Day 2 – Lambert’s Meadow to Four Pines Hostel

Day 2 – Lambert’s Meadow to Four Pines Hostel

Monday, March 30, 2026. Up at  7:00. Cloudy and 45 degrees. Showers in the next few hours going up to 70.

Slept decently for the first night on the trail. My back is very stiff but not nearly as bad as it could be. 

Had breakfast, checked the weather, and got packed up fairly quickly this morning. We wanted to beat the rain that could start by 8:00. We started the 940-foot ascent to Tinker Cliffs at 8:00.

The ascent up to Tinker’s Cliff was longer and harder than I remembered. The last time I was hiking, I was going down towards Daleville and not up this thing. We arrived at Tinker Cliffs at 9:10. It was breezy and looked like rain was moving in across the valley to the west. 

It started to rain as we left Tinker Cliffs. Ed and I both used our umbrellas for most of the trek from Tinker to Campbell Shelter. The trail is not marked as well as it could be headed in this direction. We lost the trail several times. It was no big deal, but it was annoying. This rain makes all the leaves and rock climbs very slippery.

Finished the final steep climb to Campbell Shelter at 11:40 and had 6.1 miles. We got water, had lunch, put away our umbrellas, used the privy, and took a 30-minute break. There were several groups of people at the shelter getting water and avoiding the rain. They were all headed back the way we had come towards Daleville.

We arrived at McAfee Knob at 1:15. That last .8 miles is very up. We have about 10 more miles to go today. This is going to be a long, hard day. Really feeling it in the hips and feet. Back is doing good though!

The rain stopped a while ago, and the sun is trying to come out. Warming up very fast, and it is very humid. We go to Rt 311 at 2:45. This is the new pedestrian bridge and parking lot for McAfee Knob. Took a 15-minute break, swapped water bottles, and rested my feet. We have 6.3 more miles to go. Lovely 🙁

We crossed paths with the high school hiking group several times this afternoon. We took a break at 5:00 before crossing several miles of pastures. We have 2.7 more miles to go.

The last 3 miles were a death march. With a good-sized up and down in the last .7 miles. I struggled like I haven’t struggled in a very, very long time. My feet hurt like crazy. Hips are sore. Legs are dead. Absolutely exhausted!

We got to the road for the hostel and did a .5 mile road walk to the hostel. Last thing my feet needed was the feel of hard asphalt under foot. 

Got to Four Pines Hostel at 6:45. We are the only 2 guests tonight. There are two guys here who basically are doing work-for-stay this year. Both past thru hikers. We got a basic dinner with our stay. Tasty and filling. Hot shower was nice. Basic AT bunk room hostel. Nothing fancy but does the job. Plus they had a soda machine!

In bed at 9:00. Today was a very hard day. It ended up being over 18 miles mostly uphill with a stupidly heavy pack. We should not have tried this many miles this early in the season. I don’t know about Ed, but my legs and feet are very angry with me. Curious to see how I feel in the morning. We decided to sleep in a bit tomorrow. 

Technical Notes:

• Pop tarts 360
• Fatty beef stick 300
• Double Stuff Oreos x 4 300
• Peanut M&M 250
• Biscuit 212
• Rice and beans 500
• Kielbasa 125
• Soda 160
• Soda 160
• Water liters 4
• Miles 18.19
• Time 10:45
• Up 4091
• Down 4242
• Calories consumed 2400
• Calories burned 4712
• Phone battery used 55%