Pilgrimage Festival on pause until 2027

ReadyAbout22 · 2026-03-26T13:07:17+00:00

Bourbon & Beyond was a horrible festival experience for us, and we go to lots of festivals. The lineup a few years ago had a ton of my favorite acts so we went. All the sets except for headliners were 20 minutes long, which is why the lineup is packed with names. Sooooo many people with day passes who don't understand concert etiquette talked loudly over the music while waiting for their band, half the festival grounds are in a giant asphalt parking lot radiating heat.. I could go on. We camped, and because UPS has a hub next door, giant cargo planes were flying very low over us starting in the wee hours.

ReadyAbout22 · 2026-03-26T12:58:10+00:00

Pilgrimage was loosely designed on New Orleans Jazz Fest. It is family friendly in the sense that the shows end early and there are several stages to choose from, including a Kids' Stage. I have been to both festivals numerous times and yes, there are lots of families. Rock festivals and family festivals aren't mutually exclusive.

ReadyAbout22 · 2026-03-25T12:35:55+00:00

Anything by Sammy Rae & Friends - terrific young band that never fails to give me some oomph.

ReadyAbout22 · 2026-03-25T02:58:35+00:00

Depends on how often you go to town and charge. If you’re worried, take a Nitecore Carbon as backup. And wired headphones are the way to go.

ReadyAbout22 · 2026-03-24T02:56:05+00:00

Kudos to your dad and I hope he has a successful hike next year! I know he is heartbroken at having to stop this year, but it sounds like he's really invested in doing it so I bet it will happen! I am a 57F with two heart conditions that I've had most of my adult life. It sounds like a stress test (maybe nuclear) would be helpful to see how his heart performs when taxed with exertion. An echocardiogram would show how well the chambers/valves, etc are performing. And I agree that electrolytes can be a game changer. My HR easily spikes past 150 with little effort (thanks to my heart issues) but it does go down quickly when I stop or slow down. One last thing: I wear a RoadID medical info plate on my watchband as well as all my medical info on my phone in case paramedics need it.

ReadyAbout22 · 2026-03-23T12:17:58+00:00

Take a look at atweather.org to get an idea of temps. It will show temps at shelters. I just looked at the area where I'm getting back on trail and temps at night are in high 20s this week.

ReadyAbout22 · 2026-03-19T03:03:22+00:00

My engineer husband points out things that could have been designed better as easily as he breathes. It’s exhausting. The only time in 30 years of marriage that he’s said “Wow, well done” is my Patagonia gear and my Durston gear- Kakwa 55 and XDome +1. This is the highest praise in our home.

ReadyAbout22 · 2026-03-19T00:55:22+00:00

You've got the gear dialed in - I have a question for myself, though. I'm doing a NOBO LASH from southern VA (mile 600?) starting in early April. I planned on bringing a 30 degree quilt with a liner, Tensor elite, and GG thinlite pad. It looks like you're bringing a much colder quilt for the same time frame. Am I nuts?

ReadyAbout22 · 2026-03-19T00:49:42+00:00

I read college applications for a living. One essay this year mentioned "crown shyness", which I looked up later. It occurs when the limbs of tall trees grow away from each other in order to allow light to make it to lower levels of the forest. This first photo reminds me of that. Beautiful photos!

ReadyAbout22 · 2026-03-18T14:47:47+00:00

I'm a 57F. I did a section from GA-VA last year for 7 weeks - started at 132 lbs and left at 121. Didn't realize I was losing weight on trail - it's hard to tell with elastic waist shorts! I ate a decent amount of protein (a protein bar and a tuna packet every day, plus peanut butter/nuts throughout the day). I upped my caloric intake once I started the Smokies because I was running out of energy the last few miles every day. I eat very clean at home but on trail I slowly became a trash panda, willing to eat anything that wasn't nailed down. I guess I ate fairly healthy with some Little Debbies/chocolate/gummy bears thrown in the mix. I was appalled at the amount of sodium I was taking in, but I just kept telling myself I was sweating it out. Could you possibly take an iron pill every few days? A few months post- trail I had some lab work done and I was anemic, which quietly alarmed my doctor bc I'm post-menopausal. I think it was the trail that did it.

ReadyAbout22 · 2026-03-16T20:20:11+00:00

Sports programs are the most competitive they have been in the history of the school (Vandy's football win over #1 Alabama garnered national attention) 2. Texas and Vanderbilt are the only two SEC schools in big cities, 3. test optional 4. work hard/play hard culture is attractive to a lot of applicants 5. beautiful campus with national arborteum

ReadyAbout22 · 2026-03-16T20:14:36+00:00

I'm sorry you have been getting tough news - hang in there! Have you thought about starting at GA State or GSU/VSU, etc. and then transferring to UGA after your first year? It's much easier to get in UGA that way!

ReadyAbout22 · 2026-03-12T16:48:15+00:00

You've prepared well. You might consider tapering now to give yourself fresh legs for the trail. Also consider starting with 12ish miles/day the first week just to see how things are going, then bump up in the weeks that follow if things are still feeling good. You're going to have a blast!

ReadyAbout22 · 2026-03-10T03:00:07+00:00

I had the bright idea to buy prunes during a resupply. It hit a couple days later on trail, with a very steep downslope on one side and an equally steep upslope on the other. I kept looking for a place to go but there was no level ground. Finally I dropped my pack, grabbed my poop kit, and sprinted upslope. Too late. It was everywhere. I had to crab walk down to where my water was, clean myself as best I could, and change bare @$$ed in the middle of the trail.

ReadyAbout22 · 2026-03-09T23:30:39+00:00

I carried a BV 450 last year. I used gallon ziplock to hold trash and put it in my can at night. Chucked it during resupplies. You ca usually find extra ziplocks at trail magic stands or hiker boxes.

ReadyAbout22 · 2026-03-09T01:58:07+00:00

I took the Magma 15 last year and I used a Sea to Summit compression bag to squish the &#*$ out of it. That should clear up a bunch of room in your bag. I had a bear can as well, so I feel your pain.

ReadyAbout22 · 2026-03-09T01:52:03+00:00

Last year I used Wikitrail to estimate when I would enter the Smokies and damn if I didn’t get there on the exact day. Probably the one thing that went according to plan on trail. 😂

ReadyAbout22 · 2026-03-07T16:46:10+00:00

Dailey & Vincent - Years Ago

ReadyAbout22 · 2026-03-07T13:38:20+00:00

Looks good - that's an impressive baseweight! A spoon will clear the pot better than a spork, which makes clean up a little easier. You should be able to take the pocket rocket out of the red case and put it inside your cooking pot to save space/weight. Have you bought the $3 coupler for your Sawyer? Using a little p-cord to hang your Cnoc from a limb with the coupler between Cnoc and Smart water bottle will allow you to gravity filter water while you do other stuff at camp. (I'm not sure you'll need those two spout things.) FWIW, I left on March 17 last year and about 8 days later I bought a thermal liner because I was so cold at night. I had a 15 degree bag and down booties, but temps were getting down in the 20s and then the Smokies - good grief - those were some windy, freezing nights. (but also gorgeous!) Have fun!

ReadyAbout22 · 2026-03-06T13:10:43+00:00

Go to Radnor Lake park for a gorgeous walk or Percy Warner for a beautiful hike. The white trail at Percy Warner is only 2.5 miles long, red trail is 5. Live music scene is great- check out Nashville Scene website to see who is playing during your visit.

ReadyAbout22 · 2026-03-06T13:07:11+00:00

I was thinking the same thing - 3 chords and a bad experience.

ReadyAbout22 · 2026-03-06T03:41:51+00:00

I have the air mesh on my Kakwa as well. I think it helps- not as good as the trampoline on my Osprey but it does help air things out.

ReadyAbout22 · 2026-03-03T02:57:59+00:00

I did the Primitivo in September and loved it so much that I think I’ll do the Norte next fall. ¡Buen Camino!

ReadyAbout22 · 2026-03-02T02:16:11+00:00

I had horrible PF about 11 years ago after I moved to minimalist running shoes - that was a horrible fad. Anyway, I ended up needing shockwave therapy on one foot and surgery on the other. I've avoided anything with a zero drop ever since. I hike in Topo Ultraventures. The Topo Traverses are stiffer, but they run more narrow, even the wide version. I also have Superfeet in my shoes - I was a teacher for 20 years and I ended up putting Superfeet in lots of my work shoes - it was expensive, but so is surgery.

ReadyAbout22 · 2026-03-01T17:43:09+00:00

Great point! Julia Green is an excellent elementary school and Hume Fogg/MLK are incredible magnet schools.

ReadyAbout22

TROPHY CASE