Once upon a time, I thought attempting a sub-30 day speed record hiking all the trails in Great Smoky Mountains National Park would be the hardest thing I’d ever do. I was wrong. Writing a compelling narrative about the experience and the life events that led me to pursue the record far surpassed it.
Luckily, I teamed up with two of the most respected and talented minds in the Smokies writing community to publish it: Steve Kemp and Lisa Horstman (Elevate Media Interpretive Developers & Great Smoky Mountains Association). The finished product is something I’m very proud of and soooo excited to share with the world now!
Friends, I’d like to introduce you to MY BOOK(!), Chasing the Smokies Moon: An audacious 948-mile hike—fueled by love, loss, laughter, and lunacy. 🧡
To celebrate the 150 trails in Great Smoky Mountains National Park, the first 150 people to purchase a signed book through my website will receive free shipping and a complimentary “ultralight” version (a.k.a. ebook), so you can start reading it before the real thing arrives at your door soon.
There’s a link in my Instagram profile bio to order it (or just go to and click on the “My Book” tab in the main menu at the top of the home page)! 📚
#indieauthor #gsmnp900miler #fkt #greatsmokymountainsnationalpark #smokies900 #gsmnptrails #hikingbook #hikingbookstagram
For nearly thirty years, I've hiked in the mountains of western North Carolina and only learned a tiny fraction of the rich history of this region. But my curiosity has been piqued countless times by names, places, and even artifacts along the trails I've wandered.
Once I started going down the rabbit hole of learning more, it felt selfish to keep it all to myself. So for two years, I've been hiking, researching and writing, to share the knowledge I've gained.
And now, the book I've poured my heart and soul into, Historic Hikes in Western North Carolina, is FINALLY making its way into the world on May 13!
I'll share more about it in the coming weeks. But for starters, I'd like to share the beautiful cover design created by my publisher, @arcadia_publishing . Also, there's a link in my bio to order a copy if it interests you! ❤️📚
So I’m taking a little walk! Probably won’t post much here on Instagram, but you’re welcome to come find me on YouTube (account is Nancy East). Been a fantastic journey and I’m loving the trail and everyone I’ve met! 😎
Sightseeing at Hopewell Rocks, Fundy National Park, and Minister’s Island all offset the frustration of a flat tire and broken sink along the way! Then a 7-hour ferry ride to Newfoundland led me to a picture perfect campsite on the edge of the sea. Next stop, Gros Morne National Park to hike the Long Range Traverse!
Day two of my Newfoundland adventure took me from Pennsylvania to Maine and one of the most unique places I’ve ever stayed for the night. ⛳️
I nearly found out the hard way how tall our @modvans1 is (and I’m forever grateful for a trucker’s app I remembered that saved my ass for the rest of the trip!).
Here’s how it all shook out: /modvan-road-trip-maine/
I returned home two days ago from a month-long adventure that took me to nearly the end of the Appalachian Mountain range. Any guesses where I was?
It was a trip for the ages and truly one of my most favorites—both my ‘mombatical’ time (although now that we’re empty nesters, can I still call it that?!) and the time I spent with my family.
Journal of the day on my website (linked in bio and below) if you’re interested in following along. First day in our @modvans1 took me to Shippensburg, PA where I stayed the night on a lovely dairy farm through @harvesthosts . 🐄
/newfoundland-adventure-day-1/
Allegheny Trail NOBO thru hike
Day 16–final day!
16.6 miles
We left camp at 7:30 a.m. in cold temps. Thankfully, we had a big climb out of the canyon which warmed us up. But as the morning wore on, the temps dropped and the rain fell. It was hard to keep my hands warm, even with gloves.
The cold helped us keep a quick pace, and we were well ahead of schedule. So much so that I texted Nicolle, our amazing trail angel and WVSTA volunteer extraordinaire, to tell her we’d arrive at the northern terminus over an hour ahead of schedule.
At one point, we passed a herd of cows that demanded we stop and watch their bizarre but comical behavior. Unlike every other herd of cows we’d seen who would watch us pass while remaining stone still, this herd ran in a pack as we approached. They’d finally stop and line up, as if they were creating a barricade. As we’d get closer, they’d move again, and then line up again.
“We come in peace,” Chris told them,
once this process of moving and stopping had happened twice. They weren’t buying it, and the cycle repeated once again.
There were many times on this trip I laughed until I had to cross my legs to keep from peeing. This was one of those occasions. What a gift—laughter. Especially when your world, both personally and globally, feels heavy lately. Maybe I’ll write more about the heavy personal stuff someday. But on this day, I was able to tamp down my grief and laugh until it hurt instead. It was one of this hike’s greatest gifts, these comical cows.
Soon enough, we arrived at the Mason Dixon line/Pennsylvania border, designated by nothing more than a change in the road’s substrate. Nicolle arrived shortly after and her bright smile and infectious positive energy were a welcome sight.
Annie Dillard once wrote that how we spend our days is how we spend our lives. I try to remember those words daily—it keeps me accountable.
Spending 16 of them on the ALT was a worthwhile endeavor and one I’ll continue to reflect upon. What a gift, the ALT, and all the people who love and care for it. West Virginia has found its way into my heart, and it won’t be my last visit. 🧡
Allegheny Trail NOBO thru hike
Day 15
33.5 miles
After a comfy stay in Rowlesburg, we set out early. We had not hiked north of 30 miles yet, so it was time to prove to ourselves that our middle-aged muscles were still in good working order. Our planned itinerary barely surpassed the goal at 30.1 miles.
About mid way through the day I realized I’d made a calculation error. The night before, we decided we’d hike the high water route to save about 3.5 miles. But our planned campsite was on the low water route—doh! Now, we’d need to hike a few extra miles to get to a campsite—either where we’d originally planned to camp at the ALT’s lowest point, or at Mount Nebo Baptist Church which allowed camping in the field next to it.
After a snack break in Albright at the Kwik Stop, we walked out of town and back into the woods. Even after my calculation error, Chris still agreed to take the low route, even though it meant adding 3.5 miles to the next day (I was itching to see the Cheat River Canyon instead of another road). He’s a good egg, Chris Ford.
Luckily, the trail was in decent shape after so much rain. The only location that could have been sketchy, Gibson Run, was passable as long as we were careful. But with higher water levels, it could definitely be a deal breaker for the low route, just FYI.
After 33.5 miles, we arrived at the lowest point on the ALT (1,025 feet) which we’d read had enough room for a couple of tents. It did, but a tree had fallen over directly over it, hogging all the flat, usable space.
Thankfully, there was another spot not too far beyond it. We had to pitch our tents so close that our guy lines overlapped, but at least we were on flat-ish ground and didn’t have to hike out of the canyon until the next day!
We ate our final trail dinners, reveling that our bodies can still hike big miles with plenty of gas left in the tank. We hit the sack after hanging our food, excited that we only had to hike 16.6 miles to the northern terminus the following morning!
Allegheny Trail NOBO thru hike
Day 14
21.5 miles
After a fitful night of tossing and turning, thanks to a cranky hip, we woke with the sun and to subfreezing temps. A smattering of snow covered the ground, and the skies hinted at more to come.
The hint quickly became a reality, and we donned our rain gear, thankful for blustery frozen precipitation versus a soaking rain. We crossed a stream (sans shoes and socks to keep our feet dry) and eventually climbed and descended a long dirt road. A pack of at least 8 dogs tried to intimidate us, but they were a little rusty scaring hikers. They were easily spooked by a middle-aged woman wildly waving her hiking poles above her head running at them, and a similar aged man with a rock in his hand.
We took a break from the blustery cold in the Mt. Olivet Church—a step-back-in-time sanctuary open to weary visitors passing through.
Sitting on the old, weathered benches we made the decision to walk the 0.8 mile into Rowlesburg and see if the River House Lodge was open for the season. As luck would have it, it was. Tim, the inn’s owner, treated us to a drive to the general store and I enjoyed my first pepperoni roll (excellent!). He also drove us around town and taught us about his hometown’s history.
That night, cozied up in a warm bed rather than a cold tent, was an unexpected treat (and one I didn’t regret). The next day, we’d pay the price in miles for the luxury….
Allegheny Trail NOBO thru hike
Day 13
18 miles
We woke up to, you guessed it, more rain. Since we “only” had to hike 18 miles, we opted to hole up in Tip Top Coffee for 5 hours and wait out the worst of it, hoping our delay would reward us with drier feet as a big cold front pushed in with sub freezing temps that night.
Three cups of coffee and a chai latte later, we floated out of Thomas close to 2 pm. A misty drizzle accompanied us down the trail, but the bigger challenge to staying dry (particularly our feet) was the abundance of mud puddles on the forest service road we were walking. We had a first-for-us eventually—taking off our shoes to cross a creek spilling over into the road.
We went upstream about a tenth of a mile, because the water looked less turbulent and more narrow there. And then we added another first to our list—choosing completely different areas to cross the water. I opted to stay in the upstream location and fight my way through the rhododendron on the other side while navigating back to the road. Chris opted to retrace his steps and cross in the wider, more turbulent area on the road.
My SAR skills came in handy bulldozing through the rhodo. We go through some gnarly rhodo sometimes on searches, and this patch was easy peasy, relatively speaking.
After we joined back up and put our socks and shoes back on, we continued at a quick clip, chasing the fading light of day and trying to warm up our feet again. At least they were dry when we finally rolled into our campsite close to dark. We stealth camped near the Arnold RV park because we weren’t quite sure if we were allowed to camp there or not. There were lots of RVs there but no signs of life in any of them, giving it a slightly creepy vibe (although I’m sure it just amounted to a seasonal setup and no one was there yet).
We cooked our dinners in the dark, speaking in hushed tones to stay stealthy, our stoves casting their warm, blue light beside us. The only question remaining was how cold it would get that night and if we’d wake up to snow the next morning. Water filters definitely got buried in our quilts!
Allegheny Trail NOBO thru hike
Day 12
20.4 miles
We left the LRC B&B under gloomy skies. Marsha and Piper joined us for the first mile before we bid them farewell.
We ducked into the woods eventually and slipped and slid through Blackwater Falls State Park. It was beautiful but slow going with the wet rocks and roots. I had my second fall of the trip, smack dab into a mud puddle! We saw the only 2 hikers of our entire journey that rainy afternoon. I’ve never been on a trail so devoid of people (but not deer—they’re everywhere).
We stopped in Davis for lunch at a local dive, and then hiked the final 3ish miles into Thomas where we’d rented rooms in an Air BnB. It was an odd experience—the owner wasn’t in town, but her dogs and cats were still in the house (and all very sweet).
We realized every restaurant was closed either because it was Sunday or for renovations. But we got lucky when the caretaker of the owner’s pets stopped by and drove us to the grocery store in Davis for dinner options.
We noshed on frozen pizza and enjoyed a game of Scrabble (Chris finally beat me—I won every game when we played on the Colorado Trail)!
It was a quirky, but fun day!
Allegheny Trail NOBO thru hike
Day 11
10.6 miles
We opted for the high route to avoid a low water bridge 9 miles away, whose depth we had no way to gauge (turns out, it was manageablele, but Far Out gave us pause with its commentary). With as much rain as we’d encountered, we didn’t dare risk the prospect of backtracking, especially since we were headed toward a roof over our head at the @lrcbnb !
And the high route had its own fun surprises which made us smile. 🐰
Once we got to the B&B, we were treated to a tranquil farm respite, run by Marsha and Kendall Waybright. We spent the afternoon resting to the sounds of sheep bleating and roosters crowing. Marsha shared stories of a bygone logging era on this land and told us about the many ways she homesteads on it now. She cooked us an enormous spaghetti dinner and I went to sleep to the sound of spring peepers under the cozy blankets of a real bed.
This is such a special stop if you’re hiking the ALT (or even if you’re not)! 🥰
