Returning to the trail soon

Hey everybody, it's Shawn. I have spent the past week and a half in Hot Springs, NC, recovering from a stress fracture on my left foot. I spent the first few days in motels with my fellow hikers, who were all sick and also taking a few days off. I got a shuttle into Asheville to see an orthopedist who confirmed that it was indeed a fracture, and not a sprain like the first doctor had told me. The woman who drove me to the doctor, Ruth, told me she had a yurt in her yard and I was welcome to stay there for as long as I needed. So that's where I've been hanging out for the past few days, reading and sharing a bed with at least two or three cats. Hot Springs is a really cool little town, with a main st only about a quarter mile long. The diner is especially tasty. But spring is really starting to show its colors and I am itching to get back to hiking. I took a three mile walk down the train tracks yesterday and my foot didn't hurt at all. My plan is to return to the trail tomorrow morning, where I will of course have to take it slow at first. About 8-10 days from now I should finally be in Virginia. It sucks that I have had to take so much time off, but if I need to rest, I'm glad it could be in such a nice area. I also went through my pack the other day to pick out stuff I don't need and realized that i have been carrying a whopping six pounds of extra crap! So i put that in a package and mailed it up ahead to lighten my load. Anyway like I said I really can't wait to get out there again so I will check back later, hopefully from sweet Virginey.

Injury

Shawn is currently taking some time off of the AT to recover from a sprained foot! He hiked for a few days before he knew how badly it was sprained, and is now giving it some time to get better. Shawn had his first over 20 mile hiking day this week! He seems to be doing very well, except for the pain and the frustration that he shouldn't keep hiking for the next few days. As far as I know, he is out of the Smoky Mountains, which is a huge accomplishment! He said that he's glad to be out of the Smokies, particularly because everyone has to sleep at a shelter every night (rule of the park) and the shelters are either 4 miles away or 18 (just an example), and there aren't any in the middle. Anyway, he should be in town for at least another day or so, so if anyone wants to give him a call or send him an email, please feel free!

Gatlinburg, TN!

Shawn is currently at a motel in Gatlinburg, TN! Today he hiked the tallest mountain on the AT, Clingman's Dome, which stands at 6,643 feet. He's been in the woods with other thru hikers for a number of days, so he said that getting to the top of the Dome was like being at Disney World. There were apparently families everywhere. He and his friend Rambo sat down on a rock at the summit to take a break, look at the view and drink some water. Apparently a 4-ish year old girl turned to her mom and said "what's that smell? why does it smell so bad up here? eww it smells so gross," as soon as the two of them sat down. The mom looked very embarrassed.
Shawn also told me that his foot hurt him for the last 3 miles of the day. One of the boys that he's hiking with is an EMT and said that it looks like he pulled a muscle. Shawn said that he might take a 0 mile day tomorrow to make sure that his foot is fully healed before he starts hiking again.
All of this was being told to me through mouthfuls of salad at Shoney's. He always gets very excited about food, but I guess that happens at home too.

I'll update again soon!

Smoky Mountains!

Shawn is currently hiking through the Smokies! We were able to talk for a few minutes today while he was on top of a mountain. He said that sometime tomorrow or so he will have less than 2000 miles to go on the AT! He also said that within the next few days he'll reach the 10% completed mark.
The weather seems to be a big concern throughout the trip. He said that today was one of the coldest days in a while, and it was in the 50s, so I know he's been luckier than most of us, but apparently there has been a lot of rain.
Since he left Franklin, NC, he spent a night on the trail with a few friends. The people he's been hanging out with the most are Coma, Rambo, No Responsibilities, Bearpaw and a few others. Those names mean just as little to me as they do to you, but it's interesting to hear the other names that people get on the trail.
The next day there was terrible rain, so Shawn and two others, I think Coma and Rambo, hitched a ride to a town and stayed there. Since then, he's been right outside and through the Smokies. He said that it has been a lot of difficult uphills. But while we were on the phone a lot of people who had been traveling behind him were passing him, and it seems as though he's gotten to know most of the hikers. He said that he's still enjoying himself. He also said that he hasn't done laundry in about a week, and it seems to be becoming a bit of a problem. Hopefully he'll be able to do it at some point before all of his new found friends abandon him for someone who has done their laundry more recently.
Reception has been pretty bad in the Smokies, but I'll update again in a few days.

The next few days...

Hi Everyone,

This is Kelsey writing again. Shawn is currently at the Nantahala Outdoor Center, about two days before reaching the Smoky Mountains. Since he last wrote, he spent two nights in Franklin, NC at a 'hiker hotel'. He decided to spend a second night because the forecast for the day on Wednesday was severe thunderstorms and tornado warnings. He left on Thursday morning on an 11 o'clock shuttle and walked a little over 4 miles. He decided that he really likes to walk by himself and then camp with a group at night. So, about 4 miles into the hike on Thursday, he met up with a bunch of people that he got to know in Franklin. They found a big, open field in the middle of the woods. A lot of people thought about pushing on to a shelter, but instead decided to take advantage of the open field. They pooled the beers that they had saved from Wednesday night, stuck them in a bag, and then stuck them in a creek near the campsite, so that they would be cold for the evening. Then they made a fire and had dinner. Shawn said that the moon was almost full, if not completely full, and the view of the stars was incredible.
On Friday, Shawn got kind of a late start around 11:30AM. He left after almost everyone else that had stayed at the field. He had to hike about 12 miles yesterday. It was a hard day, because there was a lot of up hill hiking. He didn't get to a campsite until about 7 or 7:30PM, which is pretty late for a hiker day.
Today he got a much earlier start, because he had another 12 miles to go and was anxious to get to the Nantahala Outdoor Center. He got to the center around 4 or 5 and said that today was a pretty easy day for hiking. He seems to have lost a lot of the group that he was traveling with on Thursday, but he suspects that they were lured off the trail by a 'trail angel' who had pitched a tent and was offering food and drinks to tired hikers. The Outdoor Center has a bunkhouse, a restaurant, condos, a store and seems to be pretty touristy. It's on a river that is known for it's white water rafting. Tonight for dinner he had a pretty typical Shawn meal of an appetizer of onion rings, and then a bacon cheeseburger and fries for a main course. I just talked to him a few minutes ago, and he was sitting on the porch of the bunkhouse with two other hikers that he ate dinner with. He said that he would be in bed soon and that he's looking forward to starting the Smokies.
He seems to still be enjoying himself a lot. And I've heard that although his hand still does not look great, it feels much better.
Shawn and I have still been able to talk every day, so if you would like to receive a call from him sometime soon, feel free to post it on here or send me an email, kwegner@drew.edu, and I'll be sure to pass on the message.

We're not in Georgia anymore

Hey everybody, I am writing to you from soggy Franklin, North Carolina. It has rained all day, with thunderstorms forecast for tomorrow, but I made a shuttle three miles earlier than I had planned, and was able to get a room and a hot shower. Already North Carolina seems different from Georgia. The first climb out of Bly Gap at the state line was immediately harder than anything I have seen so far. There have been some peaks over 5000 feet, including the insane Albert Mountain, which I summited late yesterday. That was a 15 mile day, a new record for me. My blisters are healing well, though my left hand is somewhat useless when it comes to setting up camp or cooking. I tried to make Jiffy Pop last night over a campfire, but that was a disaster (I burned it horribly, but ate it anyway). I learned how to make stovetop stuffing for a meal, and I have a feeling that it will be one of my favorites in the months to come. I'm in the lobby of the motel now, waiting for a shuttle to come to take us to town for groceries and whatnot. After that I need to hit a laundromat up the street and check out the all you can eat bbq buffet for dinner. Then a relaxing night with a real bed and a TV. It's amazing how much you can enjoy a crappy room and greasy food after only two weeks of doing this, but there you have it. I'll check back soon. I'm about a week or so away from the Smokey Mtn's, so I'm sure I'll have a few stories to tell.

Shawn here

Hey everybody, this is Shawn writing. Kelsey posted earlier that I was going to hike a few miles today, but that didn't end up happening. My fingers have some good blisters on them, and the weather is lousy, with thunderstorms coming tonight, so they convinced me to stay. Not a whole lot to report that Kelsey hasn't already covered. My new trail name is apparantly "Poker", after the hot metal poker that i grabbed onto last night. I knew as soon as it happened that an embarrassing nickname would probably come from it, and sure enough this morning everybody was trying to decide what to call me. It was between Poker and Branded. I kind of liked Branded, but oh well. It's been nice to take a couple of days off, but I am excited to get back to hiking tomorrow. Even though i've hardly even seen a squirrel and none of the plants are really in bloom, the trail is beautiful around every turn. I am amazed at how nice and willing to help hikers everybody has been. Kelsey mentioned the elderly couple that gave me a snack and a comfortable chair after climbing a ridiculously steep mountain. The Cloud 9 Hostel/Trout Farm, where I am staying right now, is also very nice. The caretaker, Crutch, got his name from a thru hike attempt a few years ago where he broke a leg early on, and continued to hike with a cast and a crutch. He had to quit in New Jersey, because it was late October and the hiking season was ending. Luckily my injuries aren't that bad, and as long as I go easy on my fingers, I should be fine. That's all that really springs to mind right now, so I hope everything is great back in Mass. or wherever you're reading this from, and I'll try to write again soon!