Davenport to Groundhog Creek Shelter

Hiking out of Davenport Gap and pushing on to the Groundhog Creek Shelter we hiked 9.8 miles on our first day by ourselves on the trail. This day was complete with two luxuriously long breaks, one at Pigeon River to wash clothes and ourselves (even after just a few days this was a welcome stop!), and one at painted branch to filter water and treat ourselves to a Nutella infused lunch.

It was a beautiful day and we were happy to have Groundhog Creek Shelter to ourselves. We set up our tent inside the shelter as we knew rain was imminent. This was a great idea as it rained through the night, and we had the added benefit of not adding 2 pounds of water weight (with the tent being wet) to our packs (well, really to Chris' as he's carrying the tent =) )

As we arrived with sore feet to the shelter, it was becoming very apparent that my feet had no less than 6 blisters, three on each foot, on different spots... the next few days were bound to be a bit slower??

Smoky Mountains, the beginning

We spent our first night in Smoky Mountain National Park with friends Mike and Tara from the island. It was a great warm up as it was only 4.6 miles in, and Mike and Tara sure know their local flora and fauna so we learned a lot from them. Mike is an expert salamander spotter, and with four naturalists on a hike, no rock went unturned!

It rained throughout the night and until about 9am, though luckily we were in our tent safe and sound when it started and used it as a great excuse to sleep in!! We got going late and made the 9 (ish) mile hike up and out. Luckily the clouds cleared just enough to get a few good views of the fall leaves at the top. After a quick stop in town and a bite to eat at Subway (easier than cooking!), Mike and Tara dropped us off at about 8:30pm to hike the mile into Davenport Gap Shelter on the border of the Smoky Mountain National Park. Thanks to Mike and Tara for the company and making the trek out to see us! We learned a lot.

Chris filtering water right next to our campsite at Cabin Flats.

this is it?

I typically try to avoid looking forward to things too much because our plans tend to change swiftly and easily. Even with multiple trips to REI and the Nantahala Outdoor Center, to Mejer and the post office preparing resupply boxes, to the apple orchard and the Orosz's dehydrator for delicious dried apples for snacks, I was not ready to take the tags off my zip-off hiking pants (Was I hoping for a more fashionable option? Maybe). I was not ready to take the tags off until that is, well, right now, when we have our bags packed, our food planned out, our ride organized for the morning, and everything bought to prepare us (as much as possible) for the next month.

Chris and his dad Chris helping Wilma try on Chris' new (fully packed 40 pound) backpack

Everything laid out and ready to be put in our packs!

Our first night in Tennessee we went to 'The British Pub' for some delicious food and a great band- complete with a cello, banjo, mandolin, and guitar. It was an eclectic very talented folk group and we will heed one of the band member's advice. As we walked to the car, he yelled after us, 'try not to eat each other!' Well, luckily things shouldn't get quite that desperate.

Here we go, wish us luck!!

Appalachia in our future

With time between jobs, the Appalachian Trail has been calling our name. Our current plan is to hike a month-long section (maybe 2?) of the Appalachian Trail, a 2180 mile footpath from Georgia to Maine. Our end date is not known, our end mileage is not known. What is known is that we wanted to take advantage of our time to get back to nature and a simplistic way of life. In a few days time we will strap our backpacks on (full of only the essentials for hiking and overnighting in the woods) lace up our hiking boots, and journey onward.

Chris completed a solo through- hike of the Appalachian Trail over the course of 5 months in 2008. I (Abigail) am grateful he is my hiking buddy as(well for many reasons but also mainly because) I am fairly certain I have no idea what I'm getting myself into. My longest overnight hike has been 5 days but even then I didn't carry my pack.

I have only carried the weight of everything I would need for a maximum of 3 days! I have been learning all about trail etiquette, re-supply boxes, trekking poles, nerdy hiking zip-off pants (I resisted but was assured it was the best option), the importance of a reflective heat blanket in our first aid kit, as well as just how light crocs are (another resisted yet extremely valuable item!). My down jacket, although warm, weighs a shocking 1 pound 9 ounces! I guess that's a lot?

Hope to post pictures and stories whenever internet is available, though we can't promise it will be every 5 minutes. Stay tuned.