Monday, March 31, 2008
Franklin NC
Hi from Franklin NC. We now have over 100 miles on the AT and we are 40 miles further down the trail from Hiawassee. After a great day off at the Cloud 9 Hostel we were dropped off back where they picked us up on the AT and started back on the trail. The first day back on the trail was a good day and we added another 12 miles to our total. We camped and then woke up to cloudy foggy skies and walked through a thunder storm. We have really been in rain and fog or cloud for the past 3 days. After walking through the thunder storm we came to a Forrest service road and crossing. We heard a lot of people and almost walked right by. We crossed the road and saw a Paper Plate posted to a tree on the side of the trail that said "Thru Hikers Breakfast".
We then headed for the big white tent and had our first taste of "Trail Magic". A through hiker who completed the trail in 2002 had his entire family and most of his son's new in laws and they had a tent set up and were cooking breakfast for all through hikers who were crossing the trail. We arrived at 11:30 am and were just in time for the last of a breakfast of sausage, eggs, potatoes, bisquits, juice, and coffee. They also had beer and soda and then at noon started cooking burgers and hot dogs. It was a great treat and really hit the spot on what was otherwise a pretty wet and ugly day. Patty sat right down with the wives of the guys who were doing all the cooking and fit right in. the thru hikers were all from Atlanta GA and have come up to this location at Deep Gap to feed the thru hikers the last weekend in March ever since they completed their thru hike. O'h and they do this out of their own pocket and would not take any money. It truely was trail magic.
We spent another wet night up on the mountain across from a very tired boy scout troop #303 from Florida. These kids were really tired and the leaders were in worse shape. We spent some time visiting with a father son team who were locals and had hiked up for the nite. Dad was quite the hunter and we hit it right off. He also had two flasks of Johnny Walker Red and he even shared a little with me. We are now lifelong friends.
It stopped raining Sunday morning but stayed cloudy and foggy. We hiked through the fog and came up one mountain that had us doing more climing then hiking. We were going hand over hand almost straight up and gained almost 2000 feet in about a mile. It was either step up or climb up the rocks. When we got to the top there was a fire tower, but, it was so cloudy we could not even enjoy the view after all of our hard work. We had lunch about a half mile down from the tower at a shelter and then hiked another 7 miles. We did 12 miles each of the last 3 days and then hiked four miles this morning to the NC Highway 64. We came out to the road and a van was waiting for us. It took us to the Budget Hotel in Franklin. The owner is a very good friend to hikers and for $40.00 we have a room for two, clean clothes and a shuttle driver who will take us anywhere we want to go. Check out http://www.havensbudgetinn.com/ and you can see where we are staying tonight. The local Baptist Church does a free breakfast for thru hikers and our plan is to eat there tomorrow morning and then be on the trail shortly after that.
We have about 36 miles to the famous Natahala Outdoor Center and the trail goes right through it. Our plan is to at least stop at their famous restaraunt on Wed nite and we may even spend the night there. Staying in the woods is great, but, a nice bed along the trail is even better.
We are still healthy and having fun, even in the rain. I am going to try and post a couple of pictures. One is of Patty baking cookies at the Cloud 9 Hostel, one is Patty and I at the GA/NC state line on the trail and the other is from the group that we seem to be moving with at the shelter last night. We still have not stayed in the shelter, but our tent was right next to it last night, because that was the only flat spot we had.
We will try to Post again from the Natahali Outdoor Center April 3, or from Fontana Dam April 6 or 7. We have another mail drop there and depending when we get there, may have to wait on the Post Office until Monday.
Take Care all. Lucky Dog and Red Dog.
We then headed for the big white tent and had our first taste of "Trail Magic". A through hiker who completed the trail in 2002 had his entire family and most of his son's new in laws and they had a tent set up and were cooking breakfast for all through hikers who were crossing the trail. We arrived at 11:30 am and were just in time for the last of a breakfast of sausage, eggs, potatoes, bisquits, juice, and coffee. They also had beer and soda and then at noon started cooking burgers and hot dogs. It was a great treat and really hit the spot on what was otherwise a pretty wet and ugly day. Patty sat right down with the wives of the guys who were doing all the cooking and fit right in. the thru hikers were all from Atlanta GA and have come up to this location at Deep Gap to feed the thru hikers the last weekend in March ever since they completed their thru hike. O'h and they do this out of their own pocket and would not take any money. It truely was trail magic.
We spent another wet night up on the mountain across from a very tired boy scout troop #303 from Florida. These kids were really tired and the leaders were in worse shape. We spent some time visiting with a father son team who were locals and had hiked up for the nite. Dad was quite the hunter and we hit it right off. He also had two flasks of Johnny Walker Red and he even shared a little with me. We are now lifelong friends.
It stopped raining Sunday morning but stayed cloudy and foggy. We hiked through the fog and came up one mountain that had us doing more climing then hiking. We were going hand over hand almost straight up and gained almost 2000 feet in about a mile. It was either step up or climb up the rocks. When we got to the top there was a fire tower, but, it was so cloudy we could not even enjoy the view after all of our hard work. We had lunch about a half mile down from the tower at a shelter and then hiked another 7 miles. We did 12 miles each of the last 3 days and then hiked four miles this morning to the NC Highway 64. We came out to the road and a van was waiting for us. It took us to the Budget Hotel in Franklin. The owner is a very good friend to hikers and for $40.00 we have a room for two, clean clothes and a shuttle driver who will take us anywhere we want to go. Check out http://www.havensbudgetinn.com/ and you can see where we are staying tonight. The local Baptist Church does a free breakfast for thru hikers and our plan is to eat there tomorrow morning and then be on the trail shortly after that.
We have about 36 miles to the famous Natahala Outdoor Center and the trail goes right through it. Our plan is to at least stop at their famous restaraunt on Wed nite and we may even spend the night there. Staying in the woods is great, but, a nice bed along the trail is even better.
We are still healthy and having fun, even in the rain. I am going to try and post a couple of pictures. One is of Patty baking cookies at the Cloud 9 Hostel, one is Patty and I at the GA/NC state line on the trail and the other is from the group that we seem to be moving with at the shelter last night. We still have not stayed in the shelter, but our tent was right next to it last night, because that was the only flat spot we had.
We will try to Post again from the Natahali Outdoor Center April 3, or from Fontana Dam April 6 or 7. We have another mail drop there and depending when we get there, may have to wait on the Post Office until Monday.
Take Care all. Lucky Dog and Red Dog.
Thursday, March 27, 2008
Hiawessee GA
Ok I have a little more time now and there are not as many people around as distractions.
We had a great lunch at the Mongolian Grill and then stopped at the local grocery. Patty told everyone she was going to make Choc. Chip cookies and she made a triple batch of very large cookies. She is the hit of the hostel. I had to get by and buy a 12 pack of my trail name, Red Dog.
It is good to take a day off and we both really needed it. I think we will continue to try and take our day a week off.
Despite the fact that hiking up and down these mountains is a lot of work, we both agreed that if we quit having fun we would call it off. We have seen some beautiful country and so far the weather has been fantastic. They are calling for some rain tomorrow and this weekend, but, we will just have to see.
I have not seen a great deal of wildlife, but, we have hung food every nite
We have been eating all of our packed food and stopped for some lunch stuff in Neels Gap. The afterburners have not really kicked in yet, but, Patty is starting to understand the concept that the more calories for the less weight the better. We are both learning a lot from other hikers about food. Last summer I learned that food was just fuel and the higher caloric content per pound the better. As time goes on, we will pick up some Olive Oil and other high fat content foods to add to what we have.
All the down hills are really tough on the knees and we have seen a number of younger hikers who have been trying to do 15 mile days who are really having knee problems. This is where the poles really help us old folk.
Most of the hikers we have met are either recently graduated from college, between jobs, recently retired or just hiker bums. The oldest person we have met is a 65 year old woman traveling by herself on a thruhike.
There is a rumor of a blind attorney from Mpls who is doing the AT by himself with a talking GPS. If anyone knows anything about this, please let us know. If it is true, I am throroughly impressed.
Well, I have rambled long enough and there are now other people waiting to use the computer. It will be good to get off the ground tonight and Patty and I have a double bed and our own room. It has been a very relaxing day at this hostel and I would highly recommend it to anyone. If you are looking for the website you can check out www.upperhightowertrout.com
Happy trails for now. We will post again when we are able to.
Lucky Dog and Red Dog.
We had a great lunch at the Mongolian Grill and then stopped at the local grocery. Patty told everyone she was going to make Choc. Chip cookies and she made a triple batch of very large cookies. She is the hit of the hostel. I had to get by and buy a 12 pack of my trail name, Red Dog.
It is good to take a day off and we both really needed it. I think we will continue to try and take our day a week off.
Despite the fact that hiking up and down these mountains is a lot of work, we both agreed that if we quit having fun we would call it off. We have seen some beautiful country and so far the weather has been fantastic. They are calling for some rain tomorrow and this weekend, but, we will just have to see.
I have not seen a great deal of wildlife, but, we have hung food every nite
We have been eating all of our packed food and stopped for some lunch stuff in Neels Gap. The afterburners have not really kicked in yet, but, Patty is starting to understand the concept that the more calories for the less weight the better. We are both learning a lot from other hikers about food. Last summer I learned that food was just fuel and the higher caloric content per pound the better. As time goes on, we will pick up some Olive Oil and other high fat content foods to add to what we have.
All the down hills are really tough on the knees and we have seen a number of younger hikers who have been trying to do 15 mile days who are really having knee problems. This is where the poles really help us old folk.
Most of the hikers we have met are either recently graduated from college, between jobs, recently retired or just hiker bums. The oldest person we have met is a 65 year old woman traveling by herself on a thruhike.
There is a rumor of a blind attorney from Mpls who is doing the AT by himself with a talking GPS. If anyone knows anything about this, please let us know. If it is true, I am throroughly impressed.
Well, I have rambled long enough and there are now other people waiting to use the computer. It will be good to get off the ground tonight and Patty and I have a double bed and our own room. It has been a very relaxing day at this hostel and I would highly recommend it to anyone. If you are looking for the website you can check out www.upperhightowertrout.com
Happy trails for now. We will post again when we are able to.
Lucky Dog and Red Dog.
First DayOff
Hi Everyone
We are in Hiawssee GA at the Cloud 9 Hostel, I think they even have a website, but not sure what it is. We said we were going to take a day off a week and this is the first day off we have taken since we started hiking from Amicloa State Park last Thursday. We hiked the 10 miles up the approach trail to Springer Mountain. The key word here is up. We signed in on the top of Springer mountain with the caretaker and headed down the trail. We were the 12th and 13 thru hiker of the day to sign in and the 300th of the year or there abouts.
We have been averaging about 10 miles per day. the weather has been very cooperative. we have had cool evenings and sunshine and temps of 45 -60 during the day - perfect for hiking, temperatures at night have been down to 20 a few times and we are working on keeping Patty Warm. The hiking is tougher than we thought it would be, you are either going up to 5000 feet or coming down from 5000 feet. Very little flat. The hiking poles are almost a necessity and have proven to be very helpful. Our packs are a little heavy but we are trying to get rid of anything unnecessary.
We have used the tent every night as opposed to staing in the shelters. We have stayed at the shelters, but still camped a few times, but the nicest camp sites are away from the shelters and near water.
We spent our Easter Sunday Lunch on the top of Blood Mountain, the highest mountain in GA at 4700 feet. It was a great experience and a very beautiful day. Then we came down to Neels Gap and were able to take a shower at the hostel. We didn't stay in the hostel as the quarters were a little close. We did have breakfast there and then took off.
We have found our pace. It is easy as I just let Patty lead and go here pace which is pretty agressive. She is very tough and doing great. We are moving with a group of hikers who are all about our speed. We see them at some campsites but don't usually see many other people while we are hiking on the trail.
We have a total of 68 miles on the AT and the 10 miles on the approach trail so we are averaging better than 10 miles per day. As I said before it is a lot tougher then we thought it was going to be.
I am unable to upload any photo's from this computer at the request of the Hostel, so you will have to believe we are still looking fine.
If Patty and I are on your E mail list, please do us a favor and only send us personal e mails and try not to pass on any of those chain e mails. It just takes too long to go through them all and I am just deleting them anyway.
We are going to an All you can eat Mongolian Grill for this afternoon and will also resuply some food stocks in town. I might even have a beer.
I will see if we can post a little more later today. If not we will be out of GA and into North Carolina on Saturday. Hopefully I can post from Franklin NC when we pick up our first mail drop on Monday of next week.
Take care for now.
Lucky Dog and Red Dog
We are in Hiawssee GA at the Cloud 9 Hostel, I think they even have a website, but not sure what it is. We said we were going to take a day off a week and this is the first day off we have taken since we started hiking from Amicloa State Park last Thursday. We hiked the 10 miles up the approach trail to Springer Mountain. The key word here is up. We signed in on the top of Springer mountain with the caretaker and headed down the trail. We were the 12th and 13 thru hiker of the day to sign in and the 300th of the year or there abouts.
We have been averaging about 10 miles per day. the weather has been very cooperative. we have had cool evenings and sunshine and temps of 45 -60 during the day - perfect for hiking, temperatures at night have been down to 20 a few times and we are working on keeping Patty Warm. The hiking is tougher than we thought it would be, you are either going up to 5000 feet or coming down from 5000 feet. Very little flat. The hiking poles are almost a necessity and have proven to be very helpful. Our packs are a little heavy but we are trying to get rid of anything unnecessary.
We have used the tent every night as opposed to staing in the shelters. We have stayed at the shelters, but still camped a few times, but the nicest camp sites are away from the shelters and near water.
We spent our Easter Sunday Lunch on the top of Blood Mountain, the highest mountain in GA at 4700 feet. It was a great experience and a very beautiful day. Then we came down to Neels Gap and were able to take a shower at the hostel. We didn't stay in the hostel as the quarters were a little close. We did have breakfast there and then took off.
We have found our pace. It is easy as I just let Patty lead and go here pace which is pretty agressive. She is very tough and doing great. We are moving with a group of hikers who are all about our speed. We see them at some campsites but don't usually see many other people while we are hiking on the trail.
We have a total of 68 miles on the AT and the 10 miles on the approach trail so we are averaging better than 10 miles per day. As I said before it is a lot tougher then we thought it was going to be.
I am unable to upload any photo's from this computer at the request of the Hostel, so you will have to believe we are still looking fine.
If Patty and I are on your E mail list, please do us a favor and only send us personal e mails and try not to pass on any of those chain e mails. It just takes too long to go through them all and I am just deleting them anyway.
We are going to an All you can eat Mongolian Grill for this afternoon and will also resuply some food stocks in town. I might even have a beer.
I will see if we can post a little more later today. If not we will be out of GA and into North Carolina on Saturday. Hopefully I can post from Franklin NC when we pick up our first mail drop on Monday of next week.
Take care for now.
Lucky Dog and Red Dog
Wednesday, March 19, 2008
We are There
After two and a half days of driving through the rain we arrived in GA. We stayed in Dalton GA last night and then Mom and Dad drove us up to Amicola Falls State Park this morning. After seeing the weather forcasts we thought it would be best if we stayed in the shelter at the Visitor Center of the park and started tomorrow. It was forcast for a strong storm with 40 to 50 mile per hour winds. After a short nap at the shelter we got a little hungary and thought we would hike up to the Lodge and eat the buffet. We thought as long we were going up to the lodge we should prob ably carry our packs. We hiked up the first mile of the approach trail which was very very steep in a pouring rain. Once up here we decided to get a room and wait to start until tomorrow. It was probably a good thing since it is so foggy and rainty you can not see more than 75 yards. We had a great buffet lunch and then took a nice long nap. I was lucky enough to find someone who let me use a computer and so was able to post this. I am going to try and post a picture of us at the start. Not sure when I will be able to post again. So we have logged one long uphill mile in the rain and have another 8.5 to the start of the A. T. Hopefully we will be on the A. T. tomorrow.
Sunday, March 16, 2008
Our Mail Drop Locations and E.T.A
I have attached the 18 locations we will be stopping to pick up food supplies that will be shipped to us. We will also be stopping numerous other times to pick up supplies that we have not repackaged from stores along the route. The ETA or estimated time of arrival may change somewhat depending on how fast or slow we are moving, but, at this point this is the plan. If you want to send something to Patty or I, feel free to use this as a guide of where to send it.
ETA
Location
3/28/2008
Jeff & Patty Thielen
C/O General Delivery
Franklin NC 28734
4/3/2008
Jeff & Patty Thielen
C/O General Delivery
Fontana Dam NC 28733
4/11/2008
Jeff & Patty Thielen
Standing Bear Farm
4255 Green Corner Road
Hartford TN 37753
4/15/2008
Jeff & Patty Thielen
Bluff Mountain Outfitters
P.O Box 114
Hot Springs NC 28743
4/21/2008
Jeff & Patty Thielen
General Delivery
Erwin TN 37650
4/26/2008
Jeff & Patty Thielen
Kincora Hostel
1278 Dennis Cover Road
Hampton TN 37658
4/30/2008
Jeff & Patty Thielen
Mt. Rogers Outfitters
110 Laurel Ave
Damascus VA 24236
5/6/2008
Jeff & Patty Thielen
C/O Relax Inn
7253 Lee Hwy
Rural Retreat VA 24368
6/5/2008
Jeff & Patty Thielen
ATC Visitor Center
P.O. Box 807
Harpers Ferry, WV 25425
6/22/2008
Jeff & Patty Thielen
General Delivery
Port Clinton PA 19549
6/27/2008
Jeff & Patty Thielen
General Delivery
Delaware Water Gap, PA 18327
7/17/2008
Jeff & Patty Thielen
Mountain Goat Outfitter
4884 Main Street
Manchester VT 05255
7/28/2008
Jeff & Patty Thielen
General Delivery
Glencliff, NH 03238
8/6/2008
Jeff & Patty Thielen
General Delivery
Gorham NH 03581
8/12/2008
Jeff & Patty Thielen
General Delivery
Andover ME 04216
8/19/2008
Jeff & Patty Thielen
General Delivery
Stratton ME 04982
8/23/2008
Jeff & Patty Thielen
General Delivery
Caratunk, ME 04925
8/26/2008
Jeff & Patty Thielen
Shaw's Lodging
P.O Box 72
Monson ME 04464
ETA
Location
3/28/2008
Jeff & Patty Thielen
C/O General Delivery
Franklin NC 28734
4/3/2008
Jeff & Patty Thielen
C/O General Delivery
Fontana Dam NC 28733
4/11/2008
Jeff & Patty Thielen
Standing Bear Farm
4255 Green Corner Road
Hartford TN 37753
4/15/2008
Jeff & Patty Thielen
Bluff Mountain Outfitters
P.O Box 114
Hot Springs NC 28743
4/21/2008
Jeff & Patty Thielen
General Delivery
Erwin TN 37650
4/26/2008
Jeff & Patty Thielen
Kincora Hostel
1278 Dennis Cover Road
Hampton TN 37658
4/30/2008
Jeff & Patty Thielen
Mt. Rogers Outfitters
110 Laurel Ave
Damascus VA 24236
5/6/2008
Jeff & Patty Thielen
C/O Relax Inn
7253 Lee Hwy
Rural Retreat VA 24368
6/5/2008
Jeff & Patty Thielen
ATC Visitor Center
P.O. Box 807
Harpers Ferry, WV 25425
6/22/2008
Jeff & Patty Thielen
General Delivery
Port Clinton PA 19549
6/27/2008
Jeff & Patty Thielen
General Delivery
Delaware Water Gap, PA 18327
7/17/2008
Jeff & Patty Thielen
Mountain Goat Outfitter
4884 Main Street
Manchester VT 05255
7/28/2008
Jeff & Patty Thielen
General Delivery
Glencliff, NH 03238
8/6/2008
Jeff & Patty Thielen
General Delivery
Gorham NH 03581
8/12/2008
Jeff & Patty Thielen
General Delivery
Andover ME 04216
8/19/2008
Jeff & Patty Thielen
General Delivery
Stratton ME 04982
8/23/2008
Jeff & Patty Thielen
General Delivery
Caratunk, ME 04925
8/26/2008
Jeff & Patty Thielen
Shaw's Lodging
P.O Box 72
Monson ME 04464
Saturday, March 15, 2008
Our Packs are packed and we are Ready to GO!!
Thought we would update everyone on the status of our trip. We have packed our Packs and are planning on leaving on Monday March 17. My parents are going to be kind and drive us down to the trailhead in Amicola Falls State Park in GA. We have already shipped the first two of 18 boxes that wll be a part of our resupply. We will also be stopping to resupply our food stores as we go.
If anyone wants to know Patty's pack weighs approx. 44 pounds and mine is at 50. This includes a full Camel Back and a full Nalgene bottle and all the food. We may be able to cut down a little or may end up shifting some weight between us, but that is how we are going to start.
The plan is to take two days to drive down and we should be hiking starting Wed. morning March 19. We have not decided yet if we want to hike the 9 miles from the state park, all uphill, to the start of the Trail at Springer Mountain or to see if we can drive to within about a mile of the trailhead and start from there.
Right now we are spending a weekend with our sons Jason and Chris and discussing taking care of the house while we are gone.
I will try to post a gear list and a listing of our mail drops tomorrow before we go.
Take care.
Jeff & Patty
If anyone wants to know Patty's pack weighs approx. 44 pounds and mine is at 50. This includes a full Camel Back and a full Nalgene bottle and all the food. We may be able to cut down a little or may end up shifting some weight between us, but that is how we are going to start.
The plan is to take two days to drive down and we should be hiking starting Wed. morning March 19. We have not decided yet if we want to hike the 9 miles from the state park, all uphill, to the start of the Trail at Springer Mountain or to see if we can drive to within about a mile of the trailhead and start from there.
Right now we are spending a weekend with our sons Jason and Chris and discussing taking care of the house while we are gone.
I will try to post a gear list and a listing of our mail drops tomorrow before we go.
Take care.
Jeff & Patty
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