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GEORGIA TO MAINE!
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WHITE WATER RAFTING ON THE NANTAHALA RIVER!
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THE NANTAHALA OUTDOOR CENTER
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SMILE!
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PLANT
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LINDY
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TRAIL MAGIC AND TRAIL ANGELS
What is Trail Magic? What are Trail Angels? Trail Magic is a stroke of good fortune that a thru-hiker comes across. It comes in many forms, and is usually delivered by a Trail Angel. Trail Magic may be a six pack of Coke found in a spring where hikers are known to camp. The six pack was left there by a Trail Angel. It may be a pizza and a six pack of beer delivered to a shelter where thru-hikers are known to be, again delivered by a Trail Angel. Trail Angels know where the hikers go, where they camp, and where the AT crosses main roads or thru-ways. They often wait at such locations to hand out Snickers Bars (a thru-hiker's favorite), sodas, or even lunch. Plant and Lindy have already been the recipients of some Trail Angel Trail Magic! When they arrived at Stecoah Gap, a birthday party was going on for a section hiker from Chattanooga, Tn. Lamar (Trail name Hopeful) has his birthday party at the same spot on the AT every year. His wife and family throw him the party on the AT so that he can feed all the Thru-hikers he sees. Plant and Lindy chowed down on hot dogs, fruit, sodas and some cupcakes that they both say were among the best they ever had. A big THANK YOU to Hopeful and his family for taking care of ours!
And, if you happen to live near the AT, find out when Thru-hikers are going through your area. A Snickers Bar or a Coke may just be the ticket to make someone's day! And just think of the interesting people you'll meet!
And here's hoping that Plant and Lindy's Guardian Trail Angels take mighty good care of them!
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HOPEFUL'S BIRTHDAY PARTY IS A LITTLE BIT OF TRAIL MAGIC!
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LINDY, 3 NO TRUMP, AND SOLE SPOKEN
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FIELD NOTES
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4/23/00 Hot Springs, NC Plant and Lindy left a message stating that they were through the Smokies and were spending time with Lindy's brother Eric. They report that the Smokies were beautiful but that they had some ice and snow again. They have now covered approximately 240 miles of the AT. Plant reports that another mouse chewed through their tent, and this one sat on his head! It took them fifteen minutes to catch the little critter and throw it outside.
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4/27/00 Email from Plant and Lindy:
We are doing well. We have had 20 or so days with some type of precipitation in the last 30 days. Nice, huh? The Smokies were eventful. The weather has been real interesting. We had rain, ice, snow. We had a killer ice storm, there was like 6 inches of ice on all of the trees. Then it warmed up to 38 degrees and big chunks of ice stated falling from the trees. It was raining big chunks of ice! We made it out on Easter Sunday and were welcomed by Laura's brother Eric. He took us to Hot Springs and following our visit took us back so we could finish the hike to Hot Springs. We had more bad weather on the way here. We had 35 degree weather and rain. Went over an area called Max Patch, a huge grassy bald, in a dense fog. Each of us was getting a little hypothermic, starting to shiver, so we camped near the summit and warmed up only to awake to some sun for a change. So then we headed into Hot Springs and got here after a nineteen mile day. We are off to Roan Mountain now!
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CHANGES ARE AFOOT!
5/4/00 ERWIN, TENN Plant and Lindy called from Erwin Tenn. They had been hiking with 3 No Trump and Sole Spoken, a retired couple from Colorado who were both section hiking the AT. This year, they planned on hiking from Springer Mountain to Damascus VA. But, 3 No Trump developed a foot problem, and decided not to continue. Sole Spoken has continued to hike with Plant and Lindy. 3 No Trump is following along in the car, and performing Trail Magic along the way. Both Plant and Lindy are trying to recover from colds. (That's what hiking in the snow and rain can do!) So, the three of them, Plant, Lindy and Sole Spoken are "slack packing". What this means is that they have been staying in Erwin and 3 No Trump is driving them to different locations on the AT from where they take off on their daily hike. Today they left Erwin, went 19 miles south, and hiked back to Erwin. Every day they begin where they left off the day before. It is called slack packing because they do not have to carry all of their gear, just what they need for that day. As a result of the slack packing, both Plant and Lindy report that they are feeling better and are almost over their colds. They expect to reach Roan Mountain on Monday, May 8th.
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5/11/00 Email from Plant and Lindy!
Plant and Lindy report that they are at Dennis Cove, NC, staying at a hostel run by Bob and Pat Peoples who have been "super nice". They also spent two days with a friend of Lindy's, Brooke from Blowing Rock NC, who provided them with lots to eat, comfy beds and a great time. Brooke also took them to an outfitter where Lindy got a new pair of boots and a lighter pack. It seems Lindy's poor feet have grown a whole size since they started! Her new pack weighs 24 lbs loaded! Weigh to go Lindy!
When our intrepid hikers were going across Hump Mountain, they crossed over some farmland with Long Horned Cattle. They report it was beautiful there, but that one of the cattle gave them a real scare when they saw the ring in it's nose and realized it was a bull! They gave him lots of room and he allowed them to cross his pasture!
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I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence;
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I--
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.
--Robert Frost
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TRAIL MIX
*The AT runs on the borders of both North Carolina and Tennessee for 371 miles.
*70 miles of the AT is in Tennessee.
* The highest point on the entire AT is in Tennessee at Clingman's Dome, 6643 feet above sea level.
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Walking Man
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