11/11,12 all done

well we did it. The rain in the morning going up blood mountain made it feel like maine again. then the rain stopped for a while. the sun even poked out a little bit. a stray hound dog joined the hike for a little bit. we called him gooch because he joined us at gooch mountain. explosions went off in the distance as we passed the 20 mile mark over hawk mountain. the trail smoothed out and widened through a hemlock forest with only 5 miles to go. the steady ascent up springer went by quickly. 30 mile done and the four of us arrived at the top just before dusk. There were some yells and queen's 'champions' playing on the cell phone. even though it is probably one of the most anticlimactic peaks on the trail, it was a sweet moment.
hiking the mile down to the car in the dark did not even seem that bad.
the others, abe, drew and joe, (using the real names since we are officially off the trail now) stayed at the springer shelter at the top. I however could not resist the urge to sleep in a nice hotel room.
My dad and i drove down to the amicolola falls lodge, enjoyed a buffet dinner and some nice beds.
a quick breakfast in the morning and then to the visitors center to sign the register. then i did half of the trail in 10 hours. it goes by a lot faster in a car.

things are still a little surreal right now. i hope to ad some deep thoughts tomorrow. feelings right now are just... tired.

finished!!!

its foggy and dark, but its sweet victory


 - Taken at 5:52 PM on November 11, 2009 - uploaded by ShoZu

11/10 neels gap

tropical storm ida has hit.  my dad, being worn out and unprepared to hike a long distance in the rain, got a ride from the 4 mile point of the day to the hostel.  statesboro and I hiked on.  cold and wet it was.  when we got out to the gap my dad had gone to pick up the car.  he was done hiking.  I hope he at least learned a little bit from it and may be motivated to get to work on getting into shape now.  trudger and 12 pack were waiting at the hostel for the rain to stop.  it did not.  a decision was made to go out with a bang tomorrow, doing the last 30 miles to springer in a day.  it will be a toughy, but hopefully it will not be raining.  finishing as a pack should be fun, and my dad will be driving our heavy gear to the top for us.  out... bang.

 - Taken at 8:57 PM on November 10, 2009 - uploaded by ShoZu

11/9 more ga

up one mountain.  back down.  up again.  down again.  up one more time.  flat to downhill.  guess which part sent my dad into extreme fatigue.  the last one.  he was tired and cold and is apparently going to lose some toenails.  reminds me of myself four months ago.  we will see what tomorrow brings.  he will be doing a short day in the rain and then may or may not join back up.  I can't believe there are only 41.5 miles to go!!!

 - Taken at 7:41 PM on November 09, 2009 - uploaded by ShoZu

11/8 first dad day

mmm.  breakfast buffet at shoneys.  were dropped off at the trail and it began.  on the first hill my dad wanted to quit.  it took a while but he got a little better.  I felt like a personal trainer some of the time and a drill parent some of the time.  we did not make it as far as I would have liked, but maybe it was for the best.  with plan b we will get to do more camping.  hope tomorrow goes a little better.  we will have more time and less to worry about.  my dad just has a lot to learn about hiking.

 - Taken at 8:06 PM on November 08, 2009 - uploaded by ShoZu

11/7 last state

ok, not a lot of time, i am getting the staredown from a girl and kid here in the hotel lobby. we woke up and made some good ol' spam bacon. hiked into GEORGIA, yay!! made it to the road and my dad and trudger's mom were waiting there for us. chik fil a for lunch, beer for linner, steak for dinner, chunky munky for dessert. shoneys tommorow for breakfast and then we will see how my dad fairs on the trail....
should be interesting, only 67 miles to go........

smoky mountains

maybe a double??

 - Taken at 11:14 AM on November 02, 2009 - uploaded by ShoZu

tower highest

the weird tower atop clingman's


 - Taken at 11:18 AM on November 02, 2009 - uploaded by ShoZu

highest

clingman's dome.  its all downhill from here




 - Taken at 11:16 AM on November 02, 2009 - uploaded by ShoZu

smoky mountains (late)

out of order.   you can figure it out. 



 - Taken at 11:14 AM on November 02, 2009 - uploaded by ShoZu

11/6 last big one

up at the crack of dawn.  slight wrong turn.  lost 20 minutes.  freezing cold in the shade.  hot in the sun.  walking fast on the smooth trail.  a few rough spots.  we all slipped and fell atleast once.  leaves on rocks are dangerous.  last big day done with an easy climb up standing indian mountain.  28 miles before 4.  eating all of our extra food.  gets cold in the dark.  dark at 6:10.  made a fire in the shelter.  will remove evidence in the morning.  then the 16 mile day to hiawasse.  eating steak and watching football.  hiking will be different after tomorrow.  with dad.

 - Taken at 6:56 PM on November 06, 2009 - uploaded by ShoZu

11/5 the home stretch

a wonderful breakfast of eggs and bacon and sausage and cheese and toast at the log cabin, then we were on our way.  out of the gorge was a tough climb , but the rest of the day was pretty easy.  it got a little nippy at times in the wind.  12pack and I took off and tore up the ridges.  we finished earlier than expected and were going to head into franklin.  decided to wait for trudger who fell and hit his knee and came in too late to do the extra 4 miles.  its ok the shelter is nice and we met a former thru hiker from 04 who made a nice fire for this chilly night.  hope the mice don't try to use me to keep warm.     last big day tomorrow. 28

 - Taken at 7:41 PM on November 05, 2009 - uploaded by ShoZu

11/4 noc

a 4:45 am start was not as bad as expected.  hiked for 2 hours in the dark  over relativity smooth terrain, then things got hilly.  climbing and descending over and over.  I was totally drained.  it did not help that we took no breaks for 6 hours.  needless to say i was glad to see trudgers friends waiting for us with halloween candy.  we went to lunch and I had various spicy things.  got too much food at the store and then came back to a nice cabin with a hot tub for the night.  it is nice travelling with people who know people.  I wish some others had been with me in pennsylvania so I could have treated them to nice things.         I will have to make it up to others  later.      random acts of kindness is the way to go.

 - Taken at 11:30 PM on November 04, 2009 - uploaded by ShoZu

11/3 fontanna temptation

so we heard about this hiker feed in fontanna dam.  tried to make it there by lunch time.  a rollercoaster of hills stood in our way.  also a strange bear just standing in the middle of the trail with no fear of people, but don't worry, he moved right before I could snap a photo.  a downed tree also slowed us down.  some trail maintainers working on it were the ones doing the feed and told us it was just breakfast and dinner.  we said 'dam', we were not going to stay the night.  they said there were sodas and fruit  we could have.  satisfying.  also passed 2 more southbouders.  sea monster and disney.  doing some more pre dawn hiking in the morn.  and then relaxing in a hot tub at nantahala outdoor center.

 - Taken at 6:33 PM on November 03, 2009 - uploaded by ShoZu

10/2 more people less mice

woke up to an amazing sunrise, arrived in camp to an amazing sunset.  the stuff in the middle was not bad either.  climbed to the top of clingmans dome, the highest point on the trail.  nice and sunny but a little muddy.  did you know you can ride a horse through most of the smokies?  i could do a little saddle blazing and have the horse carry me.  just found out that there is a hikers feed where we are going tomorrow and a hotel room with a hot tub already booked for where we will be in two days.  things are getting exciting.  less than ten days left.       passed another southbouder today named fiddler.  he has mouse traps and loves to catch mice.  he is having a field day at this shelter.  snapping and sleeping.

 - Taken at 7:45 PM on November 02, 2009 - uploaded by ShoZu