I have had a lot of inquiries about what I eat. It does take some planning to find things that are pack able, edible, and somewhat nutritious.
For the first week and a half or so, this was my lunch:
LEMON TUNA COUSCOUS
1/3 cup couscous
1teaspoon mint
1 teaspoon lemongrass
1 teaspoon onion powder
Put ingredients in ziplock. In morning, add 2/3 cup water to bag and throw in backpack. At lunch, add 1/2 pouch of tuna.
Voila! And yummy.

April 23: I was up early on the shelter, took some time to do some extra foot care, made some tea, and watched the sun rise over breakfast with Cozy. The rest of the gang was having a slow morning, do I reorganized my pack and did some reading in the sun while I waited.
We had a good day, hiking slow, saw some deer, and stopped for a dip in the Pigeon River in the afternoon.
Chiclet, so much more extroverted than Spoon and I, talked and joked with the guys while Spoon and I were in the zone.
We had some trail magic-- oranges -- which I put on my pack until tomorrow. We camped at a nice campsite on a hill and were soon joined by Cozy. Windy nite with a symphony of barn owls and coyotes.

April 24: For all my supposing about Chiclet the extrovert, needing more conversation than I do, Chiclet decided to get up early and do a solo hike today before the rest of us. The sun is definitely rising earlier; I was up at 6:15. It was a warmer morning and Spoon and I were on the trail by 7:30.
It was a glorious day for hiking. Smooth terrain with a few steep grades thrown in there for good measure. We walked across a beautiful grassy bald that made me want to run through, singing "The hills are alive, with the sound of music!"
We saw a lot of older, retired people on the trail, which was truly an inspiration. We caught up with Chiclet on Max Patch Summit, which was really beautiful, but also very windy with some threatening looking clouds, so we quickly went down the other side. Once again, we hit some trail magic-- Dr. Pepper and peanut butter bars. ( I know I'm only around 10% done with this, but I can't wait to do trail magic for other thru-hikers!)
The guys caught up with us at Roaring Fork Shelter where we were having lunch. We walked the remaining 4.9 miles to Walnut Mountain Shelter quickly, but still got caught on a passing rain storm. The shelter was pretty dilapidated with much to be desired, but at least it was dry. We sheltered it to keep out of the rain and get an early start on the morning.

April 25: We got up early and hit the trail at 6:15 to get to Hot Springs as early as possible. It was a cold, foggy morning so I ended up hiking in my thermal PJ's and rain gear rather than change. We are getting pretty fast-- we hiked 13.2 miles by 11:00 am and had a fantastic lunch at a pub in town.
Since Coon and Slick live close by, we accepted their southern hospitality and went to Slick's house. But first, we stopped at an elementary school where Slick's friend worked and spoke to some 5th graders about hiking. It was pretty fun!
We had a great lasagna dinner and then went to a minor league baseball game: the Asheville Tourists versus the Lexington Gentlemen. Our team won and it was a great time!

Late night after stopping by a nice little bar with a firepit. Zero day tomorrow!

April 21: Gene and I had a nice relaxing morning, eating cereal and watching CBS Sunday Morning. Gene made 2 trips to get both us girls and the guys back to Newfound Gap. We did a nice easy 10 miles to the shelter, stopping at Charlie's Bunion along the way.

Set up tents and turned in early.

April 22: Really cold morning. Woke up to everything covered on frost. We took some extra time to let everything dry out before hitting the trail. We were in no hurry, since we were trying to plan our arrival at Hot Springs with a mail drop so we did an easy 12. I decided to stay in the shelter instead of tenting because of the limited flat space. Met a woman named Cozy who gave me some hot chocolate. So good! Good nite's sleep

April 20: Since we had such a low mileage day the day before, a bunch of the people at the shelter decided to get up at 3am and do a night hike to Clingman's Dome (the highest point on the AT) to watch the sun rise. Since the temperature had dropped to 15 degrees, there was nothing that appealed to me LESS. So I snuggled back down on my bag and slept until 7. My solo morning hike was the nicest one so far on the trail. I crunched along over the frozen ground, looking at the frozen trees with the sun glowing. I started hiking with every item of clothing I had packed but quickly delayered as I progressed.

As I made my way from Clingman's Dome to the Newfound Gap trail, I started talking to a retired couple from Louisiana who had driven up to the dome. They ended up giving me a ride into Gatlinberg. I rode in back with their dog, Dale Ernhardt.
In Gatlinberg, I reunited with my friend, Gene, who I hadn't seen on a few years. Chiclet & Spoon ended up getting a room at a hotel where Coon and Slick were staying, so Gene and I walked around Gatlinberg, and took care of the town stuff I need to do at each stop ( shower, laundry, re-supply, blog) and ate ice cream.

Finally, we all met for pizza at The Mellow Mushroom.

April 18: Up and out early for our highest mileage day, yet- 17.1 miles! It was a big push, a long day, but totally doable. It felt good. Plus, the Smokies are gorgeous! So far, today was my favorite day of hiking, with the flowers and the many shades of green and the breathtaking views along over the ridges.

Plus there was this cool looking tree that I hung around, hoping a hobit or a cookie- making elf would come out, but no such luck.

When we got to the shelter, a weather system looked like it was moving in, but the shelter was quite full with folks who looked like they had been there a while. So out we went to set up our tents for a windy night!

April 19: After a windy night, we got up to the beginning of a deluge. We quickly took down our tents, put them away wet, and ran into the shelter to eat some breakfast on this:

The same comfortable looking folks who had been there before were getting even more comfortable, planning on staying in the shelter all day ( for some it was their 3rd day there!) It soon became clear that the rain wasn't clearing up any time soon, so we donned our rainwear and ventured out.
At first, it seemed like things were better once we got off that windy ridge, but then things deteriorated and we were essentially walking ankle deep in a rushing river that the trail had become. The last me to the next shelter was pretty miserable.
We entered the next shelter and happily, saw Schweassel and Shrek! They moved right over and made room, gave us space to dry by the fire, and shared hot drinks. The shelter quickly filled up with sodden hikers- Subaru and Hawkeye, Papa Smurf, Slick, Coon, SeaBiscuit, Catlady. In was a wet, windy, crowded party! Around 3, the rain stopped and several of the shelter people left to get on a few more miles. We had JUST started warming up by this point, so we decided to stay the night. 5 miles after pur big day is rather disappointing, but you can't fight the weather!

Ok, so we did the obligatory gear post for starting out. Things have changed since then. In the ever present functionality versus weight dilemma, some things can stay but others must go.
I started the trail with two - TWO - trail guides ! Craziness. But I was unsure as to which would benefit more. I can assure you , it did not benefited to carry two.
WORTH THE WEIGHT:
The Thru-hiker's Guidebook by "AWOL" Miller. The elevation maps and shelter mileage are great.
EXPELLED:
The Thru-Hiker's Companion --AMC
I had planned on mailing this back to my dad so he could follow along, but I met some people who were hiking with nothing at all and had no idea how far the next shelter or town was at any time. So I just gave it to them. Less weight for me, more info for them.

The AT is where rednecks and hippies mingle together and are collectively known as "hiker trash."

April 16: Chiclet's birthday! We got up early and hot the trail in an effort to get to the Fontana Dam post office before it closed at 3:45. It was actually quite nice to be put early when theist was still hanging over the mountains and the temperature was nice and cool. The terrain was still pretty rough, though and before long my ankle started acting up again. Once again, I was near tears, trailing behind my hiking buddies and getting past be other hikers who had left the shelter after me. I finally figured put that I could use a bandana as a pad inside my boot to lessen the pain. (101 uses for a bandana). This was a rough day for us all, and we each on turn had our own episode of tears, me for my ankle, Chiclet for her knees, and Spoon for her GI issues.
It was hot, humid, and very buggy. As we pushed on, trying to cope with our own ailments and appreciate spring, it became clear to us that we may not make it to Fontana in time. We rushed the last 1.5 miles to the visitor center only to meet Jackalope and Crash who were heading back. "The visitor's center doesn't open until May 1st." Arrrggghhhh!!
I called the shuttle service to Fontana Village and we got picked up, making it to the post office at 3:40! We were sweaty, tired, dirty, and emotionally spent when the shuttle driver mentioned that they still had rooms in the lodge at off season rates. I turned to Chiclet and yelled "happy birthday!" then told the driver to take us to the lodge.
We ended the day clean, with clean clothes, and a fantastic dinner in the restaurant courtesy of Chiclet's dad, who deposited money to her debit card for dinner.

April 17: we slept in until 8:30 at the lodge before having a leisurely breakfast, going to the post office to mail some things home, and getting some miscellaneous supplies. Just before the shuttle came to bring us back to the trail, who should come walking up but K-Bizzy! He was now about a day behind us but promised to try to catch is on Gatlinberg.
And then we were across the dam and into the Smokies! Do beautiful and green with flowers poking their heads up everywhere. We got a solid 5 miles out on our full bellies and sluggish legs and arrived at the campsite whet Subaru and Hawkeye had set up. Just before turning in, we knew we were really on the Smokies when Big Spoon spotted a bear. I missed or, but hope to see one (from a distance!)

I just met you
This trail is crazy
Stop cutting down that sapling
LNT maybe?

April 15: What a long, beautiful, wonderful, difficult day! We got up and got a later start, since we were waiting for everything to dry out from the night's rain. K-Biz was keeping us in stitches as we packed up, and we wondered if the people in the house on the dirt road at the bottom of the hill could hear everything we said and if they hated thru-hikers for this reason. A retired couple was out hiking today and we yo-yo'd back and forth with stops for water, snacks, and dropping layers. Once again, we saw Shweassel and Shrek. They passed us as the trail became NC border steep, causing us to pant and sweat and wonder if it would be better to stash the poles and just climb up on all fours. On the top of a ridge, I was Spencer, who I had seen day one at the top of Springer Mountain, but had not seen since. He was now known as Papa Smurf because of his shirt color. Our highest climb, up to Cheoah Bald, over 5000 feet, rewarded us with spectacular views, but also causes us to lose K=Biz, who promised to catch up later. We decided at lunch to do a 15 mile push, to allow us to get to Fontana Dam on the 16th before the post office closed. On the descent into Stecoah Gap, the trail became really sketchy and treacherous. Large portions of the trail had washed out, so that we ofter had to climb down 10 feet to a section of loose boulders and rock, pick our way across, and then climb 10 feet back up to the trail. Plus, the trail now sloped perpetually to the left, putting more pressure on the outside of my right ankle. I started feeling a sharp, intense pain in my ankle whenever I stepped down to the left, which was pretty much the whole trail now. For a terrible 15 to 20 minutes, I was using my trekking poles like crutches, trying to take the weight off my right foot. Tears were literally streaming down my face as I hiked along. Big Spoon, behind me, kept saying "Are you okay?" "Oh,yeah," I kept replying, "I'm fine." Happily, the pain eventually subsided as the trail took a turn upward and the angle on my ankle changed.

For all the physical difficulties today had, we were rewarded with the most spectacular views thus far. Spring is erupting around us with carpets of flowers everywhere: trillium, may apple, blood root, trout blossoms, violets, buttercups. And as we made the last push to the shelter, chasing sunset, we passed through a grove of tall trees with the sunlight streaming gold through the still-bare branches. One of the most beautiful things I have ever seen. We are so lucky to be out here now on the cusp of spring. I am so lucky I found these great hiking companions. Life is