Kevin's AT Thru Hike

Day 23, Friday, 4/8 – Genie, Liz, Sprite, Willow, Jet Pack, Birthday Sandwich, Ranger Randy, and I all woke up at 4:00am and started hiking by 4:45am. Snow was forecasted to start at 10:00am, and we had a 10 mile hike out of the Smokies. The night hike was a lot of fun, we all pretty much hiked as a group until the sunrise. The sunrise was absolutely beautiful. There was a particular point in time where the sky over the mountains was a gradient of every color orange.

I hiked 11 miles to Standing Bear Hostel, which is at mile 242. We arrived a bit after 10:00am. Standing Bear Hostel is a very relaxed place in the woods right off the AT. It’s a primitive place with a kitchen, laundry room, store house, showers, cabins, and a bunkhouse. Sprite, Parkour, Jetpack, Willow and I all got a cabin. Genie and Liz are in the bunkhouse. Birthday Sandwich decided to hike into the rain and snow.

We were handed a clipboard with our name at the top and were told to keep a running tab of anything we purchased. I resupplied food for 3 days at their store house.

I hand washed my laundry, and used a washing board for the first time. I also took a shower, which was better than expected (clean and tons of hot water).

Erin, an employee at the hostel, dropped off a 3 gallon container of ice cream for all the hikers. Thru hikers can really attack a 3 gallon tub of ice cream, it was a feeding frenzy.

I had a few pieces of pizza with Sprite for lunch, then a chili dog with Ranger Randy for second lunch. Dinner was amazing. It was Mexican night, and the hostel made taco plates with pulled pork, rice, and beans. This place absolutely rocks, and far exceeded my expectations.

Parkour has a friend who works for a cottage industry hammock outfitter, and helped me select a hammock setup. I ordered the hammock and am having it shipped to a hostel in Roan Mountain Tennessee which is about 150 miles up trail. Hopefully the package arrives there before I do. If all works out, I’m going to mail my tent back home.