Photos Added!

I have created a flickr page for Shawn's photos from the trail... to access the page, click on the link on the right side, below our photo. I have been informed that the photos are largely from North Carolina, with a sprinking of Georgia and Tennessee. And, for some reason, they ended up backwards in the upload, so if you want to experience the trail the "right" way, start at the end and work backwards.... Enjoy!

Photos from the Trail!

I received a package from Shawn today, with his old sleeping bag, a shirt, and a few other things he didn't need anymore... but most importantly, there was a camera card as well! Here are a few photos from the trail, so you can see our thru-hiker in action and see some of what he's seeing - at least the portion between Georgia and Tennessee! The first photo is of him at the southern terminus of the AT, at the top of Springer Mountain. I have more, and as soon as I can upload them to flickr, you can see them all...

Off to Tennessee

Shawn headed back out onto the trail this morning, with a fellow hiker "C-Bass." He should be in Erwin, TN, by next weekend. In case he gets lost along the way, his nephew, Gavin, drew this map of the trail for his Uncle Shawn... I'd vote he follows this map, since the route seems much shorter than the 10 feet of crazy we have hanging in our office conference room... =) (special thanks to Gavin and his mom, Kim, for letting us post this on the site!)

ANOTHER ZERO

Hello all - still in Hot Springs, NC. I woke this morning and the skies were dark and rain was coming down, and my right foot was still hurting, so I decided better to take a second day of rest now to hopefully avoid a full week of recovery later. I have soreness in the tendons of my right foot, and its definitely better than it was two days ago, but it still hurts when standing on it. However, by this afternoon the weather cleared and three of my little group of five hiker friends headed on their way, leaving me and a young buck named C-Bass here. (Just found out how his name is spelled, and I'm dissappointed that its not "Seabass" like I thought. Apparently he's named after a character in Dumb and Dumber, but don't know who.) C-Bass also has a hurting foot.

So, we've been lounging at our fun haunted mansion hotel, watching movies and running errands, and plan on leaving first thing in the morning regardless of how our feet feel. Its a small town, and getting smaller by the minute. We'll try and do some big days and hopefully catch up with everyone else by the next town. Since they're ahead, we'll be able to track them through registers at the shelters, but they won't know about us. The AT is tricky like that, because if you leave towns even a few hours after someone else, you may not see them for weeks. Just now, a girl who I met the first day of my hike just showed up, despite persistant rumors that she had quit.

Since I have the time, I'm at the town library right now, where along with internet access, they have early voting - NC's primary isn't til later this week I think. Amazing how politics still finds us, despite being away from the news for long periods. Had heard about the PA primary as soon as the results were announced, though seems there was some confusion for a while. The hotel we're staying at right now is a lone outpost of blue in this red state - the owner is a former thru-hiker, and you know his lefty politics right as you walk in the door - bumperstickers and pins all over the place. I think he may even scan potential clients over to make sure they aren't Republicans.

As you may have guessed, most people on the Trail are definitely on the liberal side of the spectrum, given their youth and love of the natural environment, plus the plain hippiness of staying in the woods for this long. Obama is the clear favorite, enough so that the Dem race is not really discussed much. In fact, politics in general is seldom brought up. It could be because everyone is on the relative same page, but its probably because most people just want to get away from that stuff while out here. The one gentleman who insists on bringing up politics is a middle-aged Bush-lover who hiked the trail years ago and is simply bumming along from town to town to hang out. He's finding fewer friends each day.

OK, enough idle chatter. Will head back to the house and ready my stuff for an early start. Then on to dinner for yet another hamburger. You'd think I'd love eating bad pub food everyday while in town, but it gets old. I have gained back a halfpound though.

Thank you all so much for the care packages and cards. They are really helpful and keep me in good spirits. However, just a quick note about sending food (and thank you Elizabeth for writing the post below). Please directly send me all the cards and postcards and quickly-edible food that you would like to - but if you want to send anything like trail mix or other carry-out food, please send it to Elizabeth for her to pass along. She'll make sure there is no duplicate foods and that portions are sized for the distance I'm doing. Since leaving a town usually involves a long, slow uphill, every once counts, and I am trying to be very careful how much food I take with me. But thank you all for everything!!!

HOT SPRINGS, NC

Hi all - sitting in downtown Hot Springs (mile 271) - the one block of downtown Hot Springs that is. Been here since yesterday afternoon and will take a full zero day today. Pouring rain today (great day to be in town) and I'm sitting at the outfitter shop here with their fast internet connection. I've purchased a heavier and warmer sleeping bag - my little old 32-degree bag wasn't cutting it in the freezing nights of the Smokies and I've got a bunch of high peaks to go before summer really starts. On the other end of the spectrum, its getting really hot in the sun when going up hills, so its time to get a tee-shirt for the day times. You should see the tan lines on my lower arms from where I was pulling the sleeves up. At least I'm no longer getting sunburned like I was in Georgia - the scabs on my ears from sunburn have finally come off. I'll be sending my unneeded gear home along with the photo disks so Elizabeth can post some photos soon.

Hot Springs is a neat small town - the promised festival wasn't much of an event, so our group ended up in the one bar drinking most of the afternoon. I'm staying at this fantastic B&B called Elmer's that's in this great old Victorian mansion with antiques and knick knacks and peeling wallpaper, like something out of the movie Clue. Will check out the town's name-sake hot springs tonight after dinner, but plan on relaxing most of the afternoon with a pint of Ben & Jerry's. I finally got to weigh myself - lost 18 lbs so far, bringing me to my college weight of 176. It may sound scary, but its expected and its not nearly as much as some of the other guys out here. Unfortunately, for the ladies, most of them have gained a pound or two as fat is converted into muscles.

The past few days took me over a few neat balds - mountains that are treeless on top. No one is really sure why they are treeless - its not from climate this far south - but they are grassy and have beautiful views. I spent the night on top of one two nights ago - perfect place for sunset, stars, and sunrise gazing. A spring is in full force - the forest is carpeted in Trillium and other wildflowers, the birds wake us up at sunrise, and the blooming dogwood trees are fun to see as they show up nicely against the green and brown background.

I plan on leaving tomorrow afternoon for another 6-7 day stretch to Erwin, Tennessee. I will be leaving North Carolina permanently behind, one more state down, still many to go....

ABOUT TO ENTER THE SMOKIES

Hi everyone - a quick hello since the slow-moving computer here at Fontana Village finally became available. I'm in Fontana, NC, a town built to house TVA dam builders in the 1940s who were building the nearby Fontana Dam, which is the tallest dam in the East, and the gateway to Smoky Mountains National Park. My buddy Y2K and I will be entering the Smokies today, hoping to do the 11 mile uphill slog that will put us on the crestline. The weather is beautiful, highs in the upper 70s and perfectly sunny - hopefully it will hold for most of the next week, since the Smokies are notorious for bad weather. It snowed 6 inches there 3 days ago, but its since melted. These will be the highest peaks on the AT - Clingman's Dome is almost 6800 feet high - a full 600 feet taller than Mt. Washinton in NH. The rumor is that once on top of the ridgeline the trail is relatively easy, with few major gaps to climb in an out of. This will be a nice break from the punishing North Carolina Trail so far, with its almost twice daily 1200ft down, 1200ft up gaps. I did spend the night on 5500ft Standing Indian Mtn a week ago, with perfectly clear skies and endless stars. Great sunset and sunrise - thanks to Suzanna for her star book. Thanks also to everyone who has sent stuff - Bridget Keegan's postcard, Gavin's map and mix, Mom's cookies, Aunt Sharon's card, Grandpa's card, and of course Elizabeth's meals and notes. They've been very inspiring, particularly on the long 3000ft climb out of Wesser, NC a few days back.

I stayed here in Fontana Village at a real hotel, having enough of the snoring (I reckon 50% of the hikers snore terribly. You should meet the guy named "Rolling Thunder") and the foul bunkhouse at my last stop with its B.O. smelling mattress. I ended up sleeping on the porch. So it was nice to get a real bed and pillows and linens for a change, plus an indoor pool, and restaurant and bar nearby. Now, i'm packed up with a ridiculous amount of food, enough to get through the 6-7 days of the Smokies, since there's no close town once you're in the park. This will be the longest section without stopping until Maine, and the pack is fully loaded, probably weighing something around 45lbs. I've sent some items home, but its never as much as you'd like to send.

As someone told me last week, the AT is the most fun you'll ever have, interrupted by long walks. This is very true - the characters out here are truly interesting people, and its great fun to gather at the shelters to cook and socialize each night. The actual hiking bonds people closely, since we're all going through the same thing. I'm making great friends and having a great time so far. I've met a number of people who do long-distance hikes every year - they work during the winter to make enough money to take off for a few months each summer. It's very addictive, I agree, but not sure if Elizabeth will let me run off again and again like this....

Ok, i'm off. There's a hostel right after the Smokies with internet I hear, so I will try and stop there to post more. Until then, here's hoping the bears, freezing temps, snakes, lightning, falls, and exhausting labor don't get me....

Fontana Dam, NC

According to the math that Shawn and his new friend Y2K did last night, they are now 7% done with the trail... only a little more than 2000 miles to go. Y2K got his name from the dehydrated food supply that some friends had gathered for the millennium and never needed, and then donated to him for the trail. Everyone's got a story behind their trail names, it seems. Shawn has stuck with "Keychain", and even purchased a North Carolina one yesterday during his afternoon off. Other folks he's met include SlowGoin' and Johnny Thunder.

So far, everything is going well. He has received everyone's postcards, letters, and snacks, and asked me to pass on a big thanks to everyone. He stayed last night in an actual hotel instead of a hostel or bunkhouse - I can only imagine how nice a real bed must have felt after 2+ weeks of the floor or the ground! The weather has been a bit of a challenge, with fluctuations between 26degrees at night and 74 degrees during the day. However, since he mailed me back his heaviest long underwear, I think he's doing ok. Also in the "I-decided-I-don't-really-need-this-anymore" box that got delivered to our doorstep last night: extra bandanas, a small microfiber towel, and some campsoap.

He's spent a couple of nights on the tops of mountains, some alone and some with other people. I think part of the inspiration behind the hotel room last night was the snoring factor - apparently there's one in every group of hikers you come across and bunk with.

The Smokies (and the snow on them that is visible from where he is now) are next, so it will be about 7 days before we hear from him again.... surprisingly, his next stop is Tennessee, followed by a return to North Carolina. That tricky trail - it never goes in a straight line! By the 28th or so, he'll be relaxing in the hot springs at Hot Springs, North Carolina - probably the one and only time that we will be jealous of him!

One state down....

Hello faithful blog readers (aka our families ...). Just a short note to let you all know that I heard from our intrepid hiker very late last night. We spent almost an hour on the phone, and it was so wonderful to talk to him and hear what he's been up to. I really miss him an awful lot, as you can imagine! Shawn has made it to the NOC, in North Carolina -- so that's one state completed (Georgia), and something like 13 to go. Not too shabby! Its also over 100 miles that he has hiked. He said that all is well, and except for some rain and a recent 26degree evening, things are going along great. Knees, feet, back all still in good shape. Shawn got to spend what sounds like a wonderful night out on a mountaintop, admiring the evening stars (thanks to Suzanna for the constellation book!), and has made some hiking friends. One of them, SlowGoin', it turns out I met as well at the Lodge in Georgia the morning he left. He's hoping to find some internet access in town today, on his Zero Day (also known as a day off after a 6 day stretch), but its hard to say whether he will be able to or not. The next mail drop is a short three days away, also in NC. He asked me to say hi to everyone in case he did not get a chance to post anything here, and he thinks of everyone often.