Beautiful souls

One of my favorite things about the trail is  the people. The people that are out there hiking with me and the people I meet in towns are so freaking beautiful. I want to show you some of that beauty. 

Davinci

Purple Blaze

Trail momma and Trail pops- AMAZING trail angels

Chili feed

Gourmet veggie parking lot feast courtesy of Purple Blaze's family!

Beautiful grateful souls

Doing the dam thing! @ Fontana Dam

Truck

Happy hikers in town

On the Trail people talk about "real life". And I know exactly what they mean. They mean the one where people have jobs and go to school and have a permanent address. But for me, this is as real as it gets. To depend on my own two feet to move me, to be exposed to the elements, to ache and still not want to stop, to eat whatever it is I carry with me, to be so vulnerable to the absolute kindness of complete strangers- that's real. For me, this isn't some sort of hiatus from the real world. It's an opportunity to see the real world from a different and stunning perspective. And I'm so ridiculously thankful.

My many faces in the Smokies

Apparently if you want to leave a comment on a post you have to do it from a computer, and not your phone. 

Laundry

 What do you wear when doing laundry, you ask? Raincoat and rain pants. 

Everything else I own is being washed. 

Snowshine and mile 164!

Last night I did 15.2 miles to Cable Springs Shelter. I spent the night packed like sardines in with 5 other folks. It was plenty warm with all the body heat in the little shelter. It was a super sweet and funny group of folks in the shelter and camping in the area. I love the sense of community out here. Everyone (or close to it) helps everyone else out and is more than generous in sharing the little they have.

Around the campfire. 

I woke up around 7 am to snow on the ground. I was packed up and hiking by 7:45 am and only stopped to add or remove layers as necessary. The ground was a little slick, but I was fortunate to be one of the first ones on it this morning, so it wasn't hard packed and slippery yet. I was walking and talking to Simba this morning and about 2 miles from town we look around and all the snow was suddenly gone! It's odd how different the weather is from one side of a mountain to the other and from one elevation to another.

Snowshine. 

A couple miles later, no snow. 

Once we got to a road crossing by Fontana Village we ran into a super sweet family who had been doing a short section hike and were off the trail. They very generously gave Simba and I a ride to the Fontana Village and Resort where we met up with two other thruers and split a room. Not only did they give us a lift, but they also gave us a ton of their food. I was so set after their generosity that I only had to do minimal resupplying at the village. Which is good, because it's crazy expensive here! 

Raven and Davinci grubbing at the lodge. 

I'm taking a zero day tomorrow (no hiking) to give my knee a chance to heal before heading into the Smokies. Please keep your fingers crossed for good weather!

<3

"All paths lead to the same goal: to convey to others what we are. And we must pass through solitude and difficulty, isolation and silence in order to reach forth to the enchanted place where we can dance our clumsy dance and sing our sorrowful song—but in this dance or in this song there are fulfilled the most ancient rites of our conscience in the awareness of being human and of believing in a common destiny.”

- Pablo Neruda 

FOOD

I ate an entire jar of PB in 3 days on the trail. I would have eaten more if I had it. 

No shame. 

Mile 109 and gratitude

Today I'm in Franklin, NC resupplying and doing laundry. Yesterday was amazing. When I woke up it was raining, after having rained all night. I knew Albert Mountain was going to be a hard steep climb and I was dreading doing it in the rain. But I reluctantly got my self trudging along in my rain gear.

About 2 miles before the start of the hard climb the sun came out. It had been raining off and on the last 3 or 4 days and it was a much needed break. The climb up Albert was a good bit of rock scramble. It was the first time during my hike that I tucked away my poles and used my hands to climb. 

At the top there was a small rock bald with a fire tower atop. Everyone hooted and hollered when they made it up. Not only was it a steep climb, but it was also the 100 mile mark! Everyone chilled for a break and a snack. The weather was beautiful and the view stunning. 

After Albert it was miles and miles of gentle smooth downhill coasting. 

It was both my longest day it terms of mileage and my quickest day in terms of mph. I passed several volunteer trail crews out maintaining the trail and made sure to thank them.

Once me and a fellow hiker, Buffalo Bill, got to the road at mile 109 we hitched the 10 miles to town. Two really nice guys stopped about 5 minutes in and we rode in the back of their pickup with their sweet black lab into town. They actually live near Hot Springs, NC on a bunch of land and told us to let them know when we're near and that they'd bring a picnic and a bottle of wine to Max Patch to share. Super nice guys. 

I needed nice weather, a good hike, and sweet folks to remind me how lucky I am to be here doing this. 

Grateful <3

A day on the trail

A "normal" day on the trail for me means waking up sometime between 6-7:30, grabbing a quick breakfast (lately a Cliff Bar smothered in PB), packing my stuff and hitting the trail. I'm typically hiking by 8 or 9. The last several days I've spent the majority of my time hiking alone. If there's any cool views or if I pass a sunny spot to sit I'll take off my pack and rest for a bit. Every one to two hours on the trail I'm eating something. Usually granola, trail mix, or a bar. Food on the trail deserves it's own post, it will get one soon enough. 

Around  noon I'll try to find a good spot to chill for a bit, often people will end up congregating at the same spot-- kind of like people do at the water cooler at an office. After a 30 min or so break I'm moving again. I typically end up at a shelter somewhere between 3-5pm. Once there I lay out my pad and sleeping bag to claim a spot in the shelter (I've been lazy about setting up my tent and there's been plenty of space in the shelters). Next I go get water and filter it, unless I know it's going to freeze overnight, in which case I wait til morning. I'll then make dinner- typically a pasta dish. Once I've eaten dinner I put away all my food and cooking gear and bear bag it.  People usually end up gathering in the shelter for an hour or two to cook and chat and sometimes sing. Once it starts to get dark everyone heads to their tents or sleeping bags to get some shut eye before doing it all again the next day. 

Albert mountain

Mile 100. Only 2087 miles to Mama K!

Goodbye Georgia. Hello North Carolina.

I peed on the state line. 

First town stop!

Day 6. Mile 69.6

I started hiking at 5 in the morning before it started raining. It poured. That was the hardest day of hiking so far. Not because the terrain was any rougher, but my knees weren't feeling too hot and I was soaked and moving terribly slow. Just a frustrating morning. But I finished the 11 miles into town by 11 am. 

Now I'm at my first town stop along the way. I'm Overnighting at a hostel in Hiawassee, GA. I'm showered, have clean laundry, a warm dry bed, and a full belly and food bag. Life is glorious. 

Trail Magic!

Trail magic is when your hiking and unexpected goodness finds you. Most often it's been in the form of trail angels who sit out all day at trail crossings with ridiculous amounts of food and drinks and hand it all out to thru hikers for no other reason than because they're good folks. Some folks from a Baptist church fed a bunch of us dirty hikers an amazing dinner Thurs night. Friday a church group had food, drinks, and hand knit hats for us. Saturday afternoon there were a bunch of retired military folks who fed us and gave out booze. And then again Saturday evening I crossed a guy out by himself handing out water, hotdogs, and cookies. Sunday morning I was drenched and trying to go into town and some ladies drove a whole gaggle of us wet smelly hikers into town. 

People are awesome. 

Love <3

View from Preaching Rock

Day one- 9 miles in beautiful weather. Wet overnight. 

The first blaze atop of Springer Mt!

Waterfall around mile 6, or so. 

 

Day two- 8 miles. Wet morning. Got good weather by the afternoon. Overnight was brutally cold. Stayed in a trail shelter and was warm. 

Day three- 15 hard miles. COLD morning. Crazy windy all day. Ended at Neel's Gap. Staying in a hostel for the night. 

The last two days I've started hiking by myself in the AM and spent the rest of the day hiking with a couple folks whose company I really enjoy. 

All is well. 

Do you ever have those moments where you realize how amazing and terrifying this life is? I've found myself several times in the last couple months completely overwhelmed and in tears by the goodness that this life contains. It's my wish for you that your life contains as many opportunities for overwhelming joyful tears as mine has. 

“This is what it means to be an adventurer in our day: to give up creature comforts of the mind, to realize possibilities of imagination. Because everything around us says no you cannot do this, you cannot live without that, nothing is useful unless it’s service to money, to gain, to stability.
The adventurer gives in to tides of chaos, trusts the world to support her—and in doing so turns her back on the fear and obedience she has been taught. She rejects the indoctrination of impossibility.
My adventure is a struggle for freedom.” - Off the Map

Resonance.

Websites

http://www.appalachiantrail.org/about-the-trail

http://appalachiantrail.org/hiking/find-a-hike/interactive-map

http://www.atraillife.com/

http://www.atsurvivordave.com/links.html (links to weather at elevation by mileage!)

 

The Details

What: I'm thru-hiking the Appalachian Trail. It's a 2,184 mile footpath that was first completed in August 1937.

Where: It runs through 14 states, starting on Springer Mt. in Georgia and  finishing on Mt. Katahdin in Maine.

When: I'm starting March 11, 2014. On average it takes 4 to 7 months to complete. I'm hoping to finish it in 5.

Who: Me, myself, and I. But I really can't say I'm going alone, and have that be a true statement. There are about 2,000 people each year who attempt to hike the whole trail, with about 25% of them successfully making the whole trek. So, I'll be on the trail alone but surrounded by other folks attempting the same thing. And I have an awesome support team. My mother deserves Sainthood. I've packed up 4 boxes of food to be sent to me while I'm out on the trail and she'll be making sure they get to me when and where I need them. And taking care of my special needs little dog. And just in general being amazing. Then there are the fine folks at Fermenti Artisans. They gave me some fermented veggies to take on the trail with me. They're good guys, make amazing healthy foods, and live and grow on Indy's eastside. If you don't love them already, you probably should. Give them your business and tell 'em Jessi sent ya! I also got some goods and swag from Health Warriors. They hooked me up and now I'm set on chia bars on the trail, plus have plenty to share. Their coconut chia bars are freakin' delicious. And this doesn't even begin to mention the support from friends and family and the dehydrator I borrowed (thanks Tina!) and all the people who, instead of telling me I was crazy or irresponsible, told me how cool and inspiring it was. Thanks folks; you all make this adventure all the more amazing!

Why: This is one question I've had a little trouble articulating clearly. Since I first heard of the Trail and thru-hiking the idea stuck. Partly because it's a pretty BA thing to do. But mostly because I love the idea of knowing a place intimately. To have hiked one trail from beginning to end and seen everything in between is supremely appealing. I also love being outdoors, it's where I feel most alive and whole. And I like to push my limits, to tiptoe along the edge and see what I'm capable of doing. This hike gives me 2,184 miles in which to do that- through the beautiful sunny days and through torrential downpours, on boring flat stretches and up and down every ridge. Then there's something to be said for the thinking and healing that has to happen when one spends everyday, all day, for months on end in the woods. I look forward to the soul searching solitude. And then there's the community that is built amongst people try to achieve the same socially abnormal goal. Basically I'm in love with the entire idea and all that it entails.

How: I'll fly into the Atlanta Airport and catch a shuttle up to the nearest road to Springer Mountain. And start my hike. Along the way there are towns, either on the trail, or within walking or hitchhiking distance (disclaimer: I wouldn't hitch hike in normal life, but along the trail it's pretty typical). Every 3-7 days I'll buy food at grocer's along the way and shower and do laundry. I have 4 locations I've picked where I'll have a package of food I previously prepared and dehydrated sent to me general delivery. I want to make sure that at least once a month I'm eating yummy nutritious food, hence the mail drops.

More Questions?
Please feel free to leave a comment and I'll try to answer when I'm somewhere with WiFi.

Gear

All of my gear before being packed. From left top to right: Rain cover, TarpTent Contrail, Thermarest women's prolite plus sleeping pad, Reactor Plus Thermolite sleeping bag liner, REI Flash women's sleeping bag, Keen camp shoes, Vasque Talus boots, food in Sea-to-Summit waterproof stuff sack, MSR Pocket Rocket stove and fuel, Sawyer Squeeze water filter, AWOL guidebook, Rite in Rain notebook, Patagonia down coat, Icebreaker mid-weight base layers, and some extra underthings. Not pictured: Oh Sh*t kit (first aid, sewing, and patch kit) and hygiene kit.

My Osprey Ariel pack fully loaded + Mumfodz (the orange moose) + my trekking poles!

Total winter weight w/ food and water: 34 lbs.