AT section

“im leaving Jan30th from Springer and gonna hike till Mar3rd.ill be going to 19e,should be around 400 miles.maybe ill see some of u along they way.I wish I could keep going but but gotta work”

“Have an amazing journey and stay warm!”

“Moonshine, I'd like to meet you. I'm near WNC parts of the AT: Winding Stair Gap (Hwy 64 outa Franklin), NOC near Bryson City. Close enough to the Smokies also. I'll shoot you an e.”

“or not

hehe”

“Nice hike. Enjoy!”

“Bring lighter fluid to start fires with wet wood. Bring a warmer sleeping bag than you think you'll need and a down jacket. Add to that some Wild Turkey 101 or Old Weller 107 and you'll have a great time.”

“Do you plan to hike it backwards to make it a challenge? Have fun out there.”

“Hyway I'ma hafta call you prolly. That ele/compass app, I got it going good, changed the meters to feet, but on the change-over, right after the feet it says this: (+91 feet). Which would be about right, meaning that it's roughly 90 feet offa what you said my ele is. You remember how to correct that?”

“started Sunday on approach tr.started down At a couple miles and camped in my hammock at dark,then back up and walking at daylight.its so nice out here.
tr is in great condition.I have fresh eggs taters and onions and ginger cooking.hoping to hike till dark again after breakfast”

“waiting on the sun to come up.seems like it takes for ever to come up then it speeds up during the day.walked 9 hrs yesterday.getting some good miles in.passed a thruhiker yesterday named Trap.says he's going to Maine.I wished him luck and moved on as he's only doin around 10 miles or so a day.so far the climbs have all been easy.the approach tr was the hardest,but not as hard as my back yard.be nice to have a pizza about now.gotta save batteries see ya in a day or 2”

“Have fun.. Im jealous... I'll eat a pizza for you tonight...

'32oz”

“thanks 32oz,the weather has hit me hard since about 10 am thursday.rain,freezing rain ,snow,sleet,the whole left side of my body was snow covered and the right was ice.
the Speer winter tarp is holding up so far.I didn't bring a sleeping bag and replaced it with this down type ski suit.its light and very warm and easy to use with hammock.hiking 9 hrs at a slow steady pace is a nice day for me.climbing as if my shoes strings are tied together keeps me from getting to hot during each climb.
pizza and a hot tub is what I crave right now.”

“Hello everyone!My first wk here on the trail has been great.Its not easy anymore with this pack.so far 63 hrs of productive hiking.2 hrs of backtracking to get my poles I left at my breakfast stop Saturday.

im in a routine,getting up and getting moving by 645 am then stopping to make breakfast in about an hr,then a snack on the go lunch and stopping for supper around 330 then hike till I can't see and set up stealth off the trail.sliits it up and im not cooking at my sleeping areas.
I have 3 wks left out here.Then back to work.have a great day and if your bored the next few wks come join me.should be going into Smokies in about 3 days.”

“I don't know how you do it.. Once im hiking, im hiking.. there is no way i would be able to stop to make breakfast..

Anyway, had another pizza for you the other night, and wash it down with some Guinness.. :)

Have a blast over the next few weeks, wish I could join you!!!!

'32oz”

“Guinness extra stout in the bottle is the best beer ever made I feel.Kinda like a meal in a bottle.

32oz,normally I would cook before I hike but on this hike im using a pepsi can stove that I made,it takes along time to heat my water and to me its so cold when I get up I shake like ima 100 yrs old.lol.
Alsoe if I get a fast mile in and then stretch while waiting on my water to warm up im limber and warmed up.my back is something I have to really stretch or I can barely move at times.it may be the wrong way to do it but It seems to work a little better for me.
to me its just plain cold.and I feel old at times.then ya catch your second wind and kick it up a notch.
according to the register there was like 34 hikers in front of me,now seeing no names and no people and I only passed 7 who say they started on Springer.No bugs and no people.lots of deer and crazy birds that almost hit me in the wind storm.im shooting for a 2020 thruhike.
my friend is suppose to meet me tonight at the road crossing to celebrate valentines day early.gonna stay in hotel and start late tomorrow.I pray it works out.I need a few supplies.”

“Moonshine, how far are you going ? where will you be the weekend of 17th-20th Feb?
Trubrit”

“I'll be at Spence Field Feb 25th, and Derrick Knob Feb 26th. You'll probably be well past by then though, If not I'll share some Bourbon with ya. Leave me a msg in the Register!”

“Right on! Sounds like you're really enjoying it and that's what it's all about! Keep on keeping on!”

“Hello folks,had a well needed shower and a bed then back on AT after a late checkout and any kinda food I could get.even ate some grits with maple syrup mixxed in and I liked!
TB I should be in and around Hot Springs around the 17th depending on snow.im hoping to make it to my truck parked near walnut mtn rd.or may bail at roaring creek near over mtn shelter and call for ride.
if I can get my foreman and finances in order ill be back on tr for another few wks around spring break.
im gonna try to hitch my first ride this wk.I can't believe im excited about it but iam.it will prolly be Sunday so maybe a good southerner will haul me in town.Gotta a little spring back in my step today.
see ya in a few.


Moonshine”

“Dang. To far south from where I will be. I will be up past I77 near Bland VA.
Another time moonshine, good luck, be safe.
Trubrit”

“Looks like nice weather.

Friday Night and Saturday
Mostly cloudy. Lows in the upper 30s. Highs in the mid 50s.
Saturday Night
Mostly cloudy. Lows in the lower 30s.
Sunday
Mostly cloudy with a 30 percent chance of rain showers. Highs in the lower 50s.”

“Hello folks,Im getting addicted to this trail.I will say I really miss my home life too.
I was able to get a ride to Gatlinburg.I ran into a couple about 2 miles before the road and they offered a ride,I fueled up and cleaned up the best I could at the Mormon church basement.The couple that gave me a ride happened to be Mormons,and I gotta say they were the healthiest looking non overweight church folks ide ever seen.They alsoe fed me gave me a few snacks and gave me a ride back to the trail.

The smokies were nice and I met some more hikers and 2 southbound thruhikers that got off the trail at kinkora in Nov and gonna finish now with the better weather.Some drifts and mud on the trail but not much traffic so pretty good overall.Everyone I've talked to thinks the condition of the trail is very bad,lol this thing is like the interstate to me after hiking Linville Gorge trails.if I could scrounge up another 100 days,stay injury free and healthy, I feel I could easily finish this thing.im gonna slackpack from Erwim all the way to Damascus since its all within 2 hrs of my home.after that I won't know until I see who shows up to work.I may try to get a ride to Baxter and start south.Most likely I will have to work and not be free again untill NOV.
so far 330 miles of AT, with a daily average of 17.3 MPD.
nothin fancy just walkin”

“The trail is shut down because of forest fires at Dragon Tooth and in SNP. Won't affect you but I am surprised this early in the season.

Might be a bad year for fires.”

“http://www.whiteblaze.net/forum/showthread.php?t=69656

Damn, the MT Marshall Area is awesome....

Had a hike on Knob Mountain Jeremny Run planned for Saturday....

Fire would be just North of Gravel Springs hut...

'32oz”

“im not surprised its very dry and windy.I've only built 1 small fire.and other times it was to wet.the winds have been steady for 2 days now.I like the nice quiet days better.”

“Good to see you out there moving along. I wish I were closer so I could pay you back the help you gave me.”

“ccc”

“Made it home.Had a lot of fun and was able to make it to 19e.A picture perfect finish hiking from Carvers gap with my boys Saturday.My favorite views of the whole hike.lots of folks out on the trail as well..”

“Congrats Moonshine. Hope we get some great pics. Look forward to meeting up again.
Trubrit.”

“Congrats, Moonshine. I knew you would blow right through the trail.”

“Thanks Hyway.and TB.”

“Are you becoming a Mormon?”

“Thanks Hyway.and TB. Now back to the real world...I learned a lot about all weather backpacking,I would like to try a hip pack with suspenders and lighten up to 16 lbs..”

“No Muddy im Amish..”

“right,thats why your on here. lol”

“Many of us have cell phones and are online.Im not kidding my 1 girlfriend Mormon number 2 is Jewish.Its a good life for me ;)”

“yeah, right, lol.”

“LMAO, I wouldn't believe myself if I didn't live it!”

“Im continuing my journey from Dennis Cove on January 27th.Shooting for 500 miles bye March,cant get away from work any longer.Have a partner for week one,then solo.Been hiking almost every day and cant wait to get back out in the winter weather.”

“What winter weather? Freekin 65* here today. Should be great conditions to cover some ground. What's Kistler rd looking like lately?”

“Not to bad,gettin a few inches of snow now.Has been soft and muddy at times with a few rutts.”

“Damn, I was hoping to drive my little Honda up to the campsite this year. BTW, I got it fixed! Maybe I'll drive my truck. Sounds like its going to be muddy this year. Good luck hiking, you'll be well into VA this go round huh?”

“My goal is to get to Harpers Ferry,would be about 600 miles in five wks.ill just have to see how it goes.i have till March 3rd as final hiking day no matter what.”

“Good time to do Shenandoah, easy hiking there too, you should make excellent time. Let me know if you need a food drop, I like to get out that way.”

“Sounds like you're having a great time, Moonshine! Bring us back lots of tales and maybe a few pictures.”