An Unwanted Guest

Day: 6 (March 31)
Starting location: Blue Mt Shelter
Ending location: Deep Gap Shelter
Miles today: 15.3
Miles total: 64

I knew that it would eventually happen while we are out here on the trail. And last night was the night. Yes my friends we had our first encounter with a mouse. Or should I say mice. To be honest I am not sure, all I know is that as Jason and I were falling asleep a little mouse scurried across the top of our tent. I was a little scared at first, I mean who wants mice scurring around you, but we both knew that we were safe in our tent and our food was hung on bear cables away from us. That was until Jason realized he had peanuts in his pack! So after a quick rehang of the bear bag we were able to fall asleep with our sleeping bags zipped together.

Today was a long, tough day of hiking. We had 3 separate 1,000 foot climbs which were Rocky Mt., Tray Mt. and finally Kelly Knob. My knees were really killing me on the downhills.

We got to the shelter tonight around 6 and were with a great group of folks including Snickers, Dry Clean and Daytripper. We are all catching a shuttle into Hiawassee tommorrow morning. I think we are leaning toward taking a zero day on Friday and heading up to Franklin for the big Hiker party. Even on the trail, I can never turn down a party!



Me on tray mt.




Hanging out after dinner, notice Dry Clean with the turned down suspenders and the fedora.

Jason + Kristen

Not a Cloud In the Sky

Day: 5 (March 30th)
Starting location: Baggs Creek
Ending location: Blue Mt. Shelter
Miles today: 13.8
Miles total: 48.7

Today started out as a misty cold morning in the lower 30s. We started breaking down camp at 7:30am and we were on our way north by 8:30am. By 9:30am the mist had burned away and it had turned into a beautiful day. Today was the first day that we were truly awarded with some beautiful views due to the lack of clouds. By mid-afternoon the temperature had climbed into the upper 60s and Kristen and I were shedding clothes as we climbed up Wild Cat Mt. We finshed our hike at 4pm and spent the rest of the day hanging out with other hikers.

An update on my jacket. So we meet this really cool guy named Griz at Neels Gap. He was a young hippy guy with a long red beard. He had spent the winter hiking through the Smoky Mountains...he is pretty crazy to say the least. I asked him about the hole in my jacket and if he thought I needed a new one. He immediately said no and that all I needed was a little ducktape. So sure enough he did some handly work and patched up my jacket with ducktape. Griz said he could build a house out of just string and ducktape and I think I believe him.

We also met this interesting guy from Oklahoma named Dry Cleaning. His name kind of gives it away but he was wearing old school wool from head to toe, suspenders, ands fedora. He was definitely stylin and profiling. He said he left his girlfriend back home and that they were having problems. We asked him if he wanted to talk about it, he said no.

We will be in Hiawassee, GA on Thursday and are tentatively thinking about taking a zero on Friday and getting a shuttle into Franklin, NC for the April Fools festival. All the hikers are talking about it. We will keep you posted.




At the top of Wild Cat Mt



Kristen at camp

Jason + Kristen

We Are No Longer Newlyweds.

Day: 4 (March 29)
Starting location: Neels Gap
Ending location: Baggs Creek Gap
Miles today: 4.2
Miles total: 34.9

We had a slow morning leaving our cabin in Neels Gap. Boy was it nice waking up in a warm bed! Once we got moving we made our way to Mountain Crossing, the outfitter at Neels Gap. They we so helpful and I got a new pair of gloves as well as rainpants. We stocked up on food for the next few days and got ready to head out for the day. Before we left we had some lunch from a church group who was cooking out burgers for hikers.

We only did a short day because we didn't leave Neels Gap until about 1. Nothing too eventful from our hike but let me tell you it's cold out! That's why it's 5:45 and we are in our sleeping bags.

Quick note: we have been having trouble posting our blog the last few days. Day 2 entry completely lost in cyberspace, who knows where it went. Day 2 was great, it was sunny and we had our first dose of trail magic! We also got to read a note from the McManamon Family that we received earlier in the week but were told not to open until we were out on the trail. It was an uplifting and encouraging note and it's letters like that that will keep us going out here! Thank you so much for all the support!






Jason + Kristen

Rain on your wedding day

Day: 3 (March 28th)
Starting location: Gooch Mt Shelter
Ending location: Neels Gap
Miles today: 15.6
Miles total: 30.7

Like our wedding day, our first wedding anniversary was in the rain. Today we woke up to the sound of rain hitting our rain fly around 6:30am. The sound is actually kind of soothing, so we stayed in our warm bags until 7am.

Word travels pretty well on the trail, so we knew today could be a pretty tough day with rain. Sure enough it rained almost the entire day with temperature in the low 40s.

We orginally planned to stop at Woodhole Shelter, but Kristen and I both had a hot shower on our mind. We knew if we could push up the difficult Blood Mountain and go the additional 3 miles, we could reach Neels Gap. Neels Gap is has a hiker hostel and other great resources for hikers.

Today was our first true test on the trail. The rain, cold temperatures, and high milage made it for a difficult day. Needless to say, we were overjoyed when we saw Neels Gap after the very steep descent from the summit of Blood Mt. Due to the poor weather, all 16 spots at the hiker hostel were full but the owner made a call to some nearby cabins. We were told that the cabin had a kitchen so we pick up some frozen pizzas, and some airheads and skittles for good measure. The cabin was great with a big living room, a fireplace, and a bear rug on the wall (which is just awesome)

We were very thankful for laundry and our first shower in 3 days. The trail will make you appreciate the smallest of things. We had a great wedding aniversary and are looking forward to tomorrow.




Kristen outside of Blood Mt Shelter



On the summit of Blood Mt

Jason + Kristen

Start of our journey

Day: 1
Starting location: Springer Mt
Ending location: Hawk Mt Shelter
Miles today: 7.8
Miles total: 7.8

We had a great first day on the AT. The day started a bumpy ride to the base of Springer Mt. A special thanks to the Landcaster family for allowing us to use their vehicle. Upon arriving at Springer, our parents were great sports and walked the .9 miles to the offical southern terminus of the AT. We meet "Many Sleeps" who is in charge of the registry for thru hikers at the southern terminus. Many Sleeps, which is his trail name, completed his thru hike in 1998. After taking some pictures, we said our goodbyes to our parents and went on our way north.

We met our first real character on the trail named "Cat Fish." Cat Fish is from Savannah, GA and made it about half way on the AT last year. He has a long grey beard and spoke highly of the "white lighting" in NC and TN.

We arrived at our Hawk Mt Shelter at about 3pm and set up camp. All in all in was a great day outside of burning a hole right through my jacket as we were cooking dinner. I hope to get a replacement at Neels Gap in about 20 miles.

On the ride up this morning captain Karl asked when we would have our first stream crossing. Well it didn't take long because we crossed 8 streams just today!

Due to lack of service Friday night this post was meant for Friday March 26.






Jason + Kristen

Yahoola Lodge

We left Ponte Vedra Beach at 8:15 this morning to make our way to the mountains of North Georgia. Our road trip was wonderfully uneventful minus a pitstop at chik-fil-a. After 7 hours in the car we finally arrived at the rustic Yahoola Lodge which is nestled in the hills outside of Dahlonega, GA. The lodge is quaint, charming and everything I thought it would be.

We all enjoyed a filling "last supper" of our favorite foods--cheeseburger, potatoes and mac & cheese. The meal would not have been complete without a toast of champagne and a slice of our wedding cake that has been in the freezer since our wedding. Unfortunately the wedding cake wasn't that great but fortunately we brought another publix cake to eat.

All in all it was a great final night with our parents who were kind enough to bring us up here and who we will miss very much over the next few months.

We did a video of the lodge but couldn't upload it through our phone. Search "Yahoola Lodge" on YouTube and our video should come up. Let us know what you think.







Jason + Kristen

Honey, whats for dinner?

If anyone else loves food as much as I do, you are probably asking yourself—what are you going to eat in the woods for 6 months? If you were like us and have no prior backingpacking experience you are probably thinking 6 months of food is a lot to carry.

Well, let me do some explaining. We do not carry 6 months worth of food. Actually we will be stopping in local trail town every 4-5 days to resupply either from a grocery store or a maildrop.

Typical Day’s Menu

Breakfast: Instant Oatmeal, Grits or Pop Tarts

Snack: Snickers Bar

Lunch: Tortilla or Flatbread with Summer Sausage and Cheese or a Bagel with peanut Butter

Snack: Cliff Bar, Trail Mix or peanuts

Dinner: Lipton Sides with tuna, chicken or salmon out of a foil pack or a Mountain House Meal—love the spaghetti!

Sounds yummy right? Apparently when hikers reach trail towns they gorge on any real meals they can find such as all you can eat buffets. Hikers can typically eat whatever they like in town because they are burning so many calories while out on the trail (4,000-6,000 per day).

The Final Countdown

When I listen to this song it just gets me excited. One week until we begin our journey! This time next Friday we will be clicking out the miles on the Appalachian Trail!

Doing our part for the USPS

In recent months we have all heard about the troubles facing the United States Postal Service. That is why Jason and I have vowed to do our part to keep the organization afloat. Our answer? MAILDROPS. Like it or not, we have roughly 10 maildrops all packaged up for destinations along the trail that don't have decent grocery stores where we can resupply.

Its been a daunting task to say the least. You see, in order to get these maildrops ready we had to tentatively plan out our schedule for the next six months. That's right, six months. In my everyday life, I usually don't know what I am doing in six days, let alone six months. Take into account weather, injuries and other unforeseen circumstances, its very difficult to plan six months in advance. But nonetheless, it had to be done.

Now that this part of the planning is over, I can say I am much relieved. By the way, did you know that the flat rate boxes from the post office are free? I hope my mom is proud!


Our food stocked up in the closet...you'd think we were preparing for WW3


We all know how well Kristen organizes!


You are welcome USPS!

Home Sweet Home

The REI Quarter Dome tent will be our home for the next 6 months. Kristen and I continue to make final preparations for our trip. We are less than 2 weeks away.



Jason + Kristen

St. Augustine Fishing

We had a great day fishing offshore yesterday. Jeff and Casey Johnson also came along just like the old days in the Florida Keys. We caught a 20 pound blackfin tuna, 4 snowy grouper, a triggerfish, and a tilefish. I had never seen or caught a tilefish before, but we are told it is the "lobster" of the fish family. The ocean was beautiful and we ran across a number of sea turtles, porpoises, and even a whale on the way back in to St. Augustine inlet.

All in all a good day







Jason + Kristen

50 nifty United States

Well the AT doesn’t cover all 50 states but it does cover 14. Here is a breakdown of the states we will walk through.

Georgia: The trail starts here. I love Georgia. My brother used to live there and I spent my bachelorette party in Atlanta. However, Jason’s Gators don’t like the Bulldogs.

North Carolina: Contrary to popular belief there is no one taking their shirts off and spinning them around like helicopters. Although, we will probably do this when we cross our first state line.

Tennessee: Rocky Top you’ll always be home sweet home to me (or according to BSM—2nd the in SEC). Our dear friends Saundra and Eddy have always shown us a good time in the Volunteer State. We are both looking forward to the days we spend in Great Smokey National Park!

Virginia: Is for lovers. Really it is. Jason and I have lived in Virginia for the past 2 ½ years. And we really love it! It will be nice to re-visit some of the places where we first spent hiking. A side trip to DC is definitely in order!

West Virginia: Even though the AT is only 4 miles long in WV its still a highlight for us. We will walk through the historic town of Harpers Ferry where is the Appalachian Trail Conservancy is located.

Maryland: Our first overnight backpacking trip was spent in Maryland. Obviously we had a great time, otherwise we wouldn’t be doing this today.

Pennsylvania: Rocks, rocks and more rocks. That’s what the rumor is. However we are really looking forward to our time in PA because we get to stop at my dad’s friend Elaine’s Winery outside of Bangor. I am dying to crush some grapes with my feet!

New Jersey: Proudly—my home state! Yes its true, Kristen Joanne Boehler Klauk was born in New Jersey…As proud as I am, I am even prouder that I never developed the accent. Sorry Jersey folks! We are hoping for a hometown visit!

New York: Start spreading the news, I’m leaving today. Broadway here we come! Surprisingly, the AT is only 34 miles from the Big Apple. We will be taking the train in for a side trip. Smell and backpack included!

Connecticut: Neither of us has ever been north of New York so the next 5 states will be uncharted territory for us! Well technically speaking most of the AT is uncharted territory—you know what I mean.

Massachusetts: The trail in MA passes through lots of quaint New England towns—hopefully the locals will be nice! As much as we would love to visit Boston, its clear on the other side of the state!

Vermont: Oh the Green Mountain State…I don’t really know much about Vermont but I am excited to see what the trail holds! Did you know Vermont is the 45th biggest state in the country?

New Hampshire: This state really prepares you for what lies ahead. The trail turns rugged with the White Mountains. I know there will be some amazing views.

Maine: The final state!! As we prepare to end our journey we will cross through the 100 mile wilderness before we reach Mt. Katahdin. We are both really looking forward to seeing Maine and all of its natural beauty. Sea Dog Blue Paw here we come!

In my mind I'm going to Carolina...

On our journey back to Florida we made two stops in South Carolina. There is so much I love about that state, the food, the water, the laid back lifestyle. And what makes the state even cooler is that this is where Hootie a.k.a. Darius Rucker, calls home.

Our first stop was Murrells Inlet--home to my big brother Brian. After a long days drive he and his girlfriend Kelley treated us to a lovely dinner at a seaside restaurant. When we returned home, I finally got to see Cole Trickle "drop the hammer". The wait was worth it.

The next morning we got up and continued southward toward Charleston to meet our dear friend Carolyn for lunch. If you've not been to the Hominy Grill in Chucktown, I highly recommend it. Not only do they have fried cheese grits, they also stock each table with boiled peanuts. It made Jason and me very happy to be back in the South!

Thanks to Brian, Kelley and Carolyn for being great hosts!









Jason + Kristen