John and I landed in Nantahala, NC yesterday, and the last few days have been packed with people and creatures and unique experiences.

Creatures. We’ve tried to get pictures of some the creatures we see on the trail, though we still haven’t gotten a picture of the owl or the grouse that make strange noises in the night by our tent (John likes to imagine it’s actually a weird guardian angel named Ted).

This guy hitched a ride with us from the woods into our hotel room.

We stepped over hundreds of millipedes, centipedes, and snails.

And then the mouse that ransacked our food bag and left his calling card.

Trail Magic. When we descended the hill at Winding Stair Gap, we were greeted by two guys Jumanji and Possum who were grilling hot dogs and had a wide array of snacks for hikers. Best. Hot Dog. Ever. It wasn’t the only instance of trail angels descending on the trail, a guy named Will and his dogs met us at almost every gap with snacks.

Other kinds of trail angels (part 1). John’s parents have been rock stars coming out to visit us, setting up resupply kits, and delivering resupply kits at a few different places on the trail so far as well. It’s rare that we get to spend so much time near them, and it’s been pretty amazing to see them as we get started.

Other kinds of trail angels (part 2). For the first time in a long time, we are without our cars and without a regular pool of Lyft drivers. The AT has an underground network of drivers who will meet us at the trail and drive us into town. We met a woman named Joyce in North Georgia who spends 3-4 weeks in the Boundary Waters each year. She regaled us with stories of the 2011 fires and her narrow escape. And Jim, the former NATO commando, gave us donation only based rides around Franklin. The stories and lives of our drivers continue to enliven our trail experience.

Comical Koreans. We were descending a hill and were greeted by a group of about 10 Koreans from the Atlanta area. The driver asked me, Are you Korean? He then turned to John and the other white hiker and said with a smile, Are you Korean too? You must be half Korean.

T-Bird. At a bar in Helen, GA, we were told that someone wanted to buy us a round of drinks. That’s how we met T-Bird, a hiker at the bar who recognized us from Neels Gap. He had just retired four months ago and had been planning to hike the whole trail, but his knees weren’t having any of it and he was heading home.

Trail Family. The hiker community is a huge part of what we love about hiking. We have had to say goodbye to some friends (Chadd) and section hikers who are done their hikes (Candace, John, David, and Nate). We have found a small group to hike with now: Brian, Michelle, and Runa. Here is a pic of us along with Nate before he went home.

Milestones. We’ve now made it into state #2! The crossing wasn’t too thrilling, but we did celebrate with a handful of other hikers. We had a mix of section and thru hikers and the group was pretty international. Once in NC, a steep climb to the top of Albert Mountain earned us one of the most spectacular vistas of the trail so far and also landed us at mile 100! Next milestone: getting our trail legs…

Recovery. We have tried to get into the habit of doing legs up the wall at the end of each day, sometimes over lunch as well. Others have started to join in.

When we arrived at the Nantahala Outdoor Center, the river was perfect for an ice bath. (Our trail friend Runa took this video. She has lots of videos about the AT at Runa Hikes.)

Hard days (part 1). I (Jessica) had my first hard day after Neels Gap. Being dehydrated and improperly nourished left me pretty depleted. It reminded me of a bad long run. I made it 11 or 12 miles that day but not without a lot of breaks to snack and Nuun-hydrate along the way.

Hard Days (part 2). I (John) was a wreck yesterday on the trail (that’s why we were standing in the river in the video trying to ice our legs). It turns out that my long old man legs aren’t quite ready for 16 miles in a day. As a result we’re taking our second day off today. Hoping that some rest and icy water will help with some calf and hip ouchies.