We have been on the trail for just over two weeks and the days are already starting to run together. I generally have no idea what day of the week it is and keep track of time by how many days we’ve been on the trail and how far to our next resupply town (and restaurant meal). It has been a very interesting change of perspective! For the record, it is day 16 and we have 2 days until our next resupply town.
We’ve already hit a couple of milestones that, while small, were still very exciting! We’ve completed our first state (Georgia), and hit the 100-mile marker in North Carolina! It definitely helped us feel some of the progress we are making.
Also, this isn’t necessarily a milestone, but I had the best trail magic so far – breakfast burritos. These people are heroes.
As we’ve been progressing north, we have already started to see the landscape changing. While the mountain views are largely similar at every peak, the trail and surrounding scenery definitely feels different than Georgia. We have experienced some very rocky trails, sparse plant life, remnants of wildfires, and most recently started seeing more pine trees. It’s so nice to begin recognizing those changes! Another noticeable difference in North Carolina is the trail maintenance. The last 50 miles have felt like an obstacle course as we have had to figure out how to maneuver over hundreds of downed trees over the trail. Do we go under, over, or around it? Will it hold our weight or is it unstable? Do I have to take my pack off for this? It definitely adds to the adventure! As seen in the photos, we have been super lucky with the weather. Chilly nights, but beautiful sunny days!
While the trail is a bit rougher, we have found some really nice campsites in North Carolina. The further north we go, the fewer hikers we see (as people leave the trail), and the quieter and more peaceful the campsites are. It has been a real treat! Enjoy some pics of our camp life.
We have also gotten to the point recently where we feel like we can eat whatever we want and as much as we want without ever feeling full. Seriously! I have never had such an insatiable hunger in all my life. It feels almost impossible to eat enough while on the trail. Food is so heavy, you can only carry so much. And exhaustion generally takes over at the end of the day making sleep more desirable than a second bowl of ramen. Towns have been huge motivators to hike faster because it means big, satisfying meals! Not to mention a beer or two 🙂
Over the last week, we have been trying to up our mileage. Our goal right now is to hike no less than 10 miles per day, but shoot more for 12-13 (depending on the terrain). We would like to be at around 15 miles a day within the next couple of weeks! Eventually, consecutive 20 mile days will be the goal but we are not putting any timelines on that one yet. That seems pretty far down the road! A 12-13 mile day is already a solid challenge for us. By the end of the day our feet are definitely ready for a break! But as we started with 8-10 miles a day, we are happy with the progress.
We are having a relaxed day today as tomorrow we have our biggest climb yet – 8 miles uphill with 4300 feet of elevation gain. It’s gonna be a long one! We are currently about 40 miles away from the Smoky Mountains, so we are looking forward to entering the national park next week!
Wandering Between Meals 
We just came into NC today! It’s good to know we’ll need to be watching our step a bit closer on this section of the trail. 😂 Glad your hike has been going so well!