Fri 3/21
Krista was awesome and drove me over 3 hrs from Asheville to Amicalola Falls so I could start my hike. Her dog Kara came too. We walked around the park little bit and saw the falls. I checked in at the park office and signed the log book for the first time. I weighed my pack for the first time. It weighed in at 24 lbs. Not too bad. And and since this weight includes my winter gear and additional items, my pack will only get lighter. I said goodbye to Krista and started hiking. The approach trail is a 9 mile hike up to Springer Mountain, the southern terminus of the AT. So basically these 9 miles don't even count. My friend Tony suggested I skip the approach trail for this reason but it's a nice trail. I'm glad I did it. I met a couple other thru hikers at the start of the approach, Professor and Travis. Professor is a 300lb 30 something year old with a big beard. Professor thru hiked a couple years ago and is planning on doing it again this year. Well at least that's the story he's telling. I learn later that I'm unable to believe half the stuff he says. Travis is a 28 yr old Iraq war vet that is hiking the trail in memory of his friend that thru hiked last year. I hiked top of Springer with Travis. It took us about 5 hrs and it was dark by the time we reached the summit. I see the first white blaze. It was a great feeling.
Sat 3/22
It's probably a good idea to practice using your gear before starting a thru hike. I didn't do that. Last night I set up my tent for the first time in the dark. Had I done this earlier, I wouldn't be carrying a second set of stakes with me since the tent came with stakes. I probably would have also seam sealed the tent. But I just didn't do it. I threw the seam sealer in my pack with everything that morning when I was packing up. (I'm typing up this a week later and I still don't have my tent seam sealed and the bottle of seam sealer is still in my pack.) I also used my stove and water filter for the first time. Anyway, I start hiking and break for lunch with a man named Chill Out. He got that name from his wife because he was so worked up about hiking the trail that his wife told him he needed to chill out. All thru hikers get trail names while out here. The hiker community is a subculture that allows for people to take on new identities. If you don't pick a name before you start, a name will be chosen for you. I continued hiking and my knee started to hurt. I experienced the same thing when I ran the marathon on Sunday. Soon after my knee started bothering me, I met a Canadian couple, Mike and April. April was a physical therapist and seemed to know exactly what was going on with my knee. She said I have runner's knee and that this is very common. I spent the night at Justice Creek with Chill Out, Mike, and April.
Sun 3/23
I experienced trail magic for the first time today. There was a church group at Gooch Shelter. They had a big tent set up and they were making breakfast for the hikers. I got some fruit, oatmeal, and hot chocolate. They were also offering up some waterproof hiker bibles. I met a man there that was trying to thru hike with his family. He had a wife and 2 young children. I think it's fairly uncommon to see kids thru hiking but some do. The youngest was a 5 year old, Buddy Backpacker, who hiked the trail last year with his parents. The youngest to thru hike solo was a 15 year old girl. I continued hiking and had lunch on a ledge overlooking the mountains. At first the fog was so thick I couldn't see much of anything. I stayed until the sky cleared. I met a group of 3 hikers, Hero, Sunshine, and Starbucks. I camped with them that night.
Mon 3/24
Today I hiked Blood Mountain, the highest peak along the AT in Georgia.
I spent a couple hours on Blood Mountain then hiked into Neel Gap. Neel Gap is the first resupply point on the trail. There is a gear shop, cabins, and a hostel at Neel as well. This has to be the best location for a gear shop. All the hikers go through there. This is the only store that is actually on the trail with a white blaze on the building itself. Also, at 30 miles in, it's the perfect location for hikers who realize the gear they started out with isn't working. Here you can ask for "the shake down" where a gear expert empties out your pack and tells you what you can do to improve your pack. If you have excessive or unnecessary gear, the gear shop will mail it home for you. They literally send tons of gear home for people every year. At Neal Gap, I met a couple Baltimore Jack and Miss Janet. Baltimore Jack is a man that hiked the trail 9 times. As if hiking the AT once isn't enough, imagine doing it 9 times! Miss Janet is the ultimate trail angel. She never finished a thru hike but she has been working with hikers her whole life. This year she is living in her van and will be driving up to Maine with us providing assistance to the hikers the whole way. I went to a pizza buffet that night with a group of hikers. I ate way too much and was barely able to walk afterwards. This was only my 3rd day on the AT and I didn't want to stay at a hostel just yet so I camped on a site behind the outfitters. It turned out to be a horrible night for me. I woke up at 3:30 in the middle of the night. Since I was up, I figured I would get an early start. I pack up and it's raining and really cold. I make warm oatmeal on the porch of the hostel. I'm about ready to hike when I realize it's impossible to see through the fog. Feeling tired and defeated, I set my tent back up and go back to sleep. I wake up again when the sun comes out and I'm again ready to start hiking. I meet a girl named Sloth that was camping right above me and she was planning on taking a zero day (no hiking at all). It was still cold out and was supposed to get even colder that next night. It didn't take much to convince me to stay. My friends from the previous day were zeroing too.
Tues 3/25
This is my first zero day. I went in with Sloth and a guy named Chris and shared a cabin. We called Miss Janet and a group of us got a ride into town. We went to a mexican restaurant for lunch and then to Walmart.
Wed 3/26
Sloth and I got up at 7 and hiked to Poplar Stamp Gap. Some of the other guys ended up camping there as we'll.
Thurs 3/27
I had lunch at Blue Mountain Shelter and then spent my first night sleeping in a shelter on Tray Mountain. It rained all night. Even in the shelter, we got a little wet.
Fri 3/28
We hiked a little in the rain and had lunch at Deep Gap Shelter. We got to Dicks Creek Gap and had some beer and doughnuts. We the. Walked half a mile down the road to spend the night at a hostel. The Top of Georgia Hostel is brand new and has only been open for a couple weeks. They provided a free shuttle into town. I went to the grocery store to resupply on food. In the evening, there were free foot baths. These were buckets of hot water with Epsom salt and marbles.
Sat 3/29
It rained all day. I took a zero and stayed at the hostel an extra day. I think this was a wise choice. The weather sucked. Went out to dinner for another $8 all-you-can eat buffet. I had another foot bath after. Also, I have a trail name now. I ran a marathon a few days before I started hiking and the guys have been calling me Marathon since day 2. I'm Marathon.
