After a brief stop in Hot Springs and Asheville, North Carolina, AT for CZC headed north towards Erwin, Tennessee. Click here for a full map of the North Carolina/Tennessee portion of the Trail. While I have been unable to speak with Matt in the past couple of weeks, he asked that I pass along the following over the weekend.As of yesterday afternoon, James and Matt have hiked over 300 miles. They continue to enjoy their time on the Trail and are, in their words, "loving it!" They continue to eat lots of mashed potato burritos, courtesy of hikers that have dropped out over the past couple of weeks.
Matt wished to recognize several individuals for their hospitality and generosity and asked that I briefly touch on the notion of Trail Magic. Trail magic can take several forms but revolves around the notion of individuals going out of their way to support thru-hikers during their hikes. Whether this be food and drink left in shelters, car rides from the Trail into town, or even opening ones home for hikers to recuperate in for the night, the idea of trail magic and trail angels is an uplifting notion over the course of 2,000 miles.
Matt and James had been missing out on the Trail Angels over the past several weeks, arriving at the shelters after the fact and finding nothing more than empty soda bottles and candy wrappers. However, over the past week, their luck has changed. They wish to thank Ben and Adam for putting them up in Asheville last week and helping Matt find a drum. Matt now carries a small aluminum hand drum (weighs about a pound). They also wish to thank Yonder and Janet for hot dogs and cokes.
Matt said he received a number of items in the mail during his stay in Hot Springs. He devoured the cookies and brownies sent to him by Mom and Danny. And finally, he wishes to thank Barbara and Pat Loffredo for the nice new hiking items that they provided, including a light weight shirt to keep him cooler in the coming months.
Looking ahead, Matt and James hope to reach Erwin in the next couple of days. I look forward to speaking with them soon and hearing more about their adventures over the past couple of weeks!
I have loved following the amazing progress - at this point on the trail, what would be the best way to get a letter to Matt?
ReplyDeleteThanks!
Julie (one of Matt's CZC buddies)
julie.rosson@gmail.com
I joined James and Matt in Hot Springs, NC and then hiked with them for five days. I have great respect for these two trekkers. My hiking was tough and they just breezed through the mountains even though our first 23 miles was up the mountains. James noted that the average acclimation time was about one week on the trail for every decade of your life. Not only did they have a 300 mile head start on me, they are also less than half my age. Ouch!
ReplyDeleteThey eat constantly to keep up energy on the trail. Nothing like starting the day with a bowl of oatmeal and a few candy bars. For dinner, they mix up some amazing stuff. How about starting with Ramen noodles, thickening the remaining water with mashed potato flakes, adding lots of hot sauce, and then spooning it into a large tortilla? Yum….especially if you are hungry.
You can check out some photos from my time on the trail with Matt and James at:
http://gilfuqua.smugmug.com/Other/Appalachian-Trail-2012/23231731_BC549P#!i=1873125207&k=Vv2PPRb
Note the rattlesnake that impeded by forward progress in one of the photos. You can count the 11 rattles (taken with my most telephoto lens), but, NO bears!