On day two we woke up at around 8 o'clock and started to boil water for our oatmeal breakfast. While we were making our meals we saw a few guys pass by that looked like they could be through hikers. After a warm and filling bowl of oatmeal, we headed out on our 18 mile hike.
The Appalachian Mountains are the oldest mountain chain in North America. The base rocks for the Mountains were formed billions of years ago. The name Appalachian comes from the Apalachee Indians. Many people come to the mountain range as tourists. Every year many people take day hikes on the trail as well as overnight adventures. Many people even try to through hike the entire thing from Maine to Georgia. The Southern terminus of the trail is located at Springer Mountain in Georgia. Mt. Katahdin in Maine marks the Northern terminus.It is a very hard feat to through hike the entire thing because it is about 2180 miles long. This is the reason it was so cool to hear the stories of the through hikers.
Our pace was very fast (4mph) but we kept it up for a long time. After about an hour or two my shoulder straps started digging into my shoulders and they gave me some real bruises. By that time, we took a quick break to drink some water and rest. Before heading out I adjusted my pack so it wouldn't dig into my shoulders any more. As we headed down the trail my pack seamed to be rubbing my hips and it started to become painful.
A few miles later we took another quick drink break at Bake Oven Knob. We headed back out. A few minutes down the trail, we stopped at Bear Rocks, our destination for lunch. Lunch was a great break for all of us and gave us a second wind. We ate cheddar cheese and summer bologna wrapped up in tortillas, delicious! We spent another hour there just relaxing and taking a quick nap. It was very hot that day, but we found some nice notches along side the rock face that were very cool and relaxing. Just before we headed back out onto the trail, I put some band aids on my feet because I was getting blisters. Four miles down the trail we came up on route 309. Here we stopped in at the Blue Mountain Summit restaurant.
A few miles later we took another quick drink break at Bake Oven Knob. We headed back out. A few minutes down the trail, we stopped at Bear Rocks, our destination for lunch. Lunch was a great break for all of us and gave us a second wind. We ate cheddar cheese and summer bologna wrapped up in tortillas, delicious! We spent another hour there just relaxing and taking a quick nap. It was very hot that day, but we found some nice notches along side the rock face that were very cool and relaxing. Just before we headed back out onto the trail, I put some band aids on my feet because I was getting blisters. Four miles down the trail we came up on route 309. Here we stopped in at the Blue Mountain Summit restaurant.
As we walked in, we noticed that the guys we saw that morning were inside the restaurant. As we talked to them, we got some raspberry iced tea and learned that they were in fact through hikers and had started up north in Maine. They told us stories about how hard it was in the Hundred Mile Wilderness. They also told us about how they got tons of pizza, ice cream, and cake from a lady in New Jersey. Their stories were very interesting and it was great to listen to them.
The Appalachian Mountains are the oldest mountain chain in North America. The base rocks for the Mountains were formed billions of years ago. The name Appalachian comes from the Apalachee Indians. Many people come to the mountain range as tourists. Every year many people take day hikes on the trail as well as overnight adventures. Many people even try to through hike the entire thing from Maine to Georgia. The Southern terminus of the trail is located at Springer Mountain in Georgia. Mt. Katahdin in Maine marks the Northern terminus.It is a very hard feat to through hike the entire thing because it is about 2180 miles long. This is the reason it was so cool to hear the stories of the through hikers.
Before we left the restaurant, we filled up our water bottles and I readjusted my straps again. As we walked down the trail to our destination for the day, we played word games to pass the time. This time my shoulders and my hips felt great and we were soon at our camp site for the night. For protection from rain we connected two ropes between two trees and put tarps over them. We had no fuel and it was getting late so, we improvised and built a fire. We then boiled a pot of water so we could eat dinner. Lasagna and meat sauce is what most of us had. It was sure great. It was then time to get ready to go to bed. We set up our sleeping pads and changed out of our clothes that were drenched in sweat. It was time to get some rest so we would be ready to do it all again. Every day on the trail you meet new people and it is always an adventure.
Skyler Fussner
Skyler Fussner
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