Biggest Picture Post Ever!

Still thinking about the words... but here are the pics. Lovin Hawaii!

Max Patch, a beautiful day!

hiking in the fog

Rhododendrons... weirdest plants ever

camping in the snow

A typical Smoky Mountain Shelter

snow day!

our friend BluRay

Sissy Hankshaw

longest icicle yet

Walking 13 miles up the closed road from Gatlinburg, TN.

regrouping...

hmm, the trail goes...where?

Observation tower on Clingmans Dome, highest point on the AT!

Wow, what a journey.

Fontana Dam

Last state line! N.C to GA

Georgia

1 mile to go! Met up with Tyrell's  Mom, brother, and grandparents

We made it!

Springer Mtn. at last

our support crew : )

Amicalola Falls

The End

 More still to come, keep watching this site. (May take us a little while depending on how much time we spend at the beach.) Thank you everybody for your support!

We made it!!! Epilogue to come soon...

30.7 miles to Springer! Here we are in GA, at long last!

115.9 miles to go

Woohoo! We made it through the Smokies! 

It took some days on snowshoes, but we finally got the heck out of there. Unfortunately, we are still up at 4,000 and 5,000 ft and we are still in the snow. However, Springer Mtn. gets closer every day, and temps are finally warming- no more 0 degree days! Has been in the 30's and 40's the last few days.

We found that dates are awesome trail food because they are still soft and juicy when everything else is frozen solid. Never underestimate frozen food- one couple we met had to end their hike because he broke a tooth on a frozen Snickers, and the trip to the dentist killed their budget.

Anyhow, we are dreaming of warm, sandy beaches in Hawaii. Until then we will keep on plodding. Anybody interested in being a trailbreaker?

Gatlinburg, TN

Well, here we are in the Great Smoky Mountains. Or should I say the "great snowy mountains". Heading into the park it was warm and sunny, clear trails, and ten-day forecast for more sun. It started snowing early afternoon the first day, and has dumped 3 feet since! Slow, slow going. We did have one beautiful sunny day- great views, all the trees completely blanketed in white, and everything bright and glittering.
Our progress has been so slow we decided to resupply with food before heading up to Clingmans Dome(highest point on the AT). However, when we reached the main park road it wasn't even plowed! The four of us grouped in the heated womens restroom and tried to come up with a plan. Two of us had enough food to make it, but we would be gettin skinny. Plus, we would be breaking trail by ourselves. The other two definitely needed more food. We ended up calling the rangers and they were awesome. They sent up the plow truck and a ranger vehicle to tote us all down to town. Once in town we found that many places were closed due to weather and too much snow. And the park gate is locked til tomorrow probably, so here we are stuck in Gatlinburg, snowed in.