It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad Week

I've mentioned before that we're in the process of building a new house in the (kind of) country. We'll soon be living in the middle of seven acres of tall trees, short ferns, and all the critters that call them home. We're anxious to share this space with the turkeys, deer, snakes, rabbits, hawks, beavers,  and other more secretive animals we've yet to see.

While the house isn't ready just yet we've been out there working hard this summer. The first thing we did was to build a fire ring. The boys and I spent the good part of an afternoon collecting the stones to frame the pit. It's big. Real big. When the lot was cleared we asked the workers to haul a log over to the fire ring. We can't wait for the cool weather of fall and winter.

We've been working on another project as well - a trail leading to the 15-acre lake at the back of our property. The trail is about two hundred steps (I'm estimating this to be somewhere in the area of a tenth of a mile). We're using the thousands of rocks that are scattered throughout the property to establish the trail until it meets the creek. At the creek we've set some boards down temporarily but will soon be constructing a small 14-foot bridge.

And while we're hard at work so are the builders. At least most days. There are some frustrating days when no one is out there working and nothing changes. At this point they still need to finish the screen porch on the back, paint the walls, install the floors, hook up the air conditioners, bring in the septic system, put in the stone that will skirt the front, and take care of all the finishing details. That's a lot. We were hoping they'd be finished already but it's looking like we'll have to wait until mid-August - around the time school will be starting.

To make things more interesting we have to be out of our current house this Friday. Having no home, the girls are all headed to St. Louis to visit family and friends and the boys and I will spend the week walking in the North Carolina woods. I'm usually not one to get stressed by much but this week has tested me. Tricia and I have spent the past few days packing, loading, cleaning, making phone calls to utility companies, packing for our trips, attending a party, retooling our budget, arranging for a temporary home when we return, screening incoming kindergartners, mowing the lawn, trying to get nail polish out of the carpet, and driving Harper to the upstate for Girl Scout camp. There have been days when I feel like we've worked nearly all day long and nothing looks any different than when we first started. Fortunately, we're nearing the end of the week and everything is just about in place.

I spent this afternoon getting the food prepared for our seven-day hike. This will be the longest trip we've ever taken on the Appalachian Trail, both in terms of days and distance, and I generally spend about a week or two preparing. This time I've had only a few moments here and there to throw everything together. This includes figuring out our ride to Deep Gap (this is where we left off last trip), securing a ride into Franklin in the middle of the week to resupply, planning out a rough itinerary that ensures the boys will have fun, and getting the food together. Planning seven days worth of food that you can carry on your back is a bit tricky.

We'll be eating oatmeal or Pop-Tarts for breakfast each morning. Lunch will be a lot of homemade beef jerky, peanuts, dehydrated fruits, and Cheez-its. Dinners are a combination of noodles, chili, and spaghetti. A few nights we'll even have pudding for desert. This all seems simple enough but it's really not. I have a binder where I keep recipes I've found on-line over the past year. Having a variety of food that is appetizing is important. We're not quite there just yet but we're getting closer all the time. Muluken looked at the menu I created on the computer and said "We're having noodles TWICE?" Little does he know some backpackers have them every single night for weeks at a time.

When the food is all laid out on the counter is looks like a lot. However, once it is sorted into bags for each day it's looking pretty light. To help keep the boys hiking up all those mountains I add a bag of candy to snack on throughout the day. I'm not sure if the sugar helps but the excitement of leaving our limitations on sweets at home sure does. "Hey, let's stop at the top of this mountain and have another piece of candy!" There are few rules in the mountains. Whatever gets you to the top is fair game.

It is now Wednesday night and I believe we are on the verge of having it all together. The backpacks are packed, the suitcases are full, and we have one-and-a-half days to move out the rest of the furniture. I hope it all gets done. It'll have to.

This will most likely be my last post for a few weeks. I'm not sure when exactly we'll be in our new house and when we'll get the internet access set up. In the meantime we'll finish our hike, "camp out" on the floor of an empty house in our neighborhood, and start school. There should be plenty to write about.

Dad and the Girls

I remember when Tricia first became pregnant more than ten years ago everyone assumed I was hoping for a boy. "It doesn't really matter," I'd say. "I'll be happy with either."

I can't say exactly why people would assume this. Is there a general belief that dad's want boys and mom's want girls? If anything, I was probably a bit relieved when I found out we were starting with a girl. I felt I knew what to expect from little boys but a little girl would be something altogether new.

A few years later, while also looking into domestic adoption, Tricia became pregnant again. The question now turned into a statement, "I bet you're hoping for a boy," they'd say. "Otherwise you're going to be surrounded by a house full of women!" Again, I didn't really care. When Ainsley came along I was as thrilled to have two daughters as I would have been to have one of each.

Eight years later, we've since found symmetry - two boys, two girls. It'd be easy to say that parenting boys is different than parenting girls but the fact of the matter is that it's different parenting Harper than it is Ainsley and likewise with both Ty and Muluken. They are all very different, regardless of gender.

One thing that I do notice with the girls is that it's a bit trickier to spend time with them. The boys and I have baseball and backpacking. The girls and I have...well, I 'm not sure. We play games, read books, and wrestle around but I do these same things with the boys as well. I wonder if maybe we shouldn't have something special that's all our own?

A few weeks ago I planned a special day out with the girls. I packed our bikes into the van and told them we were going to head down to the trail that runs along the Congaree River for a bike ride.

"Are there going to be a lot of hills?" Ainsley asked.

"I was going to play at Madeline's," Harper said. "Could you pick me up from there later?" When I did pick her up she didn't necessarily look too happy to be leaving.

Thirty minutes into our ride we already had a bloodied knee, a scraped hand, and a blown out back tire. No one looked to be having any fun at all - with the exception of me as I tried my best to convince them both how much fun this was. We ended the day by taking off our shoes and socks and wading out into the river to rock hop. Being something we do as a family quite often, they giggled as they splashed their way out into the water. While I'm not sure this was enough to make the day all that special, we did at least make it back home without the glum faces.

A few weeks ago I came home to find a big banner the kids had made for my birthday taped to the dining room window. There among the declarations of "I Love You" Harper had written "I Love Backpacking - as long as it's not 80 miles!" I suddenly remembered that I had promised the girls we would go on a backpacking trip together over the summer. I scrambled to put it together.

Backpacking with kids who are not necessarily big fans of heavy packs or doing their business behind a tree is a challenge. It needs to be short. There needs to be water to play in. And the pace needs to be s-l-o-w with plenty of breaks and snacks. I decided to take them to Virginia's Grayson Highlands State Park. We had visited the park for a day trip last summer. GHSP is well-known for the wild ponies that roam the mountains grazing on grass and any other items a nearby hiker may offer. The girls love horses so it seemed like the perfect fit.

We hiked four miles each day and although our only water source turned out to be a dud and I badly sprained an ankle, we had a great time.

Harper measuring out our food for the trip.

The trail was often quite rocky.

This short stretch was nice, soft grass.

There were many rock outcroppings to climb along the way.

A happy hiker.

These were the first of about twenty feral horses we saw.

Ainsley found some flowers for she and I to place in our hair.

Harper logs us in as we head out of the state park and into the National Forest.

A "cave" - the boys will be SO jealous!

Ainsley follows the blazes.

Rocks really kill your feet - and your ankles.

Our destination - Thomas Knob Shelter - was a disappointment. No good water.

We boiled the gross water and backtracked to a nice grassy spot to make camp.

A pretty nice view from the site. Sure beats a crowded campground.

At 60 degrees, the girls were COLD.

Bedtime atop the mountain.

Proof that Harper can, in fact, wake up with a smile on her face!

There were many gates to pass through along the way.

See the white blaze at the top of the wall? Up we climbed.

This was the other side of the that same rock wall.

Excited to be finished. The girls were ready for some indoor plumbing!

On the Appalachian Trail: Unicoi Gap, GA to Cheese Factory Site, GA

These next five posts are probably going to be a bit lengthy for most people who check in with this blog. If so, feel free to glance them over and wait for a more typical post next week.
However, I'm still posting these stories here to help preserve the memories of our hike together. Should we someday finish this hike together I think it would be cool to take all these posts and have them bound into a book to give the kids. A history of our hike. And their childhoods.




Last summer I suggested we might set out to hike the entirety of the Appalachian Trial - 2,175 mountainous miles from Springer Mountain, Georgia to Mount Katahdin, Maine. The boys quickly took me up on my offer. The girls weren't so interested; although, they did mention they'd like to do smaller bits of the trip along the way.


I quickly went about devising a plan that would allow us to finish the trail by the time the boys graduated from high school. It was gradual yet ambitious. We'd begin with 50 miles that first summer, grow to 100 within a year or two, and eventually take on 300 - 400 miles a summer once their legs grew a bit longer and their backs a tad stronger.

We did our 50 miles last year with the girls, and Mom, joining us for the final twenty. There were warm days, misguided directions, hard climbs, and a small rain storm. More than that, though, there was a lot of fun.

So this past week the boys and I set out to walk the next 32 mile stretch. This was an important leg of the trip in that we would be passing our very first state border - from Georgia to North Carolina. This would mean one state down and just thirteen more to go.

Each night we sat in our sleeping bags and wrote about our day in our journals. As with last year I'll let the boys help share our journey.


Day 1 Unicoi Gap, GA - Cheese Factory Site, GA (Miles Today: 3; Trip Miles: 3; Total AT Miles: 53)

We left the house this morning around 10:15 to make the four-and-a-half hour drive. Ainsley was sad we were leaving but trying hard not to show it. Along the way we stopped at a rest stop for sandwiches we had packed to bring along, stopped by Ingles to fill up on salad for the night, and hit the outfitter for some last minute supplies.

As always, when we neared the trail head I became lost. I didn't recognize the road we were on from last summer. I had already driven about fifteen miles down the road and feared going fifteen more only to find I was on the wrong road. So I turned around and went back to Neels Gap to get directions. Winds up I was going the right way all along. What a waste.

We arrived at the trail head about 5:15. Someone in the parking lot agreed to take our picture in our nice clean clothes and then we were finally on the trial. About five minutes up the mountain I couldn't remember if I had locked the car or not. ARGHHH. I dropped my pack and ran back down to double check. In what was quickly becoming a theme for the day...it was already locked. I should learn not to doubt myself!

Today was a quick three miles. There were a few climbs but we were fresh and excited so they came and went with little effort. Ty was exceptionally strong. He kept a good pace for us up front and was in great spriits.The sun was quickly dropping below the jagged horizon and the air was getting cool. We had wanted to make it to the old Cheese Factory site. In the mid-1800s an eccentric New Englander established a dairy near Tray Mountain, about 15 miles from the nearest farmhouse. Other settlers eventually sold their land and moved away. The cheese factory remained and evidently did pretty well. There are no remnants of the factory now. Only a story.

As we neared what we thought to be the general area of the factory we were running out of light. We found a small clearing near the top of Tray Mountain and made camp. In the morning we found out that we actually were at the old Cheese Factory Site and didn't know it.Finding out we had hiked more miles that we thought was a nice surprise.

As we sat in our tent Muluken read back through the journal entries we wrote last year as well as what each of us had written about today. Ty had the biggest grin on his face as Muluken read from his own journal "[The climb] kept going up and up but we didn't give up because our good leader Ty was strong and we only had two or three breaks I think."

"I liked the part about our 'good leader Ty'," Ty said.

"Hey man, you were a good leader," I assured him. "You were so strong today!"

(Dad, age 36)

We hiked three miles today. We said a mountain was crying. First we drove to Unicoi Gap. We turned around. We asked two men that had bikes in their truck. We went the right way the next time. Muluken said Dad should have been patient.

(Ty/Flash, age 7)

We drove to Unicoi Gap. There we got our picture from a man. We were in a gap so that told us we are going to go up. AHH! We teased the mountain on the way. Then we thought that we were up to the top. We got fooled and it was not the top. We got fooled twice. That's called stupid. We were aiming to get to the Cheese Factory. That's a cheesy name.

One thing that bothered us was the wind. When we set down it would make us freezing but when we got up it stopped. That's weird. When we had passed a road and a stream we thought the top was close but it wasn't. It kept going up and up but we didn't give up because our good leader Ty was strong and we only had two or three breaks I think. We played [games] on the way up.

(Muluken/Jolly Roger, age 9)

On the Appalachian Trail: Muskrat Creek Shelter, NC to Deep Gap, NC

Day 5 Muskrat Creek Shelter, NC - Deep Gap, NC (Miles Today: 4; Trip Miles: 32; Total AT Miles: 82)

Snow on the trail. Just two days ago it was in the 80's and I was getting a sunburn and now there's a bit of snow alongside the trail. Crazy.

When I woke up this morning I was afraid to uncover my head. I knew it was going to be frigid. Sure enough, I was right. I climbed out of my sleeping bag and told the boys to stay put until I had all my things packed and the food bags down from the trees. I didn't want them getting packed up too early and sitting around waiting for me with nothing to do but shiver. While there are far worse temperatures to deal with in the mountains than 32 degrees it's still not all that fun to stand still for too long.

Once we were packed up one of the older guys in the shelter, Snake, watched the boys walk off toward the trail and commented to me, "You've got two tough men right there to want to be out here in this."

"Yeah," I said. "They really have a great time."

The first two miles were as flat as any we've encountered on the trail. We didn't bother to remove any clothes before taking off this morning so we each hiked in three to four layers. Ty and I became hot within an hour or so and stopped to shed some layers. Muluken was content to stay bundled.

In the four miles to the gap there was only one climb. By this point in the trip it seemed pretty easy. We knew the drill - go slowly on the steepest parts, take short but frequent breaks, and take advantage of the easier pitches by picking up the pace. After the first two miles we had doubled our normal pace to 2mph. This was due in large part to the fact no one was all that tempted to stop for more than a few seconds at a time because of the cold.

As we headed down our final descent toward Deep Gap I heard Muluken up ahead calling, "It's Harper! It's Harper! IT'S THE GIRLS!!!" Harper started laughing and rushed up to meet Muluken. Happy to be reunited, everyone offered hugs or kisses. The girls took the backpacks from Ty and Muluken and carried them the rest of the way down. In the van was a cooler of cold Gatorade, grapes, and cheese. We packed up our stuff, grabbed a drink and snack for ourselves, and left the rest at the trail side for the other hikers who would be coming behind us. We were happy to repay some of the good karma that had found us days earlier.

We all drove back to a cabin we had rented near Blood Mountain in Georgia. After a shower and some lunch the six of us headed out for a four mile hike to a nearby waterfall. No pack, no boots, no jackets. It was warm and we were enjoying the sandals on our feet and the sun on our shoulders. The kids splashed around in the base of the waterfall before heading back. The following day we all hiked up Blood Mountain and enjoyed the fantastic views together.

As we packed up to go home I found a note in my suitcase that Ainsley had written me while we were gone. She started writing it right after we loaded into the car six days earlier - when she was trying so hard not to look sad. The note began, "Dear Daddy, I miss you. I hope you have a great trip. I love you." She added to the letter each day I was gone and admitted to crying a few nights. We're headed back out in June for 80 more miles. This time we're coordinating it so the girls are nearby and welcome to come out and hike as much as they'd like with us. The more the merrier.

As for our future plans, we'll get through the Smokies next year and maybe all the way up into Hot Springs. From there I realize now we'll have to start doing some serious miles. We'll probably need to get over a thousand miles in the next five or six years and then make a push to do the rest all in one or two summers. The costs and time demands of breaking our hike up over too many summers may be too great.

On the Appalachian Trail: Plumorchard Shelter, GA to Muskrat Creek Shelter, NC

Day 4 Plumorchard Shelter, GA - Muskrat Creek Shelter, NC (Miles Today: 7; Trip Miles: 28; Total AT Miles: 78)

Last night's storm was crazy. I looked up at one point and saw a big just of wind pick up the coals from the fire pit and spray them into the woods. Orange sparks flew everywhere but thankfully there was no fire. With all the rain that was falling from the black sky I don't know how there could have been. The winds howled, bending the trees back and forth as lightning filled the sky all night long. Finally the storm passed around 4 or 5 in the morning and by the time I woke up everything was calm again. I pulled my sleeping bag around my head and propped the back of my head against the back wall of the shelter so I could look out at the woods and watch the first few people get up and retrieve their things that had blown off the table during the storm.

It was cold, cold this morning. My hands were freezing as I gathered up my stuff and worked to make oatmeal for breakfast. We all headed out of camp at pretty much the same time which is a bit of an oddity. The cold morning had everyone dragging just a bit. We all said our goodbyes and hit the trail. The boys and I wore our rain gear, hats, and gloves to stay warm. After an hour of hiking we stopped to brush our teeth but still couldn't take off any of our layers. It was just so windy we couldn't completely warm up.

Around midday we came across the sign we had been waiting for. Coming into Bly Gap we had finally reached the state line. We were forever leaving the Georgia trail and entering North Carolina. This was to be the highlight of the trip and it did feel pretty great. We climbed up a rock ledge to have lunch. I sat in Georgia. Ty in North Carolina, and Muluken straddled the two. As we sat and ate three other hikers passed through and we enjoyed yelling down the trail to them that they were about to cross the state line.

North Carolina greets you with some crazy hard climbs. They aren't so much long as they are steep. It feels as though they go straight up. By this point we were pretty used to climbing so we took them in stride and enjoyed taking short breaks and laughing at the absurdity of such a steep climb.

As we neared the base of a more steady climb two older gentlemen said "There you are! We've been looking for you." I didn't recognize them and had no idea how they could know who we were. I assumed maybe they had us confused with someone else.

"We came across Zach and Alex a little earlier today and they told us to keep an eye out for you three," they explained. "They told us to tell you guys hello. So 'hello.'"

"How about that, guys?" I asked the boys. "Zach and Alex sent a hello back to us from further up the trail. That's pretty cool." They were both around my age and had kids at home. I hoped we would meet up with them at the next shelter but they wouldn't be there. They had decided to hike on further.

We reached Muskrat Creek Shelter a little before 4. It was far too early to be in camp but we were only four miles from where Tricia would be meeting us the next morning and it made no sense to sit around there all morning and freeze. So we stayed at the shelter and waited for others to come. And come they did. A new group of hikers, many of whom we had seen two nights ago at Deep Gap Shelter before their trip into town, popped up a tent in every clearing to be found. We decided to stay in the shelter again so we wouldn't have to pack up our tent in the morning. The overnight temperatures were supposed to be below freezing and I assumed the morning would be just as cold.

It wound up we didn't have to wait until nightfall for the temps to drop. By five o'clock it was bone-chilling cold. With nothing to do we sat and shivered. Bored and miserable we decided to fix an early dinner and desert, do our camp chores, and bundle up in our sleeping bags to wait until nightfall. With every layer of clothing we had on our bodies we crawled into our bags around six o'clock. We warmed up quickly and Muluken and I even decided we could brave pulling our arms out of our bags to journal. We were asleep before nightfall and each took a turn getting up in the middle of the night to water the foliage. Of the six people in the shelter only Muluken and I didn't snore (the two old snorers from last night were here as well as a younger one we hadn't met before).

(Dad, age 36)

We hiked 7 miles. We passed the state line.

(Ty/Flash, age 7)


We hiked a few miles before we passed the state line to North Carolina. Dad stayed in Georgia to finish his last lunch there and I sat in the middle so that I'd be half and half. Flash sat in the North Carolina for his first lunch there. We sat up a hill under a rock that guarded us against the wind.

After lunch we hiked up a huge and steep bunt not long mountain with the angry wind on us. We had on our rain gear to keep us warm from the wind. The weather was weird today because the sun shined and it was warm but then in a few minutes the wind would be on you. The worse way to go is flat because it has nothing to guard the wind and the top of the mountain is the worse. We said it wasn't as windy in Georgia. That 's a nice way to welcome us.

(Muluken/Jolly Roger, age 9)

On the Appalachian Trail: Deep Gap Shelter, GA to Plumorchard Shelter, GA

Day 3 Deep Gap Shelter, GA - Plumorchard Shelter, GA (Miles Today: 8; Trip Miles: 20; Total AT Miles: 70)

I didn't sleep all that great last night. Both boys woke me up a couple of times to go to the bathroom and Ty woke up crying a few times that his leg hurt. He does this from time to time at home as well. The doctor says it's growing pains and that they're more likely to occur after a lot of activity. Exactly how much activity is a lot for a seven year old?

We were the last ones out of the shelter this morning. Everyone else here last night was thru-hikers and they were anxious to hike three miles up the trail to Dick's Creek Gap. There's a truck waiting there to shuttle hikers into town at 9:30 for groceries, laundry, all-you-can-eat buffets, and a night in a hotel or hostel. We're not going into town so we weren't in any hurry.

A little into our hike we passed Margaret. Margaret is a woman in her mid to upper 50s who's hiking the trail solo. She wanted her 17 year old son to come along but he decided he didn't like to hike all that much any more. Her husband doesn't like to backpack and even went so far as to try to guilt her out of doing this five month trip. He researched the effects of prolonged separations on married couples. She assured him they wouldn't get divorced and came out to hike anyway. I would think that after thirty years of dreaming about this trip she deserves the chance.

As we passed Margaret and her gimpy knee on the trail she gave each of the boys a hug. "This'll probably be the last I see of you two," she told them. "You take good care of your dad out here."

We hiked on with Muluken going far ahead of Ty and I on the trail. As Ty and I made our way down into Dick's Creek Gap we saw Muluken sitting on the side of the road with a Gatorade in his hands.

"Where'd you get THAT?" we both yelled.

Muluken pointed across the street to an old white van parked at the trail head. "The old guy in that van gave it to me," he explained.

Generally when your kids take something from a stranger in a van you get very worried. In this case I wanted to know if I could have some too. We made our way across the road and ducked our head into the open side door in the van. The old guy inside had a long bushy white beard and didn't get around too well. He asked what flavor of Gatorade we'd like and fished them out of his cooler. As he pulled the lid open we saw he also had pudding cups and a variety of other snacks. He was spending his day passing out treats to hikers as they made their trek north. This was our second experience with "trail magic" and we again very grateful. We thanked him about five or six times and rushed over to eat our lunch near the creek. I can't say enough about the people who volunteered their time and resources to us. They were amazing.

The boys stopped to play in three different streams today. With only eight miles to hike we were in no hurry. Getting to camp early just means more down time to fill. We'd rather spend this time on the trail playing around on fallen trees or in the water. You'd think that stopping more often would make the hiking easier but it doesn't always work that way. Sometimes it slows you down to the point that you feel like you're moving at a crawl along your path. As we hiked up out of Dick's Creek our energy was lagging. The sun was high in the sky and it was getting hot. We also knew that everyone else had headed into town for the night and that we were alone again.

A few miles up from the gap we came across a sign that read "Vista." It was a side trail leading upward toward an unseen lookout. I laughed to myself for some time. Why in the hell would I possibly hike up yet another climb to see out? There were more than enough climbs already without adding another. Pretty much unless there was an ice cream shop up there we weren't veering off our course.

Our last three miles of the day were really tough. The temperatures were up into the 80s and since the trees had yet to leaf out we were exposed to the sun pretty much the entire time. The climb coming out of Coward Gap lasted well over a mile. We climbed and climbed and climbed some more. We took many breaks and lamented the fact we didn't fill up on water at the last creek. We were all just about out and there was still a ways to go before we reached camp for the night with no water sources listed between.

Finally we reached Plumorchard Gap Shelter. It was a small shelter but with three levels it slept about 14 people. We generally prefer to stay in our tent but with threats of electrical storms and perhaps even a tornado moving in we decided the shelter was our safest option. We set up our pads and sleeping bags and the boys went down to the stream to play and throw rocks down the mountainside.

The people at the shelter tonight were great. There were brothers Alex and Zach who were section hiking the trail like us. Nineteen year old Woodstock and Cool Cat were thru-hiking after Woodstock's mother drove them all the way down from Michigan and tearfully said goodbye. There was a young couple celebrating their six-month anniversary with a three-day trip on the trail. They had a mixture of borrowed, bought, and home-made gear that worried me a bit about their safety. There were also two older guys, Snake and Two Steps Back, who didn't say a whole lot but snored really, really loudly all night long. After dinner we all sat around a campfire and talked for a long while. Woodstock let Muluken borrow his headlamp so he could write in his journal as the sun disappeared over the treetops. I've come to realize that the people you meet along the trail are just as remarkable, if not more-so, than the trail itself. This bunch of guys and girls are the kind you hate to say goodbye to.

(Dad, age 36)

We hiked 8 miles today. When we hit 8 miles we came to a shelter in Plumorchard Gap.

(Ty/Flash, age 7)

We hiked up a couple of mountains and got to Cowart Gap and then we went up the highest mountain ever. It went very high and was the hardest mountain we climbed. We drank lots of water. We played in the streams on the way and had lots of fun. At first the water was freezing on our feet but we got used to it. It was good playing in the stream. It cooled down our feet a lot.

We got to Plumorchard Shelter. We got water for the crab chowder for dinner. It was very good. Then we went down for water for the hot chocolate. Very warm and good. I would like a lot more than a little bit. Then we went to the privy and went out to play. We threw rocks down the hill to see how long it will go. It was fun. Then it started to pour and we had to come up. Someone made a fire later and cooked their food. The rain was weird because it kept going on and off. We did 8 miles today. Yay.

(Muluken, age 9)

On the Appalachian Trail: Cheese Factory Site, Ga to Deep Gap Shelter, GA

Day 2 Cheese Factory Site, GA - Deep Gap Shelter, GA (Miles Today: 9; Trip Miles: 12; Total AT Miles: 62)

The winds howled throughout the mountains last night. It's kind of eerie sounding - like the black smoke from Lost. Even when you can't feel it you know it's near.

Within a few minutes of our walk this morning we passed a group of about ten tents with food bags hanging everywhere in the trees. We thought we were alone last night. Guess not. I stopped to talk to one of the guys. He was college-aged and wearing camouflaged leggings under his brown shorts. In town this would look ridiculous but pretty much anything goes on the trail when it's cold. We found out that he's a thru-hiker (someone planning to hike the entire trail this season). No one else in his group was up yet and we moved on.

Within an hour or so we walked into Tray Gap and came upon a truck with a large trailer behind it. There was a large tent set-up with stoves and grills. Someone called from the tent, "You guys want an apple?" We walked over and a middle-aged man offered us each an apple and a small chocolate bar.

"I've got a scout group out here cooking breakfast for the thru-hikers," he explained. They were cooking eggs, sausage, pancakes, and more. Hikers refer to acts of kindness such as this as trail magic. It's amazing. It was a great way to start our day - knowing all these people had come out help everyone along on their journey. We happily ate our apples on the way up the next mountain.

Ty was strong throughout the day today. There were a number of good hard climbs. Each of the boys are carrying about 13- 14 pounds in their packs and I have somewhere in the low to mid 30s. We could feel this in our shoulders but not too bad. There weren't any complaints. Our last climb of the day was out of Addis Gap. The climb had us gaining 900 feet of elevation in a mile as we made our way up toward Kelly Knob. The climb just felt like it went on forever. After finally summitting we made our way down the other side and into Deep Gap shelter.

There were a lot of thru-hikers staying here for the night with trail names like Baby Ruth, Trolley Stop, and Mountain Goat. We set up our tent, made chili for dinner and banana pudding for desert, and did our dishes. Doing all this for three people means a lot of runs for water. I've been amazed how easy access to water has been. In most cases trail maintainers have placed pipes to help direct the water right into our bottles. This is much easier than trying to scoop from a shallow stream. One problem concerning water: Our purifier went dead. The batteries are shot and I accidentally brought only one new one. This means we'll not be purifying the water here on out. I hope we don't get sick! There are people who hike the entire trail without treating their water so we'll probably be fine. If not we'll be visiting the woods a whole, whole lot over the next few days.

(Dad, age 36)

We had Pop-Tarts for breakfast. We hiked 9 miles today. There was a high mountain. I stopped 6 or 7 times on the mountain.

(Ty/Flash, age 7)

For the record, I'm leaning against a tree - NOT POSING!

We hiked a huge mountain. It probably was bigger and longer than Tray Mountain. It took us a long time to finish. We played "I'm thinking of a number" and still got bored and stopped. We had chili with our new cups and banana pudding for desert. It was fabulous. I cleaned my cup and I ate the rest of Ty's chili. I was filled then so that I couldn't have another helping of pudding.

We went up the trail a couple of times to get water but once we went up there the thing that cleans the water was dead. We had to ask a woman we saw a couple of times on the trail if she could clean the water for us. She did and we went down to tell Dad. He only had one battery but it was supposed to hold two. Dad called himself a dummy and we have learned a lesson.

(Muluken/Jolly Roger, age 9)