I met my first thru hikers at Max Patch!

[dan8794]

Hey guys. I did a short section hike this weekend from Hot Springs to Max Patch and on the second day, I came across a group of hikers (didn't know they were thru-hikers yet) on our way to Walnut Mountain Shelter.

They offered us some Sweet Water because my filter (the highly over priced, super crappy Hyperflow) broke....again.

Anyways, I guess it was my first experience with Trail Magic...it was great.

They were doing a little flip-flopping and I told them I'd leave the drops at Max Patch. Well, luckily for us, we ran into them again at the summit of Max Patch and we got to talking.

That's when I learned they were thru-hikers on their way to Springer, only two weeks left! We were all super excited to finally meet some thru-hikers and they were awesome!

I remember two of their names: Songbird and Lightning Rod. Does anyone know who I'm talking about and maybe would you know the names of the other two that were with them?

Also, if any of you read this...thanks so much for your generosity. You guys are freaking awesome and inspire me even more to get out and do a thru-hike! I hope you guys have a safe two weeks and CONGRATS when you finally finish it up!!

[dan8794]

no one?

[juma]

yeah, I saw them at hot springs and groundhog creek but didn't get their names. they were playing some board game at groundhog creek about noon on sunday. it was 25 degrees and a 25 mph wind was blowing across the picnic table but they didn't seem to notice. they gave us an hour head start from the shelter and one of them with a 70 pound pack caught us just as we got to standing bear farm.

jumawalks

[Gray Blazer]

It sounds like a life changing experience. Good on ya!

[Lone Wolf]

It sounds like a life changing experience.

what? meetin' some hikers?

[Gray Blazer]

what? meetin' some hikers?

Hey! You get to meet them all the time so it's no biggie to you. And who is Sweetwater?

[sixhusbands]

One of my all time favorite inventions is the Steripen purifier. I used to spend a lot of time purifying and cleaning the old ( you name the brand)device. Now the Steripen takes less than a minute to purify a quart of water and it lasts for a long time on the batteries. True, they are quite pricey but they are lighter and less bulkier than the tradtional purifiers. The down side is clearing up cloudy water, which you really do not need to mess with and you need to put the pen into a container with a wider mouth ( no store bought water bottles). Ask Santa for one , if you have been good!

[Nicksaari]

Gary Blazer:
i met sweetwater way back in sept here in va, south of rockfish gap at the paul wolfe shelter. he and the guys he was SOBO with (SUNDAY and i guy whos name is didnt remember) had just gotten back from from tenn, some type of bluegrass festival as a break. they were still hungover, needless to say, and SUNDAY proclaimed that he is now in love with Sweetwater's cousin. they were all good ppl. they were younger like me, and we got along really well, i made them laugh and entertained them, sharing some maker's with them. in the morning, i made a roaring fire and one of them exclaimed to me that it was the best morning fire they've seen on the trail thus far.

as they departed south, and i north, they told me to say **** it, and keep hiking with them. my dream was even more clear from that day onward. cool guys

[Tuombe247]

I remember two of their names: Songbird and Lightning Rod.

Click the members list link at the top of this page and look for them there... simple eh? Pretty cool!