Day 24 - Hot Springs

Hello! I am in Hot Springs North Carolina today, and enjoying every bit of it. Last night I hiked everything but the last quarter mile or so before the town, and camped within seeing, hearing, and probably throwing distance of the first house. I also was gifted the best trail magic so far. I had (and have) zero service here in town, and yesterday being Easter, I was pretty bummed out that I would not even be able to say hello to my family. My mom had told me that my grandmother, in particular, had been worried. Luckily, I crossed trails with Jolly Roger, who let me use his cell phone (Verizon, duh) and talk with my grandparents at the Easter celebration back in Newington Connecticut. Thank you very, very much Jolly Roger, and my grandmother thanks you too!


Last night I slept great, even with the sounds of cars and trains passing by not too far. And today has been another busy one. Hot Springs is the first true "Trail town." No need to hitch a ride here; the AT follows right down Bridge Street, the town's main drag. Even though it is a town of less than 1,000, there are thru-hikers everywhere and whereverI go I see familiar faces. Some friends I haven't seen since Georgia are here, including Seinfeld and Solo. Tonight will be glorious; I am sleeping in a bed! I got a room at Elmer's Sunnybank Inn, a historic building that has been an inn since 1947. My room is the exact same room that EARL SHAFFER slept in in 1948!!! In case you did not know, his 1948 stay was part of the first ever thru-hike of the Appalachian Trail. History! I also showered for the second time since I started, and did laundry for the first.


I spent much of the morning at the Hiker Ridge Ministries, a wonderful little building where you can converse with other hikers and get your picture taken. Look them up on facebook! Queen Diva, the woman who was running it when I arrived, cooked up some of the best banana muffins I've ever had. Which, speaking of...


Man oh man, did I have some hiker hunger when I got here! For breakfast, three scrambled eggs with spinach, hash browns, bacon, wheat toast and two pancakes. For lunch, the BBQ special at the local Mexican-American restaurant, complete with sauteed vegetables, refried beans, rice and toast. Next up is dinner. I had planned to eat at Elmer's, which offers organic vegeterian breakfasts and dinners to guests, but due to a busy day at the inn (a tree is being cut down), Elmer does not have time to cook. I think I will get breakfast there tomorrow instead. For dinner, a local tavern offers an 18oz. burger. Sounds good to me! There is also a place at the edge of town that sells a 3/4 pound burger with grilled cheeses for buns. That might be lunch tomorrow before I set out again. Its been a simply great day.


Unfortunately, the computer I am uploading my photos through is a bit slower than the last one. I apologize, but I will not be able to share every picture I've taken in the past week and a half, only a select few. After today, I am off to the tail end of North Carolina. My next resupply is in Erwin, Tennessee, and then Hampton, TN, and then Virginia! I find it difficult to believe that when I send my bounce-box to its next location tomorrow, I'll be writing "VA" on the label. I'm only about two weeks away from the unofficial quarter-done mark of the hike. Wow.


One last thing; I bought a newspaper today and BIG shout out to the Wisconsin basketball team for knocking off Kentucky!!! Now just beat Duke and you will become my second favorite team! It is so weird this year not watching ANY college ball. Usually, and my friends will attest to this, that is what I do all March. Tonight I think I will go to the local tavern, maybe buy my first drink as a 21 year old, and watch Wisky beat Duke. Go Badgers!

- Ted
5:38 p.m. 4/6/2015

Day 23 - Max Patch

Good morning!
I love early morning starts, it's barely 9 am and already I've hiked about 4 miles. Hiking seems to be easiest around now, and hardest around 5 in the afternoon. 

Anyway, yesterday may have been numero uno for me on the trail so far. It started off a little shaky. It was one of those times where you're not sure if you're too hot or too cold, but its soooo inconvenient to stop, take off the pack, put the fleece away, pack back up, and start again. So I ended up kinda forcing myself to the top of Snowbird Mountain a little cold and a little hungry. But at the top, I layered back up, had a big granola snack, and stretched. Plus I met a family from South Carolina who were out on their ATVs for the day (as you can see, I'm no longer in a National Park!). From there, the day was great. It was nice, slow, and steady. And it included Max Patch, one of the most awesome, unique places I've been yet. It is a 4000 foot mountain that is completely bald: just grass! It's like being on a farm, but you have a tremendous 360 degree view. Just amazing. I got some trail magic from a group at the top. Blue Deer told me that they do it every year the first weekend in April. Thanks guys! And Purple Blaze, if you're reading this I said hello to Big Tex, Geared Up, and Reroute for you. Those three all thru-hiked last year and Geared Up is hiking the ECT (Florida to Newfoundland) this year. It was cold last night, but it is beautiful today. Happy Easter everybody.

- Ted
9:09 a.m. 4/5/2015

Day 22 Photos 4/04 Here! : http://tedatgwlt.blogspot.com/p/day-22-404.html

Weeks 1-3 Progress Map

Ted's Progress Weeks 1-3.
On to Hot Springs!

Rain Tonight After Davenport Gap

I did enjoy Davenport Gap! Not much to say besides I'm out of the park. Max Patch tomorrow, short day Sunday, then a NERO and tons of food in Hot Springs on Monday! And pictures. Expect pictures.
It's gonna rain tonight but I don't even care.

-Ted
8:05 pm 4/3/2015

Day 21 - Mount Crammerer

Woohoo! And yay I have service! 

I'm here atop Mount Cammerer, 5000 feet for the last time until New Hampshire. It's funny, there were many times in the Smokies where, if you asked me how I was feeling, I would have said "not too good." But, looking back, those moments were not that bad, and the good certainly outweighed the bad, and even the bad times were important learning opportunities. What was good was the terrain. The Smokies are absolutely unbelievable. Not only are the mountains huge, affording the best views I've seen on the trail so far, but the ground-level experience is so unique to any other land I've been in. Sometimes, near the top of a mountain, there is nearly no underbrush; it's either grass or huge trees. It feels like a park, or someone's manicured backyard! Other points, particularly around Clingman's Dome, were the densest, greenest, darkest pieces of trail I've been on. It was like hiking at night. Then there was the weather. My first 3 days in the park, as well as today, were very nice, with warm-enough temperatures and clear skies. Man, the views were (and are) amazing on days like this! Yesterday it didn't rain very much, but it was windy and I hiked in a cloud all day. Despite the "bad" weather, it turned out to be a very enjoyable day. Points like Charlie's Bunion, a rock outcropping, I had looked forward to all week for their fantastic views, were just as impressive in the clouds. I found the force of the wind and the stark whiteness that surrounded me very powerful.

I also hiked with some fantastic people. Some were fellow thru-hikers, like Uphill and his friend Purple Blaze (who thru-hiked last year and was just sectioning). Purple Blaze gave me some super helpful tips for the future (including to walk the extra half mile here). Some were section hikers, like Payday. Payday told me the story of April 2 1987, when he was trapped at a shelter for a week because 5 feet of snow had fallen in the park! And some were day hikers, like Ed and Nick, who were kind enough to give me a banana just now. Anyway the good definitely outweighs the bad, the bad being Wednesday afternoon and evening. I had just finished Clingman's Dome, and it was only 2:30 so I thought it'd be a good idea to push on to Newfound Gap, which I mistakenly read as 6 miles. At the 3.5 mile mark, I realized the gap was actually 8 miles from Clingman's. Unwisely, I pushed on, stopping only once to take a break, eating no food, and probably drinking too little water. When I got to the gap at 6, I was kind of out of it and gratefully recieved the bountiful trail magic being offered there. I ate 2 snickers bars, a bag of potato chips, a bag of Cheetos, 8 double stuff oreos, a pack of Nutter Butter, and sour patch kids in about 15 minutes, then I followed that up with a Knorr dinner. To put it simply, my stomach did not agree the 2000 or so calories suddenly dumped on it. 

It was not a fun night, but I learned that I need to hike responsibly. Frequent stops for water, slowing the pace when tired, and knowing when to stop for the day are very important. I don't want another night like that one. Yesterday I took it easy and I've since returned myself to health. Now, on to Davenport Gap. Goodbye Great Smoky Mountain National Park!

-Ted
1:20 p.m. 4/3/2015

Day 21 Photos Here! : http://tedatgwlt.blogspot.com/p/day-21-403.html

Ted Reports - Smoky Mountain NP

We haven't had a report from Ted for a while, but you should know that this was anticipated.

Ted texts in his posts, and when he gets to a major town he uploads his pictures to Dropbox, where we download them, and link them to his daily travels.

The Smoky Mountain National Park is a natural area described as "backcountry," so they don't sprinkle cell towers out there! And the number of public libraries and internet stations is similarly limited out there!

A notice on the NPS Website for the Smoky Mountains states:

Do not rely on technology to save you. Cell phones do not work most places in the backcountry and GPS is sometimes unreliable. Always carry a Great Smoky Mountains National Park Backcountry Trail map or other reliable map of the park's backcountry with you. It is your responsibility to plan and execute a safe trip for you and your group. Help is often many miles away and may take days to get to you.

Just as soon as Ted comes back into range, or his batteries get recharged if that is an issue, we will be able to get an update on where he is. Be patient and know that his not reporting in is not a cause for concern.

Ted's Trek Gets Some Press

Today the Worcester Telegram & Gazette ran a 2 page story on Ted's AT hike, his Clark University LEEP project with GWLT, and this blog that tracks his progress. Thank you T&G & Way to go Ted!

For those of you who didn't get to see it you can find it here:
http://www.telegram.com/article/20150401/NEWS/304019989/1312

Please note that if you would like to have updates from Ted's trek forwarded to you there is a place to set up an email notification on the right side bar.