I would have posted earlier on this, but my first town visit in Hiawassee, GA only lasted for six hours which was mostly spent at an all you can eat buffet in town. I'm now in Franklin, NC, changing up my footgear and getting ready for the trail up to the Smoky's. It was a good time of year to be in GA with comfortable temperatures, wildflowers everywhere, and tons of wildlife, including humans, to observe. It was pretty late in the hiker season, but there was still many hikers on the trail. The first shelter I stayed at in fact, had a about twenty people camping out. One of the characters that night was called packman. Though he was only averaging 4-5 miles a day he had high hopes of increasing his mileage once he got to Virginia. I don't know how he was able to walk with 90 lbs on his back, but he insisted that he needed everything from the machete to a large box of babywipes that were part of his tonnage.
Yesterday I stayed at Standing Indian Shelter and hiked up over Standing Indian Mountian early in the morning which was a summit of 5,500 ft and the highest elevation so far on the trail. I kept going for another 24 miles and ended up at Winding Stair Gap NC where I caught a ride into town. The mileage for that day was a bit much and let me know that I needed different boots which I'm now wearing. I'm getting back on the trail tomorrow and am headed to Bryson City. I better go consume some more calories before then. Happy Trails

Hey he is in fact out there! Excellent to hear from you Russell! Sounds like you are hiking like a champion. I hear you are starting off easy at 20 miles per day. I better start training now for your arrival in New England otherwise you are going to put a serious hurting on me.

Keep up the good work. Eager to hear your next post.

Ryan O

Nice Job Russell! Thanks for the update.


Best,
Jim

Awesome job Russel! I am envious! Stay safe!