all good things are wild and free - HDT

Where to next?

We are so happy to have you here!

Writer Carlie

wife | business owner | graphic designer | wildflower | photographer | videographer | dreamer | adventurer | nerd | INFP

I do my best to see beauty in everything, even the mundane.

Always Remember: Life is meant to be lived.

Writer Brady

husband | project manager | mechanical engineer | voice of reason | photographer | videographer | dungeon master | adventurer | nerd | XXTP

I do my best to experience life without limits

Always Remember: The joy of life is in the journey.

The most recent adventures!

happygolondons

AT 2020 Day 19: Rock Gap To Wine Spring Camp 11.8

AT 2020 Day 19: Rock Gap To Wine Spring Camp
11.8 Miles (117.6 total miles on AT)
*We are off trail but playing catch-up with our posts from days past*
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A beautiful day back on trail after a zero in Franklin. Our stress levels were still pretty high but it felt good to be back on trail. We slack packed (hiked without our packs) from Rock Gap to Winding Stair Gap in an effort to catch up to Pappy and Phoenix. Carlie's feet were still hurting her but the new shoes were hopefully going to prevent them from getting worse; however, a previous pain in a different spot started acting up again. •
It was nice and sunny so we climbed up Siler Bald for a beautiful view of the surrounding mountains. The climb is no joke and we left our packs at the base of the side trail tucked in some grass so we didn't have to lug them all the way to the top and back down. Only brought the essentials aka phones and cameras. •
Caught up with Phoenix and pappy later in the day about the time we needed some encouragement to keep going. This was our second double digits hiking day and we were pooped by mile 9. Looking forward to the days we can bust out 12-15 miles by lunch time without breaking a sweat. Wine spring camp was a nice little spot with a good flowing spring. Had a difficult time getting a fire going at night but hanging with Pappy and Pheonix was great.

Happy birthday to this amazing woman! She turns 28

Happy birthday to this amazing woman! She turns 28 today. She is talented, kind hearted, nerdy, adventurous, loving, gentle, and free spirited. Carlie, I am so glad I get to spend my life exploring this world with you. This world is a better place because you are in it. I can't wait to see all the amazing dreams come true with you in the years ahead.

AT 2020 Day 17 and 18: Long Branch Shelter to Rock

AT 2020 Day 17 and 18: Long Branch Shelter to Rock Gap and ride into Franklin, NC
3.7 Miles (105.8 total miles on AT)
*We are off trail but playing catch-up with our posts from days past*
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What a miserable morning. Waking up to rain is nice as the drops create a rhythmic thrumping but the rain was starting to collect in our rain fly and seep into the tent. What is even worse is packing up a wet and muddy tent in a down pour that is showing no signs of letting up. We did our best and managed to get just about everything in our packs wet. No hot breakfast was had that day. Carlie's feet were not getting any better and she was hobbling every step. We had to stop at rock gap and get into town.
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Franklin is a cute mountain town with lots of little shops and places to eat. Sadly many things were closed. We took the next day off from hiking to get carlie some new shoes from Outdoor 76. This was a tough day for us emotionally as we heard of more closures on the trail and our hearts and minds contemplated our options moving forward. Should we get off trail, should we push on and skip the closed sections, what should we do. Our hearts told us that life was easier and safer in the woods but we were mentally planning to leave trail. On top of that, our new found family @tunaminnow were taking an extended break from trail to be with friends and family during these uncertain times.
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What to do, where to go, our minds were racing, our hearts were discouraged, our plans for living wild and free on the AT were crashing. Check my phone. New message. Phoenix wants to talk. We met Pheonix and Pappy back at the beginning of our hike. They were in Franklin and getting back on trail the next day at Winding Stair Gap (3.6 miles ahead of us). We talked with them. They encouraged us to hike with them the following day. A spark of joy. We can hike a bit more.

Real time update: • “I wish it need not have h

Real time update:
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“I wish it need not have happened in my time,” said Frodo.
“So do I,” said Gandalf, “and so do all who live to see such times. But that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us.” - JRR Tolkien
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It is with heavy and saddened hearts that we must postpone our through hike of the Appalachian Trail. Many tears were shed as we realized that we cannot continue forward without breaking the law. Our hike was about breaking free from the chains of mundane life and enjoying the wild and free lands along the AT. It is our first step into changing our lives for the better and experiencing more of the world. That dream is still burning inside of us as we are being caged in by the coronavirus.
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We will be back on trail as soon as it is legal to do so. Until then we will hole up in the woods at a remote campsite. Our hike will go on. This is our year to climb Katahdin.
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PS: we will continue posting from the days we were on trail until we catch up to real time for Instagram and YouTube. Posts and videos will be tagged as "off trail but catching up to real time"

AT 2020 Day 16: Beech Gap to Long Branch Shelter 1

AT 2020 Day 16: Beech Gap to Long Branch Shelter
11.8 Miles (102.1 total miles on AT)
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We did it! We hit 100 miles on the AT! The climb up Albert mountain was challenging but fun. It was made special by our friends Tuna and Minnow and family hiking with us. We also hiked our first double digit day. Carlie's feet were killing her by the end and we think the shoes/insoles she was wearing were bruising her feet. We have since changed those out.
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Long Branch shelter was a little rough for us. We tent camped on the flattest and most level spot we could find which was not flat nor level by any means. The shelter is built on the side of a hill and limited tent sites created difficulty for our large 3 person tent. Sleeping on a slope is challenging enough but it also poured buckets of rain that night. Our rain fly did it's best to keep us dry in the night but still collected water enough to dampen everything in the tent. A rough night of sleep was had by all.

AT 2020 Day 15: Muskrat Shelter to Beech Gap 9.3

AT 2020 Day 15: Muskrat Shelter to Beech Gap
9.3 Miles (90.3 total miles on AT)
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We climbed up and over Standing Indian Mountain which is one of the taller mountains on the AT in North Carolina and the tallest mountain we have climbed so far on our journey. It was a beautiful clear day and spirits were high. With good friends and good family by our side, we crushed that mountain and enjoyed every bit of it. We highly recommend Beech Gap for camping. Lots of flat, open spaces to pitch a tent. Good water sources nearby and little to no bugs. Met a wonderful NC Trail Maintainer who helps take care of that section of trail while we camped at beech gap. Shout out to Selu for volunteering her time to care for the land and trails in North Carolina.

AT 2020 Day 14: Plumorchard Shelter to Muskrat She

AT 2020 Day 14: Plumorchard Shelter to Muskrat Shelter
7.3 Miles (81 total miles on AT)
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We crossed the state line! One state down, 13 to go. It was a wonderful day of hiking. Got to spend more time with Tuna and Minnow, crossed the border into North Carolina, and we had a family member surprise us on trail and start hiking with us. Thank you all for your support as we continue our back packing journey along the AT.

AT 2020 Day 13: Deep Gap Shelter to Plumorchard Sh

AT 2020 Day 13: Deep Gap Shelter to Plumorchard Shelter
8.1 Miles (73.7 total miles on AT)
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The day arrived with a bright sun shining through the trees. After a long night of rain, it was nice to have some sun. Too bad our tent was still wet from the night before. The weather warmed up nicely because we saw 3 different snakes near trail. The one photo'd scared carlie half to death when she almost stepped on it. The other two snakes we saw were slightly off trail and making babies. No photo for that one. Respect their privacy. Haha. (Though we might have video hahaha)
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Our new found friends @tunaminnow were running low on food and had pressed on the night before when we stopped at Deep Gap Shelter. Didn't know when we would see them again but after we got to Plumorchard gap after a long day of hiking, our friends came trotting into the clearing after getting a resupply in town. It was such a delight to see them and have dinner with them.
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Real time update: I appologize for the misrepresentation of information earlier as I now realize my wording was poor. The Great Smoky Mountains National Park is closed which includes a section of the Appalachian Trail. The entirety of the trail is not closed. We have evaluated our situation, dreams, and plans and have decided to continue our thru hike of the AT with some modifications such as skipping the closed sections and coming back later to fill them in as the parks reopen. Those of you reading this may or may not agree with our decision but at this time, it is our path forward.

AT 2020 Day 12: Tray Mountain Shelter to Deep Gap

AT 2020 Day 12: Tray Mountain Shelter to Deep Gap Shelter
7.5 Miles (65.6 total miles on AT)
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Some days are exciting with lots of cool stuff to see but this was not one of those days. This section of trail was fairly easy but nothing spectacular to see or show off. It was Carlie's sister's birthday and we were able to send a text out for that so that was cool. Other than that, it was just a day walking in the woods. It turned cold and rainy in the afternoon but was a good day.
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Real time update: currently sitting in Franklin, NC. Trying to figure out what to do. Smokey Mountain National Park just announced closure of all trails in park including AT sections in park. So we don't know what our plans are. Section hike the parts that are open and fill in when everything settles down? Go camp on a beach in Mexico for a couple months? Rent an RV and social distance road trip? Feeling very much in limbo right now. All we can do is look at our current situation, adapt, plan, and overcome.

AT 2020 Day 11: Unicoi Gap to Tray Mountain Shelte

AT 2020 Day 11: Unicoi Gap to Tray Mountain Shelter
5.6 Miles (58.1 total miles on AT)
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The climb out of Unicoi Gap is no joke. We started the hike in the pouring rain but it stopped shortly after we managed to get all our rain gear on. Best way to stop a rain shower is to stop and get all your rain gear out. Haha. So we started shedding layers as we climbed. The weather turned beautiful and gave us perfect hiking conditions.
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We have continued to get to know Tuna and Minnow (@tunaminnow) and have enjoyed their company at the shelters. Carlie and Minnow are both vegetarians and have really bonded over that. Both of them packed out left over veggie pizza from Helen and had that for dinner at Tray Mountain shelter. I fixed a large bowl of Kraft Mac and cheese. 1 full box all to myself. Yummmm!

Join us on our adventures!