crossed Georgia/NC line together
—-Tyler - good guy. Walked with Caleb
—-Josh - part of the original Tramily. He was with Nora, Abby, Triple-B, and Wilson

That’s 30 people still out on trail that I know in some capacity. There’s others for sure - CityDog, Captain Jack, etc — but I just listed the people I feel like I know just a little bit

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F). State Theme Songs

Georgia - Georgia on my Mind (Ray Charles)
North Carolina - Sweet Caroline (Neil Diamond)
Tennessee - Rocky Top (Osborne Brothets)
Virginia - Get Along (Kenny Chesney)

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G). Animals

Snakes - 3
Bears - 0

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So I spent several hours today putting together a plan for the next few weeks. Really - I have a solid plan for 10 days - the rest is simply projection

1. Atkins, VA - Mile# 545.7 — hoping to be here Sunday, April 19th (overnight only)
2. Pearisburg, VA - Mile# 637 - hoping to be here Friday, April 24-25. (2 overnights - this will be my 4th Zero)
3. Daleville, VA - Mile# 730.3 - hoping to be here Friday, May 1st (overnight only)
4. Glasgow, VA - Mile# 787.3 - hoping to be here Tuesday, May 5th (overnight only)
5. Waynesboro, VA - Mile# 864.3 - hoping to be here Sunday, May 10 (2 overnights - this will be my 5th Zero)

That’s 394.3 miles in 26 days. I’ll need to average 15.2 miles/day to make this happen. On average - that’s certainly a bump. But there’s big days to be had in Virginia.

Wishing good health to everybody out there. I know it’s a tough time right now - lots of isolation, lots of loneliness, and so much uncertainty. Let’s hang tough - keep it going. Good times are coming!!!

Good night from a small little town in Virginia.