April 30

Woke up rested and refreshed after tenting next to the river. Sleeping  with the fly open on my tent let a gentle breeze through all night long.

After a brisk climb of pond mountain, we descended upon watauga lake and dam. The dam is still a functioning hydroelectric power plant put up by the TVA in the 40's. Even though the lake was beautiful with picnic tables, bathrooms, and a nice beach, I didn't tarry too long as it threatened to vortex away my time on a good hiking day.

After starting to hike again, or maybe while sitting at the beach, I noticed it was hot, not yet humid, just hot. Drank a lot of water and sweated probably most of it right back out during the climb to the shelter. The climb seemed to have a  steeper grade than usual. It was rather obvious we were climbing quickly by looking at adjacent mountains. After dodging a threatening thunderstorm, we arrived at the Vanderverder shelter (434.0). It has a view!

April 29

Woke up about 7 to a temperate day. Had three packs of oatmeal and a poptart for breakfast. Started hiking in a rather nondescript forest with the AT looking just like any old hiking path.

After putting in 16 of our 18 miles for the day, we happened to find ourselves with an incredible opportunity: we could go to town and meet a local AT trail building legend named Bob Peoples. After Willie and I caught a ride into town via Bob, we bought a pint of ice cream each, two tallboys each, and a Little Caesars pizza to split. Perhaps not surprisingly, the pizza was terrible. Pretty much the most uninspired pizza ever. But to make the situation better, while eating pizza, we chatted with Bob who told us a lot about how the trails are built, what the process entails, some information about edible plants, and other little facts. For example, he told us why the stairs have 'nasties' (crooked, gnarled, ankle breaking rocks) placed around their edges. The reason being to discourage shortcuts that lead to eventual erosion.

After leaving with a warm good bye and an adnonishment to be careful, we departed into the failing light. Entered the Pond National Wilderness. This area has a sizable river running through it providing views of waterfalls, gurgling sounds, and plentiful shore camping. We opted to tent camp on shore and finish the tallboys before heading to sleep. Stopped at 418.4.

April 27 & 28

These have been the best days of hiking yet. The weather broke late Thursday night leading to a great Friday morning. Started the day with a climb of roan mountain. It was a tough climb, but the view from where the old cloudland hotel was spectacular. The old hotel, now less than a ruin, used to service gentleman and their families during the summer months at the end of the 19th century.

After lunch at the top of roan, Willie and I started an ascent of the humps - little and big. This area looked a lot like Wales. There was nothing at all but miles of grass covered mountain as far as I could see. Great weather and great scenery abounded. Ended the day at the Doll Flats (388.9).

Woke up super early after troubled sleep. There were dogs barking near our site, late hikers coming into camp, and a freak windstorm in the middle of the night. We got up early to make it to an all you can eat diner breakfast. Turns out that the diner was closed on a fluke. Sometimes changes are good though. Due to this change, we caught trail magic and a place called bob's dairyland. I was able to eat the following: a big western omelette, three pancakes, a biscuit, two pieces of pizza, a six inch sub, a pint of ice cream, and some trail mix. Got to love some trail magic :D

Rest of the day was relaxed. Hiked about 9 miles to mountaineering shelter (400.7). Passed a bunch of people hiking 30 miles for cystic fibrosis. For the first time, we passed a river. Got to wash some clothes and get my feet wet.

Looking forward to tomorrow. Thinking of putting about 18 miles in tomorrow.

April 26

After a restful night, I made it to greasy creek gap (366.3) today. Got up early with the best of intentions, but a thunderstorm beat me out of my sleeping bag. Best or most interesting thing today was walking through a very foggy and very dense spruce forrest atop Unaka Mountain.

Rain persists, but learning new stuff everyday. Today I learned that thunder in the mountains sounds like a baking pan being violently shaken in the wind. I also learned what hail sounds like on top of my head (no damage - just shaved ice sized pieces). Due to the rain, my shoes are starting to smell like a dirty dog that rolled in awful. Foot powder maybe? I would like to make it clear it is the rain that is making my shoes smell, not my feet :)

April 25

Rain has been a frequent visitor. It chills me during the day and makes sleep difficult. The good news is that as the low pressure systems slowly move away, the air temperature rises. Today it reached 70 f. This SHOULD mean that getting out of my sleeping bag will be easier in the future...

Made it to curly maple gap shelter (346.2) tonight. Still walking with Kerry and Willy. Last few miles were tough; perhaps I didn't drink enough during the day. At the current pace, should be in Virginia in about a week.

April 24

Made it to bald mountain shelter (325.1) tonight at about 715 pm after an afternoon filled with sideways snow. After the sun set, the temperature dropped steadily to around 25 f. View from big bald was quite nice, but the sneaky climb to the shelter (not mentioned in the elevation profile) was tough after a long day.

Update!

Well, it's clear that Matt hasn't updated this in a while, and I haven't really either... sorry about that. Got to talk to him for a bit on Monday, and had a quick text exchange with him regarding his location Thursday morning as well. Service is apparently horrific in the Smokies... but that's where he is! as of Thursday morning, he was just outside of the Smoky Mountain Border, near or at Davenport Gap Shelter in North Carolina... 237.2 miles into the trek. The average is getting larger now.... it's figuring out to be 5 months on the dot. Speaking to him last Monday I know his ultimate goal is to reach Mt. Katadin between 5 months - 5 months and 2 weeks on the trail. And we all know Matt, once he sets a goal, he either reaches it, or surpasses it like none of us were ready for. So I know he'll make good on his word, and I know you do too. He'll finish this trek, this journey, this incredible goal he's made for himself, and when he's finished, he'll be better for it, and we'll all get to see that great guy we know and love. We're encouraging you from all over the East US and then some, love! Keep goin', One Speed.

- Alissa