I completed the trip in 3.5 days. The shuttle took me about 20 miles BEFORE jones falls. I was astonished to discover this after i'd been dropped off via my GPS and Uncle Johnny was already gone and i had no cell signal. I realized then i had to book it if i was to make it home in time for thanks giving. It was a great trip, roan mountain was the highlight, everything got moist while sleeping up there at night because the grass was so wet. I saw a meteor shower up there too. Watching them break up into tiny fireballs was great. Four Coyotes also tried to get my food on top of roan as well. I saw a few people, but not many. Mostly hunters with shotguns. I wore my blaze orange tobbagan throughout the trip even when it was 60 because of the frequency of the armed hunters. I also got off trail at one point(so did several other AT thru hikers i spoke with at the same confusing location) and i ran into a young girl maybe 18-19 on a four wheeler recovering a bunch of dead possums she has set traps for the night before. It was strange to see a pretty girl doing such a thing.
I think the total mileage was somewhere around 70 as the original plan estimated. I got about 5 blisters by the end, but none were painful. I never needed my cuben waders but they provided a ton of warmth when worn under icebreaker 200 tights. Without them my feet would have been cold in my hammock for sure.
I had a terrible mishap at one point. I was cooking my lunch in the north carolina game lands on day 3 when a squirrel darted between me and the caldera stove in front of me and made me jump. I kicked the stove over and started a small forest fire about 10 feet by 5 feet. Flames at max about a foot high. I immediately started stomping everything burning. I ended up burning the top layer of mesh off my Roclite 315's, burning up one of my or pl 400 mitts to the point of no return, melting my cuben cozy, losing 3 fbc meals and my beef jerky, and making several pinhole sized burns in my warbonnet yeti winter underquilt. This was the lowlight of my trip and brought my trail spirit down a few notches. I was already watching my food consumption anyway because i planned it carefully. This was also another reason i rushed and got done so early.
I loved the diversity of trail appearance on this hike. At some times such as around Unaka mountain, the trail was almost desert like. Dark gray sand accompanied trees that grew no taller than a few feet and splayed out wide searching for light and moisture. At other times, dense pines dominated the landscape, adding a nice pine scent to the air and beauty to the forest. After Roan the trail took on a rocky appearance as it wound its way around huge deposits of boulders and sparse vegetation. The normal Southern forest appearance that is in most places in Tennessee in Kentucky also made an appearance for long stretches, adding a sense of familiarity to an unfamiliar landscape.
As soon as i got back to my car and Uncle Johnny's i drove to KFC and ate 6 honey BBQ wings, then ate a medium super supreme pizza and bread sticks from pizza hut(across the street). I was in heaven. Its one of my rituals to eat a huge fast food meal after a long hike. Its a motivator during some of those long, repetitive scenery, uneventful stretches that every trail has at some point.
Gear thoughts:
***DIY charcoal filter worked great, left only a very faint taste of bleach as compared to the heavily bleach tasting unfiltered water.
***Having a pair of nitrile gloves(similar to latex but way stronger) til filter water in so that my gloves dont get wet and my hands dont freeze was absolutely necessary when filtering water in winter, and at 1.7oz, i will never go without them again. Saved my hands from freezing lots of times. Also they double as VBL at night, and work with touchscreen devices as well.
***Aarn FF pack left my shoulders with no pain or soreness at all. The staps were floating on top of my shoulders for most of the trip and could be lifted off with a pinky, demonstrating nearly 100% weight distribution to the hips equally across the front and back.
***Am going back to using groundhog stakes instead of UL stakes, as two times I had my stakes rip out of the ground. I was in well protected areas as well.
***The windshirt/merino baselayer again proved why its the most versatile hiker wear as it successfully handled 99% of the situations I encountered.Also wearing it under my thermawrap at night kept me toasty as well and my thermawrap from absorbing excessive moisture.
***The cuben waders were ultimately not used for wading as there was no crossing, they did however keep my legs super warm and toasty all night worn under icebreaker 200wt tights with xstatic liners and darn tough socks on top.
***Glad i chose the Roclite 315s instead of 390s as there was no rain or snow at all, everyday was clear and perfect. Plus i dont think i could have covered 20+ miles a day in 390s.
***I am going stoveless from now on. Its a fire hazard as well as excessive weight. Adding pesto to any dish makes it taste great IMO, so i see no reason for a stove. I wonder if the weight of carryign nondehydrated food will actually be heavier than carrying mostly dehydrated food and a stove+fuel? I see it as a hassle to cook and also time wasted. Im not that picky on the trail anyway. Just need to find really good lightweight dry food and experiment more with different trail bars/making my own trail treats.
***Left the INJIJI toe socks at home and i wish i didn't. They would have prevented 4 out of 5 blisters(one was a heel).
Thanks Bradford for helping me with this trip. I had a great time. I will be doing a youtube video at some point with pics and video of the trip. Keep an eye out for it.
