Through the end of the year, we'll be keeping you updated in this weekly enewsletter on two main events celebrating our 40th Anniversary: MST in a Day and Jennifer Pharr Davis Hikes the MST. 

If you have friends who love to hike, please forward this enewsletter and encourage them to sign up and get involved.
40th Anniversary Weekly Coverage

No. 2, August 14, 2017

Jennifer Pharr Davis hits the trail

Jennifer Pharr Davis and her whole crew - husband Brew, daughter Charley, and son Gus - are getting set to take the first steps down Clingmans Dome to begin an epic three-month journey across the state on the Mountains-to-Sea Trail. On Tuesday, the whole family will hike four miles, likely with a few M&Ms dispensed to nudge the children along (well, and maybe the grown-ups, too). On Wednesday, Jen will begin the work of logging the serious daily miles that will bring her to Jockey's Ridge State Park, some 1,175-miles distant, sometime in mid-November. (The children will be joining her occasionally and Jen has worked up a special mile log, so you can make a gift to FMST based on how many miles each family member is planning to cover. See her page for more details.)

Jen is no stranger to long hikes. She thru-hiked the Appalachian Trail right out of college in 2005. She returned in 2008, and with the support of new husband Brew, she set the women's record for fastest hike (57 days, 8 hours), and was back in 2011 to set what at the time was the new overall record (46 days, 11 hours, 20 minutes).

On the MST, however, Jen plans to take time to savor the view of leaves coloring the landscape as she moves West to East. She'll be keeping us posted on the journey, and Brew will be adding in with notes on cultural and family-friendly venues along the trail. She'll also be taking time out to meet and talk with you at several special events - in Asheville, Winston-Salem, Raleigh and Wilmington. To register for the events, go to the  Jennifer Pharr Davis Hikes the MST page. Also be sure to like us on Facebook and follow us on Instagram. 

MST in a Day: 223 legs down, 77 to go

We're under 30 days until MST in a Day - Saturday, September 9 - and we have 233 legs that have designated hikers and paddlers and 77 legs left to fill! Our goal is to have every inch of the 1,175-mile MST hiked and paddled in a single day.

If you've signed up for a leg, great! Thanks so much! If you haven't, please visit the MST in a Day page on our website, click on a Segment that looks intriguing (there are 20 to choose from), and you'll be given a snapshot of each leg. Click on "Sign Up Now" and you'll be taken to the Meetup sign-up page for that Segment. There, you'll be able to see which legs need hikers or paddlers. Note: if a leg has only one person signed up, that leg needs you (the lone person listed is the Segment Leader and is there by default).

Plenty of good legs remain, but they won't last long: sign up now. That website again, MST in a Day page. That's MST in a Day. 

Questions? Answers!

You MST in a Day hikers ask a lot of questions. A lot of good questions!
Do I have to hike at 7 a.m.? What if it rains? How do I get back to my car when I reach the end of my leg?
We've collected your commonly asked questions and answered them in a Frequently Asked Questions document that you can find under "Discussions" on the Meetup site for your Segment (where you registered to hike). 
Don't see your question? Send it to us at [email protected] and we'll add it to the FAQ (along with an answer), which you may find here.
Hiking tip: Seeing double

Occasionally, as you hike the MST you may find yourself seeing double-double blazes, that is. There are two instances when this might occur.
  1. Double white dots. When you see two of our signature white dot blazes stacked vertically, that means the trail is about to take a turn or veer in an unforeseen direction. Pay extra attention; the path should be obvious and you should be able to spot a single white blaze in the direction the trail takes.
  2. White and another color. Throughout its journey, the MST occasionally piggybacks on other trails. Through Durham, for instance, it follows trail in Eno River State Park. In the accompanying photo, the MST piggybacks on the park's Laurel Bluffs Trail, marked by a yellow blaze. You're on the MST, you're on the Laurel Bluffs Trail: two trails in one.

Seeing double. It's nothing to be concerned with on the MST.

 
Thanks to our sponsors!

There would be no Mountains-to-Sea Trail, no reason to celebrate a 40th anniversary, without the generous support of our many sponsors, including  BlueCross BlueShield of North Carolina, Great Outdoor Provision Co., REI, Duke Energy, Farm to Feet, First Citizens Bank, Mast General Store, Rostan Family Foundation, New Morning Gallery, AntiGravity Gear, Prestage Farms and Wyrick Robbins.
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