Evan Mallory

I also checked the lean-to, not on any map. Rangers said no such structure existed there. Josh still won't talk about it. He barely talks at all now. The rest of us don't hike together anymore. But sometimes, when I can't sleep, I think about that girl's voice. The way she said it. Calm. Sure. This isn't the Appalachian Trail. I believe her now.

I also checked the lean-to, not on any map. Rangers said no such structure existed there. Josh still won't talk about it. He barely talks at all now. The rest of us don't hike together anymore. But sometimes, when I can't sleep, I think about that girl's voice. The way she said it. Calm. Sure. This isn't the Appalachian Trail. I believe her now.

And if you ever find yourself lost in the fog on that section of trail, and you hear laughter, don't look for where it's coming from. Just keep moving. And whatever you do, don't answer them back. The trail register at Massey Gap felt colder than the air. The metal box beaded with a dawn frost so fine it looked like powdered glass.

And if you ever find yourself lost in the fog on that section of trail, and you hear laughter, don't look for where it's coming from. Just keep moving. And whatever you do, don't answer them back. The trail register at Massey Gap felt colder than the air. The metal box beaded with a dawn frost so fine it looked like powdered glass.

I signed my name, Evan Mallory, Asheville, North Carolina, then scribbled a note for my fiancé. Seven days of quiet, ten miles a day, back with a clearer head and better stories.

I signed my name, Evan Mallory, Asheville, North Carolina, then scribbled a note for my fiancé. Seven days of quiet, ten miles a day, back with a clearer head and better stories.

i shut the lid the clang echoed through the high meadows where wild ponies pawed at frosted grass their breath foggy plumes in the dim blue light if there was a more peaceful place to put a restless mind right i hadn't found it For the first two miles the world felt brand new. Hooves clipped stone behind me, and a chestnut pony trotted close enough that I could stroke its shaggy mane.

i shut the lid the clang echoed through the high meadows where wild ponies pawed at frosted grass their breath foggy plumes in the dim blue light if there was a more peaceful place to put a restless mind right i hadn't found it For the first two miles the world felt brand new. Hooves clipped stone behind me, and a chestnut pony trotted close enough that I could stroke its shaggy mane.

Beyond the bald summit of Wilburn Ridge, spruce needles glittered under a rising sun, and somewhere to the east a pileated woodpecker hammered out a rhythm that matched my heartbeat. I breathed deep, tasting wood smoke on the wind, odd because campfires were banned until winter rains returned. I told myself a hunter down in the lowlands was burning crop stubble and pushed on.

Beyond the bald summit of Wilburn Ridge, spruce needles glittered under a rising sun, and somewhere to the east a pileated woodpecker hammered out a rhythm that matched my heartbeat. I breathed deep, tasting wood smoke on the wind, odd because campfires were banned until winter rains returned. I told myself a hunter down in the lowlands was burning crop stubble and pushed on.

By late afternoon, I reached a sheltered saddle below buzzard rock and pitched my tent on ground padded with needles. While the jet boil hissed, I filmed a quick GoPro diary. Day one. Easy miles. Strange hint of smoke all day. Probably nothing. Missing you already, Jules. The stove clicked off.

By late afternoon, I reached a sheltered saddle below buzzard rock and pitched my tent on ground padded with needles. While the jet boil hissed, I filmed a quick GoPro diary. Day one. Easy miles. Strange hint of smoke all day. Probably nothing. Missing you already, Jules. The stove clicked off.

Silence reclaimed the forest, save for an occasional pop hiss, like damp logs flashing to steam inside a distant blaze. I lay there afterward, headlamp off, letting darkness settle. But as night thickened, that firecrackle seemed closer, drifting between ridge pines and slow pulses, as though someone were coaxing reluctant coals back to life.

Silence reclaimed the forest, save for an occasional pop hiss, like damp logs flashing to steam inside a distant blaze. I lay there afterward, headlamp off, letting darkness settle. But as night thickened, that firecrackle seemed closer, drifting between ridge pines and slow pulses, as though someone were coaxing reluctant coals back to life.

cold pulled me from sleep just after midnight my breath floated white in the tent then a soft scrape fabric brushing against something rough and my vestibule wall flexed inward pressed by an unseen hand i froze Another pop hiss sounded inches from my ear, the unmistakable snap of sap boiling. I fumbled for the zipper, yanked it open, and shone my headlamp into the trees.

cold pulled me from sleep just after midnight my breath floated white in the tent then a soft scrape fabric brushing against something rough and my vestibule wall flexed inward pressed by an unseen hand i froze Another pop hiss sounded inches from my ear, the unmistakable snap of sap boiling. I fumbled for the zipper, yanked it open, and shone my headlamp into the trees.

Nothing, except a faint orange glow hovering twenty yards away, a single ember brightening, dimming, brightening again like a firefly trapped in a bell jar.

Nothing, except a faint orange glow hovering twenty yards away, a single ember brightening, dimming, brightening again like a firefly trapped in a bell jar.

i tried to fix my eyes on it but the light winked out the moment i focused wind eased through spruce crowns yet the air smelled sharper the smoke thicker with no courage to investigate i zipped the door and lay stiff until dawn washed the ridge in gray Morning revealed something I couldn't explain.

i tried to fix my eyes on it but the light winked out the moment i focused wind eased through spruce crowns yet the air smelled sharper the smoke thicker with no courage to investigate i zipped the door and lay stiff until dawn washed the ridge in gray Morning revealed something I couldn't explain.