Carrie’s 2024 AT NOBO blog
Trekking the AT one day at a time
POSTS
Day 38 – 644.5 miles down
Oh boy today was a character building day. This is despite the fact that I had a lot of luxuries: I woke up well slept in a bed, with fresh coffee and amazing breakfast, and an extra late start (10:30) leaving the majestic Woods Hole. the mileage was relatively low, and easy terrain. I also…
Keep readingDay 37 – 625.8 miles down
Today was another incredible day in the woods. I was supposed to leave at 6am with some girls I met last night in the shelter, but classic I majorly slept in until 620 and didn’t get out until after 730. It was so nice to be at camp with a crew of 4-5 people. It…
Keep readingDay 36 – 604.0 miles down
600 miles!!!! Wow. Today was another great day in the woods. First of all, last night it POURED. There was a lightening storm that was so intense it lit up the sky and woke me up at 10:50. I was so spooked I couldn’t sleep for three hours. I got some condensation in my tent…
Keep readingDay 35 – 580.8 miles down
Today was a great, easy “rest” day. I met these three awesome girls yesterday, and made the decision to hike less today to meet up with them at the shelter where I’m tenting tonight (I dont sleep in shelters, and there are always lots of tent sites around the shelter). I only hiked 17 miles…
Keep readingDay 34 – 564.2 miles down
I’m going to keep it quick since it’s already 830 (9pm is hiker midnight). We woke up at the alpaca farm, but I was way more excited about the cats at the farm than the alpacas. I don’t need anything to do with an animal with a neck that big. The view was lovely -…
Keep readingDay 33 – 546.1 miles down; first 30 mile day
I am exhausted because I hiked 30 miles today. I’ll say that ten more times this blog post probably. Last night was another chilly night, though not as brutal as the night before. We found out yesterday from a ridge runner (a ridge runner is basically a forest caretaker; they get paid very little I…
Keep readingDay 32 – 516.3 miles down; PONIES!
Today was another great day in the woods. She tested us right out the gate. It was not 40 degrees last night, it was 36!!!! In F’n May!!!!! Hoot and I were so smug sending home our winter gear not two days ago. I managed to stay plenty warm despite having a 50 degree quilt.…
Keep readingDay 31 – 492.8 miles down
Note: I can’t upload photos. I dont know why. I’ll add them later. Today was a straightforward easy day, 21 miles. We had breakfast (homemade cinnamon buns!) and then did goodbye to Lady Di, the owner of the bnb. she insisted we send her postcards when we get to Mama K. We weighed our packs…
Keep readingDay 30 – Zero day in Damascus
Today was a rest day but really it was a chore / small town vibes day. We are in Damascus which is another Trail town. The trail literally walks through the town. I woke up in Damascus at the BnB someone recommended a few days ago. This bnb opened in 2021 and is effectively a…
Keep readingDay 29 – 475 miles down; marathon day to Virginia
I’M IN VIRGINIA!!!! I am so hyped about this. The TN/NC border is pretty fluid, and we reached NC really quickly out of Georgia, so both of those state crossings were smaller. But this feels real. Today Hoot Maia and I did “the Damascathon” which is a marathon walk from our shelter last night to…
Keep readingDay 28 – 444.8 miles down
Today was a good, fun, but hard day, another 25 miler. It rained really hard last night but we were under a tin roof (cheating)! We got breakfast this morning – omelette and a biscuit and hash browns. Yall when will I ever learn!!! Eggs and Biscuits set me up for riding the struggle bus.…
Keep readingDay 27 – 420.4 miles down
Today was a wonderful day – another 25 mile day bagged. Let me first get out the unpleasant part and then I’ll stick to the good stuff. I kind of phoned last night’s blog update in because I was preoccupied with something else: a guy I had run into on trail was weird / creepy.…
Keep readingDay 26 – 395.6 miles down
Today was a great, easy day (I cannot believe I’m calling hiking 20 miles easy). Windy and I started hiking at 620 this morning and had breakfast by the sunrise. The place where we ate breakfast – on top of a mountain – used to be the site of a three story hotel. There were…
Keep readingDay 25 – 377.4 miles down
Today was a big girl day. First, I hiked 25 miles. For the other reasons – read on. Last night I had the best sleep I’ve had in a long time. Hoot snores so loudly he sounds like he’s trying to asphyxiate himself, and even though our tents are usually 5-10 feet apart and I…
Keep readingDay 24 – 352.8 miles down
Oh hi just another day of me crushing it. I didn’t plan to but ended up hiking 22 miles today and took a three hour break to shower and do laundry in town. I did not sleep well last night; there were a bunch of deer hanging around camp that woke me up. Hoot and…
Keep readingDay 23 – 331.1 miles down
Today was another great day in the woods, somehow both easy and challenging. It was easy in the sense that Hoot (formerly called Sean, that name is no longer recognized) and I left at a leisurely time (7am), had a long break for lunch, enjoyed the views and rolled into camp by 530. It was…
Keep readingDay 22 – 312.5 miles down
Today was another great day in the woods. I’m so exhausted I’ll have to be short for once. I slept in until 730 because I was semi-waiting for Sean who started 5 miles behind me. I had breakfast with some new friends on the trail we keep seeing. He raced through those 5 miles and…
Keep readingDay 21 – 294.8 miles down
A lovely day and another 20 miles bagged, as they say. I woke up in Hot Springs and had breakfast with Sean. That diner food is so good! Best biscuits this southern lady has had. I also had four cups of coffee, because when in Rome.. Because of breakfast and a PT appointment I had,…
Keep readingDay 20 – Zero day in Hot Springs
Today was a wonderful day of rest (what’s that?). I woke up and got two different coffees. today marks the first time I have seen an espresso machine since before I left. I did a lot of town chores: got food, cleaned my gear, did laundry, bought supplies, prepped my food for the next leg,…
Keep readingDay 19 – 275.1 miles down
Another 20 mile day. It felt easy, which I’m saying only because I’m currently sitting in a bed. It had 6000 feet of climbing so strictly speaking not an easy day. I had breakfast with Leah and Josh and then we parted ways in the exact same spot where I met them, to pick back…
Keep readingDay 18 – 140.8 + 14.1
Today was a great day. Started off with real breakfast with Leah and Josh at a local diner. Seeing the town of Hot springs is a real treat; it’s very old school and small. We got a shuttle (Uber doesn’t exist here) to our drop off point. Our shuttle driver was a little …. Appalachian…
Keep readingDay 17 – 240.8 miles down, goodbye Smokies
Today was an excellent day. I woke up at 3:45 am (naturally) and said LETS GOOOOOO!!!! Waiting for me at the end of today’s hike were Leah and Josh!!! My college best friend Leah and her husband Josh who I adore drove to visit me from South Carolina. And honestly what could be better than…
Keep readingDay 16 – 218 miles down
Oh boy today was a GREAT day. It started out rough. It was 36 degrees when I woke up. It was SO hard to get dressed and leave my tent, but I did leave at 530am to see the sunrise at Clingman’s Dome. But somehow while hiking under moonlight I missed the AT trail sign…
Keep readingDay 15 – 197.5 miles down
Today was a bit of a character building day. My Achilles were a little sore yesterday, but I didn’t think much of it. They were a little sore again today while I was walking. Not painful, but I know where this can go. I decided to end before Clingman’s tower vs. climb the additional 1000+…
Keep readingDay 14 – 181 miles down, entering the Smokies
Today was a good day. I did leave behind Sean and Zorro, which was sad. But honestly probably good: Sean has been my backcountry babysitter for too long, and he and I both could use a change in company since were each others only company for a week or so. They’re only a day behind…
Keep readingDay 13 – 164.6 miles down
Today was a little too easy physically and was OK mentally. Because I spent two nights in a hotel, I walked today with only food and water. What a treat! I’m getting spoiled and this must end. I took a shuttle this morning to the trailhead. Weird dudes be damned, I’m going to hike my…
Keep readingDay 12 – 150.8 miles down
Today was a good but weird day. We had a huge dinner last night at the restaurant at NOC, showered in their filthy communal bathroom and then went to bed in their tenting area. We woke up around 615, which is late – this late start broke our pledge to be out before 7, but…
Keep readingDay 11 – 20 mile day!! 136.7 down
WE HIKED 20 MILES TODAY!! Today started in a beautiful and funny way. I woke up at 430 naturally and listened to the owls. They were so active. I then decided to break camp since I was awake. Breaking camp means taking everything down and putting it back in your pack. Most people brag about…
Keep readingDay 10 – 116.8 miles down; welcome to the world Julian Peña!!!
Today was a BIG day. Most importantly, my dear dear friend Judi gave birth to a beautiful boy. Judi and her husband Nick are like family. They have been so open about their pregnancy journey and through it all always looked to help others. I cannot think of two people more deserving to become parents;…
Keep readingDay 9 – 97.4 miles down
Sean and I have decided we want to get in the habit of starting early, leaving camp before 7. This morning we woke up at 5 (naturally), started going at 6 and left at 650. Today was nice but uneventful. We woke up, packed, hiked, and got to camp super early (3pm). It was very…
Keep readingDay 8 – 83.2 miles down
Today was a good easy day but also a sad day. Sad because Sean and I broke ahead from Corinne and AJ. We all assumed that it would likely happen but didn’t think it would be today. They’re solid hikers, but Sean and I have lighter packs – we are carrying 25 lb packs fully…
Keep readingDay 7 – Nero to Hiawassee, 69.2 miles down
Last night was so peaceful. We all slept in our tents by the river. Imagine turning on some sleep soundtrack with a river in the background – that was us. We were all lulled to sleep before 9. However …. There wasn’t any flat ground, so I was sleeping on an angle and kept waking…
Keep readingDay 6 – 63.9 miles down
Another good day. Last night was a bit rocky – we found out right before bed that someone at our campsite had norovirus and was throwing up in his tent. Norovirus happens every single year on the trail and is extremely contagious, but this year it is especially bad. They think someone probably was sick…
Keep readingDay 5 – 50.3 miles down
Today was a pretty good day. I slept 10 hours last night and moved slowly this morning. I didn’t leave until 9:15 (late!). But yesterday was so exhausting that I needed to relax my body. It was sooo nice having our own campsite to the fam. Right after I left in the morning I hit…
Keep readingDay 4 – big day
Today felt like two days. The group of us (me, Rizi, AJ, Sean and Corinne) woke up at 2am and hiked 5 miles to Blood Mountain to see the sunrise. We got to the shelter on the top of the mountain, hid from the intense wind and made coffee and breakfast. Then we watched the…
Keep readingDay 4 – big day
Today felt like two days. The group of us (me, Rizi, AJ, Sean and Corinne) woke up at 2am and hiked 5 miles to Blood Mountain to see the sunrise. We got to the shelter on the top of the mountain, hid from the intense wind and made coffee and breakfast. Then we watched the…
Keep readingDay 3 – 24.9 miles down
Today was a great, easy day. I didn’t want to admit this yesterday but I slept inside yesterday. I was convinced that I had forgotten to pack my guylines, and last night was a thunderstorm with 40mph winds. Guylines are additional strings that stabilize a tent in high winds. I have a trekking pole tent,…
Keep readingDay 2
Another great day in the woods. It was SO SO SO windy last night. It felt like the roof was going to blow off the shelter. There were three of us there but we didn’t sleep much. It was nice to listen to the rain, but the wind was alarming. I woke up and it…
Keep readingDay 1
Holy cow I’m doing this thing. I’m sitting at Springer Mountain shelter in the pouring rain. It’s 7pm and I’m tucked in. Today started by having real fast at the lodge with dad and then packing my bag. That took FOREVER, even though I’ve been obsessing about gear for so long. Then we went to…
Keep readingDay 0 – Travel + Waterfall hike
I’ve got a flare up of tendinitis that I’m super nervous about, but two PTs insisted that easing in was better than just sitting at home doing nothing. So dad and I drove down to Georgia today and hiked the first few miles of the approach trail. Yes… you start by hiking a trail to…
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Send Off
Last night everyone came over and helped with all the last minute stuff. Christine figured out my blog and will be also editing from afar when I don’t have good enough service. Here she is in action, baby in tow. Everyone needs a Christine in their lives. Christine also cut my hair so it would…
Keep readingDialing in gear
I leave in T-10 days and am obsessing about every item in this photo. For those inclined to see the full bloom of my OCD….Here’s the full breakdown
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Carrie 2024 NOBO Thru Hike 