GET - AT Hike

Hello Virginia!!

We’ve made it to Damascus, VA and into our fourth state, about 450 miles into our journey.  They say Damascus is the psychological 1/4-of-the-way-done of the trail and we’re excited to have gotten this far and still be in such great shape. 

So our pal Sharkey who hiked the trail in ‘92 started a little ‘club’ called the Twinkle Toes Yellow Shoelace Club and the story goes like this:  In 1992 about 33 miles from Damascus Sharkey and two thru-hiker buddies were in desperate need of a beer.  Damascus was the first town on the trail that wasn’t in a dry county so they decided to hike 33 miles from Vandeveenter Shelter to town to get a drink.  Now Sharkey & one of his buddies had broken shoelaces so when they made it to town they went to the outdoor store in town to buy new ones.  The store didn’t have any shoelaces but they did have some yellow rope he could use to lace up his boots.  So he bought three pairs right then and the Twinkle Toes Yellow Shoelaces Club was born. 

Now, Sharkey has been spreading the word that he was going to do the same hike again this year and that anyone that wished to partake would get 1. new yellow shoelaces 2. all you can eat dinner 3. all you can drink beers, all on Sharkey’s tab.  So Andy, Corley & I have been doing big days to make it to this Vanderveenter Shelter by Thursday night.  Lo & behold, when we get to the shelter Sharkey is the only one there — no one has taken him up on his offer!  So we decided that we’d go ahead and just try it with him.  More and more folks came to the shelter as the day came to a close and Sharkey convinced them to do the hike with him.  In the end it was Sharkey, Pipper, Hopper, Danger Danjo, Pusher, Pyro, Grasshopper, Hot Wheels, Corley & me that got up at 3:30 am to start the long hike. 

We were hiking by 4am, and hiked in the pitch black dark with headlamps for about two hours before the sun came up.  By 7am we had gone 7 miles, by 9:30am we had gone 14.4 miles, and by 1pm we had gone 23 miles.  Now, it got hot and dry by 1pm, and although the map showed relatively flat terrain, I am telling you there were some big hills we climbed.  So I’m exhausted by the time we reach the last shelter, 10 miles from Damascus.  (As an aside, we hike about 2-3 miles an hour so 10 miles will still take anywhere from 3-6 hours.)  By 1pm we had been hiking for 9 hours, but we weren’t about to give up.  My feet felt like they were bleeding (my insoles are crap) and everyone was tired, but we all set off for the last 10 miles into town.  Pipper, by far the fastest of the group, got into town around 4, with Sharkey & Andy not too far behind.   Hopper was the only one behind me, and I made it to town around 6pm, exhausted and hiking in my sandals. 

We made it though!  Sharkey took us all out to dinner at Sicily’s Italian Restaurant and awarded us our yellow shoelaces, then out for drinks at Dot’s, where some of the boys closed down the bar at midnight. 

We’re taking two days off to recover and relax, but everything is closed on Sunday except for the bar, which is open to watch NASCAR (that’s where we’ll be!). 

I’ve uploaded a few more photos so check them out!  Much love to all!

Susan, Andy & Corley

Sharkey’s Yellow Shoelaces!

Hello from somewhere between Erwin, TN & Damascus, VA! 

We’re about 50 miles outside of Damascus, VA spending an un-expected night at a hiker hostel.  We’ve gone 70 miles in 5 days coming out of Erwin and are moving faster than we expected.  We were supposed to re-supply food by hitching a ride into a little town called Dawson, TN, but since we’ve been moving so fast we needed only a few snacks to make it the next few days into Damascus. So instead we decided to hike .5 mile down a paved road to this campground/hostel to get the few pop-tarts and snickers bars that we need to get us to Damascus.  Here we ran into our good buddies Super Chunk, Hometown & Loveboat, and a new friend named Privy Monster, who fed Andy a few beers and me some ice cream until we got content enough with sitting on the porch that we had to stay the night.  So we ordered pizza from a local joint and all the hikers are sitting around telling stories on the porch.  The best part of this un-expected stop is, as always, being able to take a shower and wash clothes (this is definitely a susan comment because andy does not need nor want to do either of those things until he absolutely has to).

So we’re thinking we’ll get into Damascus either late Friday night or Saturday and plan to take a day off recovering from all our big hiking days.  We might do two 25 mile days, or a 17 and a 33…. we’ll see how far our legs carry us!  Hope to talk to y’all then.

susan, andy & corley

So we finally made it out of Hot Springs and started our trek towards Erwin ,Tn.  We had a mere short 60+ miles to go.  Our first day out of town brought a little bit of snow but nothing to write home about.  on our second day after going by FAL and Hercules’s house for some wonderful trail magic we started up the long hill to the shelter.  on our way up the mountain it stated to snow.  i mean really snow.  it just kept coming down.  made it to the shelter to find some folks their already.  Knowing that more folks were on the way up the mtn. susan, corley and I pushed on through the now snow blizzard.  several hours later we made it to Jerry Cabin Shelter only to find it full to the seams.  We ended up having to rake a spot out in the snow to pitch the tent.  Cold, wet, and tired we hit the hay early.  The next morning our buddy Super Chunk measured the snow and it was 10 inches deep.  Talk about great fun.  The next few days were sunny & warm and we made it to Erwin, TN and Uncle Johnny’s Hostel in 5 days where we are taking a day off and waiting on our buddies Curtis & Jessica to come hiking with us this weekend.  It’s supposed to pour down rain so it should be exciting hiking for them!

Wanted to say thanks to the following people for the special packages & letters that they sent us out on the trail: Crystal Rippy (the cookies were fabulous), Desirae Arrington and Class (thanks for the notes of encouragement and snacks), Christie Cummins (you spoil us!!), Cory Olsen & the Postma family.  We’re so excited to hear from all y’all and appreciate all the love & encouragement.  Corley loved all his dog treats too - he likes coming to town as much as we do because all he gets to do is sleep & eat!

Thanks also to the Jensons of Marshall, NC for the delicous & warm trail magic!

We hope all y’all are doing well and hope to blog again from Damascus, VA in 120 miles, 10 days from now or so.

Check out the new photos of snow & adventure we posted under North Carolina, Post-smokies!

much love,

susan, andy & corley

And we’re back!

Our good buddy from back at the Chattooga, Eli Helbert, not only hooked us up with a place to sleep in Hot Springs, whose hotels were booked solid, but let us use his computer and internet!  So I’ve uploaded loads of photos to amuse you during work hours and beyond, and even three videos (although I’m not sure if there’s sound as this computer has no speakers)!

The sun finally decided to show its face the afternoon we left Gatlinburg to get back on the trail.  A nice family, Pat+Wendy Reynolds & their little boy, picked us up on the side of the road and took us to Newfound Gap.  We later found out they had taken our buddy Leaping Turtle from Clingman’s Dome to Gatlinburg two days before, so thanks guys for being so kind to dirty hikers!  The weather was gorgeous and we were rewarded with beautiful views of the mountains in every direction.  We went only three miles or so since we had gotten such a late start, and camped at a shelter with our buddies Mango & Canuk, Red & Aries, Gucci & Bearfeet, Aquamaria & Tailgate, and Nona.  One of the big reasons for staying there was also that I wanted to hike the one mile to Charlie’s Bunion to catch the sunset.  The weather didn’t seem like it was cooperating until about 7:30 when it became beautiful, so I almost ran the mile to the rock outcropping with Andy hot on my heels and we got to see an incredible, colorful sunset in the Smokies.  Then we practically ran the one mile back uphill to try to beat the darkness (andy thought it was hilarious when he hid in the woods ahead of me and scared me (boo!)).  It was well worth it though.

The rest of our time in the Smokies was filled with sunshine and vistas and we were so grateful to be out hiking in the woods!  Andy’s dad, Ken, brought Corley up last Wednesday morning (dogs are not allowed in the Park) and took us out to a big breakfast at Cracker Barrel (thanks!) - we’re so glad to have our third body back in the tent with us!  We did some big days out of the Smokies and made it to Hot Springs yesterday mid-morning.  We could see the town from the top of the last hill and practically jogged down the mountain in the excitement of getting some packages & mail, a big meal and some cold drinks.  This litttle town with less than 1000 people is very welcoming to hikers and we’ve had a great day off here, even did a little wading in the big French Broad River.

We’re hoping to make it to Erwin, TN (68 miles) by next Thursday, although the word on the street says it’s supposed to drop to 32 tonight, snow tomorrow, 29 tomorrow night, and then snow again on Monday…. good thing we kept our cold weather clothing!!!

Again, thanks to everyone who sent us letters and packages - we love hearing from the outside world.  And, Vanessa, the pudding is fan-freaking-tastic. 

We have to give a big thank you to Eli & the NOC French Broad Outpost staff - y’all made us feel very welcome and comfortable in your outpost and kept us out of the cold and rain.  Thanks!!

Until next time, we hope y’all are getting along fine without us (we know it’s tough) and feel free to send us notes or come hike with us whenever!

much love,

shutterbug, hot wheels & don corlioni

ps.  I’ve added photos to the North Carolina album and added two more albums, plus three videos on the “Photos” tab.  Enjoy!!

hello all!!

we’re safe and well in hot springs, nc, 270 miles into our journey.  unfortunately the library in this town is closed on saturday (?!) so the only internet is at the outfitter store, and you can only use it for thirty minutes!  i’ve uploaded some photos into an album online, but haven’t even the time to make a link on the website or captions.

View the photos of the Great Smoky Mountain National Park by clicking HERE.

I know we promised stories, but that’ll have to wait until, hopefully, next week when we get to Erwin, TN!

A big shout out to Vanessa White for the package, Mindy, Claire, Sammi, Mom&Dad Baxley & Grizzell for the letter and love!!  And many thanks to Ken for bringing Corley back safe and sound.

Much love to you all!

susan, andy & corley

Hello from the tourist mecca of the smokies!!!

We hiked the first half of the Great Smoky Mountain National Park in the rain and fog - not one view yet (!) - and then decided we needed a night of dry clothes and warmth, so we hitched a ride with two very nice University of Tennessee students (thanks Nick & Eleanor!) into Gatlinburg, the Las Vegas of the Smokies.

We’ve had an action-packed two weeks, with lots of big mountains and new people.  We went through the Nantahala Outdoor Center - a long hike downhill then a big 7 mile uphill - and Fontana Dam, where we dropped of Corley with Andy’s dad.  We’re missing that little bugger.   We’re planning on stopping in at Hot Springs in about 5-6 days and taking a day off, so we’ll write a much more in-depth post about our adventures - with some photos!

Right now, we want to say whats up and many thanks to the folks that did some great trail magic today at Newfound Gap - G-man, Snow-hoe, Just Eric, Magic and Greg.  Those burgers, homemade treats (thanks Just Eric’s mom!), drinks and good company hit the spot after a long, muddy trek down the mountain.  We hope y’all made it up - and down - Clingman’s Dome in one piece!

much love to all y’all

andy&susan

Shout out to Randy at Flextronics.  We’re planning on hiking up to Charlies Bunion tomorrow!