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Day 26 - Davenport Gap Shelter to Brown Gap

13.4 miles

What an incredible day. Today was all the best trail stories I've ever read, rolled into one.

The stories of the day started last night when @toesalad got up to relieve himself in the middle of the night. He was about to open the door of the chain link fence that covers the front of the Davenport Gap shelter when he noticed two pairs of glowing red eyes a few yards from the shelter. Some of us in the shelter were awoken by his surprise.

Damien concluded it was probably two bears and needless to say, he wasn't interested in leaving the shelter after all. Nothing like the presence of glowing eyes in the middle of a dark night to creep you out (and make you thankful for the chain link fence you previously complained about).

In the morning everyone was anxious to get packed up and get moving. We were done with being squished into shelters like sardines.

A couple hours later as we walked into the clearing at Davenport Gap we met the YWAM gang doing trail support and ministry. It was so nice to meet them.

We re-entered civilization, walking under I-40, and proceeded to Standing Bear Farm where we restocked our miscalculated snack food supply (phew) and ate microwaved frozen chicken quesadillas at 10 am.

Standing Bear is a very unique place, the kind of place I hoped to discover on the Appalachian Trail. I loved the store with its boxes of USPS hiker mail stacked around the perimeter. (Standing Bear Farm is a mail drop location on the trail, hikers can have packages sent there.)

Our 50 minute stop at Standing Bear was a whirlwind of shopping and eating.

When we got back on the trail, fueled by quesadillas and the sodas we all drank at Standing Bear, we plowed up the mountain, gaining almost 3000 ft of elevation.

The weather today was sunny, a sprinkling of rain, followed by warmth and humidity and then we experienced an all out rainstorm as we reach the top of Snowbird Mountain. The wind was so strong it was beating the rain on us almost horizontally.

It was a unique experience to be on a grassy bald on top of a mountain. We were surrounded by fog so we didn't see much.

As we hiked today we heard rumors of trail magic at Brown Gap, which was motivating for us as we hiked through the afternoon.

We arrived at Brown Gap at 4:50 and we were not disappointed. Like many things so far on the AT, I haven't experienced anything like this.

Two former thru-hikers are camped in Brown Gap this weekend serving meals Friday night through Sunday morning to hikers. There's a make-shift latrine, cook tents, an eating tent, a large trailer where all the food and coolers are kept, bbq's, propane tanks, tables for serving food, and a huge fit pit. This is quite a production.

Apparently, this is an annual tradition and we just happened to be at the right place at the right time.

The whole scene is fabulous. Full plates of food - ham, salad (salad!), bread, asparagus (asparagus!), plus the usual trail magic fare of chips, sodas and cookies.

Because we didn't have to make supper, or fetch water, or wash dishes @toesalad and I had time to give each other foot massages.

We met another family tonight at camp, a father and son, which means that between the Kallins, James family, and the Wolfpack we've met all the families that we've heard about, so far, on the trail.

Some of the hikers here tonight are: Jack & Diane, Wolfpack, Smoking Bear, Lady Bug & Camel, the James family, Siesta, and more who I didn't meet.

Our kids have loved all this time hanging out with other kids.

Tonight I'm going to bed with many good memories from the day, new experiences, a full belly, massaged feet, and looking forward to a full hot breakfast tomorrow morning.

Day 67 - VA 630 to Trout Creek VA 620

18 miles

When will I move beyond my struggles out here?

I did ok today but started grousing near the end of the day. I want to be done hiking by 5:30. Truthfully, I want to be done sooner than that but it's just not realistic.

Today, when we weren't done hiking by 5:30, I lost my patience with all the hard work of the day. I'm just tired of this pace.

This thru-hike is not what I thought long distance backpacking would be. The mismatch of reality and expectation is always hard.

The terrain today was beautiful, notably no rhododendrons but lots of pine. We hiked the ridge of Sinking Creek Mountain with views to the east. Crossed the Eastern Continental Divide. The camera is still not working, except for a couple photos I was able to take today.

Late this afternoon, as we were walking the ridge on Brush Mountain, we made a plan to have supper at The Home Place tomorrow night. We placed a call with the good cell coverage on the ridge to arrange a shuttle pick up at VA 311 tomorrow afternoon. This gives us something to look forward to and raised our spirits a bit for the remainder of the day.

When we arrived at Trout Creek we decided to camp here for the night instead of hiking another 1.2 to Pickle Branch Shelter. We'll be refreshed in the morning and that 500 ft elevation gain will be an easier walk.

It was dark by the time I was doing dishes in the creek. I've prepared a hot water bottle tonight for the camera. Hoping the heat might help dry it out. I massaged @toesalad's feet and am now going to bed, quite late, at 10 pm. Planning to sleep in tomorrow morning because we need the rest.

Day 61 - Jenny Knob Shelter to Trent's Grocery

6.5 miles

Today was an easy hike from Jenny Knob to Trent's Grocery and I was in a better mood, motivated as always by the promise of food acquired not from our food bags, but store shelves.

We met a lot of day hikers and section hikers today, including one guy packing a gun telling us to, "be careful out here".

After crossing the suspension bridge at Kimberling Creek, we found trail magic - home baked goods.

We arrived at Trent's just before noon. "Grocery" is a bit generous to describe the selection at this gas station/corner store. The hot pizza was good though.

We had a package of veggies being delivered here today and we weren't sure when it would arrive so we made the decision to camp and stay the night instead of waiting for the package and moving on. That was a good call because the delivery didn't come till 5pm.

Trent's Grocery has a camping area of sorts in the back, the place RV's go to die by the look of it. The amenities here are basic and none to clean but we appreciate the rest.

This afternoon I did laundry, hung everything to dry, and kids got their fill of digital devices taking advantage of the electrical outlets.

I had a nap and relaxed also because I wasn't trying to publish a blog post or upload photos to Facebook.

I made toasted cheese sandwiches for supper using fresh bread and cheese from the store, while @toesalad re-packed the food bags with the delivery of dehydrated veggies and items from Trent's grocery, including our first ever cans of beans and weaners (the choices were slim at Trent's). I treated the kids to ice cream, being so close to a store has its perks.

Going to bed at 9 tonight. Still light.

Day 73 - BRP 95.3 to Bryant Ridge Shelter

15.9 miles

Had an eventful night (thunderstorms) and started hiking around 8am this morning.

Crossed the BRP a couple times today. Had long talks with Tenacious Bling about her hike struggles - lack of fashion, her expectations, and dealing with boredom. Not sure how much "stuck, but it will something she has to work through.

Took a long breakfast break at Bobblets Gap Shelter and met a college Herpetology class at Bearwallow Gap. Our son does herpetology everyday. I had a long chat with a young man teaching at a private school in the fall and it got my Educational philosophy and practice juices flowing and I spent the next hour or so discussing high school curriculum with the family and then about the coming school year and eventually homeschool graduation in our home. This train of thought occupied me for a couple hours.

Did a 500 ft elevation climb up Cove Mountain, was rewarded with some open views at the top. Hiked 750 ft elevation down to Cove Mountain Shelter, passed that, hiked the ridge, and then down another 1,000 ft elevation to Jennings Creek.

Spent an hour or so swimming, washing and eating. Exactly the way a summer backpacking day should be.

Hiked 1,000 ft elevation up to Fork Mountain and down another 750 ft.

Tonight we're camping at Bryant Shelter. Celine and Laurent are sleeping in the shelter and @toesalad, Tenacious Bling and I are camping by the stream, along the AT. The shelter is beautiful, probably the nicest on the whole trail, but I prefer the privacy of tenting.

Thunderstorms have been passing through this evening with intermittent rain. The fireflies are out on the hillside and it's magical beyond belief. And when I look to the shelter the path is also a twinkle of lights. It's amazing and reminds me of the fairy books I read to the kids when they were little.

I miss the kids tonight and with the storm I wonder how they're doing, but at 13 and 15 they're fine in the shelter (with strangers - only on the trail).

Day 76 - Salt Log Gap to US 60/Buena Vista, VA

14.4 miles (9.3 miles shuttle into Buena Vista)

After our dry camp experience last night and fitful sleep, we were out of camp at 6:30 this morning, our earliest ever. We reached Punchbowl Shelter by 8 am, filtered and drank lots of water and ate a leisurely hot breakfast, which was actually last night's planned supper. We met a couple who are hiking the AT and have already hiked the PCT.

We left Punchbowl Shelter at 9:30, well fed, rested, and watered. Easy hiking this morning, small climbs and steady progress, we actually felt like a happy family, everyone chatty and in good spirits after surviving our adventure last night.

We took our last break at 2:15 at Brown Mountain Creek Shelter. We were surprised by all the water here, as the trail followed a creek for what felt like miles. Plenty of foot bridges and more interestingly, the ruins of a freedman’s village from the late 1800’s.

After our break we hustled on the trail to reach VA 60 where our ride was meeting us at 3:30. We arrived at the road just in time and caught the shuttle into town where we're staying tonight at the Blue Dog Art Cafe Hostel, which is a hostel located in an old apartment on 21st street, above the cafe. The hostel is a little rough around the edges but meets our needs adequately. I wish we could afford more privacy for these town stops, and more air conditioning. But then I suppose we'd miss out on the good company. Staying at the hostel tonight are Loon, Rockin' Robin and Bruiser.

We've been tackling our usual town stop chores - grocery, laundry, and some internet work.

Padawan's new single person tarp tent was delivered here and she and @toesalad seam-sealed it this afternoon in the green space across the street from the cafe.

We ate grocery store pizza and beer for supper and I shared a Kozyshack Rice Pudding with Loon for dessert. Kozyshack is my favorite town comfort. I may have mentioned that already.

I'm going to sleep tonight in a 2nd story bedroom in quiet downtown Buena Vista, overlooking the globe shaped streetlights below. Quite a change from last night.

Day 79 - VA 56 Tye River to Dripping Rock, BRP 9.6

15.5 miles

A long, hot day.

There was some weird animal in the woods last night at our campsite that kept me awake with a screechy, squeaky noise. I've never heard it before and it freaked me out a bit.

Started the day with a 3,000 ft climb up to Three Ridges Mountain. It was hot already. We were so tired from hiking that we didn't even care about the overlooks.

We were expecting an easier hike after Three Ridges Mountain but the guide was deceptive and the trail was really rocky, though "relatively" flat. By 3pm we had only hiked 9 miles!

We ate a late lunch with Loon, who we have been leap frogging all day, at Maupin Field Shelter. At Reeds Gap there was trail magic, more soda. So divine on a hot day.

At 5pm we stopped for water at a stream and met section hikers going south who warned us the water was a slow trickle, was not dependable right now, at Dripping Rock, our intended destination.

After our experience at Salt Log Gap we don't want to go without water again so we tanked up and carried all that weight for the last 2 miles.

We get to Dripping Rock and true to its name the rock is dripping and the water is just fine! There is plenty of water here. I don't know what those section hikers were talking about. Section hikers.

It was so hot this afternoon. We were dripping sweat and even Padawan was stripped down to her sports bra (she usually prefers her long sleeved top to protect her from the bugs). Some of us experienced nasty crotch chaffing in this heat.

By the time we got to camp at 7pm we were exhausted from the heat, sore from the chaffing, and @toesalad was especially tired from carrying pounds of extra water.

My camera display died again from being carried against my sweaty body. This is both frustrating as heck and disgusting.

We are too tired to make supper tonight. But thankfully there are familiar faces here - Pending, Botany, Yellowbeard, Lazer Cat, & Patch. Cheese Squeeze and other food bag goodies were shared around the fire. Shared food, shared memories. Hanging out with other thru-hikers has redeemed the day.

I think everyone is going to bed happy and restored from the campfire.

Day 62 - Trent's Grocery to Wood's Hole Hostel

15.2 miles

Started today by stopping at Dismal Falls and having breakfast.

It was beautiful hiking this morning, dappled light through the trees, and easy flat rolling terrain (my favorite) to Wapiti Shelter (we didn't stop there).

After the last couple days, with long stretches between water, we appreciated today's plentiful water. Lots of streams and footbridges.

As the day wore-on the hiking grew boring and tedious, but we had a beautiful view over the valley.

We hadn't planned to stay at Wood's Hole Hostel tonight, we thought we'd just check it out. But once the kids arrived they didn't want to leave, I don't blame them.

The bunkhouse is full so we're camping behind the main house, beyond the parking area (not so scenic, but we aren't here for the camping). We are not impressed with price of $10/person, that is a ridiculous price for a family to camp on the AT. The whole scene made me cranky. But after we went down to the bunk house to cook supper I stared to relax.

I enjoyed the best milkshake smoothie ever, made with Amish-made ice cream and berries.

This place is very peaceful.

I spent some time by myself reading Neville's old (public) journals while @toesalad cooked us mac n' cheese for supper (one of our trail favorites).

I was so inspired by Neville's honest, open writing about the process of making dreams come true. I was sitting in the end product and experiencing the dream of a hiker hostel and reading back on her struggles to get there, to get here. It was the full circle picture, the idea made real.

Since I've been struggling with my writing and decided to take a blogging sabbatical this summer, I looked at this writing with increased interest and inspiration about how to return to my blog (someday) and how to write more true to my experience, the struggles in making dreams and big ideas become reality, the struggles of living.

I'm going to bed tonight satisfied with the day and though I'm still heartbroken about not blogging this summer and taking a writing break, I feel there is hope for the future of my writing and that the break will change and grow my writing for the better.

Had a nice evening laughing with hiker friends. @celine met Taka and Loon who she didn't meet earlier this week at Chatfield Memorial because she was sleeping. It was a great connection.

Day 8 - Cheese Factory Site Camp on Tray Mountain to Deep Gap Shelter

9.4 miles

Rainy, windy, and cold.

Today was not pleasant but we made it through. And we're sleeping warm and dry tonight and that's a gift after the day we experienced.

In the wee hours of the morning Toesalad and Otter crawled into the 3 person Hilleberg the girls and I shared for the night. It had been raining for a few hours and their tent was leaking, apparently due to insufficient seam sealing.

As the five of us squished together in a three person tent for the remainder of a fitful sleep I was a bit grumpy that my sleep was interrupted. And the tent got kind of steamy with all that body heat and close proximity, though not too smelly as we had just returned to the trail from our resupply.

But mostly what I experienced was a feeling of intense closeness with my family (duh). I don't know that we'd ever all shared a bed before and certainly not one barely the width of a Queen sized mattress. I felt a deep sense of safety and security in that space. I wouldn't want to do this often but it was memorable.

We left camp at 9:45. Even though we were cramped in the tent, it was hard to get going in the morning with the intermittent rain. I just wanted to stay in bed.

We saw Bloodroot and Red Hawk today, they left camp this morning before we did. It seems everyone leaves camp before we do. And at midday, just when we needed a break we came across Ken and Preacher who had set up a tarp.

They offered us a space to sit, more crowding together (rain seems to do that), we took a break for maybe 15 minutes and Preacher prayed with our family.

It was too cold today to break for long. As soon as we stopped moving our bodies cooled down so we kept moving.

The hiking today was wet, muddy and kind of miserable, at least for me. The kids did awesome. I complained more than they did.

We arrived at the shelter at 4:30, tired and wet. That's a great time for us considering we left camp at 9:45 this morning. We had very few breaks due to the weather and that helped our hiking pace.

This is the first shelter we've slept in. We staked our spots in the sleeping loft, ate supper, hung our food bags, tidied our gear down below and were cozy in our sleeping bags, drawing or reading, when at 8:30 a group of at least 4 more guys showed up. I couldn't tell exactly.

Full house in the shelter tonight but we are so thankful we didn't have to set up our wet tents.

We'll see how well we sleep with all these people in the shelter. It's interesting to share such a small space with a group of strangers and hear their conversations.

Weather should clear tomorrow, which would be wonderful.

Day 15 - Cold Spring Shelter to Nantahala Outdoor Center (NOC)

11.7 miles

The day started overcast in weather and in my mood.

As we were leaving Cold Spring Shelter, a family was hiking through who are section hiking the trail over the course of 4 years. They do 20 mile days. Their kids are similar ages to ours, and younger. I was discouraged by this, to say the least. 20 miles a day.

So I started the day in tears about my inadequacies. A big change from one week ago when I felt I could conquer the world. In fact, I had a few confident and overly optimistic days there where I thought I might actually be able to rid myself of my perennial insecurities on this hike. Ha!

My mood improved through the day as the weather deteriorated.

When we were leaving camp we found, what we thought was abandoned or forgotten food bag. As far as we could tell we were the very last people out this morning, and there were a lot of people here last night. We didn't see anyone around and figured the bag must have been misplaced, though it is hard to believe a thru-hiker would misplace this. But because no one was around, or at the toilets, we thought the best thing to do was to carry the bag out to the NOC and find its owner there.

Damien carried that bag, an extra few pounds, for 9 miles, almost the whole day's hike till the Danish owner caught up with us and took it back. Turns out he hadn't forgotten it.

Last night he had hung his food bag with another hiker's bag. That hiker had left camp early this morning and taken his food bag but left the Danish man's bag leaning against a tree in the open area for him to pick up on his way out. The Dane slept-in a bit and pitched his tent well hidden and away from the general camp area. When he got up his food bag was gone! He thought maybe someone had played a practical joke on him.

That bag had not just food but also his stove. And we took it.

Our intentions were good but the gesture and effort were not particularly appreciated, though he was a good sport.

We hiked through a real downpour today, while carrying that bag, but the temperature was ok so we didn't get cold.

Arrived at the NOC around 3:30. @toesalad secured us a tent spot across the river and above the train tracks while the kids and I snacked on fries in the riverside cafe.

We ate supper in the restaurant with Bloodroot, Red Hawk, Lumberjack, and Mailman. Those were the best burgers! Had a great night after supper, catching up with SOG and other hikers, such a fun camaraderie.

I'm with the girls again tonight and they are being delightfully silly with each other, something they don't do often. I think we're all excited about tomorrow's zero. It will be our first day of no hiking since we started the trail 2 weeks ago. I don't have to get up early (oh, what a wonderful feeling) but I'm going to sleep pretty soon regardless. Looking forward to tomorrow.

Day 75 - Petites Gap to Saltlog Gap

17.3 miles

Left camp at 7:30, ready to hike.

It was a pleasant morning, no rain, but coolish.

Ate breakfast at Marble Spring, the trail ran along the side of the mountain with a view back to Apple Orchard Mountain, which we hiked yesterday. Took a late lunch break at Matts Creek Shelter, took some good video footage on the way there. Saw Strawberry again.

The entire family was fairly cheery through the morning and early afternoon. Walked along James River and then across the James River footbridge. Met a thru-hiker "jumper" on the bridge, going for a swim in a warm afternoon.

The climb after Johns Hollow Shelter was hard. It was mid-afternoon and we still had 2,300 feet elevation to climb before our plans to make camp at Saltlog Gap. (What a name.)

There were some beautiful views back to the James River after we climbed Big Rocky Row mountain.

Saw a new purple, bell-shaped flower today and lots of wild roses on the top of Big Rocky Row, the warm air was heady with their fragrance.

We arrived at Saltlog Gap, which is a swath of 2 foot high nettle, at 6:00pm tired and thirsty as we had finished most of our water by this time. The AT Guide shows water being .5 miles west of the trail, so while Damien started getting supper stuff unpacked I went to get water. Except that I couldn't find water. The trail leading west was overgrown with nettles and I couldn't find a water source anywhere.

I came back to camp a little frazzled and @toesalad set out looking for water. While he looked we finished setting up camp. He spent about an hour looking, both east and west from the gap.

No water. After a day of hiking over 17 miles, and climbing 2,300 feet late in the day, we arrived at camp with only 1/2 litre left between the five of us.

At this point it was past 7:30. One option was to take down camp and hike another 3.1 miles up and over Bluff Mountain to the next water source at Punchbowl Shelter, another 1.5 hours or so of hiking. But we're already really tired and we've experienced three nights of thunderstorms now. We do not want to be on the summit of a mountain in anything like the evening weather we've experienced the past few days.

So, we've decided to stay. But without water we can't cook, which means we can't eat supper, our food bags are getting low on snacks, we'll need those for tomorrow and we don't want to eat any salty snacks, it will only make us more thirsty. For supper, we ate the only non-salty food in our bag, Lindt chocolate balls.

Tonight we go to bed hungry and thirsty and we'll hike out first thing in the morning. With no cooking and no cleaning we were in bed by 8pm, the sweat of the day's exertion dried to our skin.

We are expecting rain tonight after the weather of the past few nights so we've set out all our cooking pots and titanium mugs to catch anything that falls. If it doesn't rain we'll be fine. We're only 3.1 miles from water.

The kids are in remarkable spirits considering they're going to bed hungry. Padawan is singing in our tent and sharing a video game with Tenacious Bling, the most connecting she's done with Tenacious Bling for days. Coming together in adversity?

Tales of camping on the coast.

(And the kind of camping we prefer)

We left Berkeley, CA three days ago, on a Saturday afternoon, to drive north up the coast, along routes 1 and 101, to get to Oregon and then Washington.

We decided to not plan this part of our trip too much because we wanted to take our time driving up the coast and we didn't know exactly where we'd be and when we'd be there. To "take our time driving" means to not drive 10 hour days along the most expedient and efficient interstate routes, but to take the more scenic routes, and spread out the driving days a bit and enjoy the scenery along the way. Granted, we only had two days to drive through Northern California so that necessitated driving, and not hiking, through some of the most beautiful terrain I've ever seen.

Unfortunately, taking the scenic route, without reservations, on a weekend, made finding good camp sites tricky.

Ideally, we like to camp in state parks and national forests. These kind of camp sites are often situated in beautiful areas and don't provide the amenities sought by RV'ers or weekend campers (swimming pools, camp stores, and mini-golf). State parks and National Forest campgrounds lack the hot showers and flush toilets of fancier places but they are also more affordable ($16/night vs. $40/night) and more natural. They are the places we prefer to stay, for so many reasons.

Generally, there are two ways to get campsites in State Parks and National Forests. A certain number of sites are available for online, advance reservation. The rest are first come first serve.

On our unplanned, unscheduled drive along the northern coast of California we didn't make advance reservations (it was unplanned, after all), we couldn't stop driving for the day at 1pm to get the first come first serve beautiful State park sites (seriously, some of them were the most swoon worthy camping I've seen), we had limited internet access to research and book sites while driving, and the National Forests were too far off our route to access the free dispersed camping option.

We did the best we could with what we had but we spent more than what we wanted for sites that were not what we wanted. That's sometimes how it goes.

Our first night we found a site via HipCamp - 3 G Familia Farm, just outside Manchester, CA. It was Saturday night, all the other private campgrounds along the ocean were booked (and some were ridiculous prices - $60/night to pitch a tent!), and then we stumbled along this place for $40/night with no potable water and porta-potties.

There was a group of Abalone divers camping at the site that night and they invited us to their potluck and shared their breaded and fried Abalone with us. It was a very cool experience meeting them and learning about Abalone diving. Interesting people make all the difference. I couldn't recommend this site without the Abalone.

Our second night we needed showers and we had a full day of scenic driving, along the coast and then through Redwoods, so we needed to book a site at a place where we could arrive later in evening and know we'd have a place to pitch a tent and get cleaned up. $46 bought us that privilege at a private campground in Klamath.

It also bought us the privilege of having floodlights illuminate our site, (smack dab in the middle of the campground), to wake up to the resident rooster crowing at 5:30am, followed shortly thereafter by the diesel truck next door idling for a good 10 minutes before finally leaving camp for who-knows-where. Unfortunately there were no interesting people or Abalone to make up for the site's deficiencies. But there was the trickle of hot water in which we could all wash up, that's something to be grateful for.

Camping along the coast was not what I had envisioned but to have the experience I had idealized we would have had to plan months in advance or cut short our driving at 1pm to snag the first come first serve sites.

After our two nights camping we stayed at the home of an online acquaintance in Oregon wine country. No camping necessary. Fluffy towels and pizza on the deck.

Today, a Tuesday afternoon, we arrived at Tinkham Campground, along the South Fork Snoqualmie River to secure a site for our next two nights. @toesalad is working this week and we needed close access to a town (North Bend). Mid-week there were plenty non-reserved sites to choose from, all of them beautiful. No RV's or mini-golf in sight. We paid $32 for two nights of accommodations, just off interstate 90 in the the beautiful Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest.

We won't be served Abalone or hear the distant surf of the ocean (full disclosure: we hear I-90 instead) but neither will we be woken by roosters or diesel engines or the high powered bathroom hand dryers. And we're in the woods. Home away from home.

Why the Appalachian Trail

For the past two years my husband has had a job with two different railroad companies. For the first year we were not allowed to travel with him so the kids and i loaded up our tent in our truck and headed to Texas in February of 2016 where we officially began our adventure of fulltime traveling in the Big Thicket of Texas.

In August of 2016 my husband switched rail companies to one that would allow us to take our 27 ft travel trailer and travel with him.  While we were at a campground near Boiling Springs, PA, I began researching the area for hiking trails (which I did everywhere we went) when I was told that the Appalachian trail was less than an eighth of a mile from the back of the campground. I had heard of the AT a few times before but never thought anything of it. We are from Little Rock, AR and we hiked Pinnacle Mt. a few times and I even remembered one time running into a guy who was wearing this enormous pack literally running up and down the hill. Looking back I recalled finally asking him (after he passed us about 3 times) why on earth he was carrying that huge bag and going up and down so many times. He replied that he was training for a thru hike on the Appalachian Trail. "Cool" I said and wished him good luck all the while thinking he was insane to even contemplate that. All of this came rushing back while the lady was explaining all the hiking trails in the area. I blew it off and thanked her for the info still having no intention of trying the AT. I messaged my Aunt who is also a fulltime traveler and we often exchange our traveling adventures and told her about the conversation I had had with the lady in the office. She went on and on about how awesome it was that I  had an opportunity to be on the AT and begged me to at least set my feet on it and send her a picture (she LOVES feet pictures). So.. My oldest daughter (Ashley) and myself decided on Easter Sunday we would just go walk a little bit on it and leave the younger kids with their dad for the afternoon. We had gone to church that morning and had a flashlight egg hunt planned that evening so he was just cooking out at the camper and we were itching to get out. We began on the rugged trail behind the tent area of the campground and expected just another ordinary trail once we hit the AT. Little did I know what a surprise I was in for. As soon as we came to the T from the campground trail to the AT it was like a whole new magical world opened up. We looked to the right, then the left and then we saw it... The white blaze... We were mesmerized. We decided to hike to the left and crossed a wooden bridge across a crystal clear creak and then we just walked and walked and climbed this insanely steep hill. I thought we were going to die just trying to climb it but we kept going. When we reached the top, we realized it was about to storm so we decided to go back to the campground despite the incredible urge to just go on and not stop. Over the next few days, we discovered the town of Boiling Springs and the AT Conservancy there, which we visited a few times in the next week and probably drove the lady at the desk nuts with all of our questions. We found out that the mountain we had climbed was actually the original halfway point of the AT and had we known that, we would have known to look around for the original plaque for it. (We will find it next year!!!) We began watching youtube videos and my daughter decided she wanted to thru hike. I told her she wasn't doing it alone but she didn't have any friends  that could do it with her so on a whim I started googling families and kids that had completed a thru hike. I found a youtube series made by @toesalad about a family with 3 kids that did a thru hike and we watched all of their episodes. I decided if they could do it, we could to. My husband was leery, and didn't really want to support it at first with understandable concerns, but he at least listened to us and watched a few videos of families and kids and what the trail had done for them. That was it. While I still sometimes question why,  we decided the 6 of us (me and the 5 kids) were going to thru hike in 2018. It was going to be our last big adventure with me and the 5 kids before Ashley flew the nest.  We have camped and hiked. We had even done backwoods camping, just with a regular tent and camping equipment, but we had never backpacked, nor did we have any gear for any of us for backpacking. I was so out of shape and weighed in at the most I have ever weighed at 270 lbs. It just didn't make sense for me to be even thinking about this. I didn't care. All i could think about was the day we set foot on the trail and how it kept calling me back. On May 1 of 2017 my husband lost his job with the rail company. We were in Hagerstown, MD when he was let go and we had one night left in the hotel. The kids and I of course had found a trailhead for the AT and begged him to hike with us so he could see the trail for himself, so before we left Hagerstown, he agreed to the 3ish mile hike to Annapolis Rock and he even got to see one of the shelters and how well the trail was marked and traveled. This helped alleviate his worries quite a bit. On May 2 we left Hagerstown and we landed in WV as camp hosts for about 2 months, and then moved on to Oklahoma for another camp host job hoping to find my husband a regular job there.

Fast forward and life got in the way a little. Ashley decided to move back to Arkansas on our way through to Oklahoma and got a fulltime job and was no longer able to commit to a thru hike. I was devastated and due to her cancelling and fear of being able to afford gear, etc I cancelled our plans for it as well. The more I tried to not think about it, the more I couldn't stop thinking about it and I finally realized that whether I knew the reason or not, we HAD to do this thing and we HAD to do it in 2018 whether Ashley could go or not. I had no idea how we were going to afford the gear, how I was going to pull it off in such short time, etc, I just knew without a shadow of a doubt that we were going to do it. Phillipians 4:6-7 says ....

"Be careful for nothing; but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus."  

This was how I felt and still feel. Every time I think about how much money the gear we still need is going to cost, or how we are going to handle food, or how I will get in shape before we leave, or how afraid I am of sleeping in the middle of nowhere with bears and coyotes and lord knows what else around, my soul is silenced with this incredible peace that tells me our gear and food will be provided and we will be kept safe. I still can't completely wrap my head around it and probably won't for a very long time but I do know that this hike is about so much more than just me or the kids and our "story".

In August of 2017, My Husband was offered an amazing job back in Little Rock, AR. We found a quaint little house to rent (for now) where there is even a hookup in the yard for the camper and Ashley and Lacey are now roommates in our camper. A few friends have stepped up and donated some used gear and I have found a few things at second hand stores or on clearance. Things are falling into place and while we still have 4 months left to finish planning, I feel like it's just tomorrow. I am excited, nervous, scared, and a whole slew of other emotions but most of all I am blessed.