Well we were fortunate and with the Grace of God we were able to make another section on the AT a few months ago. We got on the trail on April 23rd and got off on the 28th. We started where we left off last time (Natahala Outdoor Center and end the trip at the lookout tower at Clingmons Dome in the Smokey zmoutain National Park. We did a total of 76 miles on this leg and reached the 200 mile mark at Clingmons Dome. The first two or three days were very nice, but the last 34 miles we hiked were in the rain and cold. We wanted to hike in the rain some as we have not had those conditions on the trail before but like they say be careful what you wish for. It was 3 days of misery but we actually learned a lot and will make adjustments with our gear for the next leg. As usual, we met great people and and saw beautiful sights. We hiked a few day with a 77 year old who was a beast, and even ran into a 80 plus year old cat hiking the trail. He was not fast, but hey he was doing ok which was incredible. Got a lot of inspiration from them. In all honesty I want to be done with the whole trail before I’m 65 ( I’ll be 60 this year) so over the next few years we will be picking up the pace and mileage. I hope everyone has a great summer and get in out their and challenge yourselves. We only have this one shot in life so get with it.
