April 27th
Double Spring Gap Shelter(196.0)-Tri-Corner Knob Shelter(222.4)N Carolina/Tennessee
26.4mi

Elevation chart courtesy of Guthook’s AT Hiker app. He has apps for many trials including the PCT and CDT.


I woke up excited to go to Clingmans Dome Tower. It’s a touristy site in the Smokies, and at 6,655ft, it is also the highest point on the AT. I was hiking by 6:45am and it was a mild morning. It didn’t take long on the climb up to be fine in a tshirt. It was about 3mi into the morning and I was happy to arrive early enough that just a couple other tourists were there. We took pictures for each other.



It was nice to be up there without tons of people and dodge the weekend crowd. On my way down, I saw another thru hiker I had met at the shelter last night named Ken. Within an hour, Ken caught up to me as I was stopping to do things online when I got service. He’s a fast hiker and we ended up hiking the rest of the morning together until we hit the next big tourist spot, Newfound Gap. I still don’t quite get why it’s such a touristy spot, but it had a Rockefeller Memorial because they gave the final funds needed to create the highly used roadway.



Many hikers were there as the trail goes right through the large parking lot with possibly 100 cars. In the center is the first official sign to say that we’ve entered Tennessee, the third state along the trail. The Smokies run the border of North Carolina and Tennessee.



I had lunch there and so did the other hikers, but I found a spot to myself and enjoyed people watching in silence. It was a bit overwhelming. While I was there, I was able to look up the weather forecast. For days, hikers have known that thunderstorms are on the way and that they could be strong. I was hoping it might pass over as light rain like they did last week, but that doesn’t seem to be happening. It is Sunday and the forecast said the rain and scattered thunderstorms would start tomorrow afternoon and that there is a strong chance of thunderstorms all day Tuesday with the possibility of some being severe. It’s the word “severe” I don’t like. My original plan had me hiking until Wednesday afternoon where I’d get off at Hot Springs and take my first zero(no hiking day) in Newport where someone has kindly offered to host me. With this forecast, I’ve decided to strategically move the zero up a day and a half so I’ll get picked up tomorrow night and hopefully spend my zero on a day when there is severe weather. I’m fortunate that my hosts, Diana and Joey, are flexible and live close enough to pick me up at a different location. There is still a slight chance of thunderstorms on Wednesday when I plan to get on trail, but then it’s clear, so I think I’m doing the right thing. My body wants to keep hiking, but my gut and mind are telling me not to be stupid and take shelter if it’s available.

Knowing that the storms could start tomorrow, I decided to hike to the furthest shelter today and that put me over 26mi for the day. I spent the afternoon hiking with Ken who kept a good pace. He’s attempting the trail for the third year in a row having completed the first 600mi in 2012 and tried to complete the rest last summer before an injury stopped him, so he’s back and decided to start at the beginning with a brother that’s now further back. There wasn’t much conversation as Ken seems to be going through the motions to get through the miles he’s done before, but I think it was motivating for both of us in keeping a good pace. He stopped at a shelter before the one I did and I may see him again after my zero. Here is a photo of him where we split for the day.


There were lots of views today and that was nice. It was also my kind of forested hiking. It was old growth forest with pine needles, rocks, roots, and moss. It smelled wonderful and shaded me much of the day. I was really energized by it and enjoyed the hiking today. I felt like I could’ve hiked forever. I listened to more of the audiobook of Divergent and really enjoyed the last couple hours on my own.




I briefly overlapped with a woman named Red Robin, a 49yr old woman with short red hair, who is raising money for ALS through her hike. Her story is compelling as she was inspired to follow her dreams of an AT hike when she watched as her coworker died from ALS last year. She said it was heartbreaking as his body slowly deteriorated while his mind was still sharp. It is a reminder of how fortunate we are to be able to hike. If you’re interested in contributing, her site is crowdrise.com/alstakesahike. I will probably see her again after my zero day and will make an effort to get a picture. She and I did a short side trip to a cool spot called Charlie’s Bunion. It may be my favorite spot on the AT so far.


I arrived at the shelter at 6:30pm to find a very nice group of about 6 thru hikers I haven’t met before. I still chose to set up my tent instead of sleeping in the shelter, but I seriously considered the shelter. Some weekenders came to stay and said they heard the thunderstorms would start tonight whereas others heard 40% chance of rain. I decided to risk it and go with the tent. If it gets bad, I have the option of going in the shelter in the middle of the night and they have kindly made a space for me. So I’m hoping for a dry night! I’ll be okay with showers, just hoping nothing strong moves in. I’m very happy in the fresh air in my tent at the moment. We’ll see what happens. Either way, I’m relieved to know I’ll be in a safe and dry home tomorrow night.

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Walking With Wired
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Winter Break In San Diego!😎
What a great trip! With so much sun and great weather, it felt more like spring break than winter break. San Diego has definitely won us over. Here is a compilation of some of the many things we did. 
-Coastal walking 🌴🌊
-Biking around the bays🚴🏻‍♀️
-Revisiting the Pacific Crest Trail💕
-Exploring the city 🌇
-Sea World 🐬🦦🦭🎢
-Beautiful sunsets 🌅
-Puzzling:)🧩

#sandiego #winterbreak
Thanks for all the bday wishes! Since my birthday falls on a Monday this year, it was a great excuse to take an extra day off and make it a 3 day weekend🥳. I indulged in puzzling and pasta (artisan jumbo raviolis) over a great fall weekend. Today was a fun day of going to local places for bday freebies. Almost $100 worth of treats and there are more I can get throughout the month! Here’s the list for anyone looking for bday treats. 
*The hand-made artisan raviolis came from Foglia in Beaverton. 
-Dutch Bros
-Einstein Bagels
-Starbucks
-Jersey Mikes
-Baskin Robbins
-Baja Fresh
-Noodles & Co
-Pips (donuts)
-Old Spaghetti Factory
-Cheesecake Factory
-Dennys
The week got away from me and I meant to post this last weekend. Better late than never! Three weekends in a row spent in the Gorge. It’s been a great fall so far and we feel lucky to have all this nearby for quick excursions. Hiking in the gorge, camping at Ainsworth SP, checking out the “fruit loop” in Hood River, and a visit and some trail work at Nesika Lodge with the Trails Club of Oregon.🍁💛🍂🧡
#columbiarivergorge
We finished up our July trip with some days at Olympic National Park. The original plan included a backpacking trip to the Seven Lakes Basin, but we had to cancel it due to a foul weather front that moved through the days of our permit. Someday we will do that one. Once the skies cleared, we spent the remaining time we had exploring the Hurricane Ridge area. I’m a big fan of mountains, ridge walks, and clouds, so it was a good finale to this summer’s travels:)

Included in the photos is our campsite at Heart O’ the Hills Campground and the puzzles we completed over the last few weeks (many of them waiting out that weather the last few days🧩). #hurricaneridge #olympicnationalpark
We moved over to the east side of Mt. Rainier and explored the Sunrise area for a handful of days. Still many grand views of Mt. Rainier, but with even more wildflowers on this side. I even got to visit an old friend;) Feeling fortunate that the weather has continued to be clear, good temps, and minimal bugs. Summer break continues! #mtrainiernationalpark
Back in the PNW and taking a couple weeks to explore and relax at Mt Rainier Nat’l Park. Our first week was spent in the Paradise area of the park with impressive views of the south side of Mt Rainier. The weather was so ideal (and somehow no bugs!) that we easily spent half the day getting some much needed R&R at camp (especially hammocking and puzzling) before heading out for afternoon hiking. It’s great to have this area just a few hours from home. #mtrainiernationalpark
For the last leg of our Northeast Coast trip, we spent a few days camping at Blackwoods Campground in Acadia National Park. We did many of the recommendations for first time visitors to Acadia: popovers at Jordan Pond, hiked the Bubbles, rode bikes along a carriage road, toured around Bar Harbor and stopped for a whoopie pie, walked the popular ocean path, and went up to Cadillac Mountain at sunset.  Overall, a successful trip to the opposite coast. We look forward to finishing up the rest of summer break in the PNW!  #acadianationalpark
Next stop on our northeast coast trip, Cliff Island off the coast of Maine. We got a taste the island life from our amazing hosts Abby, Matt, Joan, and Scott: our own lobster boil, fireworks on the beach, a bit of sea kayaking, biking around the island, exploring the tide pools, puzzling, and collecting sea glass. The best part was reconnecting with Little Lottie who I cared for and bonded with in Portland during the first year of her life. It was great to see the world Lottie lives in now💕🦞🌊🐚🦀
Kicked off our summer break with an east coast trip this year. First up, a couple days in Boston. Great to see friends Andrea and @jdavischi85 again! We were happy to get our legs warmed up for summer hikes with walking and biking around Boston. Even got in some candlestick bowling and my first evah lobstah roll. A great start to our northeast part of the summer:)
Aunt Erin’s Portland Adventures, Days 7&8: Coast Camping Cont’d
The last two days of the visit were more camping along the coast. They were filled with all the things I’d hoped for the boys to experience. They made friends and played with the other kids at camp, feely rode bikes around the loop, played in the hammock, played soccer and frisbee on the beach, ate s’mores, ran over dunes, explored a low tide (Hug Point and Haystack Rock), had a foggy coastal day and a blue bird day, and slept in the trailer making it their little cabin. They really loved the trailer and it was super cute to see then use it so well. They had a great time and hopefully a memorable trip overall of all the things I love to share living in the PNW💚💙.
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