Welcome to my blog.
Expect reflections on long distance hiking, hiking culture, nature, creativity and my undying love for backrests.
I’m not gonna lie, y’all. I’m ready to do something else now. Something other than spend my entire day walking in the woods.
So today I became that hiker I usually try hard not to be. I became that hiker who puts her head down and churns out miles.
There are so many people on the trail right now. Lots of day hikers. Lots of people out for a few nights, getting a taste of the Appalachian Trail. Big groups of friends and couples and the occasional solo hiker like me.
It wasn’t until I was bundled up in my sleeping bag at the end of the day, updating my log book, that I realized I’d crossed the last big threshold of this odyssey—the 500 mile mark.
The end really is in sight, now.
The climb up Tray Mountain reminds me of why I love hiking. And hate how zealous trail maintainers have become.
I decided to break my Stealth Site streak because I heard about a tent site perched on the edge of a rocky outcrop at the Tray Mountain Shelter. I love a rocky outcrop where I can sit and enjoy a view along with a cup of anti-inflammatory Turmeric Tea before dinner.
I crossed my final state line, today, and it was bittersweet.
The Stealth Site Maven continues her run of holding out for the perfect place to camp.
I knew there was a tent site next to the Albert Mountain fire tower and last time I hiked through here, in 2018, I promised myself I would camp up here. And so I did.
The rain started at 11:00 pm. Not a deluge. Just a steady, soaking rain. Unrelenting water falling from the sky and seeping into my tent.
Today started off glorious—sunrise glorious—and eventually got weird—AK-47 weird.
Good things happened all day, today. But they did not involve donuts.
With trail legs comes hiker hunger. I am dreaming of donuts every step of the way, now.
