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| The gateway to "The Approach Trail" that leads up to Springer Mountain and the official start of the AT- 8.8 unofficial miles later... |
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| Amicacola Falls is the highest east of the Mississippi |
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| The first/last blaze of the Appalachian Trail |
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| They like plaques on Springer |
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| View from Springer |
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| We met Dogger (kilt) when he was hiking the Long Trail in Vermont. He was at the first shelter we came to in Georgia bc he was finishing up the Benton MacKaye trail that goes through GA, TN, & SC. He is hands-down the favorite hiker we met! |
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| Stream and rhododendron in Georgia |
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| In the south a toilet seat cover is a completely acceptable medium for sign pointing you towards your dead loved ones... and a shed. |
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| Blood Mountain Shelter is one of the oldest on the AT |
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| This view from Blood Mountain reminded us a lot about some of the rocky balds we'd go over in Maine and New Hampshire. |
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| Autumn Injun |
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| Amazing twisted oak near NC/GA border |
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| Thugged out on the North Cackalacky border |
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| Maybe a donut will make me feel better... |
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| Old store in Franklin, NC with an amazing museum in the back. |
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| I bought a cheap ukulele in Franklin, NC. Our nod to Woody Guthrie. |
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| Wayah Bald Firetower |
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| Rhododendron tunnel |
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| Firetower above Nantahala Gorge |
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| The AT crosses over the Fontana Dam |
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| The reservoir makes for some peculiar landscapes |
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| It's the highest dam east of Mississippi. |
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| Shucktack Firetower a few miles inside the Great Smoky Mountain National Park. We saw 7 bears on this day! |
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| Autumn colors in GSMNP |
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| A sobo named Globe sporting some swag he got in Gatlinburg- picture a quasi-religious Ocean City plopped down outside the border of the smokies and you know what Gatlinburg is like |
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| Jenkins Ridge in GSMNP |
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| Sunrise at Silers Bald Shelter. Makes getting out of the bag in 20 degree weather worth it! |
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| Coming up to the Clingman's Dome Observation Tower- the highest point in the Smokies and on the whole AT at 6655 feet above sea level. |
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| We lucked out and had a perfect viewing day, though it's normally hazy or completely clouded in. |
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| I had gotten this apropos fortune a few days before we went up Clingman's Dome in Franklin, NC |
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| When at the Grand Prix Motel in Gatlinburg, be sure to enjoy a dip in the pool. |
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| The cold was definitely setting in in the smokies |
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| Rime ice on Guyot |
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| The ice made the Queen Anne's Lace look like it was in bloom again. |
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| Bunkroom at Standing Bear farm |
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| The summit of Snowbird Mountain has an FAA radar tower that looks like an Apollo module surrounded by mailboxes |
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| Break on Snowbird |
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| Max Patch Bald was stunning |
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| Autumn scene from Max Patch Bald |
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| Uke break |
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| Monument outside of Hot Springs, NC |
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| The Mountain Man Skillet break fast at the Smokey Mountain Dinner. Good thing I didn't add that order of biscuits and gravy that I wanted. |
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| A hard day on the AT in one of the rental tubs at the Hot Springs Resort |
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| Some of the many thousands of books that are all over in Elmer's Sunnybank Inn, one of the oldest b&b's on the trail. |
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| Tuning up the banjo in the music room |
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| "So long it's been good to know ya, this dusty ol' dust is a blowin' me home." |
Congratulations!
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