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300 miles down......1,904.5 miles to go until the end of Leg 1!
The honeymoon period is definitely over... Now the rubber meets the road....or better yet ...Vibram meets the trail. Yesterday was quite the mental challenge...I walked for about 6 hours without seeing a soul....so my mind got the best of me....Everything started to catch up with me...all of the things I had to sacrifice to make this happen, the friends, memories, and little things like showers, seats, clean water, and conversation. I knew that I would be lonely but it finally hit me yesterday... I have come to the conclusion that memories are great but not so great when you have no one to share them with. I have been praying for a hiking companion for some time so we will just have to wait and see what happens. I am finding out that "Life to the Fullest" is not some grand adage to live life recklessly but rather a call to live life selflessly. I am doing much better today and look forward to hitting the trail tomorrow. Never give up... never surrender! 
I weighed myself today only to find that I lost 10 pounds....that is crazy... I don't think the scale it 100% correct.....at least I hope it is not...I think I better go eat again...
I was doing laundry today and decided that my sleeping bag needed to be washed for it smelled like the bottom of a trash can. During the spin cycle I looked over because it was making a lot of racket only to find that feathers were flying out from under the lid! I was like "AHHH....I ran over there and took it out.... It got snagged on something and ripped a small section.... SO now it is lying outside in the sun... I hope it dries by tomorrow... or tomorrow night is going to cold night in the mountains!
I had a record day yesterday of 25 miles..... Since there is no one to compete against out on the trail I compete against myself. I am in the process of training my body to go for long periods of time for at the end of the month I want to see how far I can hike over the period of 24 hours. My hope it to make it over 40 miles. I am thinking that northern VA will be the place I do it. The trail relatively flattens out there.
I am in Hot Springs, NC right now. The past month has been a lot of fun and I look forward to next month. One fun story is that I was walking through Gatlinburg when I heard my name "Daren" I looked over only to find that It was some friends from Indy that I made when I worked there for a couple of years. They took me to the grocery, took me back to their cabin, did laundry, showered, and then they took me out to eat. Then they took me back to the top of the mountain where I thumbed in to town earlier that morning and hiked for an hour in the dark. It was so foggy that I couldn't see but 5 feet in front of me. That is something I don't want to do anytime soon. Every shadow looked like a Bear!
I am staying the night in Hot Springs, NC. Tonight and meeting with Matt Ward from Blood:Water Mission tomorrow. They are driving from TN. Tomorrow and meeting me here. I look forward to what might unfold through our conversation.
Here is a picture I thought you might enjoy from the local laundry... I guess us Hikers sure do leave our mark on towns....
I just wanted to say that I am extremely grateful to the people who have supported me financially!
Thanks Steve and Peg Stamen, Lizzy Richardson, Jessica Blocker, Sherry Metzger, Aaron and Tana Molesky, Kelly Powe, and all of my sponsors. You are all dear to me. Daren
Who knows when the next time I will come across a computer with WIFI access. Until that time...Live Life to the Fullest! Daren
"Attempt something so impossible that it will not work unless God is in it" "Life to the Fullest" Daren
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A friend (Recycled) after a day of hiking in the sun tries to dry the sweat off his shirt over the fire....or what I like to call "Cowboy Television"
of the new happenings of the organizations. We traded pictures and videos and talked of ways to raise support for the people of Africa through The Earth Expedition. They then offered to walk a little while with me to see me off. I offered my backpack to Matt and he accepted to carry it to gain some perspective of the expedition. I was walking through town and I felt like I had my own team of Sherpa’s with me! The trail is flat and then climbs from 1,326 ft to 2,500 ft in about 3 miles. About 3/4 of the way up the mountain Matt says “I shouldn’t have had trout for dinner” a little further and he discloses to us that he feels like he is going to vomit! Lol…. David takes the pack and finishes the rest of the mountain that ironically flattens out at the exchange. 
We have a New Team Member! 
