Weeks 9 & 10 - 2021

WE HAVE FINISHED!!!

Groseclose, Virginia to Springer Mountain/Amicalola Falls, Georgia.  

545 miles, 71 days, 4 states 

What an adventure!!!  Thank you to all who prayed for us and encouraged us along the way!   Your support was felt as we took one step at a time and never looked back!  

More postings to come after we shower and eat (we better do it in that order! 

Week Nine and Ten of HOBOS going SOBO in their OBOZ … and we never looked back.  Our In-Tents Journey on the Appalachian Trail

Hiawassee, GA to Springer Mountain, 69 miles plus 9 miles on the Amicalola/Approach Trail - 7 days, averaging a little over 11 miles a day.  Highlights this week … the Infamous Neels Gap, conquering the descent of Blood Mountain, Town of Helen, Springer Mountain, Amicalola Falls, but the biggest highlight of all —

WE FINISHED!! 

Things learned on the trail this week:

• The infamous Neels Gap (Mountain Crossings) … it’s about 40 miles from the start of the AT (if you’re going North), it is the first outfitter store you come to, it is located after the dreaded “Blood Mountain” descent and it's the only place on the AT where the trail goes through a building structure. But the coolest thing about it is when you arrive here you will see tons of shoes hanging from trees outside. This is the place that 1 of 2 things may occur; both ending with their boots thrown up in the trees:  they decide to quit hiking after realizing this really is a tough trail or they realize the boots they had are no good and go in the store and purchase new ones.  Check out the pictures, so cool!

• Blood Mountain: I am happy to report that no blood was shed on this mountain on our descent but we did have a lot of sweat and tears!  It was TOUGH and we only did it with a day pack on. Our new friend, Patches did it with a 45 pound backpack on! That is one ahh-mazing woman!

• This was the hardest week mentally. The closer we got to the finish the more difficult it became to enjoy and not just concentrate on the miles and start clicking them off as we did them.  We knew we needed to do something to change that, so we took time off to relax and regroup (at a hostel with a shower and comfy bed, of course!) and then finished our last two days with excitement and a huge smile! 

• A purist we are not.  Those who are considered purists are very strict in their walk on the AT. They make sure they pass every white blaze on the trail, will never take a slack pack day, never take a bypass route, never cut miles out to avoid bear activity, or take any shortcuts to get to the end faster.  We have broken every one of those rules.  Yep, we are non purist rule breakers and have no shame!

• MISSION ACCOMPLISHED!  Our venture as HOBOS and not showering has embarrassed my sister.  As anyone who has a younger sibling knows, when growing up they can be a pain and embarrass you in front of your friends.  I got a message from my sister the other day, “Please take a shower, you are embarrassing me.”  YES!!!! Payback! 

•  I know you’re all wondering … yes, there has been much improvement on my ‘farmer blow’.   I can’t say I’ve quite mastered it, but at least I get less on myself than I used to.

•  STILL MISSING!  Our 15-20 mile a day trail legs were never found. We did however find a knock-off brand of trail legs that allowed us to walk 11-12 miles a day towards the end which isn’t too shabby! Better than not finding any at all I suppose.

•  I have Morton’s Neuroma (inflammation of the nerve endings in my left foot) so I don’t wear socks when the weather is warm to prevent my foot from overheating which enhances the pain in my toes.  Not wearing socks leaves me very susceptible to blisters and hot spots breaking out on my feet.  My reason for telling you this is to share with you a product that truly works if you’re also susceptible to blisters - Hike Goo.  I even had to buy new hiking boots on the trail and never had any problems.  This goo really works!

• It’s a good idea to make sure all your bills are set up for auto pay BEFORE you leave for an extended trip, especially if it is your cell phone carrier!  It’s not always easy when you’re in the woods to get a signal to try to work out the problem and get it paid so they don’t shut off your only link to the outside world.

• I may need to go into therapy over this … it’s this whole losing weight thing!  We’ve walked 545 miles y’all, wouldn’t you expect that you would lose a significant amount of weight walking that many miles?! Well one of us did and one of us did not! I wonder if you can guess who’s who?!   Brad lost 26 pounds and I … 5! Ok, so at least I finally lost some weight after gaining, but c’mon!!!  (Please don’t misunderstand, it’s not that I thought I needed to lose weight or that I only walked to lose it,  I’m just standing up for the women out there that work just as hard to lose it but much easier for the men. Just. Not. Fair. ) 

• We are happy to report that we never saw a bear or rattlesnake on the trail. Thank you, Lord!  But non-poisonous snakes we did see - although still alarming when you come up upon them.

• We have two new places to report as great places to stay on the trail: “Misty Mountain B&B” (although closing soon, we were two of their last guests so we feel blessed) and “Above the Clouds Hostel”  Both places took great care of us and we enjoyed our stay so much!

•  The bill on my baseball cap is still intact, surprisingly!  Brad takes the lead when we hike to set the pace (I may have gotten a younger faster version of trail legs to his older pair which frustrates him so I let him lead).  For whatever reason he will stop quick without any warning and wham!  I run into his backside!  I guess I’ve just as many times gotten him back (not intentionally) with hitting his boots with my trekking poles by following too close.

• A cool town to visit is Helen, GA. It took us completely by surprise and a great place to unwind - it is a German town with a lot of shops and restaurants. We enjoyed sitting by the river and watching the tubers go over the rapids. This is going to sound mean but we laughed so hard watching people flip over and off their tubes, which happened so often.  Payback will most likely happen when we’re tubing in Texas next winter, I’m sure.

• Such a bittersweet moment when we first arrived at Springer Mountain (which ended the AT) and then the Approach Trail in Amicalola Falls (which ended the whole hike).  So proud of ourselves but at the same time it’s what we’ve been doing for 2.5 months; I think we will miss being on the trail and the experiences we had there.

• This hike has been more than we could have dreamed or imagined. We have met so many wonderful people, seen so much of God’s magnificent creation and have been blessed to experience it together!  I kid about us taking separate vacations after this but I’m truly only kidding - we went through 71 days, 24/7 and I can still happily report we are still each other’s best friend!