Miles hiked Elevation gain (ft.) AT mile 8.23 1,583 105.8 Geez, a bunch happened today. It felt like there were multiple chapters to the day. Hitting 100 miles I wear a sleep mask at night. It blocks out annoying light from headlamps and the moon, and it feels cozy over my face…

Miles hiked Elevation gain (ft.) AT mile 16.07 2,869 97.2 So that "light rain" in the forecast was a complete lie. I woke up around 11pm to the sound of thunderclap with heavy rain. I sleepily looked around my tent and noticed that everything was wet. Jolted awake, I quickly went…

Miles hiked Elevation gain (ft.) AT mile 11.41 4,298 81.0 There are some things that you start appreciating when you sleep in a hotel after backpacking. Not having to shimmy on your shoes, put on your headlamp, and crawl out of your tent to pee in the middle of the cold night is…

Miles hiked Elevation gain (ft.) AT mile 3.73 751 69.2 I woke up with the sun around 7:20 today. It felt good knowing that today was a nice easy day to get into Hiawassee. Waiting for us in Hiawassee was an all-you-can-eat buffet, a nice warm shower, and a roof over our heads to…

Miles hiked Elevation gain (ft.) AT mile 12.93 4,373 65.6 I'm pretty tired at the end of the day writing this post. It was a pretty hard day in terms of hiking. My foot was still swollen this morning, but I was able to put weight on it and walk. Our shuttle driver picked us up at…

Miles hiked Elevation gain (ft.) AT mile 9.53 1,929 52.5 I woke up today with my food bag being delivered to my tent. It was around 7:30 and my friends were heading out to Unicoi Gap to get into Helen for the day. Knowing that I was behind, I quickly packed up my stuff, ate some…

Miles hiked Elevation gain (ft.) AT mile 9.17 2,257 42.7 I woke up today to cold and windy weather, but a beautiful orange sunrise. I pulled the plug on my air mattress, quickly deflating it with the weight of my body. I want to build the habit of making this the first thing to…

Miles hiked Elevation gain (ft.) AT mile 9.63 2,815 33.5 My tent was pitched on a slight decline, so I spent the night with my sleeping pad slowly drifting to one side. I would have to wake up and readjust it before starting the process again. One more thing to look out for when…

Miles hiked Elevation gain (ft.) AT mile 15.33 3,572 23.4 Choosing to sleep in the shelter was an amazing idea. I woke up around 4am to the sound of heavy rain hitting the roof. It felt great knowing that I didn't have to deal with a wet tent and gear in the morning. I know I'll…

Miles hiked Elevation gain (ft.) AT mile 9.60 1,745 8 I felt something touching my head at 3am. I kept telling myself that I was just being paranoid, nothing was actually there right? Anyways, that kept me awake for a bit and I slowly drifted off to on-and-off sleep. I woke up…