We can easily spare a tenth of England for nature without affecting food production!
20% of our land produces just 3% of our food.
Vast swathes of our uplands are owned by about 150 wealthy landowners who use it for shooting grouse, and set fire to our biggest carbon sink, our peat bogs...
A lone tree in a misty field, Sarah hiking ahead on a muddy path
A sign reads "leaving NC" with a path ahead leading through the woods
Day 34 - we wake early and grind out 16 miles as quickly as we can to reach Mountain Harbour hostel. We're constantly crossing the state line so while nearly finished with Tennessee there are disconcerting signs telling us we'd only just left North Carolina!
🥾16.3 miles
The Christmas posting break is over
Predictable vote for #1 from me. The AT was one of the best things I've done in my life so far and the sense of achievement has changed every aspect of my outlook on life. My only warning is you'll likely want to do another triple crown trail once you've done one. We're planning for all 3!
I will absolutely be sharing updates on the PCT. One of my regrets after the AT was not keeping a diary / log, so will use bsky to do it on the PCT
Still think about that sandwich often. You cant really get bologna in the UK!
Unthinkingly...?
What's upsetting to me about this decision is that it seems that CoL's overspend on the new Dagenham site has significantly influenced their decision to close the existing sites entirely. Feels like a loss of our living history due to poor controls over the project budget...
Vol 2 here:
go.bsky.app/Sn4VNy
Wet tent does suck but I'm a monster snorer so really avoided the shelters to save the other hikers. We only used the shelters a few times
@sarahdrumm.bsky.social
[burial plays] "The people were angry - they'd given away their power and endlessly scrolled and argued with each other. But then... A funny thing happened. Instead of leaving the website that made them so angry, they simply moved to another website, or looked at another screen..."
Our first encounter with unfamiliar American wildlife, the noble groundhog
@sarahdrumm.bsky.social another one :)
@sarahdrumm.bsky.social hiked the AT with me and is also doing a daily recap!
@sarahdrumm.bsky.social check this out
Brilliant, thank you. I joined bsky a month ago and there was no outdoors stuff on here. Such a massive change in a few weeks!
I'm doing a day by day recap of my Appalachian Trail thru hike from last year, and will be doing the same for my Pacific Crest Trail thru hike next year :)
DAY 11 - Another day off. Looking back, it's interesting how easy we took it at the start compared to what it was like by the end. Hiking all day every day is an adjustment! Today we sent 2KG of kit home to the UK — including my tent! I thought I'd want alone time but so far I'd only set it up once.
View from the top of an old rusty fire tower - rolling hills still more brown than green as spring is not quite there yet.
Creepy view of the rusting fire tower peeking out from leafless trees
The permit is easy enough - just a drop box for one part then you carry the other part. It feels like a big moment though - like a 'section' of the hike is finished and you're moving into the next. Soon after entering we climb up Shuckstack Fire Tower (won't tell my parents about that one!)
A view down from the top of Fontana Dam showing the dammed river below with forest on one side and dam infrastructure on the other.
The gentle author stands proudly in front of the entrance sign to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.
Day 16 - we hike over Fontana Dam and into the Great Smoky Mountains National Park - the first and only permitted area on the Appalachian Trail.
🥾 13.4 miles
A view towards the smoky mountains with rhododendron and a tree covered in Spanish moss in the foreground
A small white flower with nine petals and yellow pollen in the middle
Day 15 - the storm has blown through, the sun is out and we had a great day of hiking to just outside the Fontana Dam. Wildflowers are starting to bloom. Second pic is a rue-anemone or "windflower"
🥾13.7 miles
I created two Starter Packs:
Outdoor Activities - users who post about hiking, camping, etc (it's more about activities than landscape photography) bsky.app/starter-pack...
Legit Travel Bloggers - bloggers I trust who have actual websites where they write long-form posts bsky.app/starter-pack...
We found an amazing Airbnb called cabin in the woods. The host was named Craig. He washed and dried all of our soaking wet clothes and cooked us a pizza. We were so grateful for his kindness - it was genuinely one of the best experiences of the whole Appalachian Trail!
Cold misty woods
The cabin where we drank hot chocolate trying to get warm
Day 14 - we left the NOC knowing we were walking into a storm. It was so cold and the wind was cutting straight through us. We stopped at a shelter to try and warm up with hot chocolate. In the end we bailed early at Stecoah Gap.
🥾 13.9 miles
A very wet man in head to toe rain gear walking over a ridge and down and pile of rocks
Messed up the numbering once again, this was day 13. Here's another one of me soaked through.
Rolling green hills with moss covered trees in the foreground. A slight cloud inversion in the far hills.
Soaking wet at the NOC next to a large Appalachian Trail sign.
Day 12 - absolutely pissed it down for the first time. The first of many, many drenchings. Waterproofs held up and we made it to the NOC dry-ish.
🥾 11.5 miles
A lichen and moss covered tree with a "white blaze" trail marker painted onto it
The trig point at the top of Siler Bald showing an elevation of 5,216ft
Day 12 - up and over Siler Bald which was very cold at the top with high winds. I think this was the highest point on the trail to date.
🥾 15.9 miles
Day 11 - Zero day in Franklin NC. Free pancake breakfast for AT hikers at the first Baptist church!
Day 10 - we complete the first 100 miles and arrive in Franklin, NC. At this point we are averaging 10 miles a day which we will need to increase if we are going to finish in time, our visa only allows us 6 months in the US.
🥾 12.2 miles
