Mindblown: a blog about philosophy.

Day 45, 14.5 miles, 484.9 total miles, Luther Hassinger Memorial Bridge to Damascus Today we did our final hike of this section. We completed a total of 210 miles from Hot Springs, NC to a little north of Damascus, VA. I head home on Thursday and Stretch will meet his wife in Pearisburg on Friday.…

Day 44, 15.2 miles, 479.9 total miles, Low Gap to Damascus, VA This morning I whipped us up some egg and bacon sandwiches before we caught our shuttle at 7:30. By 8:00 am we started our last hike in the southern region of the AT. A little after lunch we made it to the Tennessee/…

Day 43, 6.6 miles, 454.7 total miles, TN 91 to Low Gap Today we knew we had a short day, with full packs, so we got started around 9:30. Our hike began with this beautiful field that happens to have one of the only wheelchair accessible sections of the AT. It’s only about a1/2 mile,…

Day 42, 13.1 miles, 449.1 total miles, TN 91 to Wilbur Dam Rd Today, we got an early start and headed out to where the trail crosses TN 91. Within two miles we were up on a ridge looking down over the valley below and Watauga Lake. Of the 16 mile hike, about 13 of…

Day 41, 13.0 miles, 433.0 total miles, Wilbur Dam Rd to Black Bear Today, we were on the trail by 8:30 ready for our last big climb of this section up and over Pond Mountain. After today, the terrain into Damascus will still have its ups and downs, but no more major climbs. Whew! After…

Day 40, 11.1 miles, 420.0 total miles, Fire Rd 293 to Black Bear Hostel This morning we had our last delicious breakfast at Mountain Harbour and headed back to Fire Road 293 where we began our hike. We had a great day with a few views. The weird thing was that there wasn’t much to…

Day 39, 14 miles, 409.3 total miles, Today, we started at US fire service road 293 and walked southbound back to Mountain Harbour. The first seven miles were flat as could be for the AT. It was absolutely lovely. We even got in some nice views. In the afternoon the hike got a bit tougher,…

Day 38, 14.8 miles, 395.3 total miles, Carvers Gap to Mountain Harbour Stretch and I were treated to an amazing breakfast this morning. It’s considered the best breakfast on the AT! Sure beats a granola bar! We then were shuttled back to Carvers Gap and began our 14.8 mile trek up and over Little Hump…

Also Slack Packing defined…. Day 37, 10 miles, 380.5 total miles, Carvers Gap Today Stretch and I got up early and broke down camp by 7:45. We were on our way up to the summit of Roan Mountain, the last 6,000 foot mountain until we reach Mt. Washington in NH. Boy, it was a killer.…

Day 36, 6.0 miles, 370.5 total miles, Clyde Smith Shelter Posted a day late, no cell coverage last night Happy Easter! This morning, we said good bye to Erwin, TN. We were able to slack pack 55 miles by using Erwin as our home base. After our long day yesterday, we decided to take it…