Well, I went to bed fairly early last night, and I woke up fairly early and couldn’t seem to fall back asleep. I often wake up in the middle if the night out here, which I think is mostly a result of sleeping for the twelve hours of darkness each night. However, this awake time was longer than usual, and with my new hiking mentality, I decided simply to get up and start hiking.

The temperature was such that my phone refused to turn on, so I could no tell you the exact time, but I can tell you this: it was early. The sky was clear and dark, with plenty of stars. It remained like this for the five miles to the next shelter. When I arrived, I was surprised to see headlamps. Somebody else was awake.

At first, I thought they were night hikers, but I soon discovered they were just getting up. “It’s good to see another early riser,” they told me. It did feel great to be up this early. They told me their sleeping spots were available, but I opted instead to fill up water, eat some jerky for second breakfast, and head down the trail after them.

It turned out I made the absolute right choice. After the past few days of muddy trails and entirely cloudy skies, today would be a blossoming beauty. First light sank in soon, followed by an unbelievable mountain sunrise on my right with the picturesque blue smokey mountains on my left. Honestly, I can’t fit that hour of my hike into words, but I was leaping with enthusiasm and excitement. What an amazing experience.

By the second shelter, I was on cloud nine, which was the only cloud for miles. I had already hiked thirteen miles, while most people were just getting out of tent. I felt great, and I started running into hikers I knew from the Early Days. I had a blast hiking with Tatanka and Sits-In-Chair today. They are hilarious and both set a great pace. Sticking with them, I made it to the Standing Bear Hostel. 23 miles today. Whew. And it was only early afternoon when we strolled (limped) in.

The hostel was a very open environment, and it was great to relax with the other hikers there. First things first – I bought a frozen pizza and ate it, followed by some stretching and socializing and showering.

Admittedly, my legs are tired, and I am looking forward to sleeping in a bed and rejuvenating tonight. Today was definitely one of the best days, and I can’t wait to see what future hiking brings.

One of the hikers who hopped into the shelter last night goes by Indiana, and he has been hiking around 20 miles a day… Every day. I decided that sounded fun (or something like fun), so when he left that morning, I joined him.

I am fascinated with the philosophy out here of “hike your own hike.” It is truly awesome how every hiker respects the other methods of hiking. Some people hike fast, while others hike slow. Some say that the last person to Katahdin wins. Others enjoy the energetic and competitive nature of the trail. So far, I have enjoyed experiencing all of these ideas by myself and with other hikers.

Hiking with Indiana was exploring a side of the trail that I had not tried yet, which was fairly extreme. I had said before I left, mostly in jest, “the more extreme the better.” However, I have realized that this can not always be true. In fact, it is rarely true, but some extreme is definitely a good thing. Out here, extreme is easy to find, but finding the right personal balance is a beautiful thing.

Well, I decided to try a little more mileage, but before it got to that point, Indiana and I reached a junction at a road. Indiana had a couple of difficult days and decided to head into Gatlinburg. I moved on, despite the weather, and reached a shelter pretty far down the line. I got to meet up with a hiker from the UP (of Michigan), and we talked about hiking other trails. I am considering which trail to hike next, hopefully soon in my future life.

A disclaimer: I apologize for the delay on these few posts. Reception was not great in the Smokey Mountains, but I anticipate better results in the future.

I picked up the pace a bit, which was good, as I was a bit worried about making it through the Smokies. I do have a lot of food, but I also eat a lot of food. It’s a Catch-22.

The most notable part of today’s hike was (or should have been) Clingman’s Dome. Luckily, I saw it with my family, so I was not severely disappointed to see this today:

And I went to the store to see if I could pick up some more food. Alas, the only thing they had was a few chocolate bars, which I bought. I also bought some bottled water, since they had no source of free water there. A little anticlimactic, but I was determined to hike on.

Most of the day was done alone, and though it was not a long day, it felt like one, especially with the muddy trails.

I am meeting some new hikers, which is pretty fun, and it reminds me not to get stuck only thinking about the same people, to enjoy what and who is around me right now. Starting a fire and talking time. I think there are even s’mores tonight!

The good news is that it stopped raining by the time I got out of my sleeping bag (coincidence? maybe). The bad news is that it had rained enough where I was hiking through miniature waterfalls most of the day.

It was a rough 5 miles to the next shelter, and I arrived there in the early afternoon. After debating whether or not to go on, the cold and wet persuaded me to stay. I figured it was best, given the idea that the other shelters could be full by the time I arrived, and I would have to set up my bivy in the rainy mud. Either way, I am glad I stayed. Hooch caught up with me, a fellow American Literature enthusiast, and I met some new faces.

Most of the afternoon was spent eating and such, but I did have some time to write, which was a rare pleasure. I am hoping it isn’t as rare in the near future, and if that means hiking less miles each day, so be it. I would much rather spend more time on the trail and get more writing done.

Well, it’s been raining off and on, and even if it does clear up tomorrow, I am prepared for muddy trails again. I hope to make it to Clingman’s Dome tomorrow, but again, no need to push. I will simply see how I feel and where the day goes.

That’s all for tonight. Oh, and I did get a few compliments on my haircut, the new Firewalker look. Thanks to my brother, Jake.

Well, a couple people told me to restrain myself less with my posts. I tend to err on the side of being polite (my parents are to blame for that), but I will try to tell it like it is more often.

A couple of weeks or so ago, a southern man told me a couple of stories. It took the first two stories for me to become fluent in the dialect. The third story went something like: “When I was little, we went to church all the time. I didn’t care for it much, but they had a room in the basement where you could go and recite a bible verse for candy, so I would go down and get as much as my pockets would carry. The woman who taught down there, we called her Grapefruit. That’s because she was four feet tall and three feet wide.” So I learned what a grapefruit was.

I have been learning all kinds of things on my hike. As they tell you, these are things you just can’t learn in school. For instance, as I was considering how polite to be in my blog posts, some other hikers were discussing anal plugs. Apparently, bears will eat their fur and other usually inedible objects to form such a plug during hibernation. This got me a little worried, since I have eaten about a pound of cheese in the last 24 hours.

The day went pretty well, though I was surprised to see so few people hiking again. Yesterday and today, I mostly hiked alone, which is fairly rare for me. After a while, I thought I saw Wildflower Willie, looking at the ground. As I approached, I asked if he was looking at wildflowers. “Something like that,” he said with a sneer, and as he looked toward me, I saw that it was not Wildflower Willie at all, but Carl the Confronter! A similar cap and white beard, yet the youthful glint in Willie’s eye was replaced by a reproachful glare. Carl is a ridge runner along the Smokies, enforcing anything in his path. I tightened my grip on my trekking poles in case he decided to strike.
“Did you deposit your hiker permit in the box on the way in?” Carl asked.
The urge to blurt “No!” and sprint past was unbearable, but I stood my ground. At last, I managed a “Yes.”
Carl jotted something on his goofy waterproof notebook and told me the shelter was about 100 feet ahead, which I could clearly see for myself.
I hung out at the shelter briefly, but when Carl was muttering something into his radio, I stole away into the late afternoon.

I jumped two more shelters, and I met up with Hooch along the way. We had met early on, so it was refreshing to see a familiar face among the crowds of weekenders and hikers I don’t yet know. I met a couple of new hikers too, and we chatted a bit.

Upon arriving at the shelter – fairly late, due mostly to my late start – I discovered a few hikers who had already dined and were hastily headed toward the Sandman. It sounded like a good idea, so I had a quick dinner and got ready for bed.

Overall, I did 11 miles today. Not bad, but I hope I am only getting stronger again. I found evidence of old friends in the logbook at the shelter, and it made me want to catch up to them. Hopefully, I will see them soon, but I hope to enjoy myself and new friends until then.

I’m afraid… I’ve gone soft.

Seven days off the trail. Whew. That’s quite a few. Not only did I post very little, so all of my readers were getting antsy, but I also hiked very little. Sure, we did a few hikes, but not enough to keep my body in hiker condition. Today felt like starting back at Amicalola.

Now don’t get me wrong. I have no regrets about taking my hiatus. It was one of the most enjoyable weeks of my life. And if you are thinking: “Firewalker, what did you do all week if you weren’t hiking?” the answer is mostly just enjoy the people who came to see me, and of course enjoy the hot tub, jacuzzi tub, pool table, and food.

The cabin we rented actually belonged to a cousin. Steven and Sue were gracious enough to invite us over to their equally awesome house. We enjoyed conversation over pizza and pie. Talk about great hosts! Their children, Landon and Sophie, were also good hosts, who showed us around and taught me how to play Skylanders. Much thanks to all of them for such a great vacation!

They also have a whitewater rafting company in the area. I’ll have to do that next time!

Here is a link to the cabin–

And here is a link to the rafting, Steven and Sue have a little story about how they started.

The cabin was so much fun, and I would gladly go back.

Getting back on the trail this afternoon, I only did a few miles to the first campsite before I set up camp, but it turned out alright, as I met with Wildflower Willie, and Dustin, whom I had met earlier on the trail. We had a campfire, and morale was high in no time.

It’s good to be back on the trail.

There was a tower a little ways in. It was cool to see Fontana Dam from a distance again after hiking right past it.

The past few days have been wonderful. At first, I was worried about leaving the trail for a week, but it has been very enjoyable and necessary. Sure, other hikers will be pretty far ahead of me when I get back on the trail, and I will probably lose some leg strength, but it will definitely be worth it

We stayed the night at the lodge on the 28th, which was an impressively nice place. The town of Fontana Village is not a big one, but the lodge was very accommodating and had very comfortable facilities. I was able to meet up with some former hikers: Goat, Voodoo, Shroomer, and Mocha, among others.

One of the great aspects of the lodge was the game room! Pool tables, foosball, ping pong, and arcade games made for a pretty fun afternoon. Since there was no change machine (getting quarters involved walking 1/4 mile), we made a few modifications to some of the games. In mid-game, my parents arrived at the window. Despite knowing they would arrive, I was shocked to see them.

I grabbed my pack and was cabin-bound. As I had told a couple of hikers, I was headed to my vacation. We headed through the winding mountain roads, and in the midst of it all, we arrived at a beautiful, cozy cabin.

Here, there is a (free) pool table, a hot tub, jacuzzi tubs, fireplace, and wonderful atmosphere in the mountains. It has been awesome simply to enjoy being here with my family. I was able to celebrate my birthday in style with some of my favorite people. My entire family is here, as well as Logan and Eleanor, and it has been a blast so far.

We are hoping to get a few more short hikes in, in addition to the few we have already done. We visited an old farm museum, which had authentic buildings from over 100 years ago, including a mill and a blacksmith workshop. This was fascinating to me, and after I finish the trail, I plan to enter the trade of the blacksmith.

I will be back on the trail and hiking again before you know it.;

It was great to hike with Josh and Nick today, as we all had a similar pace. It was 12.5 miles to the road, but the trek was quite hilly and left us all a little winded. We then found out that it was another 2 miles into Fontana Village, but after walking 1/2 a mile, we got a ride the rest of the way! A prior section hiker picked us up and took us into town.

We ate some pizzas and chili dogs, and settled into a room at the lodge here. There are quite a few other hikers here, so I am looking forward to catching up, as well as to seeing my family tomorrow!

Last night, I stayed at the Nantahala Outdoor Center (NOC), and the accommodations were fairly nice. Staying up fairly late socializing made this morning a little slower, (ending with The Rock hanging our food from the rafters), but I managed to leave by a decent hour.

I took my time and took a lunch break at the first shelter, where many from last night ended up staying. I moved on but was stopped soon by a stunning view of the mountains. I sat on the top of the climb and meditated for a while, feeling the majesty of the purple mountains and sun.

Continuing on to a gap with trail magic! I spotted a glorious pile of apples and bananas 500 feet away. Fresh fruit is a beautiful thing. I snacked and took a nap and was soon joined by a few other hikers: Crazy Horse, Young Gun, Blue, James, and Chainsaw. We were living large in the sun’s rays. They stayed, but I wanted to keep moving.

The last stretch was two miles of steep uphill that Crazy Horse told me was reminiscent of Dante’s Inferno. It was certainly a challenge but nothing all too terrible. I arrived with joy – the shelter was empty, and it is supposed to rain tonight into tomorrow, so I was pretty thrilled. I had just enough daylight left to complete the nightly routine. As I was eating part 1 of my dinner (an entire summer sausage, about 900 calories), Josh and Nick who were also at the NOC last night. We are just hanging out and about to get some sleep.

Only 12.5 miles tomorrow to Fontana. Good night all.