May 1 - Bob Peoples

From PJ:

I'm talking to Bob Peoples right now.

***

So I found out today why everyone talks about Bob Peoples. He was cool when I met him and had good stories, but the section of the trail he maintains is by far the craziest yet. Not too physically demanding, just dangerous. Tons of rock stairs, walking on a ledge on the side of a rushing river. Just crazy stuff. Today was also the best scenery I have seen all hike, too. I took a ton of pictures, but I don't have the signal to send them all out.

This was much steeper than it appears. I walked down these the same way mom walks down the stairs. [backwards]

April 30 - 400 Miles

See Ya...

From PJ:

Should be hitting 400 miles in about 2 hours.

***

Watching grown men take selfies makes me feel really good in my decision never to take a selfie.

400 MILES!!!

Rewarding my feet.

This water is actually freezing. I'm basically just sitting on this rock in the middle of the stream.

HISS

This snake was underneath me this whole time.

***

Also I found out that I saw a flying squirrel way back in Georgia. I had no idea what it was at the time, but I saw a picture, and it definitely was one.

This is NOT the flying squirrel PJ saw...But it is eating pizza, so that's cool.

They [flying squirrels] look weird. Almost like a lemur. It wasn't flying when I saw it, but I could tell it was something different.

Bob Peoples - this picture was NOT taken by PJ. Catania found it online.

More from PJ:

So there's this guy - Bob Peoples - who is another trail legend. Anyway, on this shelter I passed, it had a bunch of quotes about him written on it - similar to the most interesting man in the world commercials.

Like, "Bob Peoples once was bitten by a snake. Sadly, three days later the snake died."

And my favorite, Bob Peoples sleeps with a pillow under his gun."

April 29 - Jane Bald

Trail Magic

From PJ:

So this is the third time I've run into this guy doing trail magic. His name is Rob Bird. He's retired and just helps out hikers all day.

I'm at Hughes Gap, by the way. About to climb Roane Mountain.

I hiked just past Jane Bald and am camping solo on a little grassy area. The group I was with is a few miles ahead, but sometimes I prefer hiking and camping alone. I'll probably catch up to them by tomorrow or Sunday.

This is after I cleaned my hands...

April 28 - Woody Woodpecker

A Short Video from PJ

April 27 - Burgers and Trail Magic

Moses the Dog

We packed up a bunch of burgers...

And I cooked them up.

I also ate another burger - trail magic.

April 26 - Erwin, TN

From PJ:

So - this is what Erwin, TN is known for...

Mary the Elephant was HUNG in Erwin, TN. She was a circus elephant, and she killed a trainer in Kingsport, TN. She became known as "Murderous Mary"

This dog reminds me of Clyde Miller.

This video was a live look on the trail - taken at 4:45 PM on 4/26.

***

I actually had a conversation with a few people about how we never thought we would wear crocs, but they really are perfect for backpacking.

April 26 - A Late Hot Springs Update and Some Pics from the Last Few Days

On the Trail

Making Progress

The AT

Mom's is an actual store - open for business

From PJ:

[This is actually from a few days ago - April 22 - when PJ went into Hot Springs. He didn't have enough wifi to send it to me until April 26 in Erwin]

Good morning from the real world. We are excited today. We are about to go into Hot Springs. About 2 1/2 miles. It's only about 7:50 AM, but it's been 12 days since I've been in civilization, so I'm kind of excited to eat and shower. I'm going to buy every Gatorade there is. I'm so thirsty right now.

But yeah, I'm so excited to stay in a hostel tonight, get some chores done, get some clean clothes. Hopefully in a couple of hours - no - in an hour or so, I'll be eating some eggs and bacon.

***

We are walking into Hot Springs. We are still technically on the AT, even though we are walking on the road. We got Patriot up there, Fritz, and the dog Oakley. It's kind of weird. Nice little town so far, but I'd say we've got half a mile before we get some grub.

***

We're in Hot Springs, NC. And we're done for the day anyway. And even if we wanted to, we cannot hike. The next 20 miles is closed because that is smoke, not fog. That is a fire up there.  So that is interesting. We've gotta figure out. Hopefully it's gonna rain tonight, and I don't know - we've got to figure something out because the next 20 miles are shut down.