This morning I was slow to get up. I could hear the wind howling outside the shelter, and wasn’t sure what the weather entailed for the day. Last night we had service so we checked the weather report. There are tornado advisories all over the place for today and tomorrow. With the potential of wind gusts up to 80MPH! We’re just hoping to find some place to hunker down for tonight.
A little after 6am I made coffee and began slowly getting packed up. Then we were heading out of the shelter just after 7am. We’re only planning to go about 30 miles today, so even leaving a little bit “later” I know we’ll have plenty of time. The wind wasn’t as bad as it had sounded against the shelter. And we began descending immediately to start the day. I knew we would be at a lower elevation for most of the day as well.
I’m not really concerned about bad weather when it comes to rain. But with all of the damage from hurricane helene, I’m definitely worried about high winds. There are so many trees hanging precariously across the trail. Ones that didn’t go down in the hurricane, but are about as close as they could have gotten. As we walked throughout the morning we repeatedly heard the creak of trees in the wind. Many of which were cracked and barely hanging on for dear life. I’m hoping the wind doesn’t actually get as bad tonight and tomorrow as it’s expected to. Because it would be really dangerous hiking through the forest right now with even 30-40MPH winds. Trees are falling down every day on trail with hardly any assistance from the wind at all. It would be an absolute nightmare for a tree to go down right near you on the trail, or worse.
The sunrise this morning was glorious as it encased the forest.
After descending briefly we began a pretty gradual climb. Then just rolled up and down on small hills for the next hour or so. It was fairly easy going but I did warm up quickly. And after I while I was toasty enough to take off my wind gear and just hike in my shorts and sun hoodie. Around this time I got a message from Iceman. He’s a trail angel and a total legend. I’d heard about him supporting Kristian Morgan on his numerous AT FKT attempts. Then Fresh Ground put us in touch with him and he said he was driving down today! He’ll be around Bland by 1pm it looks like. And we should be arriving at that road shortly thereafter. Any and all support on this journey is greatly appreciated! Right now I know my body needs as many calories as it can get. So being able to meet up with a trail angle and enjoy some food throughout the day would be incredible. I’m not sure how long he plans to be around, but I’m grateful for any and all assistance that he can provide!
As the morning went on I could feel myself getting a bit impatient with the hiking. Sometimes that happens when you have a destination in mind for the day. And I notice it more frequently after we’ve done 30 mile days back, to back, to back. It was about 21 miles to the Brushy Mountain Outpost. A small store just off the trail by the road to Bland. I knew the store was closed on Saturdays, but fortunate Iceman is coming to save the day! Knowing he would be there had me wanting to arrive as quickly as possible. But you just can’t rush the miles. It’s not possible! Even though I knew it would be 6-7 hours before we got there I was still very eager.
Walking along the lush, green, Appalachian trail.
I felt great as the morning continued on. After climbing up some rolling hills for a while we were rewarded with a bit of downhill. Then got down toward Jenkins Shelter before the trail began to climb again. This climb was great though. Once it brought us up a bit the trail leveled off completely. Then it felt like we were walking along a double wide dirt track for miles. I got service and was able to do a bit of multitasking. I got a couple videos up and did a few things while I could. Then we began descending into a more rocky section of trail.
We had another small climb not long after that. But once again it brought us up and then leveled off. Then we were just cruising along for a while. When we were about 5 miles from the road I started to feel a tinge of something in my ankle/calf area. I continued walking but it persisted. And I realized it was surrounding my Achilles area. I’ve never had any issues in my Achilles before. And while I did have a calf muscle issue in 2023, this discomfort was on my other leg.
After walking with the discomfort for a mile I decided to stop to KT tape the area. I figured it couldn’t hurt and typically that resolves a lot of issues for me. It felt good when I first put it on, but as we continued I noticed the sensation persisted. It was particularly uncomfortable along the climbs. Even though there were so few over the course of the day. As we made our way to the road it concerned me a little. The sensation just didn’t quit.
Crossing along a fairly long wooden foot bridge.
It’s a bit tough to describe what it felt like. It certainly wasn’t a sharp pain by any means. But it was a persistent discomfort in the area surrounding my Achilles. By the time we got down to the road it was definitely bothering me a good bit.
When we got to the road Iceman was there set up with his truck. He had a table out and some chairs. We’ve never met before so it was great to finally meet and talk! He’s a very soft spoken man but incredibly nice. And he has a really warm smile and demeanor. He had made some hot dogs for us already! They were still nice and warm. And had a spread of toppings, onions, Cole slaw, and sides too. I had two hot dogs loaded up with everything. Then had potato salad and macaroni salad on the side. I love any kind of mayo based “salad”. They’re all winners in my book. We sat there for a while stuffing our faces. I was so dang hungry! This was the perfect moment for some food. And we only had 8.8 miles to go at this point. So I knew this would have me set for the rest of the day.
This was one of the best lunches of my entire life! The hot dogs were so delicious all loaded up. And I’m a sucker for potato salad.
When we were getting ready to leave there I was a bit nervous about my ankle. While I was seated I couldn’t feel the discomfort in my Achilles at all. But once we got moving again I could feel it right away. We had a really brief climb and then dropped back onto the road. Then the trail follows the road for a bit, crosses a bridge, and then the trail picks up again down the road.
Once you got off the road a fairly steep climb began. And it definitely irritated my Achilles immediately. I’ve never had pain or any kind of discomfort in this area before. So this is all brand new for me. For the first 17 miles of the day my body felt great like it always does. Just the occasional fleeting sensation here and there. Though for the next 8 miles I was pretty uncomfortable.
The AT crossed over a bridge and continued along a road for about half a mile.
As we would climb up my Achilles area would just feel kind of tight. It wasn’t a sharp pain or anything like that. But it took over the surrounding area and caused a lot of discomfort. Every now and then I just had to stop and massage the area a bit. Which helped a lot and allowed me to reset a little. Those next couple of hours weren’t great though. The climbs weren’t even that steep or long! They were easy rolling hills at best. By far some of the easiest that we’ve done on the entire AT. But now they felt really hard.
After a handful of miles even the flatter sections and downhill weren’t comfortable. I didn’t look or feel inflamed, but clearly something was going on. I just took my time and made the most of it. But in the back of my mind I was thinking that I probably just should have called it a day back at the road crossing. That would have likely been a smarter decision. But I wasn’t sure what was going to happen or how I would feel. Usually when little aches or pains spring up they resolve themselves fairly quickly.
The last couple of climbs of the day took the wind out of my sails. Every other part of my body felt good to go. But my left Achilles ached on even the most moderate uphill. After a while I was just ready to be done for the day. And was hoping that these last 9 miles of the day weren’t going to do any damage.
It was a relief to finish the final small hill and then descend toward the road. Iceman was going to pick us up at VA route 611, just past the AT 600 mile marker. As soon as we stopped moving though I felt fine. The area didn’t hurt at all when I wasn’t moving. And it didn’t look inflamed or irritated. But clearly I had flared something up over the course of the day. I was just glad to be done and was hoping that resting overnight would be enough to calm the area down.
Punisher up ahead along the trail. Toward the end of the day I was lagging really far behind.
It was just after 6pm when Iceman picked us up there at the road. Then he drove us over to Weary Feet Hostel. With the potential high winds and raining the forecast we wanted to be indoors if we could. And after another 30 mile day it sure sounded nice to me! Iceman dropped us off at the hostel and then headed out to camp somewhere. He has everything he needs in his truck set up. Then we just made plans to see him in the morning to get a ride back to trail. As long as it’s just raining tomorrow I don’t mind hiking out and doing a 25 mile day. My only concern is the potential for high winds. And the possible concern of my Achilles still causing me issues in the morning.
When we got to the hostel I was greeted by Purple Haze, a hiker who I met a couple times on the AT in 2023! Her and her husband actually recently bought the hostel and it’s their first season running it. I was so happy to hear that it was hikers who bought the place. Sometimes hostels get sold to individuals who aren’t a part of the hiking community. Which can be difficult when it comes to meeting the needs of hikers. We’re simple people, but we sure can be a lot at times!
Once we got in Purple Haze showed us to the bunk room. Then I got my electronics charging before I went to take a shower. I haven’t washed my hair since Franklin! Just about 500 miles ago. I usually only wash it when it feels greasy. Having curly hair makes it easier to wash it less frequently. It takes a whole lot of oil for my hair to look or feel greasy. But when I saw the spread of shampoo and conditioner in the bathroom I knew I couldn’t resist washing it.
The shower was amazing and it felt fantastic to clean my hair. I love the smell of freshly washed hair. And I’m carrying a bunch of coconut oil packets currently. Which I use to tame my curls and protect my hair. That allows me to go further in between washes, as it keeps it soft and a little oily, but in a good way. That’s my trick for maintaining very curly hair while hiking.
After I showered I did a bit of writing. I was just too tired last night to get it all done. And while I was walking around and laying my Achilles felt notably better. There was still a little discomfort, but it wasn’t too prominent. For the first time all year I decided to take some ibuprofen. I haven’t had any issues all year, aside from some nerve pain in my feet. Which is something I’ve dealt with before on trail. Every now and then I get burning sensations through the tops or sides of my feet. It occurs in a few different places, and usually seems to be prompted by road walking. Though it has lingered a bit even onto the AT. It isn’t something persistent though that causes me any kind of constant discomfort.
I was glad that my Achilles felt better. And I just hoped that by taking a couple doses of ibuprofen tonight I would be able to set it right again. Then after we both showered we got laundry going. It’s always such a treat to do laundry! I washed everything this time, even my Sambob alpha layers. Then we sat down for dinner in the dining room area. Purple Haze loaded us up with salad and plates of spaghetti and meat sauce with garlic bread. I drank a Dr Pepper and we chatted with the other hikers at the hostel. It’s nearly a full house tonight! Which is wild, because we haven’t been seeing hardly any hikers on trail! We met one guy named Truck Stop who started on January 1st. Just recently though he had a run in with a big tree limb which hurt his leg. So he’s been nursing that and hoping it heals up quickly.
Delicious spaghetti dinner at Weary Feet Hostel. You cannot miss this spot along your thru hike!
After dinner we hung out in the dining and living room area with the other hikers. Purple Haze even made brownies for dessert! That was amazing and they were so delicious and warm. In 2023 I met her really early on along the AT. Then I actually ran into her again the day I summited Katahdin. It’s so funny how things work out. And I have no idea why, but I swear to god that I was thinking about her earlier today! I’m not sure what brought on the memory. But I flashed to the day when we saw her after climbing Katahdin. Then sure enough she was here running Weary Feet Hostel. The universe sure has a funny way of working out.
Later on I retreated back to the bunk room to get some work done. My Achilles felt a whole lot better and I just hoped that would last. In the morning I’m hoping it just feels normal again! It’s wild how quickly discomfort can appear on trail. One minute you feel perfectly fine, and the next some random ailment has arisen.
I got a bunch of writing and video work done as I laid in bed. Then I did my stretching routine quickly. After that I downloaded some Achilles stretches just in case. They are all fairly simple and I actually do some of them occasionally. There is a lot of crossover between Achilles stretches and stretches you might do for your calves. Having had calf issues in the past I try to stretch them out whenever they feel tight. Then once I did all of my work I finally rolled over and called it a night. As of now we’re planning on setting out around 7:30am. We’ll just have to see how bad the weather is tomorrow. And if for some reason I don’t feel 100%, then I might be tempted to take a rest day. We’ll just have to see how it all plays out.
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