Taking a break at Dismal Creek Falls, VA

Wild ponies of the Grayson Highlands, VA

The mountains are blooming!

Drying out after a wet day on the trail

McAfee Knob, VA

We decided to give this guy the "right of way"

Another glorious sunrise!!

Journal entry from 5/2, Day #41

     I roll over to my side, half asleep, eyes still closed, but I can feel that the morning sunlight has made its way to my face, nudging me, calling me to get out of my sleeping bag. A new day is here, and as I slowly begin to open my eyes and enjoy the first stretch , twist, and yawn of the early morning, I can feel the lingering effects of the day before. The arches and pads of my feet ache, my calves are tight, and my knee is slightly swollen. I turn my head to the side , looking at Laura asleep next to me. I know she's felt that first ray of sunlight as well, but I also know how she likes to deny its call for five more minutes. I ask her in a soft voice, "How'd you sleep?" and she answers, eyes remaining closed, "Still sleeping." Her reply always causes me to grin.
     This morning, like every other morning on the trail, will be consumed with packing. As a fellow hiker once told me, "It doesn't matter if you're hiking 20 miles or 2 miles, it still takes the same amount of time to load your pack." I begin with my sleeping bag, mashing it into its proper stuff sack and putting it into its place on the bottom of the pack. Next in are my spare clothes: a fleece, pair of shorts, socks, and a shirt. I leave my rain gear out for mow; always better to keep it easily accessible. I grab any food I might want during the hike and place it in the top compartment where it's readily available. The rest goes back into the food bag and sits on top of the spare clothing, next to the cookware, stove, and fuel. The tarp and hammock complete the ensemble. I pull the drawcord tight and snap down the top compartment. While making a quick scan to ensure nothing is left behind, I strap my sleeping pad and sandals to the outside of my pack. As I lift it up with both hands and swing it quickly to the side, all in the same motion I maneuver my right arm through the corresponding shoulder strap. My left arms shortly follows suite.
     Everything I have is on my back. Another day on the trail is unfolding. As I shift my weight and lean forward to adjust the waist belt, I think about the day ahead, about what I will do, about what I will accomplish. Some may think not much. After all, there are a number of things I will NOT be doing today. I will not go to work. I will earn no money. Today, I won't do anything that has any economic value what-so-ever. I will not drive a car or read a news paper. Today there will be no phone calls, text messages, or emails. I won't even manage to flush a toilet. So then, what will I do today? Well, I will walk. I will walk up one side of a mountain and walk down the other side, only to go up and back down the mountain after that. Today I will struggle. I will sweat and become short of breath. I will trip over roots and stumble over rocks and somehow find a way to form a new blister on the only unblistered part of my foot. Today I will think. Today I will let my mind wander. Today I will pray prayers of thanksgiving: for people, for blessings, and for this place that I find myself getting to experience right now. Today I will foster connections: with my wife, with myself, with creation, and with my creator. Today I will walk. Today I will live out a dream.
     As I make the final adjustments to my pack, I look over to Laura and sarcastically ask, "So, you wanna go on a walk today?" The question has become part of the morning's routine, one of us asking the other every day for the past 500 miles. She makes eye contact with me, nonchalantly shrugs her shoulders, and says "Sure. Where should we walk to?" "I don't know, how 'bout north," I respond as we both begin to smile. She agrees, and so the day begins. Today we walk and think and sweat and stumble. Today we connect. Today we live out our dream.

Journal entry from 4/26, Day #35

Sitting on the front porch at Kincora Hiker's Hostel, resting, relaxing, pondering . . . simply being. There's a chill in the air this afternoon. It bites at my bare feet, but the feeling of not wearing any boots or socks, a day of liberation for my swollen toes and aching arches, far outweighs the uncomfortable coolness. Rain gently falls in misty veils while a couple of cardinals chase each other through the surrounding trees.

     Kincora is nothing short of a refuge, a safe haven, a hiker's solace from the daily struggle that is life on the trail. After hiking hiking over 400 miles from Georgia, time at Kincora can replenish, rejuvenate, and re inspire even the weariest of walkers. It's amazing how dry clothes, a hot shower, and an afternoon off your feet can totally alter one's perspective. Whether it's the recent college grad, the ex marine commander, the retired attorney, the drop-out, the drifter, or the nature lover, today Kincora will be our home. And tonight, sharing stories while sitting in worn, creaking recliners and laughing at the follies of moments past, we all will become family.

     As I look up and around and try to take in this place, I notice a saying posted on the wall. It is framed, yet hand written on a sheet of loose-leaf paper. As I read it, I begin to laugh and can feel a grin making its way into a smile on my face. "My hiking is getting in the way of my trail experience" the framed sign proclaims. Truth found in jest. I hope to remember this, both the saying and the moment. I hope I remember to relish every experience, especially the ones where I'm sitting barefoot on the front porch, resting, relaxing, pondering . . . simply being.

Tennessee!!!

Overmountain Shelter, TN

Laurel Falls

Journal entry from 4/22, Day #31

The sun slowly slides behind a distant western ridge, its purple, pink, and orange glow still lingering in the evening sky. The colors bleed into one another, making it impossible to discern where one begins and another ends. As I lean back against the moss covered trunk of a downed tree, I can feel the warmth from the fire on my face. The flames dance from side to side with the ebb and flow of a crisp spring breeze. I take another sip of fresh pressed coffee from my mug, savoring its rich, dark, earthy tones; savoring this moment as well. The stillness is intoxicating. The crackle of the fire, the wind in the trees, and the soothnig hoot of an owl nearby all add to the sense of peace that is gently infiltrating my body and mind. I let out a deep, long breath and my eyes slowly close. It's as if every muscle in my body exhales with me. After another sip of coffee, steam slowly rises from the opening in the lid. My eyes follow it upwards, and I now notice the half full moon directly above me and the handful of stars that have begun making their heavenly positions known. The branches of the trees are raised and outstretched like arms, praising and welcoming the darkening night sky. A better script for the day's end could not have been written by even the most talented of playwrites  nor produced on the grandest of movie screens. There is no substitue for nature. Creation cannot be outdone. I sit in humble awe with the crackle of the fire, the wind in the trees, and the soothing hoot of an owl nearby. I am blessed to be a witness.

Strolling In To Damascus . . .

We walked into the nice little moutnain town of Damascus, VA yesterday afternoon and are enjoying a relaxing morning of coffee shop conversations and errand running before getting back on the trail latter today.  Things are going really well for Lola and I. Since leaving Hot Springs, NC, we've had only two days of rain. We seem to be getting more and more into the groove of trail life and our bodies getting into trail shape. Last week, in six days we hiked a little over 113 miles! Feelin' good, lovin' the adventure, excited about what's ahead. We have to make sure and give a shout out to Patrick (Laura's cousin) and Frances who met us when we crossed the Nolichucky River and let us hang out with them for a night. Thanks you two for running us around so that we could resupply and for the amazing dinner. Patrick grilled us steaks, and then even went a little further and had breakfast for us in the morning before droppnig us off at the trailhead! I'm pretty sure we have eaten more steak in the last month than we had in the last year. Thanks again guys! And thanks everybody for the comments and encouragement. It's awesome to hear from  you all when we get into towns. Much love, many blessings, and happy hiking!!

Taking A Break In Asheville, NC . . .

After 23 days and about 280 miles on the trail, we made it to Hot Springs, NC and are taking a needed break. Our friend Donny who lives in Asheville came and picked us up and is letting us hang out and take a break at his place.  It feels great to get clean, have some good food, sleep in a bed, and hang out with a friend. For those of you who don't know him, Donny is a fun guy to hang out with and a great host as well.  Last night he treated us to a minor league baseball game, and he had a little surpirse activity for us up his sleeve. A friend of Donny's works for the local baseball team, and so the two of them arranged for Laura and I to do a little "crowd participation."  I'll let the video explain the rest. I think my head is still spinning! It's been an amazing trip so far. Thanks for all the hospitality Donny, and for the sweet shirt!

Day #18: Clingman's Dome

Day #17: Rain and Hail in The Smokies

Day #16: Shuckstack Mtn. Firetower

Day #16: Heading Into Smoky Mtns. National Park

Day #6: Waking Up To A Stormy Morning

Day #2: Long Creek Falls, GA

"If you're lucky enough to be in the mountains, you're lucky enough."

Sunset from Rocky Mtn., GA

     SOAKED TO THE BONE!!!!!

North Carolina!! WOOHOO!!

"The Jumpoff", NC

Trying to dry out after a cold, wet day, Smoky Mtns. National Park

Unbelieveable ridgewalks, Smoky Mtns. National Park

Ice and snow on Clingman's Dome, Smoky Mtns. National Park

Max Patch Bald, NC

Sunset and sunrise from Max Patch; our favorite campsite so far!

Crosswalk in Hot Springs, NC, the first town the trail goes through.

We Made It Through The Smokies!!!!!

   Oh where to begin?!?!?!?! First off, thank you all so much for the many words of encouragement and comments on the blog. It's a real treat to hear from you guys and gals when we are able to get on a computer.  I know it's been a while since our last post, so I'll try my best to recap the past couple of weeks. Here it goes... The day after leaving Neels Gap, we had a nice surpirse in the form of Jonathan Hall(Bess Depriest's brother) meeting us along the trail and spending a night with us on top of Rocky Mtn.  Not only was his company awesome, he brought 7 steaks with him and cooked them for us that night.  WOW!!! Steaks on the trail!!! I think the infamous "trail appetite" kicked in, because I had 4 of them.  Jonathan, you have attained legendary status in our minds. We cannot say thank you enough. 
   The next morning we woke up to some pretty terrible weather. High winds, rain, and hail.  By mid day we were completely soaked, but we pushed on and hiked a little over 15 miles to make it to The Blueberry Patch Hostel outside of Hiawassee, GA. It's operated by a former thu-hiker and his wife out of their home, and it was awesome. They took us in all wet and muddy and smelling lovely I'm sure, and gave us a bed, hot shower, and then did our laundry for us. We were in disbelief. Then in the morning, they fed us a breakfast of eggs, pancakes, sausage, biscuits, gravy, and homemade blueberry syrup.  At this point I considered giving up the dream of thru-hiking and instead adopting the new dream of living with Gary and Lennie!! Not really, but, wow, what great folks!
   Fast forward to today... It's our 21st day on the trail and we just walked out of the northern egde of Smoky Mountain National Park. We spent the last 5 days traversing the park and it was absolutely unbelieveable. The mountains were magnificent, stretching out like endless ocean waves. There were miles and miles of ridge-walks, postcard views from rocky peaks, another powerful storm with lightning and hail and everything else, and for stretches we were hiking in two and a half feet of snow!! If I knew how to insert a "face in the sun, arms open wide, arched-back yell from the top of my lungs" link on this blog, I'd put it right here.  We're both still letting it all sink in.
   Overwhelmingly overwhelmed so far!  As of today, we've walked 247.2 miles, and as I look at my guidebook, it tells me there's only 1940.7 to go.  Life is good! Thanks so much to everyone for the comments. We feel truely blessed to have you all in our lives. We'll post more pictures and hopefully some video as soon as we are able. Much love, many blessings, and happy hiking . . . Sunrise Over Sea & Lola

P.S. Oh yea, we got trail names. Laura's (Lola) was inspired by Isa Finegold and mine (Sunrise Over Sea) by my tatoo.

Blood Mountain

So it's day four on the trail! We've made it to Neels Gap and Mountain Crossings and feeling pretty good.  The free hot coffee and fresh off the grill burgers help a lot.  Already we are finding ourselves blessed with some "trail magic."  Laura's had some blister issues, but the staff here at Mountain Crossings have been really helpful.  She's got some new boots and is feeling ready to go. We've hiked about 40 miles so far and will probably knock out a few more before the day is done.  Last night we stayed on top of blood mountain and experienced an unbelievable storm.  Wow!!  We've met some great folks along the way. It's still slowly sinking in that we are actually out here. All in all, we a little smelly, a little sore, and life is good . . .

Amicalola Falls

Anticipation Building

So we've made it to North Georgia!  We had a smooth drive with Becky(Laura's Mom) and have spent the last two days enjoying Jim and Elaine's cabin outside of Ellijay . . . such amazing hosts!!  They drove us over to Amicalola Falls State Park where our hike will begin and up to Neels Gap and Mountain Crossings, a hostel/gear shop that we will reach after hiking about 40 miles.  We got to speak with some other thru-hikers who had already begun their journey which was really cool. The aniticipation and excitement that is building is like nothing we have ever experienced before.  As we stood at the trailhead, seeing the sign that reads "Mt. Katahdin, Maine 2,175 miles," I looked over to Laura and lovingly said, "I think I'm gonna puke."  It's still hard for us to actually comprehend that tomorrow, March 23, the adventure will begin.  It seems like we will have decent weather our first week out, even though today the snow has been steadily falling.  What a beatiful place! How lucky are we to get to experience it more!  This will be our last post before we start hiking. Thanks to everybody for your support, encouragement, prayers, and love. Looking forward to sharing the adventure with you all.

Laura's New "Do"

In preparation for the trail i decided my long hair would have to go. I had been anticipating the day of shaving my head and found myself getting more and more excited about the future lack of hair on my head. although i must admit i was a bit nervous. Who knew what my head would like underneath all that hair! I had thought for awhile that a change like this would be invigorating and freeing....and what better time to do it than rigth before we would venture on a 6 month journey. Thanks to Billy for the amazing hairstlyes he gave me in the last few months. Thanks to the women who went to support me...i love all three of you!

Maildrop Locations/Dates

For those of you who wish to send us some goodies along the way, here's a list of our mail drop locations and tentative dates.  Please be sure to mark the package/letter with "HOLD FOR A.T. THRU-HIKER", and, since the dates are definately subject to change, send mail at least 2 weeks prior to listed date.  Thanks everybody! Much love . . .

(April 9)
General Delivery
Fontana Dam, NC 28733

(April 16)
Standing Bear Farm
4255 Green Corner Rd.
Hartford, TN 37753

(May 1)
Kincora Hiker's Hostel
1278 Dennis Cove Rd.
Hampton, TN 37658

(May 21)
General Delivery
Pearisburg, VA 24134

(June 17)
Front Royal Terrapin Station Hostel
304 Chester gap Rd.
Chester Gap, VA 22623

(July 9)
General Delivery
Delaware Water Gap, PA 18327

(Aug 11)
General Delivery
Hanover, NH 03755

FOOD

8 Maildrops!!
38 days worth of food that will be mailed to us while we're out!!

GEAR

All our gear . . .

     The days seem to keep flying by!!! In just one month, this thing we've been planing for over a year and dreaming about so much longer will actually begin . . . . wow, still pretty sureal.  Anyway, this is our blog. Thanks for checking it out. Laura and I are excited to be able to keep you all updated as we make our way from Georgia to Maine.  We will do our best to post our journal entries, photos, and whereabouts as often as possible.  Please feel free to post as many comments as you wish throughout our hike.  This will be the best way to keep in touch with us while we're out on the trail, and we would both love to hear from you guys.  The countdown to March 22nd has begun! Just a little more planning and a few loose ends to tie up . . . . the butterflies in the stomach have commenced!!! Much love and blessings............ The Bakers