Great Escape on a Trail: I Walk the Line

Since my last post, I've continued to do some day hikes on the Appalachian Trail. I use a number of applications and tools to track my hikes: Gaiagps, AllTrails, Guthook and a Garmin InReach mini. My favorite of these tools is the Gaiagps app which I can use on my phone in Airplane Mode and still track my hike. For some reason, last year when I started my AT thru-hike attempt, I either forgot to turn the app on or chose to use a different app some days. So, I had a gap on my map which was getting on my nerves. Most of my hikes over the past month have been to fill in those gaps so that I now have a 200-mile continous line on the map from Springer Mountain, Georgia to Clingman's Dome TN/NC, along with many other hikes I've completed in the region.

Screenshot from my Gaiagps map.

Long Creek Falls near Three Forks

On Monday, March 8th I did 8.96 miles out and back from Three Forks to Hightower Gap on the AT. On Thursday, March 11th I did the stretch from Cooper Gap to Hightower Gap, 6.95 miles roundtrip. Monday, March 15th was Cooper Gap to Gooch Gap, 9.1 miles. Finally today, I completed Woody Gap to Gooch Gap, 7.21 miles. My continuous line is now complete, even if it is a sign of some obsessive-compulsive behavior!

On Ramrock Mountain.

The view from Ramrock.

I also did quite a few hikes at the Sawnee Mountain Preserve which is much closer to home and allows me to replicate some AT trail-type hiking for excercise without the longer drives to AT trailheads. Next week, we'll be visiting one of our adorable grandsons in Winchester, VA. Then I plan to hike the AT sobo through Shenandoah National Park for about 9 days.