We did it!!
2,181 miles 14 states 141 days June 6 to October 24 Dream come true! Thank you for all your support and prayers – couldn’t have done it without you all. Bigger update to come later …
Springer Mountain, Here We Come!
We have reached our 14th and final state, Georgia! Theoretically, we have accomplished our goal: we hiked from Maine to Georgia. But, the southern terminus of the Appalachian Trail is actually 67.5 miles south at Springer Mountain and that is where our journey will end in just 5 days, on Oct. 24. For now, we…
Mile 2,018.4 – Recap of Great Smoky Mountains National Park
Folks, we have walked 2,018.4 miles and have been out in the woods for 131 days so far. We have 162.6 miles and 10 days left. That all just seems unbelievable, doesn’t it? We resupplied tonight in Fontana Dam, needing very little after opening all our mail magic! Something else monumental happened. Fire Marshall loves…
Mile 1909!!!!
Hello from Hot Springs, NC, at Mile 1909.2 on Day 125, where we took a nero (near-zero) to shower & resupply! We are staying at a super-cool hostel; an old Victorian house from the 1800s called Elmer’s Sunnybank Inn. Hot Springs itself is a neat little town, but we did not indulge in the hot…
Happy 35th Birthday Deal!
Happy Birthday to my lovely husband!!!! I don’t have much service, but I had to send a shout-out!! My wish for him is that he gains weight because his belt loop can’t tighten any more!!!
An Unexpected Zero!
Remember how I said it was unseasonably cold here and we were about to climb to higher elevations where it was even colder? Well, we conferenced and decided to take a ZERO day at the Mountain Harbour B&B/Hostel, where they serve the most unbelievable breakfast!! Fire Marshall & I left it up to Deal, since…
Snow in TN, Mail Magic & Last Mail Drop
We are currently at a hostel in Elk Park, NC/Roan Mtn, TN at mile 1791.4 on day 118. And thank God we are in a hostel, because it is in the 30s and we are at a lower elevation (2,000 feet). I can only imagine what it is like up there in the mountains ……
Mile 1716.6 – Day 114
Hello from Damascus, VA, a very hiker-friendly town we walk through. We are at mile 1716.6!!! We are merely 3.7 miles from the end of Virginia and the beginning of Tennessee, but I’m going to pretend we are done and just give you the summary of Virginia prematurely. So wow, I never realized how much…
Deal's Bday Maildrop
Lots of people have been asking where they can send something (for example, home-baked goods) for Deal’s 35th birthday on October 6. Cell service has been crappy, so I’m sorry for the delay. Here’s the best place to send something (baked goods): Justin La VigneC/O Bob Peoples1278 Dennis Cove RoadHampton, TN37658Please hold for SOBO Thru…
Days 95-106/Central VA
We have completed Central VA, all 227 miles! It took us 12 days. We did stop in a few towns, mainly to resupply, shower & get a good meal, but we haven’t really taken any significant “neros.” We also stayed in the famous Woodshole Hostel, which our book describes as a little piece of heaven.…
Small Update, Next Maildrop and Medical Mishap
We are in town tonight … Once again, our trail angel, Fire Chief (Fire Marshall’s dad) met us on the trail! He did this for a few reasons, but mainly because we are hiking right near Fire Marshall’s Alma Mater, so we had to make that pit stop! It was actually perfect timing and if…
Mile 1327 – Part 1 of VA
We have completed 154 miles of VA! 854 left of the whole trail! And we just celebrated 3 months (94 days) on the trail! Seeing the numbers just feels like amazing progress!! Tonight, we are staying at a hotel in Waynesboro, VA. When we walked into the room, it smelled of alcohol cleaning products. One…
The story behind the believe rock
Lots of people have been asking what that item is that I am holding up in front of the state signs. It is a clear rock with a cross and the word “believe” and it was given to us by our second Mom in Phoenix. Someone had given it to her when her youngest son…
Mile 1204.7 – Recap of MD/WV
We are actually 30 miles into Virginia now, but I have yet to give my report on Maryland and West Virginia! MD & WV were the shortest states we’ll go through on the AT (47 miles combined), but they provided us with the MOST magic!! I’ll just give you the play-by-play. On Thursday afternoon, we…
Mile 1,130! PA is finished!
On Thursday, we conquered our eighth state and entered Maryland! Oh and we hit the halfway point of the trail on Wednesday!! Oh PA. We did not love you, but we tried not to hate you. I have to admit, the second half was better than the first half and helped redeem the state. I’ll…
My 33 year old thru hiker
Hello everyone, this is Deal. Yesterday Steadee turned 33 and I do believe she had a great day, thanks to all of your cards, emails, phone messages and texts. The night before she indulged in some yummy backpacker desert meals. Then on her bday we hiked 23 miles to the town of Duncannon PA (through…
Mail Magic
We are at mile 980.6 and I can confirm 2 things about PA. There are rocks and snakes (poisonous ones). I’ll just apologize in advance to our PA friends because I don’t think we’ll have nice things to say about the state when we complete it. We are not trying to be haters of PA…
Onto Rocksylvania
We spent 3 wonderful zeros at my parents’ … Saw lots of friends and took care of all our bizness. Of course, the last 3 days were gorgeous … In the 70s, low humidity. Today, torrential downpouring. Thank you Mother Nature. Anywho, we are hitting the trail. I am not excited at all to hike…
Mile 895.5 – New Jersey is DONE
Guess what we have been doing the last few days?? NOT HIKING!! I’m excited to tell you all that we are enjoying a few zeros at my parents’ house in NJ! We had this planned in our heads for a long time and actually, we haven’t taken a full day off since Hanover, NH, just…
Mile 823.4 New York is DONE!
We entered NJ this evening and it started to downpour … you would think our home state would be kinder to us!! So we quickly set up our tent and are hunkering down for the night. The good news is we have entered our 7th state!! As for my summary of NY, I have mixed…