Hot Springs, NC

We've made it to Hot Springs, NC just in time for the Trailfest! There's a spaghetti dinner and a free movie tonight at the outfitters. Here's some new pictures:

Newfound Gap to Hot Springs, NC

The past couple days have been long and hard, as we've done 25 and 23 mile days to get here in time for the trailfest. On our way we've passed the oldest person to hike the trail, an 86 year old man who set the record a few years back, but it was broken by another person, so he is back on the trail to set the record again as the oldest thru-hiker. We've met some new friends including 3 old guys from Massachusetts- Uncle Noel, Smirk, and Oatmeal. They are lots of fun and remind us of an old-time comedy group. Unfortunately we've passed them and probably won't see them again. Also, we met "Lion King" who is a filmmaker and a bit of a celebrity on the trail (http://www.walkingwithfreedom.com/). In the meantime we have caught up with our friends Bark & Berry - the couple from Louisville. Tonight we'll have a final dinner with them (since we'll be passing them too) to talk about our experiences thus far, and then head back out tomorrow. They are part of a ministry called AT Servants, and Bark is a Kanakuk alum. It is refreshing and encouraging to talk about the Lord with them.

Tomorrow we head back on the trail and will be in Erwin, TN in a couple days.

New Pictures

We have a new picture album online! Click on the image below to see it.

Dicks Creek Gap to Newfound Gap (Gatlinburg, TN)

Love & Wildlife

Thank you friends and family, for all of your love! We arrived in Gatlinburg yesterday but had to wait until this morning for the post office to open so that we could get our packages. We went up to the counter, told the clerk our name, and he came back with a stack of about 7 packages containing lots of love and goodies! Thank you!!! Unfortunately we can't take everything with us back on the trail, so we shared a lot of it with our new hiker friends. Everyone was so grateful to share in such wonderful treats!

On another note, we've seen lots of cool wildlife while on the trail....still, no bears.....but LOTS of birds. TO name a few: Ruffed grouse, wild turkeys, belted kingfishers, downy woodpeckers, LOTS of pileated woodpeckers, chimney swifts, eastern phoebes, purple martins, american robins, white-breasted nuthatches, pine warblers, yellow-rumped warblers, northern bluebirds, baltimore orioles, and TONS of Dark-eyed Juncos. In addition to birds, we've also seen eastern cottontails, red squirrels, gray squirrels, chipmunks, newts, salamanders, and of course.....mice!

We took a zero day today so that we would have time to go to the post office, grocery store, and to get a little taste of Gatlinburg. It's very much like International Drive in Orlando, except with mountains in the background and wedding chapels all around. Tomorrow morning we head back on the trail and start doing around 20 miles a day. We should reach Hot Springs on the 24th, in time for the hiker festival there, and will hopefully have a chance to soak our tired bodies in the hot springs.

Fontana Dam

Hi! We're in Fontana Dam which is a tiny resort town in North Carolina--it's like a strange mini-Disney; we just paid almost $70.00 for 2 1/2 days worth of groceries! There's a nice lake here, though. We'll be in Gatlinburg soon and will upload more pictures and a longer post. Tomorrow we enter the Great Smoky Mountains National Park and we'll be going in and out of Tennessee and North Carolina for the next week or so. Thanks for reading!

North Carolina

We finally reached our 2nd state, North Carolina yesterday, and crossed the 100-mile mark today. Yesterday we hiked through a lightning and thunder storm, and had hail hit us after setting up camp, but today we are nice and dry and staying the night in Franklin. Tomorrow we will enjoy an all-u-can-eat pancake breakfast at a local Baptist church. Happy Easter!
My (hannah's) knee is doing a lot better, due to the more gradual declines in NC. Thanks for your prayers and I'll always be appreciative of more :)
Mike finally has a trail name - EarlyBeard - due to us being the earlybirds every morning and leaving camp before the rest of the hikers, and also because everyone comments on him already having a big beard before starting the trail.
It's amazing how much time you have to think while hiking. Usually there is a hymn going through my head, as those provide a good walking rhythm, as well as 10 other thoughts and ideas. The Doxology is what always pops in in the morning, and it suits our journey quite well:

Praise God from whom all blessings flow,
Praise Him all creatures here below,
Praise Him above, ye heavenly hosts,
Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.

We've seen signs of bears, but no actual sightings yet. In 2 days we will be reaching the Great Smoky Mountains National Park which has the highest population of black bears in the country, so we are almost guaranteed to have an encounter.

Send us things!

Around April 18th we'll be getting to Gatlinburg, TN. If anyone would like to send us a package with some goodies (nothing too heavy!), you can do so by addressing a package as follows:

Mike and Hannah O'Malley
c/o General Delivery
Gatlinburg, TN 37738
"Please hold for A.T. hiker expected on 18 April”

Be sure the package arrives by the 16th of April. Hannah loves Reese's peanut butter eggs and dried cherries. Mike will take anything. Also, please put things in ziplock bags in case they leak or melt.

Snow, snow, snow, snow, SNOW!

Yesterday it snowed a lot! We felt like we were walking through Narnia the first time the children come out of the wardrobe. It was my (hannah's) 3rd time seeing snow, and it reminded me once again of why I am so thankful to live in FL. It's very nice to be in a warm house with dry feet. We are taking a zero day and staying with Robert Brewer and his wife. Robert is a world famous honey judge that we met at the UF Bee College.
We've met some wonderful people along the trail, and were traveling along with a little pack until the snow came. To name a few....Bark & Berry - a couple our age from Lousville, Sandy- a retired Scottish man from Australia, Itai - a young adventurer from Israel, Gypsy - a crazy and hilarious chef from Ocala.
We love being on the trail and actually miss it while taking this day off, but we need the rest for our weary bodies.

A verse that my mom gave us the day before we left:
"Remember how the Lord your God led you all the way into the (mountains) these next (4 1/2 months), to humble you and to test you in order to know what was in your heart, whether or not you would keep his commands....Your clothes did not wear out and your feet did not swell during this time. Know then in your heart that as a man disciplines his son, so the Lord your God disciplines you. Observe the commands of the Lord your God, working in His ways and revering Him. For the Lord your God is bringing you into a good land - a land with streams and pools of water, with springs flowing in the valleys and hills...when you have eaten and are satisfied, praise the Lord your God for the good land He has given you." Deuteronomy 8:2-10

Please pray for my knee as it hurts and is swollen at the end of each day.

Daylight over the mountains

We've made it to Hiawassee, GA--we're doing great! We only have one more day of Georgia hiking before we hit North Carolina. We're staying with a friend here, and it's great to be indoors because it's snowing outsite! We went out to a great Mexican restaurant tonight--what a treat! I'm attaching a picture album of our journey thus far. Our feet are doing great: Mike has 2 small blisters, Hannah has none. Regarding trail names, some friends we met named Hannah "Good Spot" because everytime they saw us we were camping or taking a break in a beautiful spot on the mountain. Mike is still trail-name-less: any suggestions?

Springer Mtn to Dicks Creek Gap

We did buy a new tent (Big Agnes Seedhouse SL2 for those keeping track). It's a bit smaller and a bit heavier but it actually keeps the rain on the outside which gives us great peace of mind. Last night we experienced some sideways blowing hail and had to come off the trail to get out of the storm. The temperature in our tent was about 29 degrees in the morning, but fortunately our sleeping bags kept us very toasty during the night. The picture below is the thermometer on my watch reading 29 degrees.

Snow started falling pretty steadily as we started walking towards Dicks Creek Gap (where the road to Hiawassee meets the trail). Below you see the start of our snowy walk on Tuesday morning. It began snowing very hard soon afterward and there were some beautiful (but cold!) scenes, but our camera ran out of battery power.

We expect to be in Franklin, NC in about 3-4 days, so you can expect the next update then. We are really enjoying the trail and having a fantastic time together!!Thanks for reading.

At Neels Gap

We've arrived at the Mountain Crossings hostel at Neel's Gap--it's pretty nice here. It has rained everyday so far, and we've learned that nothing is really water proof after being subjected to enough rain. We're staying in a bunk house with about 15 other thru-hikers, and we're considering buying another tent snice ours leaked so much last night! We've met a lot of great people so far, and we're having a great time. I've only got a few minutes, so I'll post pictures when we stop next which will be in Hiawassee, GA on Tuesday afternoon. Thanks for reading!