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Appalachian Trail – North Carolina / Tennessee

North Carolina / Tennessee

“You don’t need a weatherman to know which way the wind blows.”

- Bob Dylan

Journal Entry 4.8.00
“It’s 4pm and I’m at the Motel in Elk Park, NC. Yes, that’s right, MOTEL. I hiked 12 miles today to Hughes Gap, and then got off the trail with Good Vibe, Special Agent, Frito, Salty, and Slow Ride. It was FREEZING cold and raining/snowing all day. At lunch we made the decision to bail and get a hotel for the night. Otherwise we would have been faced with Roan Mountain, at just over 6000′, it’s the coldest spot on the southern AT. No thank you. They are calling for 55 mph winds on the ridge tops and temperatures in the low 20′s in the VALLEYS. I decided that I didn’t want to freeze all night and I don’t feel so bad seeing as I’m here with 5 guys who did the same. We hitched 3 rides to get here – 1rst hitch from a preacher’s wife on her way to a funeral, 2nd hitch from 2 young locals with the 6 of us in the back of their pick-up (cold, cold, freezing cold), and 3rd hitch from 3 Mexicans in a van at the gas station (thanks for cranking up the heat and playing good Mexican music!).”

Journal Entry 4.10.00
“Today we picked up our mail drops in town and hiked 8 miles of out Elk Park, NC. Yesterday I hiked 17.5 miles from Hughes Gap to Apple House Shelter. It was a beautiful day of hiking through the snow covered trees and trail. But what a morning!! Special Agent, Good Vibe and I left the motel early to hitch a ride and got picked by Rene and her son Brian and it turned out to be quite an adventure. Some highlights – “It’s colder than a witches tit”, getting hot cocoas, car stalling once, car stalling twice, broken driver door, broken passenger door, going to the boyfriend’s house to check the battery, hanging out in the garage for an hour, biscuits for breakfast, getting lost on the way back to the trail, and ice on the road! All said it took us two hours to get back to the trail.”

Journal Index

Georgia – Overview And the poop on the Trail Divorce

0 (miles from Georgia) – Springer Mountain, Georgia Whose idea was this again??
87.7 – Georgia / North Carolina Aint no all-inclusive package vacation story…
161.7 – Fontana Dam, North Carolina No Rain, No Pain, No Maine
204.6 – Great Smoky Mountains National Park I My deodorant gets the heave-ho!
268.7 – Great Smoky Mountains National Park II The Food Appreciation Trail
336.5 – North Carolina / Tennessee & Trail Names How the Gimp got her name
390.7 – North Carolina / Tennessee The famous Roan Mountain hitch
452.9 – Crossing into Damascus, Virginia 3 states down, 11 to go!
516.7 – Grayson Highlands State Park Roughin it at Partnership Shelter
573.3 – Bland, Virginia My wonderful trail angels!
665.3 – Pearisburg, Virginia The switch from boots to sandals
767.4 – Catawba / Troutville, Virginia Heat wave in Virginia
839.4 – Montebello / Rockfish Gap, Virginia ‘Hiking with Gimpy Sr.
920.0 – Shenandoah National Park Rattlesnakes, Jack Daniels, and bears – oh my!
988.3 – Front Royal, Virginia Invasion of the Boy Scouts
1001.1 – Harper’s Ferry, West Virginia The mental half-way point
1061.4 – Maryland / Pennsyltucky Y’all done drank enough beer!
1123.8 – Duncannon, Pennsylvania The Half-Gallon Challenge
1208.9 – Port Clinton, Pennsylvania $1 Yuengling drafts and the rocks of PA
1283.9 – Pennsylvania / New Jersey Friends and family visit WonderGimp
1334.2 – High Point, New Jersey Rain, rain, rain, trail magic, and more rain
1440.7 – Bear Mountain, New York Hike Naked Day!
1486.1 – Kent, Connecticut Gimpy Sr. and Barkeater hike with W.Gimp
1543.8 – Great Barrington, MassachusettsWelcome to Mosquito Hell
1618.0 – Massachusetts / VermontPhoton and strobe lights for the 4th of July
1687.3 – Killington, Vermont The Inn at the Long Trail
1738.1 – New Hampshire Live Free or Die!
1794.4 – North Woodstock, New Hampshire Gettin’ above treeline
1814.4 – AMC-land, New Hampshire Entering the White Mountains!
1854.0 – Pinkham Notch, New Hampshire Mooning the tourists on Mt. Washington
1869.2 – Gorham, New Hampshire My first Moose sighting!
1920.7 – Andover, Maine The way Life should be…
1979.3 – Rangeley, Maine Closing in on the end
2015.6 – Kennebec River, Maine Eye of the Tiger!
2095.7 – Monson, Maine 100-mile Wilderness
2152.0 – Abol Bridge, Maine Katahdin is in sight!
2167.1 – Baxter Peak, Mount Katahdin, Maine Goodbye Capilene – Hello Cotton!!

Other Pages:
Map – Yep, 14 states
Gear – What to Bring
FAQs – See for yourself
Glossary (learn the AT lingo)
Links to Additional Info
Trail Injuries Everything from blisters to swampfoot
Trail Privies Bring your own TP
Class of 2000 Katahdin Thru-Hiker Pictures