4/7/17

Day 27 on the Trail

Today was a great day! I was in the best mood ever today and I hope that it will carry over to tomorrow. I woke up this morning at Uncle Jonny's Hostel and had an awesome breakfast before getting back on the trail. It was 4 servings of oatmeal and a poptart.

As we started hiking we crossed over the Nolichucky River and up the trail we went. Along the way we saw a red salamander with black spots. It was in the middle of the trail and seemed to be drying out so I took out my water and put a few drops on its skin to hopefully prolong its life!

We also hiked in 6 inches of snow that had fallen last night. It was not to fun with high
winds and trail shoes that weren't waterproof. But snow always makes things more beautiful! On top of Unaka Mountain there is a spruce forest which was covered in snow. This made for a mystic look that will never be forgotten. I will say though the hike up the mountain was not too easy.

Today we also said goodbye to a few of the people we had been hiking with off and on since the Smokies. They weren't gonna be able to keep the pace that Max and I want to get to. Maybe we will see them down the trail though.

20.2 miles from Uncle Jonny's Hostel is where I'm staying tonight. It is at a road crossing around Iron Mountain Gap. Looks like it's gonna be a cold night with temperatures dipping below freezing and killer winds. Hopefully tomorrow won't be to cold.

Tomorrow we have another 21 miles to a shelter that is a barn! We are excited to see how neat it is. Continue to pray for our health, the opportunities to share the Gospel, and grow personally in Christ! Thanks for all the love and support show, it is greatly appreciated.




- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Location:Iron Mountain Gap

4/6/17

Day 26 on the Trail

It has been a great day today. Last night the weather called for awful rain and storms through the night and all day. I've come to realize that the weather is wrong a lot of times. Yes, it rained off and on all day but not to the extent of what the weather app was saying.

After waking up at a good time this morning we crushed 6.1 miles from No Business Knob Shelter to Uncle Jonny's Hostel in under 2 hours. This put us here at 10:00 am!

What to do with so much time? Up until now we hadn't really had this much time to burn. It was really nice to have time to get things done. I downloaded some more music from Spotify, got some groceries, and repacked my food bag from a resupply drop.

The part I love talking about was the food! Today for lunch we went to an ACE (all you can eat) restaurant. It was called pizza plus and boy did I eat some pizza. I must have had 20 slices. Then a few hours later we had dinner at a Mexican restaurant! Couldn't pass on the Arroz con Pollo dish, which is just grilled chicken over a bed of rice and covered with queso. Needless to say I am stuffed and probably ate enough for a few days of hiking.

One funny thing that happened today was we had a competition in the hostel bunk house to see who had the heaviest and lightest food bag. Mine was the heaviest by far at over 16 pounds which was 2 pounds over the next closest. I'm going to have a long day hiking tomorrow, especially since it is hiking out of a valley.

At first I wanted to get a cabin to myself instead of the bunkhouse today. I'm glad that it was all sold out because I got to hangout with everyone. This will help grow closer to the people that are hiking with me! So glad to be out here and living the dream while sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ! Thanks for the continued prayers and support.


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Location:Uncle Jonny's Hostel

4/5/17

Day 25 on the Trail

Today was a pretty good day! Woke up this morning to the sunrise get over the mountains. With us camping in the meadow on top of one of the mountains the sunrise was spectacular. While watching it, we were able to even cook breakfast from our tents, this was great seeing how it was chilly this morning.

It was an easy day hiking compared to usual. We hiked 16.5 miles to No Business Knob Shelter. The reason we didn't do to many miles today was because we wanted to get into Erwin tomorrow morning. Erwin is only 5 miles away from this shelter, which won't even take 2 hours.

I thought the name of this shelter was pretty peculiar when I first heard it. Later I finally realized that the reason it is called "No Business" Knob Shelter is due to the fact that it does t have a privy (composting toilet).

It was also nice that we were able to hangout with people we have already met. Again we are with P-Nut, Jetpack, and also Lioness. They are pretty cool, like most on the trail they are heavy with language though. P-Nut also said that he was going to quit smoking this morning. As of now I think he still is going strong! Keep him and his quitting in your prayers. It's amazing to see how some people change for the better out here! God really moves on the trail.

Tonight is calling for some rough weather so please pray for our safety and good health! Thanks for everything y'all do!


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Location:No Business Knob Shelter

4/4/17

Day 24 on the Trail

What an awesome day it was. Woke up this morning and had a great breakfast. Breakfasts burritos with eggs, bacon bits and cheese. We took our time leaving camp this morning which was kind of nice.

As we started walking the sun came out and it soon became one of the prettiest days yet in terms of weather. The terrain was also not to hard this morning which was great.

Today we made it around 20 miles to a little meadow close to 2 miles before Low Gap. The reason we didn't do 25 mile like we planned was because there was no need. We wanted to be in Erwin around 11 on Thursday and we have like 23 miles left. We could get there tomorrow if we wanted.

Physically, I'm doing pretty good. My knee was a little tender today but luckily I had a knee brace that I put on which helped tremendously. Other than that there isn't to much to complain about. My feet feel great since I got these trail runners. I feel like I can literally hike 30 miles and be fine.

Mentally, I'm doing well. I miss everyone back home like crazy but that's to be expected when this is the longest I've been away from home. The worst days are when there is bad weather, so today I was in a great mood.

Spirituality, I feel like I am getting stronger each day. Spending time in the word and strengthening my relationship has been a focus recently. I think by not having as many opportunities to share yet means that I've had more time to grow myself. Still waiting on God to put someone in our path but I know it will come.

Hope everyone has a great rest of the week! Continue to pray for good health and opportunities to share the Gospel! Thanks for all the support!!


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Location:Mile 320 (Meadow)

4/3/17

Day 23 on the Trail

Today was a day of ups and downs. This morning we woke up and got out of camp around 8:30 and decided to push to the. Ext shelter to have breakfast in. As we arrived the rain began and it didn't stop until after lunch around 2:30. So we got completely soaked, but it wasn't as bad as you would think.

The best part of the day was after the rain stopped. The skies cleared up some and we got to hike on some awesome ridges. The wind was so powerful that I had to lean into it to keep from falling over. The views were incredible though.

Another thing that happened today was we reached the 300 mile mark! It's close to 1/7 of the way through with the trail.

As we made camp tonight we met back up with a lot of people we met before Hot Springs. This shelter is packed, it might be one of the most packed one I've seen.

Ministry out here is alright, not as many opportunities as I would have liked but the way I think about it is God will put people and opportunities in my path when he sees it fit. Still just getting to know stories and helping people however they need it.

The rain took it out of me today, I'm exhausted. A huge day tomorrow so it's time to rest up. Thanks again for prayers and support, it means so much to me.


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Location:Jerry's Cabin Shelter

4/2/17

Day 21 & 22 on the Trail

So yesterday was the 21st day on the trail and I took what hikers call a "zero day." This is just a day where you don't hike any miles. I stayed in Myra's Cottage right outside of Hot Springs with my family and girlfriend. It was great to get to see them and spend some time with them while I rested for the day. We only briefly went to town to grab some lunch and a few things for my hike. Other than that we spent the day enjoying the tranquility of Myra's Cottage.

Today was a hard day for me at the beginning. I woke up this morning and had to go through all my gear and try to send surf back home that I didn't need. I felt like I didn't have enough time to do this, but it was due to my procrastination. We were able to all eat breakfast as a family before we left to go into town.

In town I was able to get the last of the things I needed for resupply. Which was just a knee brace, fuel for my stove, and a new water bottle. Next we met Max's family at the diner for lunch. This was pretty nice to have our families together right before we left back for the trail. Mama Nash even made a cake for my birthday, which was incredible!

The hardest part of the day is what came next. It was saying goodbye to everyone. I felt like I didn't have enough time with them but I knew I had to get back on the trail so I wouldn't go back home. It was tough but knowing my mission wasn't complete made me push on.

We then hiked 9 miles to Rich Mountain Camp where we set up for the evening. The hike was awesome and we passed a place called lovers leap where you could look out and see the whole town of Hot Springs. We made great timing to camp. I think it had to do with the new trail runners we picked up back in town. My feet deal a whole lot better now that they aren't crammed in my boots.

We were able to camp with grasshopper, cricket, fadora the explorer, gourmet, and hop-a-long. They are cool, I had met a few of them before so I was able to talk to them more. One of them had carried a guitar from town that some of them were playing and singing. It made me want to learn to play.

Now it's time for bed though, gonna try to get up early tomorrow. Thanks again for all the love and support back home!


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Location:Rich Mountain Camp

3/30/17

Day 20 on the Trail

Today was exactly what I had hoped for, for the most part! Max and I woke up this morning with 3.4 miles to go to get into Hot Springs North Carolina. This was such a great feeling considering we are about to take 2 days in town to rest and recuperate. The best part about it is that our families were gonna meet us in town.

Our families weren't going to be to Hot Springs until later in the evening so when we awoke after a sleepless night, at least for me. We decided to take it easy and not get in a rush to get into town. Why get into town and sit around until the evening? This might have been a mistake, with our minds skewed from the unreliable weather report, we set out for Hot Springs around 9.

Side story... the reason the night was so sleepless was due to being kept awake by the sound of scurrying mice along the rafters and walls of the shelter. This was an all night ordeal that started at around 7 in the evening. Yes, we went to bed at 7, because we got into a shelter with a group of early birds. So while everyone else is tired and sleeping Max and I are wide awake laugh and trying to see the mice. Let me tell you, sometimes it can be quite hard to be quiet in the shelter. Anyways, the mice were just looking for food that hikers might have dropped throughout the day. I had a few times where they would run across the top of my sleeping pad, or try to get into my hat which was nasty, and also the reason why I couldn't sleep. By morning no damage was done though and we were able to pack up and head for town.

Now, back to hiking to town. Around 200 yards from the shelter we noticed 2 grave sites which was creepy. Some say they haunt the shelter, I say it was the mice that did the haunting. But nevertheless after around half a mile down the trail it starts to pour rain. Completely caught us off guard due to the fact that the weather reports said it was supposed to be clear until 10 that evening. So we threw on our rain gear and decided to make a quick trip of the last 3 miles. Needless to say we made it down the mountain to town in under an hour. Oh and the rain decided to stop as we reached town also!

Once we got into town we were informed of a free breakfast for hikers. There is nothing more satisfying to here, especially when you had no breakfast because you ran out of food, than free food! So Max and I went to check it out. A local ministry outreach program was the ones hosting this free breakfast. The owner of a small house trailer right inside of town has been doing this for a few years __________. What was cool was churches from around the country can sign up for a week during the hiking season to come and serve the hikers breakfast and lunch. This is such a great idea! The place stayed pack the whole day and man of the hikers were able to take resupply backs that had the book of John in them.

After amazing breakfast, we went to the local outfitter to pick up a few things. One of the items I had to get was another pair of shoes. It might be hard to believe, but over just 270 or so miles, my feet have grown a whole size bigger. This is due to hiking for extended period of time with extra weight on my back. Another item is a long sleeve light weight shirt for sunny days. I've already gotten burnt a time or two out here and sunscreen is to heavy to carry in my opinion.

We then met up with another hiker named Jedi and went to get some lunch. The only time we had previously met Jedi was last night before we went to bed. He came rolling in late after a long day of hiking. So when we went to get lunch at the Spring Creek Tavern we were able to get to know him better. He was from California, and previously in the Air Force. I thought it was neat that he mentioned that he kept his Bible on his kindle. I never thought of that and it saves a ton on weight. While eating this huge black and blue burger, which was delicious, we met some guys Jedi was previously hiking with. It was two older gentlemen who were section hiking the whole trail. After talking to them for a while, they offered to give us a ride to Max's cabin. Their names were Obi One and I forget the other

Before they finished their lunch though, Max and I were able to run to the local ice cream shop and get the best ice cream I might have ever ate. It consisted of a warm apple fritter on the bottom with a huge scoop of cinnamon ice cream topped with cinnamon apple slices and whipped cream.

After ice cream we met back up with them and rode up to Max's cabin. It was great to get a shower and relax a little while as we waited on our families to get there. His family arrived first around 4! So I hung out with them for a while which was cool to see some familiar faces, plus I kinda feel like part of their family now! We went to the local diner around 6:30 which is where I my family met me.

Couldn't put into words how glad I was to see them. This weekend is one that I have been waiting for, for quite some time. After eating a huge 20oz hamburger steak with gravy and mashed potatoes, we headed off to our cottage! We are staying at Myra' Cottage, this place is awesome. It is a little cottage in the woods that is surrounded by a scenic view! My favorite part is the back porch that overlooks a little stream and grassy area. I wouldn't mind living here.

So needless to say it has been a fun filled, busy day. It's now time to let my body recover a little bit!

I hope everyone is doing well back home! Thanks again for all the support and prayers!


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Location:Myra's Cottage