November 7, 2013: l slept on the picnic table bench, which might not have been the best idea. But I stayed dry from the rain, so it was ok in the end. We had pancakes for breakfast, then Rainbow Braid offered to slack pack us. We took her up on the offer, and set off down the foggy trail. Pivot Dude was on a mission, and I didn't catch him until the road just below Springer.
At the Hawk Mountain shelter I had lunch, and thought about the maintainer I had met up in the 100 Mile Wilderness in Maine. Seems like just a few days ago. The weather started to clear, and by the time I got to the gap it was sunny.
We found the second bottle of champagne hidden in the woods, and walked the last mile of the trail. On top we celebrated. Champagne, lots of pictures, even congratulations from the random other hikers who happened to be around. Back at the car, Rainbow Braid gave us a ride to Atlanta and let us crash at her place for the night.
2185.8 miles, 142 days. 15 miles per day, on average. It was a nice walk.


#AppalachianTrail #thruHike #hiking #sobo #AT #Georgia #SpringerMountain #at2013 #AppalachianTrail2013 #outdoors #terminus #2000miler

November 6, 2013: At the Neels Gap outfitter, a lot of northbound hikers will get a pack shakedown. I considered getting one, but it seemed like it wasn't worth it with so few miles left.
It was a foggy and cloudy day, but it never really rained. After going over Blood Mountain, Fresh Grounds was set up at the road in the gap. There were a bunch of people who had hiked nobo that were hanging out, so we did too. A trip was made to town for more food and beer, and a good afternoon was had by all. Pivot Dude and I decided to just stay there for the night so we could hang out with everyone.

#AppalachianTrail #thruHike #hiking #sobo #Georgia #AT #fog #tree #outdoors #at2013 #AppalachianTrail2013 #NeelsGap

November 5, 2013: We got the best trail magic today. At Hogpen Gap we meet a lady who asked us if we needed anything. We mentioned we were looking for champagne for Springer, and since it was Sunday in Hiawassee we couldn't buy any. Later, when we got to the Neels Gap hostel, we found not only a bottle of champagne, but some food for dinner and a not saying she had hidden another bottle near Springer. Wow!
It was a good evening, eating the food and watching old VHS tapes on the small TV in the hostel. Only two days left.


#AppalachianTrail #thruHike #hiking #sobo #AT #AppalachianTrail2013 #outdoors #at2013 #Georgia #TrailMagic

November 4, 2013: I woke up relatively early, and left before Pivot Dude was up. He didn't catch me until the shelter at the end of the day. Most of the leaves are off the trees, so there are decent views in a lot of places. It's probably a weekend, since there were a lot of people out. Only 50 miles left!

#AppalachianTrail #thruHike #hiking #sobo #AT #Georgia #outdoors #at2013 #AppalachianTrail2013

November 3, 2013: I crossed into Georgia today. The final state. Shortly after we got to Georgia, a northbound hiker passed is with a dog. The dog wasn't hers, but had a collar. So we called the number then took the dog with us to the road. The owner met us at the road, and gave is a ride into town.
Naturally we went to the buffet first. Then a motel for a lazy afternoon. This is probably the last town stop for me.

#AppalachianTrail #thruHike #hiking #sobo #NorthCarolina #Georgia #outdoors #foliage #AppalachianTrail2013 #AT #forest #at2013

November 2, 2013: Fall has not ended in southern North Carolina. The leaves were great today. As we sat in a shelter eating lunch, a dark cloud moved in and it started to hail. We decided to hang out until it had finished. Once it was sunny again, we set out. A while later there was more hail. Just like when I was on Graylock in Massachusetts. Oh well. I passed the nobo 100 mile mark, so the trail is almost done.


#AppalachianTrail #thruHike #hiking #sobo #NorthCarolina #outside #foliage #AT #AppalachianTrail2013 #at2013

November 1, 2013: We had a lazy morning at the motel. At lunch time we found a ride back to the peak. I climbed the tower for the view, then started down. It felt like it was all downhill.
Some section hikers showed up at the shelter, and I was entertained by how long it took them to do everything. I've gotten efficient while hiking the last few months.

#AppalachianTrail #thruHike #hiking #sobo #NorthCarolina #AT #outdoors #at2013 #AppalachianTrail2013 #waterfall

October 31, 2013: The balds didn't seem very bald today. As the day progressed, it got more and more cloudy. We could tell a storm was brewing. At the top of Wayah Bald we called the Franklin Chamber of Commerce, and two ladies volunteered to bring us into town. We checked into a motel, and only left to get pizza and beer. A warm and dry night was nice.

#AppalachianTrail #thruHike #hiking #sobo #NorthCarolina #AT #at2013 #outdoors #AppalachianTrail2013 #selfie

October 30, 2013: it was mostly downhill today. I only tripped and face planted once. Good thing no one saw me.
At the Nantahala Outdoor Center (NOC), I did laundry and ate lunch. When Pivot Dude arrived, we shared a six pack. At dinner he tried to yogi a night with the waitress, but she said no. So we hiked by headlamp to the next shelter.

#AppalachianTrail #thruHike #hiking #sobo #AppalachianTrail2013 #outdoors #at2013 #NorthCarolina #noc

October 29, 2013: It was a warm night, since we weren't up high on a ridge. As we climbed up the first hill, the sun came out, and it was a good day. At one of the gaps Pivot Dude decided he wanted to go to a hostel, so he stopped to wait for a ride. We'll meet at the NOC tomorrow. I went over Cheoah Bald, which seemed pretty hairy. No one at the shelter tonight.

#AppalachianTrail #thruHike #hiking #sobo #NorthCarolina #AT #outdoors #at2013 #AppalachianTrail2013

October 28, 2013: It was out last day in the park, and was mostly downhill. As we were getting close to the boundary, we came across these bears. They didn't care that we stopped to watch them, and we could've stayed for hours. After crossing Fontana Dam, we discovered the snack bar was closed and the vending machine broken. So we hitched to the restaurant in town for dinner and a few drinks.

#AppalachianTrail #thruHike #hiking #sobo #Tennessee #NorthCarolina #AT #GSMNP #AppalachianTrail2013 #at2013 #outdoors #bear #bears #forest #GreatSmokeyMountainsNationalPark

October 27, 2013: some rain overnight melted all the snow. It was pretty foggy all day. The hike down to the gap was quick, but the climb back up to Clingmans Dome felt long. Since there's a road to the top, there were a lot of people. No views though, even from the tower. I talked with some hikers who were thinking of hiking next year. No one at the shelter, must be a weekday.

#AppalachianTrail #thruHike #hiking #sobo #AT #GSMNP #AppalachianTrail2013 #outdoors #Tennessee #NorthCarolina #at2013 #ClingmansDome #GreatSmokeyMountainsNationalPark