Difficult Decisions

It has been 12 days since we left Monson, ME to continue our hike South starting in Hanover, NH.  We only hiked one mile in NH though before crossing another state line into Vermont.  We were pretty excited to get back on the trail after 5 days off in Maine. Within an hour of making our decision to head to Vermont to continue our Southbound hike, we were getting warnings of what lay ahead. "Vermud" people were calling it. "The trail is all mud," "it is known as the muddiest state...." "Oh no," we thought, "What have we gotten ourselves in to?"  But despite all of the warnings and horror stories we never really saw it (thank goodness!).  And in fact, we had beautiful weather (after the first two days) in Vermont.

VT/NH State Line - A road walk crossing
from Hanover, NH into Norwich, VT

But first, just getting TO Hanover was a bit of an adventure.  We met a wonderful lady, Doris, at the Contra dance in Monson who volunteered to drive us to Bangor, complete with a grand tour of the local area on the way.  I am even more convinced that although we didn't enjoy hiking through Maine, it is still beautiful country! We spent the night in Bangor (at the Holiday Inn of course) before catching a 5:30 a.m. Greyhound to Boston.  Yup, Boston.... if you look at a map it was a little out of the way, but sometimes you just gotta roll with it. We had a 3 hour layover at Boston's South Station before boarding our bus to Hanover, so we decided to do a little exploring....with our full packs. We didn't go far, but we saw some of the Financial District and some of China Town.  The whole trip was relatively smooth sailing, and we got to Hanover, NH without a hitch. 

Enjoying the sights and noises of Boston, Mass.

Our first few days in Vermont were wet & rainy, but the trail was in far better shape, so we did our best to enjoy the hike and the scenery.  We hiked through a few pastures and fields, even met a few cows along the way.  With a little less tree cover, there would have been some great views, unfortunately the clouds blocked most of the landscape.  

Evan hiking through one of the many fields in Vermont

Even the bench along the trail reminded us to keep our
ultimate goal in mind.

We also hit 400 miles in the Rain!

To those that know me well, this may not come as a huge surprise - but one of my favorite parts of the this section was that the berries were in season! We enjoyed some strawberries and a few raspberries. Evan tried to be patient, but was also antsy to continue on... (I never made him turn around for the berries, no wait... I take that back....)

Raspberry Picking

 After those first few days, the weather started to clear up and we were able to start pushing more miles again.  We had been hearing about a place along the trail called "The Lookout Cabin."  It is a privately owned cabin (4 walls, door, windows...fancy!) that the owners keep open for hikers to use.  We decided to head there for the night.  We got there around 4 p.m., set up, made dinner, ate dinner, "iced" the aches and pains, and relaxed.  On the roof of the cabin they built a small deck, and from there you have a 360º view of the surrounding landscape. We were exhausted but took in the sunset from our perch on the roof - it was so beautiful! We had also planned to get up and watch the sunrise from the same perch, but at 4 a.m., my sleeping bag INSIDE the cabin was so warm and cozy :)

Sunset from the rooftop deck at The Lookout Cabin

A week into Vermont, we hit a good mountain climb... Killington Peak. The peak itself was .2 miles off the trail. Usually .2 miles doesn't make us even blink an eye for a rest stop or a good view - but this .2 miles was virtually straight up, climbing over rocks and boulders to make it to the top. It made for a wonderful lunch spot with a great view! Evan did some wondering around the peak and discovered that opposite to the side we climbed up was actually a ski resort.  We stayed on the non-resort side and soaked in the beauty & sunshine for lunch.  I didn't do much exploring, instead I stayed exactly where I set down my pack and rested my ankle & foot which had started bothering me the day before.

View from Killington Peak

After climbing up Killington Peak we had another 4.7 miles to hike in order to make it to our planned camping spot for the night.  By the time we got there, I was in so much pain I could hardly walk. I iced my ankles and my feet in the river, pitched the tent, ate dinner, stretched my legs/ankles/feet, and went to bed hoping the extra rest would help heal up my feet by morning. The next morning they were still in some pain, but I took some mild painkillers, stretched again and started out the day.  It was just under 7 miles to the next road crossing and Qu's Whistlestop Restaurant.  The Whistlestop was known for being hiker friendly, having great service and unbeatable homemade maple ice cream - a must stop on the trail. By the time we made it there I was back to hobbling and wincing with every step. As much as we hated it, my body needed some serious rest. We decided to cut the day short, and head into town for another break.  I spent the evening icing, elevating, heating, and stretching hoping we could 'hit the trail happy again the next morning. Unfortunately, the next morning saw little to no improvement, so we stayed another day... whatever it takes to get back on the trail we thought, but another day changed almost nothing, and a third day again made very little difference.... 

Evan hiking next to one of the many stone fences in VT

Neither one of us were ready to get off the trail, we loved hiking, we loved seeing, we loved being there; but, hobbling and wincing was not how we were going to continue to enjoy.  It was a very difficult decision for us - but we decided it was time to head home.  We spent much of the day figuring out the logistics, but ended up renting a car and driving back to Michigan. We are now back in Lower Michigan, I have a doctor's appointment scheduled to check out my foot - we are hoping it is just an overuse sprain, but there is some concern that it may be more. We are both getting used to the idea of not being on the trail, we miss it but do plan on going back to hike different sections of the AT in the future and maybe one day completing the whole thing. 

Even had to climb some ladders on the trail

At this point it is difficult to not fixate on the fact that we weren't able to hike all 2,200 miles of the Appalachian Trail; but in the end we did do exactly what we wanted to do. 

• We spent 53 days hiking with minimal connection to the outside world
• We hiked 455 miles of the Appalachian Trail, not including walking in/to towns, to other views, or in search of water/privies/etc.
• We met some seriously amazing people!
• We learned more about ourselves, our families, and what is important to us in life
• We have some very fun stories to tell
• Our health has improved - Evan could even start to smell in the last few weeks & I began to take an interest in food again as my appetite increased
• Most importantly, we had fun!

Critter Count!

We found this water snake on the trail, when we moved the surrounding vegetation with a hiking pole he curled up and started striking at it. Turns out water snakes are considered non-poisonous, but are quite aggressive. They are related to the southern water moccasin and their bite can make you quite ill.

A very friendly deer we saw on the last day of our hike. We watched him for a good while and he didn't seem one bit afraid of a couple of hikers.

There were two of these woodpeckers flying around, they kept arguing over a couple of trees.  We watched them for a few minutes before they flew off seemingly attacking each other.

 And in case you were wondering....

Photos!!

We are getting prepared to leave the welcoming embrace of Shaw's Hostel in Monson, ME (for real this time).  We have had a fantastic time getting to know Poet & Hippie Chick and so many of the other staff & guests staying here.  We have eaten many a good all you can eat breakfasts and enjoyed some Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream.  We did get to go Contra dancing in Monson (Amazing dance for a town of 600!) and enjoyed not one, but TWO different music jams during our 4 day stay.

Today it is onto Bangor, ME and tomorrow onto Hanover, NH (by way of Boston, MA). In the mean time, the photos I promised you!

On our way to Maine, we spent a day in Quebec City.
Looking out from Battlefield Park towards Old Town.

Baxter State Park offers canoe rentals for $1/hour and with so
many wonderful "ponds" to paddle, we couldn't resist.
We spent a day on Daicy Pond. 

Katahdin Falls on the way up to Mt. Katahdin

It was so windy on the way up Mt. Katahdin!
At this point we still had about 2 miles of rock scrambles to go!

2 Miles to go - that peak...isn't actually the top
(at the time we thought it might be, though)

Acadia National Park - at the Thunderhole.
We saw whales just around the corner from here!

Chillin' by the ocean! (Acadia NP) 

Spending time with family - seeing the sights, such a wonderful day!
(Acadia NP)

Walked around Maine's iconic light house at
Acadia NP

A family of ducks in Baxter State Park, Maine

Made our 300 mile mark in the "100 Mile Wilderness!"

Art outside of one of the shelters
(100 Mile Wilderness, Maine)

Enjoying a snack looking over a beautiful gorge just off the trail
(100 Mile Wilderness, Maine)

Scenic overlook
(100 Mile Wilderness, Maine)

Escaping the relentless bugs by putting up our tent by a lake for lunch.
We happily enjoyed a wonderful view and bug-less-ness for an hour.
(100 Mile Wilderness, Maine)

[My favorite] View of Mt. Katahdin
(100 Mile Wilderness, Maine) 

We had a surprise visitor at Antler's Campsite [Our favorite campsite]
(100 Mile Wilderness, Maine) 

Enjoying an afternoon on the beach after a particularly tough hiking day
(100 Mile Wilderness, Maine)

We only had Evan's camera for the last 117 miles and the bugs were so bad we didn't want to pull our hands out very often, but we hope you enjoy the photos we do have to share!  Happy Trails!

A little change in plans

Surprise! After hiking a 5 mile loop of the AT today, we are still in Monson, ME! There were so many pieces to this decision it is hard to get them down in any logical form (but then again, reading my past blogs - that isn't really my style anyways)

The Appalachian Trail is over 2,200 miles long.  That is a lot of walking!  It also costs a lot of money, of which we are running [only slightly] low on.  From the very beginning we said when we stop having fun it is time to change something.  Well, we found the 100 Mile Wilderness "not fun."  We spent the majority of 10 days staring at our feet (in fact, one day Evan was so focused on his feet he hit a tree branch... head first - talk about a bruised ego).  Some times we would loose the trail completely because we were so focused on getting through a pile of muck & mud.  After talking to other hikers, both northbound & past thru-hikers, it sounds like the next 150 miles of Maine is a lot of the same...

Last night (Thursday) was open mic night at the local pub, it was our last night in town so we headed down for some grub and to enjoy Monson's social scene.  (Monson is a town of 600 people in northern Maine).  We were amazed! They have a host band, that also happens to be the same band that will be playing for the Contra Dance tomorrow night (Saturday).  They were awesome and so much fun to chat with afterwards.  Many of the tunes they played were tunes from my childhood and were great dance tunes, so yes we got up and danced in the very tiny open space at the front of the bar.  It made us both yearn for more music and dance in our lives, but we had to get moving on the trail again.

So, this morning we got up, packed up our bags and headed out to the trail.  We got out of the shuttle car, put our packs on our back and Poet (one of the owners at Shaw's Hiker Hostel) says "you guys should totally stay for that Contra dance, maybe I will even go with you." We explained our lack of funds and went on our way, but not before he reminded us that we had 3 miles to think it over, since we would be back close to Monson that soon.  And he left.  10 steps onto the trail I realized that I had forgotten my knee brace at the hostel.  Well now we had to go back anyways..

With everything pointing us back towards the hostel, we started talking and making some serious decisions.  I had lost my motivation to hike the whole trail as I was dreading the next 150 miles and really the next 200 miles after that.  [New Hampshire & the White Mountains were a tough area - shelters were far between and costly to stay at.  And the larger northbound bubble would also be fighting for the same spaces.  It was going to be a busy & expensive stretch to hike.]  From the very beginning we wanted to enjoy our time in the woods.  We aren't oppose to tough days or tough sections, but why dread hiking 350 miles that no one ever said you had to hike!  We ARE staying out on the trail, just modifying our trip to keep on enjoying our little vacation.

We do hope to someday come back to Southern Maine & New Hampshire -maybe in the fall, when things are dryer and the leaves are turning.  But, for now Evan and I are going to skip them.  It will save us a great deal of money (at least 4 weeks of food, plus lodging costs, plus town costs add up), allow us to skip a lot of the crowds, and skip the rest of the ill-maintained Maine trails.  We are staying in Monson until Sunday so that we can attend the Contra dance, enjoy the non-hiking parts of ourselves before catching a bus from Bangor, ME to Hanover, NH.  From Hanover, we will re-start our southbound hike with a little more flexibility and love for what we are out here to do.

Remember to always "Hike Your Own Hike!"

The 100 Mile Wilderness can go to.....

The "100 Mile Wilderness" is a section of trail about 100 miles long that crosses no public roads. It takes an average of 10 days to complete. If you like tromping through inches of mud and muck for miles and miles, pushing through deep, swift rivers in your underwear, and malicious biting bugs then this is definitely the trail for you!

After two weeks off, I was ready to be back on the trail; but leaving my mom's car behind as we walked away swatting mosquitoes away from the only skin not covered by our bug jackets, I had to wonder if we were ready for the days ahead, and I promise you, they were tough. The terrain itself was not particularly difficult but the trail is generally ill-maintained, probably mostly due to inaccessibility. Everything on the trail was wet...and slick. At times streams would just run straight down the trail and other times the mud and muck would be more than 6 inches deep.  Our socks and boots were wet and soggy more days than not. So for the first time in almost 400 miles, we started developing blisters. We would have hiked in Chacos but that would have given more for the bugs to feast on.

The slippery terrain meant lots of falling, some bruising the body, but most merely bruising to the ego.  And some were hard on our gear.  Hiking through the bogs on day 3 Evan slipped, landing on a rock and his beloved hiking pole, snapping the pole in half.  We later realized that the sole of his boots was actually broken and likely caused this slip along with others. I think he has decided hiking with one pole isn't great, but doable. It does however make fording river crossings more challenging.  I also fell a good half a dozen times, mostly banging up my bum and knees. 

By day 5, we finally out-distanced the bugs! The terrain got harder as we entered the mountains, but the bugs got fewer! Our first day day bug free we had planned on doing a long day, but instead found a beautiful [small] sandy beach and decided to call it a day and relax.  We spent the day sunning ourselves in a rare glimpse of sunshine and warmth.  We were glad we did because a day later a cold front rolled in, so it rained much of the time we spent in the mountains and the trail got even muddier.  We had been hearing for days about the amazing views from the mountain tops, but unfortunately all we saw was grey (and wind and rain).  Cold & wet and hiking in sloshing boots we made our way 12.8 miles (our longest day in the 100 miles) to the West Branch of the Pleasant River where we stripped down to our underwear and sandals and pushed our way across the swiftly flowing river.  

Day 10 in the wilderness was hike out day.  We were so excited to get out, we were up and walking out of camp before 6 a.m. It was set to be an 11 mile day with two river fordings and guaranteed mud (after more rainy days).  At 7:30 we made it to our first river crossing.  This crossing had a rope strung across the crossing in an attempt to make things easier.  Usually you can just grab the rope and walk across using the rope for balance. Unfortunately, this rope was a little more slack than Evan anticipated.  Pulling against the rope he made his way into the water, where his backpack dipped under the rushing water, soaking everything in his pack & his boots which were hanging on the back of his pack.  Luckily, he never let go of the rope, so he pulled himself up and lugged himself the rest of the way across the river while water kept splashing out of his now bucket boots.  

Needless to say, we are happy to be in town clean & dry. We trudged our way in to Monson and the Shaw Hostel to a report that our expenses would be covered thanks to a fellow thru hiker we've never met in thanks for some courtesy we extended to his wife on her way out of Baxter Park just before we hit the trail.(A HUGE, HUGE Thank you to Plank & Mary Jo.) Everything is very much appreciated! Not everything has been so bad out on the trail.  We have met some amazing people!  Starting with the bubble means that folks are a lot more relaxed about how they are taking the trail, and we have met so many more like minded people than we did starting late in the season in Georgia.  

Due to us having 1 less camera for this section of the trip we have a lot fewer photos, and no way to share them yet, but hopefully we will be able to show some pictures sometime in the near future. So until our next stop, happy trails.

Vacation from vacation

It has been 16 days since we were in Hot Springs, but it feels like forever.   My friend's wedding went marvously.  This is my favorite wedding picture so far, but I am sure there are more great ones on the way. (Photo credit goes to Katie Lauren)

In the week since the wedding Evan, my mom, and I have been touring on our way to Maine and throughout Maine.  We spent a few days with Evan's parents in lower Michigan mostly doing things like doctors appointments, resupplying food, and reassessing our bank account.  Thru-hiking has been more expensive than we anticipated, but we are hoping to make the trip on what we have left.  

From Michigan we worked our way through Ontario and into Quebec, staying the night in Quebec City. We spent the morning wandering the Old Quebec City area and learning a little bit about Canadian 

history.  It was all fascinating and we all had a great time.  Maybe, my mom will post a few pictures later. 

We had originally thought about making our way to New Brunswick, but decided against it after reading that Baxter State Park closes at 8:30 p.m. and we had to be through the gates before that time in order to get to our campsite.  So, heading south we made it to Maine fairly quickly. We stopped in Monson to drop off a resupply box for ourselves for after the 100 mile wilderness before making our way to Baxter State Park and our campsite at Katahdin Stream.  Weather and rain had been an issue in the past few days for making the climb to Mt. Katahdin, so looking ahead it seemed Friday, June 12 was going to be the best day. I will never know if it actually was up on the 5,247 foot peak, but it was a gorgeous day besides the blowing wind.  Hiking up an otherwise difficult and steep ridge line in gusting wind is just a tad harder and scarier.  But we made it and as with most mountains, the top made it worth every step up and down.  I did unfortunately loose my camera in the trek down, with all of our pictures from the top.  We are hoping someone turns it in to the rangers station yesterday or today.  

Baxter State Park is full of lakes, mountains and trails.  So, on one of the less good days (which turned out to be beautiful) we hiked a loop trail hitting 3 different "ponds" and spent some time canoeing on Daicy Pond.  It made for a wonderful afternoon.  

After spending 2 days in Baxter, we decided to head to the coast and to Arcadia National Park before heading back on the trail.  Well, we are heading out of the hotel and my last wifi access....as in mom and Evan have already packed everything out.  So not a lot of details I guess but an update none-the-less.  Off to the 100 Mile Wilderness tomorrow (about 8-10 days)!

FLIP and FLOP

We have finished our flip, and will be heading to our flop after my friend's wedding next weekend!! We have had 27 days on the trail (plus one zero day in Bryson City) and 274.4 miles hiked (so, a lot more to go, but we won't talk about that).  I am actually at MY computer so we have a little treat for you all.... PICTURES!

Us in Hot Springs, enjoying clean clothes & showers!

Rafter on a course at NOC

My last blog entry included news of a very painful leg that had put us off the trail in Bryson City, NC.  I (Carolyn) had cried & stumbled my way into Nantahala Outdoor Center (NOC) just outside of Bryson City before catching a ride into town.  During the two days we spent at the Sleep Inn, we ate anything we could find, iced all that we could, and thoroughly enjoyed the television and internet access.  It was all very enjoyable, but after two days in civilization, we were both restless and ready to get back on the trail with all fingers crossed. My leg didn't feel 100%; but it felt better enough and I was ready to test my limits.  We hitch-hiked back to the trail (and NOC) with a wonderful young gentleman who was studying Massage Therapy in Asheville.  NOC is an outdoor center right on the Nantahala River, both my parents and my sister have taken whitewater canoeing, kayaking, and rafting courses there and loved it!  They have a large outfitters with everything you could need for water sports and backpacking....we couldn't help ourselves - we had to take a look around while we were there.  And we were glad that we did!  We were checking out sleeping pads when one of the workers came up to us and asked how our thru-hike was going thus far.  We responded that it was going great, but explained the injury to my leg/ankle.  Turns out, he used to be a pediatrist and offered to take a look at my boot and orthotic. He found an issue with how my orthotic was fitting inside my boot and offered a solution free of charge.  Since then my leg has had ZERO pain.  It was a huge miracle and has improved our trip tremendously! We are forever thankful.  After the great help, we did purchase a new sleeping pad from them and sent our old, very uncomfortable sleeping pad home.

 

First view of Fontana Lake (top right corner).
Photo taken before entering the park.

From NOC, we made our way to Great Smokey Mountains National Park (GSMNP).  72 miles of the trail runs through the park from Fontana Dam, NC to Davenport Gap right on the border of North Carolina & Tennessee.  In fact, starting about 5 miles into the park we hit our third state (out of 13) - Tennessee.  From that point until the end of the month we were walking on the border of North Carolina and Tennessee.  The terrain through the park is rough, but the sights are worth all the work.  The southern half (from Fontana Dam to Newfound Gap) was very mountainous, with lots of up and downs and steep terrain.  We had some amazing views from places like Shuckshack Fire Tower (although soon after we got there the view disappeared into the fog), Rocky Top, and Clingman's Dome (the highest point on the AT).  The northern section of the trail through the park was still tough, but every step offered a different view. Once we got out of Newfound Gap, we stayed right along the ridge line.  We stopped to enjoy sunrise at Icewater Shelter, an early snack at Charlie's Bunion (our favorite place in the park), multiple views along the ridge line, and Mt. Cammerer (supposedly the best view in the park).  

Fog rolling in while viewing the Smokies from
Shuckshank Fire Tower

Foggy walk for our first day in GSMNP

We hit the 200 mile mark at Clingman's Dome -
the highest point on the AT.  In the distance we could see the
mountain where we hit our 100 mile mark.

State line at Newfound Gap - Although we had been hiking the
state line for about 3 days, this was the first time we saw a sign.

Evan sitting out on Charlie's Bunion enjoying the view

Lunch is my favorite time of day, I get to hang out with my
boots off, and it is even better when I get to enjoy a ridge line
view in the process.

More Ridge Line views

Icewater Shelter Site

Throughout the park we were warned of bears.  Every night a bear cable was provided for us to hang a food bag, but we never saw a bear.  That does not mean however, that we didn't know they were around.  Our night at Icewater Shelter was full of critters, including bear.  The shelter is very close to Newfound Gap, and is thus very popular for section hikers and thru-hikers alike. As thru-hikers we were allowed to sleep in our tent to allow space in the shelter for section hikers that reserved the space, so we did.  About 10 minutes after we had crawled into our bed a couple of folks hanging out at the shelter started clashing pans together and hollering, because a bear had apparently walked up to within 10 feet of our tent.  We heard the racket, but chose to ignore it - neither one of us had realized how close it came.  Later that night we saw flashing lights coming from the shelter, we assumed someone had gotten up to go to the bathroom, so once again we ignored it. Turns out a bear (presumably the same bear) decided to walk directly through the shelter to see what kind of food was laying around.  Luckily everyone did hang bags and nobody or equipment was damaged. Inside of our tent, we had our own critter excitement that night.  For those of you that do not know, Evan is diabetic.  Because of this, we always keep a small amount of sugar in the tent (and we have needed it on occasion). That night we had a small baggy of M&Ms in a tent pocket near our feet.  Evan woke up around 11 p.m. asking me if I was moving the ziplock bag.  I decided that it was indeed possible that I was, so he rolled over and went back to sleep (immediately, as he always does). I still wasn't completely convinced it was me, so I faced the ceiling and was contemplating just how probable it was when a shadow started scaling the tent.  Unknown if it was inside our outside I jumped back and grabbed a flashlight.... turns out it was INSIDE our tent and that shadow was a MOUSE!  I am not particularly afraid of mice nor do I dislike them, but when I wake up to one inside my tent I am NOT a fan! By this time Evan was up with all of my movement and light, so we went to work trying to shoo him out.  It took a few minutes (it felt like forever), but he finally went out the door.  It took a little searching, but we found that he had chewed his way into the tent making a nice little mouse sized hole on the side of our tent.  We didn't have the mental capacity at that time of night to find a way to fix the hole, but the next morning we did patch it with some sports tape.  It held for the rest of the month.  

At Davenport Gap we also intersect I-40.
Don't worry, we only took the exit ramp as far as the underpass

Evan pulling out his lunch at Max Patch.
We spent over an hour at the summit enjoying the view.

Everyone always talks about how the Smoky Mountains are some of the roughest part of the trail, so when we got to Davenport Gap on the north side of the park, we celebrated! We made it through, we were still having fun, and our joints didn't hate us anymore than they already had going in.  We were expecting that our average miles would start going up fairly quickly - we had done some long days in the park with the "must stay at shelters" rule, and decided that we could start expecting longer days.  The longer/easier days after GSMNP....biggest lie ever or biggest misconception ever.  Snowbird Mountain directly outside the park KICKED OUR BUTTS.  Our expected 15 mile day became barely 10.  It did mean that we got to spend some time with some awesome people in the three days between Davenport Gap and Hot Springs, NC though.  Day two north of GSMNP was our exciting day - we saw our first bear along the trail.  It was about 40-50 yards in front of us and it came wandering out of the woods, stopped at the trail, looked at us and then scurried off in the other direction.  We stopped when we saw it, smiled, enjoyed, made sure it had it's space, and continued on.  It was a memorable experience but was made suddenly less memorable by our arrival to Max Patch.  Max Patch is a mountain summit that had been clear cut for grazing cattle & sheep before it became an airstrip for small planes.  In the 80's the U.S. Forest Service bought the land for the AT.  It is now kept clear and offers 360º views including magnificent views of the Smokies and Mt. Mitchell (the tallest mountain east of the Mississippi).

Arriving at Laughing Heart Hostel

On May 28, we arrived at Laughing Heart Hostel in Hot Springs, NC. We arrived at 3:00 p.m. having already hiked over 13 miles that day.  It was our fastest record yet (we were pretty excited).  Arriving in Hot Springs meant that our boots would officially be on a 2 week vacation and our bodies would have a little bit of time off as well.  We met the management: Tye & Tom, who immediately helped make the hostel feel more welcoming.  We got the grand tour, picked our bedroom, and then took a shower.  We fell in love with the people and the place and have officially made it our "final destination." Most people hiking the AT end their 2,200 miles at Mt. Katadhin - a beautiful mountain with a very challenging climb in Baxter State Park, Maine.  It is a very dramatic finish with great photo ops.  We, on the other hand, will be there in 10 days getting ready for our hike south.  One of our biggest concerns was not having some sort of dramatic finish  (I-40, our original estimated destination, for instance is very anti-climatic.) Laughing Heart, with all its love and spirit, is a fantastic finish and one that we can honestly say we are looking forward to!

Our new ride!

The adventure did not stop there! From Hot Springs though, we still needed to make it to Iowa City, IA.  The original plan was that my dad (a pilot) was going to fly down and pick us up from Asheville and drop us off in Iowa - very simple plan.  But (there is always a but), there was some nasty storms going through the midwest (for those of you in them, I hope you and your property are doing well).  He couldn't easily make it down to Asheville, so we rented a car last minute (actually my parents did - THANK YOU!).  Our trip went very smoothly, and we learned that we could still read maps, even ones that didn't automatically tell you where to go.  We also learned that rental car companies don't actually carry maps anymore (but AAA does!).  Our old fashioned trip, with no google, no gps, and no Facebook did go well and we had a great time!  We are now in Iowa City helping my friend Betsy with her last minute wedding details.  We are all counting down until wedding day and enjoying the fantastic company.

So, I didn't get pictures of the Bear or the Mouse, but since I am sharing pictures this time around I thought I would at least show you some animals we did manage to take pictures of:

Turtle just outside of the northern
side of GSMNP

We saw lots of these -
they just looked like flickers of light
when the flew

This snake scared bagezzes out of me, but he turned out to be
pretty curious of us

(At 274.4 miles - we have completed over 10% of the trail AND have less than 2,000 miles to go)

Taken at Garenflo Gap, just 6.6 miles South of Hot Springs
(our ending point)it is only 1,914 miles to Maine!

Taken in Fontana Dam (week 3),
everything north of my finger still needs to be hiked.

____________________________________________________________

Just to leave you with a smile :)