September 29- October 4, 2024
Newport TN, Hayesville NC, and Tallahassee
· Total Trail Miles Hiked: 1673
· Total Uncompleted Trail Miles: 524 (24%)
· Start date: April 21
· End date: September 24 (Day 157)
Our AT hiking photos:
Sorting by date is recommended.
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Well as the title of this week's blog states, we are at the end of our Appalachian Trail hike after 157 days and almost 1700 miles. On Sunday September 30th we successfully obtained a shuttle to get us out of Newport TN. Since I-40 to the east was closed we had to take a shuttle West to Knoxville and obtain a one-way rental to Hayesville NC where we stayed with friends and regrouped with making plans on how to proceed. We shared the shuttle with our hiker friend Data. We started and ended the hike with him which was neat even though we abruptly had to end our journey.
When we went to Hayesville, we had every intention of getting back on trail South of Fontana dam and continue South all the way to Springer Mountain. It was great spending time with friends in Hayesville. It's interesting to point out that a lot of people in Hayesville NC actually used to live in shell point Florida where we lived for many years. It was great catching up with them all and it was very fortuitous that we had friends there so we could regroup and figure out what to do.
The damage in North Carolina and Tennessee was significant and it became clear that it would not be a prudent thing to get back on the trail. With everything these states are going through and the impacts Helene had on the area we did not feel it would be appropriate to continue while so many people are suffering. The Appalachian Trail may very well be impassable in sections between the smokies and Damascus Virginia for some time. So, for now we will put a pin in our hike and come back and finish the last quarter of it in the future. We are disappointed that we will not be making it to Springer Mountain this year but in the scheme of things this is such a minor thing compared to the devastation in the mountain communities along the trail.
Once we stayed in Hayesville for a couple of days, we decided to proceed to Tallahassee for a few days and then move on to Brunswick next week where our sailboat is sitting waiting for us. Right now, the boat is on land but is scheduled to be splashed October 31st. Between now and then we have a lot of projects to work on to prepare to go back in the water. We will be transitioning our blog back to a sailing blog over the next couple of weeks but at least until the end of October we will keep you folks updated on what we are doing to the boat and what we normally do to recommission the boat. There is a sizable piece of work that goes into making the boat livable again and we hope to discuss that in the following weeks.
So, with that our hike is officially over for 2024. There is a good chance we, or at least Lemonade, will pick up all the remaining miles at some point in the future. I will be there in some capacity, but it might be me following her around in a van to support her if I don’t actually hike.
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