Date: 2019-05-23
From: Jerry's Cabin Shelter

To: View Entry
Miles today: 53.1

Tuesday, May 21st - 20 miles from Log Cabin Drive to Devils Fork Gap. The hike was super easy after the first 6 mile climb. There were some awesome rock scrambles along the ridge, which offered some killer views. We met a group of people on the AT for the first time they were walking it. They walked 2 miles from their car and back. They were blown away by us and the fact that people would walk from Georgia to Maine. We answered their questions and made their day. Some people may get annoyed by people like us. Wednesday, May 22nd - Zero day dealing with Garmin after the SOS incident. Also recovering from our first 20 mile day... lolol (editors note. the "Garmin SOS incident", was a stressful hour of Crocs dad, brother, and mines life. During which, Croc's breaking Garmin phone triggered an SOS alert, calling his dad telling him there was trouble. Luckily it was just a faulty product, and Crocs was contacted shortly after. Garmin has resolved the issue..)Thursday, May 23rd - Today was our biggest day by far, hiking 22.1 miles. From Devils Fork to Spivey Gap. The trail was not easy either, with about 6,000 feet of climbing and another 6,000 feet of decent. The day was perfect for hiking weather wise. Water has been great on the trail. Sometimes I carry almost none, because the water sources are so frequent. There were lots of bald mountains today, which means lots of views! I was tired after the long day, but not in pain! We spent the night at Nature's Inn Hostel, where i ate some amazing homemade smoked pulled pork.Friday, May 24th - 11 from Spivey Gap to Erwin. Today was a quick and easy day of hiking, and the trail was super easy and soft from pine needles. We made good time, almost 3 miles an hour, because we were told there would be McDonald's right across the street from the trail... this unfortunately did not turn out to be true, but we still made great miles. We got a hitch from the first car we threw a thumb to! It was a cool, older gentleman, who was actually on his way to the dump to unload a mattress. We were happy to help him unload it in return for the ride! McDonald's was awesome, Udo ate a couple of cheeseburgers as well. We hitched a ride back to the trail after McDonalds. This time we were waiting for about 15 minutes, when a Spanish man pulled up, who spoke no English, but was clearly offering us a ride. I typed the address into my phone's GPS and showed the route. 3.8 miles, 13 minutes. He waved us all in, and we were back to Uncle Johnny's Hostel in no time! Tonight we are sleeping just off the trail in Erwin. There was an awesome campsite right along the river, with a flat sand beach. Tomorrow it is a zero to explore Erwin, and have a campfire BBQ! Life is good on the trail. Current Mile: 344.4. Saturday, May 25h - Journal got out of hand. Super frustrating trying to go back and figure more out. Getting a new satellite phone and really want to do a better job with these journals. Having a detailed day to day blog will be cool and something I can have forever. Also, I know some of y'all enjoy reading them. Today we took a zero, and are sleeping under the bridge in Erwin. We had an awesome cookout, making hot dogs and brats. Tomorrow we are climbing 12 miles out of town, and will be back on the trail. Sorry again for the delay, and down right skip jobs. But I'm back on it now! -Crocs n Socks & Udo