I slept ok. I tented in the snow on slight hill, so I slid around quite a bit. That and temperature got down to 35. As always during these cold mornings, I was slow to get up and emerge from my warm sleeping bag. I ate breakfast and caught up on some work items before starting my day. I packed my stuff and climbed out of my tent.
Shoeless was already packed up and ready to hit the trail. I still needed to take down my tent and get water so I told him I’d see him up the trail. Kung Fu was outside eating breakfast by the time I got back resupplying my water. I chatted with her for a bit and also told her I’d see her up the trail.
As I was leaving a guy by the name of Heathrow was hitting the trail as well. We hiked and chatted for awhile before stopping at the next shelter for a snack and water break. His trail name derives from a famous airport in England— which is where he’s from. I finished my break before Heathrow so I headed back up to the trail telling him I’d see him later.
As I got back on the AT from the shelter side trail I met another hiker by the name of Snickers. He asked about the water source at the shelter. I told him it was near the privy so it might not be worth trekking down there to get. He agreed. So we started hiking up the trail together.
Snickers is a massage therapist from Asheville NC. I asked him who was taking care of his clients while he was hiking the AT. He said he was for now. While he’s close enough to take zeros and head back to Asheville to provide the massage therapy they need, he’s going to do it. When he gets too far away north up the trail, he’ll have one of this trusted massage therapist partners take care of them. I chuckled a bit then explained I just met a shuttle driver who’s been shuttling for years who said she’s never met anyone who’s hiked the AT while running a business. And the next day I met yet another person that’s doing the same thing I am. Funny how the universe works that way isn’t it?
I asked him how he got into massage therapy. He told me he was in the military and parachuting one day and his chute didn’t open. He smashed into ground crushing half his body. He lived (obviously). While rehabbing for many years he went through a lot of massage therapy himself. He was so impressed with the results, he decided to start his own business so he could in return help others the same way.
He told me his feet were hurting pretty badly the first few weeks on the trail as well. He said we’ve most likely never had to worry about things like electrolytes before in ourselves. We exercise, sure, but not 8+ hrs a day, multiple days in a row. We’re depleting so many things from our body when doing this. Electrolytes will help replenish these things. I told him my feet were swelling pretty badly the first few weeks as well and how drinking more water helped. Looks like I need to add electrolytes to my resupply list. I also noticed he was wearing tall black socks. I asked if they were compression socks. He said they were. My buddy Brad just mentioned this as possible solution to help with the swelling as well. I’ll add those to my list too.
We made it to Davenport Gap finishing the Smokies. I was a little surprised. I’ve always heard how difficult the Smokies were. I mean, sure I got caught in a blizzard and had to spend the night in a public bathroom, but that was the only night things got really tough. Other than that, I didn’t think they were so bad.
Snickers and I exchanged numbers so we could coordinate meeting up to hike some more in the future, then he caught his ride. I waited for my ride in the dark on the side of a dirt road.
My ride was 45 min late. When he arrived he took a smoke break outside while I took 20 seconds to throw my stuff in his van and jump in. I waited for him to finish his cigarette. The driver got in and we hit the road. He missed a turn so I turned on my nav on my phone. I was now instructing the driver where to go. He was driving about 55 mph in a 25 mph speed zone through the mountains. I don’t scare easily but this was pretty nerve-racking. I could see the news headline now “man dies in shuttle accident while hiking the AT”. Not I fell off a cliff or got eaten by a bear. No, a car accident. Nice. This is not how I’m supposed to go I thought to myself…
We arrived at our destination and handed me the credit card system to pay. I signed but then noticed there was an additional fee. I asked him what that was for. He said “service fee.” As I climbed out of the van I realized he added a tip for himself. What a dirt bag. I was just happy to be out of van. Got in my cabin, ate, showered, and crashed.
As I was lying in bed I thought about my day. The one thing that stood out to me was….so what happens when your parachute doesn’t open? You get up, dust yourself off, and go do something epic like, hike the Appalachian trail;) #amazing
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