PCT 1: after months of planning for a thru hike starting with 600-700 miles of desert terrain, we begin at the southern terminus, completely overcast. Ahead of us today is non stop rain, all day long. An incongruous start, but still thrilled to begin. 31.03.25

We can easily spare a tenth of England for nature without affecting food production! 20% of our land produces just 3% of our food. Vast swathes of our uplands are owned by about 150 wealthy landowners who use it for shooting grouse, and set fire to our biggest carbon sink, our peat bogs...

Day 35 on the long hike to Moreland Gap shelter we take a quick side trail to see Laurel Falls. A popular spot, we were asked by a couple of days hikers where we had hiked from, to which we smugly replied "from Georgia!" 🥾18.4 miles

Day 34 - we wake early and grind out 16 miles as quickly as we can to reach Mountain Harbour hostel. We're constantly crossing the state line so while nearly finished with Tennessee there are disconcerting signs telling us we'd only just left North Carolina! 🥾16.3 miles

Day 33 freezing cold day hiking up Roan High Knob. At least 15 hikers crammed into the loft of the shelter, the wind blew hard and it rained all night. I was crammed up against the roof and barely slept worried that a spider would crawl onto my face. 🥾15.8 miles

Day 32 - well rested we hike a long day out of Erwin and pitch up at a dispersed camping spot. Heavy pine forest which smells amazing, and a new wildflower - squirrel corn 🥾19 miles

Day 31 - zero day in Erwin Tennessee. We walked along a riverside path from Uncle Johnny's to the town centre - a nicely preserved old town, busy coffee shops and a taproom. Cool town! 🥾 0 miles

The Christmas posting break is over

Day 30 - a short day hiking to Erwin, TN then a day off at Uncle Johnny's hostel. Awesome views of the Nolichucky river on the way down. A day of this length is known as a "near-o" i.e. nearly zero - very few miles in the morning then you take the rest of the day off... 🥾6.3 miles

Day 29 - nothing to report from this day, a long day hiking through the rhododendron with far spanning views whenever we broke through the green tunnel. 🥾18.4 miles

Day 28 - short day's hike to Nature's Inn hostel. It's still very cold, with lots of mist every morning. 🥾11.2 miles

Day 27 - a short day: we saw a cool rock and took the big butt bypass before we had to stop early because Sarah was sick with dehydration. 🥾 6.7 miles

Day 26 - we watch the sunrise from the fire tower and start hiking early. We reach the 300 mile marker later that day. 🥾16.8 miles

Day 25 - one of my favourite memories from hiking the Appalachian Trail. A short day out of Hot Springs and we camp at the top of the Spring Mountain fire tower 🥾 11.3 miles

Day 24 - a zero day eating and resuppling in Hot Springs Highlight was breakfast hash with a fried bologna sandwich from Smokey Mountain Diner 🥾 0 miles

Day 23 - Reaching the tiny town of Hot Springs, NC felt like a milestone - we'd been talking about it for days, and it's (imo) the first famous Appalachian Trail town. Town means a hot shower, resupply and eating some real food - first up, a bacon cheeseburger at the Iron Horse Station. 🥾12.8 miles

Day 22 - for most of the Appalachian Trail you will occasionally cross a fairly busy tourist / sightseeing area. On this day we went over Max Patch which had awesome 360 views out over the rolling mountains - no surprise it was busy with day trippers. 🥾13.1 miles

Day 21 - a short day hiking out of Standing Bear Farm to Groundhog Creek. We accidentally pitch our tent upwind from the privy. It's not all glitz and glamour on the Appalachian Trail! New wildflower - the fire pink. 🥾7.2 miles

Vol 2 here: go.bsky.app/Sn4VNy

Day 20 - a moody, wet start, we were the only people to use our tent instead of the shelter and heaving rain rolled in overnight! We leave the smoky mountains today and stay at the somewhat notorious Standing Bear Farm hostel. A new wildflower - the fringed phacelia. 🥾18.2 miles

Day 19 - our penultimate day in the smoky mountains. In the morning we pass a helpful sign telling us we only have 1,972 miles to go. Head down, keep hiking! 🥾15.7 miles

Our first encounter with unfamiliar American wildlife, the noble groundhog

Day 18 - a big day! Early start to hit Kuwohi AKA Clingmans Dome, the highest peak on the AT at 6,643ft, then pass the 200 mile mark and cross into Tennessee by 2.30pm. We get a ride into Gatlinburg where I saw "his and hers" confederate flag swimsuits for sale - crazy town! 🥾12.2

Day 17 - not many photos today as it was our longest day on trail so far and I was focused on hiking (by which I mean I was exhausted). A new wild flower, the yellow trout lily. 🥾17.8 miles

I'm creating a list of outdoor writers on BlueSky: Adventure, Backpacking, Landscape, Nature. Suggestions welcome go.bsky.app/6JQo2Ro

I created a starter pack to help those of us new to Bluesky find people interested in #adventure Think everyone from day hikers to hardcore mountaineers. Help me add to the list by sharing it and suggesting additions. I'll add all reasonable requests 🏔️🛶🏕️ go.bsky.app/NXTHehp

DAY 11 - Another day off. Looking back, it's interesting how easy we took it at the start compared to what it was like by the end. Hiking all day every day is an adjustment! Today we sent 2KG of kit home to the UK — including my tent! I thought I'd want alone time but so far I'd only set it up once.

Day 16 - we hike over Fontana Dam and into the Great Smoky Mountains National Park - the first and only permitted area on the Appalachian Trail. 🥾 13.4 miles

Day 15 - the storm has blown through, the sun is out and we had a great day of hiking to just outside the Fontana Dam. Wildflowers are starting to bloom. Second pic is a rue-anemone or "windflower" 🥾13.7 miles

I created two Starter Packs: Outdoor Activities - users who post about hiking, camping, etc (it's more about activities than landscape photography) bsky.app/starter-pack... Legit Travel Bloggers - bloggers I trust who have actual websites where they write long-form posts bsky.app/starter-pack...

Day 14 - we left the NOC knowing we were walking into a storm. It was so cold and the wind was cutting straight through us. We stopped at a shelter to try and warm up with hot chocolate. In the end we bailed early at Stecoah Gap. 🥾 13.9 miles

Day 12 - absolutely pissed it down for the first time. The first of many, many drenchings. Waterproofs held up and we made it to the NOC dry-ish. 🥾 11.5 miles

Day 12 - up and over Siler Bald which was very cold at the top with high winds. I think this was the highest point on the trail to date. 🥾 15.9 miles

Day 11 - Zero day in Franklin NC. Free pancake breakfast for AT hikers at the first Baptist church!

Day 10 - we complete the first 100 miles and arrive in Franklin, NC. At this point we are averaging 10 miles a day which we will need to increase if we are going to finish in time, our visa only allows us 6 months in the US. 🥾 12.2 miles

Day 10 - while hiking the AP you are advised to hang your food to keep the bears away. Here's our very first bear hang! We got better at it as the trail went on! 🥾 16.2 miles

Day 9 - big moment as we leave Georgia into North Carolina! 🥾 11.8 miles

Day 8 - a zero day, a day with zero miles hiked. We spent our first zero in Hiawassee, resting, drinking and restocking our food bag (Herb's hot sausage didn't make the cut) 🥾 0 miles 🍺 plenty

Day 7 - short day hiking into Around the Bend hostel for our first zero day. Amazing hostel! One of the staff members dressed like John Lennon and copied his mannerisms, it was odd but quite endearing. 🥾 11.1 miles

Day 6 - Our longest day hiking so far. We are getting tired and looking forward to our first zero day. At Unicoi Gap we get our first trail magic - cottage pie and peanut butter brownies! 🥾 15.6 miles

Day 5 - we leave Mountain Crossings and say goodbye to the cat living underneath the store. Just a 10 mile hike to Low Gap Shelter - at this point we were trying to keep our mileage low to avoid injuries. Views are getting better every day. 🥾 10.3 miles

Day 4 - over Blood Mountain to Mountain Crossings. The fear mongering over this mountain was crazy! It was an easy climb, the views were beautiful. The bunk room at Mountain Crossings was pretty grim but we met fun people including a crypto guy from florida and a vegan with a 30kg pack 😵‍💫 🥾 11.9m

Realised that I screwed up the numbering trying to clever starting at day 0 which is why I jumped from 1 to 3

Day 3 - A misty, moody morning. Later, the first proper views of the rolling north Georgia hills. 🥾 12.5 miles

Day 1 - first full day hiking the AT. very cold. Waking up in the first campsite of over 100. At one point we cross paths with a very paranoid hiker who was convinced that I was making animal noises in the distance just to annoy him - we quickly get away from him. 🥾 8.1 miles

Day 0 - most of the first day is actually the "approach trail", up Amicalola Falls to Springer Mountain shelter, stopping to touch the aged copper plaque marking the start of the Appalachian Trail. From this point we had 2,198.4 miles to walk from Georgia to Maine! 🥾 8.7 miles

Last year I hiked the Appalachian Trail and I'm preparing to hike the Pacific Crest Trail next year. The AT took 147 days to complete, and there's around 147 days between now and my ideal PCT start date. So, I'll be posting a pic a day from last year's hike, to get ready for next year's hike :)