Day 42, Sat
Start Fontana NC 28 Crossing
End Birch Gap campground Great Smokey Mountains National Park
Colleen/"Buttercup" dropped us back off at the NC 28 crossing and we headed north crossing Fontana Dam and entering the Smokies.
Hendo, Buttercup and Hendo's Mom at the end of a great Zero Day visit
Back on the AT following the whiteblazes that mark trail, you find blazes in the craziest of places, on the back of street signs
Whiteblaze marking the AT north on a water fountain
Hendo's Mom crossing Fontana Dam
We made it!!!! Entering the Smokies
Depositing our AT thru-hiker Great Smokey Mountains National Park permits, cost $20 each
Making progress. Nice pictures. Some parts of those trails look more like climbing up the side of the mountain, can understand how that slows people down. Looks like you are plugging along and overcoming your obstacles. Based on the information you provided on day 37, you went 148 miles so have 2,032 miles to go. Your current pace is 4 miles/day, including all your zero days. At that pace you will be finished in 545 days. Baxter State Park, location of Mount Katahdin is open year round but summer overnight camping is 5/15-10/15 and winter overnight camping is 12/1-3/31. If you increase your pace to 10 miles/day you will finish on 11/9/14 (any zero days would require additional makeup miles). To make it to Katahdin by 10/15/14, you will need to keep a 11.4 miles pace with no zero days. Add zero days, increase the pace. Like you state, everyone does their own hike, keep true to that. Good luck.
ReplyDeleteI think they realize this fully. I applaud the fact that these two ladies are facing and overcoming obstacles of their own that other hikers could never understand, let alone judge. Their pace is what keeps them on the trail, and there is no time limit to finishing - even when Katahdin closes, perhaps they will still be on the trail...Long after the rest of us have vacated or completed... That in its own would be quite the "Hat's Off" salute to damn-dogged-determination which in my meager opinion far surpasses one who finishes the trail in 3.5 months!
DeleteSO... Soldier On Ladies! The Turtle Always Beats the Hare :-)
Hey Ladies! Way to Soldier On! I'm Sky Chicken, retired girly-helo pilot heading back to the trails, will be SoBo plan for 01June14 hoping Katahdin will be open by then, AND the normally small streams in south end of 100 mile wilderness will be fordable! Either way, I am cheering you both on. take your time and let your body set the pace. Let's keep in touch and meet up on the trail when our Victors Intersect! GODSPEED to you Both!
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