Day 43-I normally don’t have to get up in the middle of the night, but I did drink a lot of water and sleeping by a stream probably did not help. I found my spot, turned off my headlamp, for some reason looked up and suddenly I forgot why I was there. There were a billion, huge stars in the dark night sky twinkling all over outlining the tall pines and oaks and it was mesmerizing. I didn’t want to stop looking. It’s so rare not to have city lights obscuring the night sky that you forget what it looks like in all its glory.

The morning started out with oatmeal and saying goodbye to my tent mates. It is such an easier level trail with not so many big ups and downs but my pack is still so heavy it still slowed me a bit which was frustrating. I challenge anyone to get my pack weight down to what it should be and still have what I need without buying all new equipment! The day got warmer and I would drench my bandana in every stream and put it on my hot face and wrap it around my neck. It would sooth for a moment but as soon as a hill came, no matter how small, it seemed the heat just sucked the energy right out of me. I am going to have to figure that one out as I go. I did take some breaks, drank LOTS of water, and ate good foods most of the day. The oaks, maples, and poplars are all sprouting their leaves and that will help.

There were many birds singing today and still are. Zorro passed me this morning and said Sir Mead got the plague, Norovirus. I hope he feels better soon. I ran into Try-Try from the Apple Orchard and others who were slack packing a portion of the trail. That means you take just what you need, water, food, or nothing at all and complete a section of the trail, pick up your pack or get a ride back to where you started, and backpack on from there. I hope to run into them again but they will probably be ahead of me. After lunch I saw no one at all until I reached my destination, Moreland Gap Shelter, it was deserted but it was only 2:00 PM. So much more time to hike but I was spent. After awhile, Picky stopped by to wait on his friend. He is from Scotland and a rather polite lad and very helpful. I had cooled down some, the sun was getting lower and I asked if his app showed a campsite a couple miles further from the shelter. Indeed there was one about 2.3 miles ahead next to water, so I set out for that.

It wasn’t long before I arrived there and figured this would be my first alone camping spot. I was making dinner when Shock Top, from Colorado showed up for the night. Boy was I glad to see her as being alone most of the day is a bit wearing on you, not to mention I was getting a bit frustrated with the whole day. Shock Top sold her house when the kids moved out, bought an RV and is enjoying seeing all the sights this country has to offer. I decided to try out my “summer” sleeping bag to see how warm it is, or cool, since it was so warm today. I may be sending my winter bag home when I get to Damascus (get rid of some extra weight). There is a week afterwards of some 5,000 foot elevation spots so I am a little leary of getting rid of everything warm. We will see. A little rain shower has just arrived and cooled things down a bit. It smells so fresh. On that note I will say Good Night and Sweet Dreams!

Day 42 – I hated leaving the hospitality of Tommy and Mary, but I had to get back on the trail. We left early and stopped for a most delicious, fresh blueberry bagel with egg and bacon. It was a great way to start the morning, thanks Tommy! We said our goodbyes after a couple familiar faces walked by on the trail. This would have been an easy hike had my pack not been so heavy. I had planned on the first shelter, although it wasn’t that far, just to give my back a break and eat some of the heaviest food. Along the way I reached a milestone of surpassing 400 miles of the trail hiked! It seemed so long ago that I was doubting I would ever reach 100.

I had not heard that many birds on this warm day and thought it odd but I did hear the strangest squawk. Soon a large, magnificent hawk flew past me and landed in the tree for a moment then moved on. I came to a blue blaze that I normally would not take but this one was special. It was Jones Falls so I had to see for myself what it was like for my son-in-law. Well, Robbie, it didn’t disappoint me at all. It was the perfect place to have my lunch watching this very tall, thunderous waterfall cascade down the rocks. It was beautiful! Others joined me for lunch enjoying this wonderful sight. I met Hops and Papa Smurf and SpongeBob. I headed out for the shelter thinking I could push out some more miles because of the easy trail and a few good hours of daylight left but I didn’t want to put a strain on my back so I opted to go .8 miles further than the Mountaineer Shelter to a campsite beside a stream.

Papa Smurf and Hops from Wisconsin were there too. They are section hiking and it was their first day back at it and didn’t want to over do it. We had some good conversation. Papa Smurf had lost his fork so I told him SpongeBob had found one and they knew him so I suspect he will be reunited with his fork down the trail. The sun was still shining and it was warm so I put my feet in the cold stream to give them a break and boy did they love it! I saw a little salamander who was whisked away with the current to the other side. Later on, Sarasota Steve showed up. He was the older gentleman in the Smokies who asked the younger generation if they knew “On top of old Smokey” (Which they did not). I was glad to see him still at it! We caught up and called it a night. It’s a pleasant evening, not too cool, the sound of the stream is all you can hear. Good Night and Sweet Dreams!

Day 41- Wow! I slept until 9 AM and haven’t done that in a long time! I didn’t really lay around all day, wait, maybe I did! This is my first zero day that I have taken in 41 days and man, is it nice! Most people have taken so many for all crazy reasons but I didn’t come here to hangout, I came to hike the trail and see God’s glory (through the good and the bad). I have resupplied and I know my pack will weigh a ton tomorrow when I start back out. Does anyone want to volunteer to be a pack mule for me? I have picked up some of my summer stuff but not yet ready to dish my winter gear. I will know in about a week how the weather is going to stay and then lighten my load. I repacked my bag and maybe I have just gotten used to it’s heavy weight but it didn’t seem that bad. I can guarantee that I WILL notice going uphill.

Tomorrow may be a shorter day and I can eat some of that weight. I tried to buy more protein foods this time and changed some other things because I am getting too skinny. Eat more food! I put my shorts on that Leslie sent and they slipped down. Thank you Mary for putting tucks in them! If I fell on the trail because my shorts fell down around my ankles and tripped me, I don’t know if I could admit to that one!! I did get caught up on some things today and got to FaceTime my daughter and granddaughter, that’s always a joy! I also FaceTimed my baby brother, my sister-in-law, and awesome nephew. It was great getting caught up and actually seeing my family instead of a random text here and there when I get cell service. This was a short blog day and I have to get up early to get back on the trail, so a huge thank you to Tommy and Mary and Good Night and Sweet Dreams!

Day 38 – I woke up to a few birds singing this morning after a good nights sleep. Earlier there was a very light rain that ended quickly and the tent was dry when I packed it away. It did however make the old guy from Boston pack up and leave early as he didn’t have a rain fly on his tent. Another lady more my age that I met was Try Try, as in “if at first you don’t succeed, try, try again”. She started last year but had to stop early due to injury. She had taken a video of herself stating that she had not seen any bears and posted it on you tube. Her friend said “look again” because in the background in a tree was a cub that she never saw. How often does something like that happen?

I had planned on making it to Roan High Knob Shelter, another long day, but knew it would be a big climb to 6186 foot elevation. The sky was overcast with a light wind so it helped keep the heat down that my body generates through the climb, and I did make it after all. I almost thought that there wouldn’t be much to talk about as I passed no one at all , and they didn’t pass me. Finally, I came upon an old, bearded codger standing atop Little Rock Knob, wrapped in a tarp with little elastic bands holding it together. I noticed a pack at his feet and he had a small nervous dog with him. We talked a minute about the view and I went on. Later I came upon No Rush washing ramps in the spring. He said he had seen the man several times before. No Rush is from Alabama originally but grew up near Toccoa, Ga. I pretty much had his accent pinned down. He ragged me a little about Clemson but at the same time praised the team and Dabo. He also showed me a picture of a water moccasin he came across eyeballing him. I have been so obsessed with rattlers that water moccasins never crossed my mind. They will now though, it was huge.

I met Rocky, Bullwinkle, and a couple more new faces at the shelter, all fine people. Puck Carrier arrived and Beast showed up later. I thought he had gone on ahead of me. Later on a group of older guys doing a section hike together came in for the night and one of them started cooking steak. Another of them trying to find a place to put his bag was asking about shelter etiquette since they weren’t through hikers. Well, number 1 is DON’T bring steak around famished hikers! It did smell so good and he offered me some but I had already brushed my teeth. That smell along with that of the numerous spruce here will do well to offset the cold and rain on the way tonight. Tomorrow will only be about a 7 mile hike to Overmountain Shelter so hopefully I won’t get too cold.

When I do have a long hike and not come across anyone sometimes I sing songs, talk to God, talk to the birds as they flutter by, and think of things I need to get when I resupply. There are many other things I think about but those are just a few. Since I have over 1800 miles left to be alone I am sure I will be thinking of many things. Of course I am always looking around. Although the scenery is the same, dirt, trees, flowers, rocks, and roots, it is also so different. There are trees over 100 years old standing majestically and some that have fallen, covered in moss while others have hollowed out bellies for the animals to seek shelter in. Some days I have trails lined beautifully with yellow and purple miniature flowers and sometimes it is lined with thick grass while others are just roots and rocks. Everyday is a different day although at times it seems it’s all the same. I have traveled 378.9 miles so far and although I am only a short car ride from home, I am a month away and many steps. Thank you for taking them with me, it means more than I could ever say. Have a Good Night and Sweet Dreams!

Day 37 – Yes, on top of it all, she snores! When she turned over I thought it was thundering. All of that is past me now because she will never catch up. I finally made it atop that mountain that was so far away yesterday. I could look down on Erwin and say “Wow”. It was certainly a trek to remember, just a lot of ups! There was trail magic waiting at Indian Grave Gap.

This man comes out every day with his dog Moses and has brownies, sweet bread, coffee, sweet tea, lemonade and fruit. He knows many people in the area and remembers the ones that just stopped by. I popped out onto another meadow and it was lovely. Something about meadows that seem so relaxing and peaceful to me. This time the wind wasn’t blowing 40 MPH so I leaned against my pack with the sun to my back and had my lunch, Snickers Bar lathered in globs of peanut butter and an apple. I had all intentions of staying at Cherry Gap Shelter which was 12.8 miles away. Somewhere near the top of Unaka Mountain, where there is a dense forest of spruce (the aroma was so clean and pleasant), I came upon a man resting from a hard climb, we said a few words and I went on. It was just a little weird and when something feels off I like to put distance between us. He passed again and then I passed him…still weird vibes. Soon I hit level ground and downhill and you should have seen my legs moving! I felt like a cartoon with my body in the still position and my legs just a-spinning! I never saw him again.

When I got to Cherry Gap it was only 4:30, great timing since my feet were pounding the ground (my knees will thank me later, ha), and I probably would have washed my smelly shirt and it would have dried in the warm sun. There was no one there and the only ones that I knew were behind me was that girl and the creepy dude. I checked the map and saw a campsite about 4 miles away so I decided on that. Before I knew it I was at the Apple Orchard, very pretty, and there were other campers. Hallelujah!

I met some awesome new people, Lucky Penny, Snake Eyes, a girl from Virginia, and an older dude from Boston. They were very polite. There is only grass everywhere so the bedding under the tent will be a little softer tonight. It has gotten quite chilly, much different from the sweaty temperatures during the day. There were very few water sources today and it was a thirsty day! I am glad I topped up my water bottles at the trail magic. This puts me only 5 miles away from my next shelter and 11 miles to the next campsite, so I will see what tomorrow brings.

Some random thoughts I have during each day it seems are: I hate it when I am really on the move and a small rock or stick will get under my forward foot and roll me like I am ice skating while my other foot is hop-skipping-and-a-jumping trying to keep myself from falling over. I love the mica and huge pieces of quartz that I come across. Rhododendron branches will punch, push, pull, hold you back, reach out and grab you, trip you and they are only about an inch or so around. It has to be the sturdiest bush I have ever seen! It’s getting colder now so I will snuggle into my warm down sleeping bag and hopefully have a peaceful sleep. Good Night and Sweet Dreams!

Day 36- At the No Business Knob Shelter there was a group of young men who were having troubles but got in this Church group to find their way back. Since there was no privy and it was still dark and VERY early I thought it best to use that opportunity to relieve myself. What I saw was the most beautiful, bright moon with a planet hanging close to it in that clear sky. It wasn’t quite a full moon but neither was mine!

This morning started out pretty good, I got up and at ‘em so I could get to Erwin, NC to resupply and get lunch. I stopped at Uncle Johnny’s hostel and cabins as they are right off the trail and Smiles was staying there ( I wanted to leave my pack so I could walk to town) Ha! It’s not that kind of town so I got a ride to McDonalds and back. The guy pointed out a mountain looming in the distance stating that the “v” in the mountain was Indian Grave Gap, a place I will go to at some point. What he failed to tell me was that I would be climbing more than half of that sucker this afternoon!

After returning to Uncle Johnny’s I bought what food I needed there. It was very reasonably priced and they went out of their way to help you. I relaxed and took a shower, and FaceTimed with my daughter and granddaughter while Smiles went to town. I had planned on leaving and going to the first shelter, Curly Maple Shelter, which was ONLY about 4.5 miles away. On a scale of 1 – 10 in easy to strenuous, this afternoons trek was a 20! I swear I was going backwards sometimes up the hill. Almost the entire trail was like an old creek bed and you could see that it does rush water when it rains. Boy was I glad it has been dry the past few days. Rocks the size of your fist and bigger littered the trail which made for difficult walking, but it did follow and kept criss-crossing a beautiful, babbling, peaceful creek that provided coolness to my neck and face via my bandana (which I believe is one I had from the 60’s). It was very hot on the climb out with several boulder crossings. On one of them I had to do the butt scoot to get over it and down. I am sure I looked like an idiot.

Again at the top, out of breath, and sweating like a stuck pig, the shelter just appeared and it sure does make you feel good! By now the creek was just a tiny water source but had it been roaring I probably would have taken off my shoes and got in it. When the sun goes down it gets cool quickly so all of those thoughts just disappear until another day. I know there will be a day soon that I take my pack off and get in to cool off. I met two new guys at the shelter, Juicy and Scout, an ex-Marine. He has hiked everywhere has already done the AT once and was very knowledgeable. Juicy brought the smallest guitar I have ever seen and immediately started playing “House of the Rising Sun”, one of my favorite songs. For an 18 year old, I was impressed that he played my kind of music.

There are more birds singing now, the maples have sprouted their leaves, and the sweat bees have emerged. Other than that the scenery or flowers have not changed much. Ok, I wasn’t going to mention the 3rd person here, but it’s a girl that you would never in a million years imagine her hiking. It took her about 35 to 40 minutes to get her “stuff” and bed set up. (Therefore she was in my way). She uses the Tyvec you wrap houses with as an undercover and it is loud, her 3” thick mattress was on it and she just turned over. I am not sure of the decibels of the mattress but it should be outlawed! I can’t help but laugh. Good luck to me sleeping through the night! Some dude just came by here trying to figure out which way the trail went in the dark, so good luck to him! With that I wish you a Good Night and Sweet Dreams!

Day 35- My first night of not staying at a shelter site went well. Although I slept on a slant, (what’s new?) I slept pretty good. I did manage to get my tent more or less dried out but I believe the rain fly dripped on my sleeping bag in spots getting it damp, but it wasn’t that bad. Except for following the ridge in the morning, I spent most of my day in between mountains looking down several thousand feet to where they join at the bottom. It’s a sight that really isn’t describable and pictures would not do it justice. And before you know it you are looking up at that mountain from the bottom and just can’t believe that you were once up there!

The morning had a chilly wind and the afternoon was a very pleasant day, nary a cloud in the sky. It was slow going at first due to slippery mud and roots and rocks. When I got to High Rock, I looked up and said “Yes it is”. The name couldn’t have been more descriptive! That’s when Sweet Tooth and another guy with a weird name I can never remember passed by and were then gone. I still can’t imagine how they go so darn fast, although their ankles and knees hurt…hmm. I passed many streams and planned on going about 10 miles and camp off trail again as the No Business Knob Shelter was further than I thought possible. Well, I was wrong as there were no sites to be found and before I knew it I was there. That is a grand feeling when the shelter pops into view and you aren’t expecting it. At first I saw orange as I gazed upward and thought it was the sunset but lo and behold it was an orange tent with the shelter behind it. Man, I couldn’t believe my eyes.

Normally I would be starving and that would have added extra time to my setting up and it was already 7:30. When I came through Spivy Gap there was more trail magic from Peach and her new friend she had met at a hostel. He cooked me a cheeseburger and hotdog and I had salad and a tangerine as well. (Not to mention the two sodas I downed). Seeing that it was 5:30 I thought that would be a fitting dinner which allowed me to walk longer knowing all I had to do was set up the tent. Several of the guys were there already enjoying the food, including Sweet Tooth. I left first knowing they would blast past me later, which they did. Needless to say they were here at the shelter waiting.

When I do FINALLY show up someplace they all say “Flying Tiger!” It makes me feel like Norm from Cheers! Some of the hikers have an app that shows you where you are, the elevation, information about things along the way or comments from others about a place or site. Sometimes I am tempted to fork over the money but I would never get anywhere because I’d be constantly stopping to see where I was, not to mention the phone battery. I have comfortable, old timey maps and a book that shows things along the way, like water, sights, roads, etc. and like I said, when you pop up on the place you were aiming for, man, what a feeling! A surprise every day!

I plan on going into Erwin tomorrow to resupply so that I can go another 5 to 6 days. Food is heavy, so I have learned to get just what I need and always eat the heavy stuff first. It is good that I made it to this shelter so I will be there around lunch time and still have time to keep hiking later. Just a side note, as I have to share… my daughter sent me a video of my precious granddaughter hunting for Easter eggs and I can here her say “Find mowah”, a true Southern Belle in the making! (Mowah is the word “more” in case you didn’t know). It’s getting late again tonight and I am pooped, so Good Night and Sweet Dreams!

Day 34- The fire in the pot bellied stove in the “shed” hostel made all the difference in the world. It kept the place livable and warm all night, surprisingly a good nights sleep. It was in the 30’s this morning when I left but no rain, just overcast, so the climb keeps you warm enough. The hands were cold but I kept switching the one glove back and forth and it did the job until it warmed up. (Remember the first glove pads the shoulder strap where it hits my bony collar bone.) My first climb up was by a roaring, raging stream running down the mountain with several precarious crossings, fortunately I stayed out of the drink!

As I rounded to the next mountain again I slowed my pace. There was snow as far as you could see. I knew there was another reason to stop for the night at Stinky Timmy’s versus trying to get to the next shelter! It was warming a bit because I was pelted by clear ice falling from the branches and later by actual snowballs falling off the limbs. I had to smile. The sun was trying to break through but just didn’t have the strength, until later in the day. As I approached lunchtime, I came upon Hogback Ridge Shelter and ate some peanut butter and graham crackers before trying to get to the Bald Mountain Shelter which I knew was impossible, so I settled on walking until around 5 and finding an off trail space. When I came upon Sam’s Gap there was trail magic awaiting!

Biscuit, originally from PA who considers herself southern now, had hotdogs, beer, mimosas, doughnuts, chips, candy, soft drinks and much more. (My Pepsi was awesome). She had a Mack Truck cap on, blue jeans, scruffy, and was drinking PBR. You can’t get much more southern! All the guys were there and I met Smiles, in her 50’s from Boston. We decided to go about 3.5 more miles and camp out. Beast was there and Puck showed up, as well as a Southbound Through Hiker from Colorado finishing up his journey. We had a fire to nip the chill in the air and good conversation. I heard Saucy will join back up on the trail Tuesday. I was glad to hear that.

So where did I spend my Easter you ask … engulfed in God’s beauty. I went from chilly overcast to a snow covered hillside to a sun drenched, warm meadow to a cool, sleepy little campsite all in one day. I stopped to talk to day hikers enjoying the same thing and finding out about their lives. Although I know my family was together without me, and how I missed that, I couldn’t think of another place I’d rather be but surrounded by his glory and beauty. Good Night and Sweet Dreams!