So I got to Standing Bear Farm at around 2:45. So ten miles in roughly 4 hours... not tooo bad. It was pretty much all downhill though. But I'm Officially OUT OF THE SMOKIES!!!!!!!!!!
The past couple days in the mountains were actually pretty great... it was absolutely perfect weather and the views and company were excellent. I'm feeling Fantastic physically and while when I started the smokies I was feeling tired and worn out after the days hiking, I feel pretty good right now. I got some Centrum Performance daily vitamins as well so that will hopefully give me an even greater boost so I can start knocking out some bigger days...
I know the next stop will be hot springs in a few days and then after that I'm not sure,, but until then..... Adios until next time
Kashmir
P.S. This place is AWESOME, it's like a Log Cabin Bunk House type of thing and everything is very "Appalachian". It's great.
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Hi Joe, Thanks for the card and photo that you sent to Jake and Quentin! They love getting mail. Your mom sent them a map that she got at a visitor center -- it is awesome... taller than Quentin!
ReplyDeleteI took a short walk in the woods yesterday and was stuck by the skinniness of the trees and it made me wonder how much old growth forest you would encounter (not much, I realize) Did you see any old trees in the Smokies? I did a quick search on the internet and it looks like you might see some in Connecticut (Bear Mountain) and Massachusetts (a few different places).
Here are questions from Jake and Quentin:
Jake asks how heavy your back pack is and if it is hard to walk with it on. Q asks if your feet get tired. Q also wonders if you brought your ipod. They both want to know if you have seen any new animals.
Happy Trails!
-Susan
This is Teresa -
ReplyDeleteOne of my Venturing Crew (Venturing Crew is kind of like co-ed boy scouts) leaders did the AT...last year I think it was. Her name's Amanda Tuminelli, a.k.a. Miss Parkay, in case you've heard of her. (Her trail name was Miss Parkay because when she started out she brought a 1 pound thing of Parkay butter, which she said was silly of her in hindsight).
She recently finished the Pacific Crest Trail and she's going to do the Continental Divide Trail at some point.
Are there a lot of bugs on the AT? Amanda said that the year she did it there had been a lot of flooding and there were tons and tons of mosquitoes - she said that at one point they swarmed into black clouds, like the bees in Pooh do sometimes lol. Hopefully you won't meet any of those...
Let's seee... I havn't weighed my pack in a while but I'm guessing around 40 to 45 lbs,, it's much heavier than most and I can't wait to send back some winter stuff. Now that I've slackpacked,, I am convinced that my pack is indeed too heavy, it's just going to feel like 100lbs tomorrow. My feet do get tired,, today actually my left heel is really tight,, only started during the last 3 miles.. but maybe it'll be better in the morning..
ReplyDeleteand animals... A few Deer, no bear yet,, I am starting to see SNAKES... I saw one coming out of it's skin the other day and today I saw a huge Black Snake as well as what could have been a water moccossan or a copperhead swimming in a pond.
And my time limit is almost up on this computer so I'll answer those next questions in a couple days, when I get to my next hostel.
You are an American hero. GEE EYE JOOOOOOOOOOEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE.
ReplyDeleteHey so I'm finally able to finish my comments...
ReplyDeleteAnyway Teresa,, I'll keep my eye out for pictures of Miss Parkay ,,, alot of times people that finish the trail send Khatadan pictures of themselves back to hostels and stuff in like a thank you... so I'll keep my eyes open. As far as Flies go it has not been too bad yet. There have been bugs and flies but they have not begun to be the Biting kind quite yet.. I'm NOT looking forward to Mosquitoes at alll. I have a very bad feeling that when bug season really hits they are going to be a major pain... I'll be carrying DEET big time.
I did bring my Ipod,, I picked it up in Gatlinburg and it has been a big help these days.. It takes your mind off of hiking for a bit and makes the miles go by quicker and also helps with your pace... with "Sunday Bloddy Sunday" LIVE playing in your ear.. going up hills doesn't seem as hard. I've probably listned to that song 15 times.. it's got a great Hiking Beat to it.. and obviously other songs are great for hiking (old school rap,rock music) but that's the one that I've gone back to.