Trail update #1: Amicalola Falls to Blood Mountain.
I would like to dedicate this blog post to my parents, Jeanine and Anthony, for taking a week off and driving me down to Georgia. I want to thank my dad for enduring the first 9 miles with me, and my mom for being a tremendous help with logistics and mail drops. I couldn't do it without you guys!
Day One: March 30th: The Approach Trail.
(The 8.8 miles from Amicalola Falls to Springer Mountain aren't technically part of the Appalachian Trail, but I felt the need to take part in this "tradition".)
The morning of March 30th began at 5:30 am when I awoke in my hotel bed to the sound of thunder and heavy rain. Yikes. Though it was suggested that I skip the approach trail and start the next day, I was too wound up and anxious to wait. I decided to push back my start time an hour or two, hope for the best, and brave whatever weather I was blessed with. (Luckily, the skies cleared about 5 minutes into my hike, and the day turned out to be beautiful!) I'm grateful to have had my father hike the first 9 miles with me, and that he was able to experience my summit of Springer Mountain, the official starting point of the Appalachian Trail. He endured a strenuous hike that many thru-hikers complain about for the majority of their trip.
While the majority of the approach trail isn't very scenic, Amicalola Falls State Park was worth the extra milage. I weighed my pack at the visitors center (36lbs), got my AT passport stamped, and was deemed hiker #862. After taking a ton of photos with my pup, my dad and I set out to climb 604 steps up the breathtaking Amicalola Falls, where I met my first friend, Jason. The morning was still a bit foggy, which meant we couldn't see the top of the falls when we were standing at the base. At the top, we met an older man who was attempting to hike to Maine - he was wildly unprepared. I think about him often, and I hope we was able to figure it out. We're all rooting for each other out here.
After a long day, we finally summited Springer and I took my first official steps on the Appalachian Trail as a 2015 thru-hiker. We took photos, signed the log book, and headed down to meet my mom on the other side. Because my dad joined me on the approach trail, I was able to "slack-pack" (when a hiker only carries a day pack), which I was extremely grateful for.
After saying goodbye to my parents, I continued another 2.8 miles to the next shelter, along with a new friend, Tom (who I haven't seen for a few days...). My first night was the perfect start to my thru-hike. About 15 people made camp at Stover Creek that night - including Jason, Ron and Bandit, Fiddler, and Tom. We all set up our tents, compared food, started a fire, told some stories, hung bear bags, filtered water and headed to bed. I was content, and all was well.
The start of the AT!
Shelter: Stover Creek
Miles hiked today: (8.8 plus 2.8) = 11.6 miles
Total miles: 11.6
Miles from Springer: 2.8
Miles to Katahdin: 2182.5
Day Two: March 31st: A Full Pack, A Full Day
Though I packed up camp much later than most (9 or 10 am), I was determined to make it a solid 13 miles. I had originally intended to give myself 4 days to make it to Neel Gap, but the desire for a zero day convinced me to squish the next three days of hiking into two. The beginning of the AT crosses paths with the Benton MacKaye quite a few times, and the lack of AT white blazes caused some confusion and fear of being on the wrong trail. I kept leapfrogging with Ron and his dog Bandit, which eventually lead to us hiking together.
We arrived at the shelter before nightfall, but it was late in the day and it was difficult to find a flat spot to set up my tent. The atmosphere at this shelter was much more young and lively, but I chose to be a loner and head to bed early. It rained that night, and inside my tent was hot and humid, but the weather cleared up by the time I needed to pack everything up the next morning.
Long Creek Falls! Worth the blue-blaze.
Shelter: Gooch Mountain Shelter
Miles hiked today: 13.0
Total miles hiked: 24.6
Miles from Springer: 15.8
Miles to Katahdin: 2169.5
Day Three: April 1st: 16 Miles To Neel Gap
Wednesday was quite a long day - Ron, Bandit and I walked for over 12 hours to make it to Mountain Crossings by sundown. Summitting Blood Mountain after the first 13 miles felt like a huge accomplishment - but we didn't realize the final descent would be rocky, difficult, and seemingly neverending.
Arriving at Neel Gap was a bit underwhelming, due to the fact that we arrived after the office was closed - the hostel was all booked up, but a wonderful woman named stephanie offered up a bed for me. As soon as I walked in the hostel I was handed a plate of baked Ziti and a salad, as well as a fluffy towel. After taking a gloriously hot shower, I assessed the damage to my body - feet were sore, my collarbones were swollen and red from my pack straps, and I had a decent sunburn - but nothing of concern.
Wednesday was quite a long day - Ron, Bandit and I walked for over 12 hours to make it to Mountain Crossings by sundown. Summitting Blood Mountain after the first 13 miles felt like a huge accomplishment - but we didn't realize the final descent would be rocky, difficult, and seemingly neverending.
Arriving at Neel Gap was a bit underwhelming, due to the fact that we arrived after the office was closed - the hostel was all booked up, but a wonderful woman named stephanie offered up a bed for me. As soon as I walked in the hostel I was handed a plate of baked Ziti and a salad, as well as a fluffy towel. After taking a gloriously hot shower, I assessed the damage to my body - feet were sore, my collarbones were swollen and red from my pack straps, and I had a decent sunburn - but nothing of concern.
Apparently the oldest shelter on the trail.
(Built in 1934)
Elevation: 4461
Shelter: Mountain Crossings Hostel ($17 each bunk)
Miles hiked today: 15.9
Total miles hiked: 40.5
Miles from Springer: 31.7
Miles to Katahdin: 2153.6
Day Four: April 2nd: A Perfectly Cozy, Rainy, Zero Day
I woke up early on Thursday and checked into the Blood Mountain Cabins. (These cabins are absolutely gorgeous - a loft? a fireplace? Yes, please.) I had intended to blog on this day (sorry), but I spent the day with a friend from home who was walking southbound (trailname:fresh). The weather was horribly gloomy and wet, so I cherished the time I spent warm inside. Future zero days have a lot to live up to after this.
Todays activities included: watching Star Wars on VHS, eating until my stomach hurt, casually browsing the store at Mountain Crossings, napping, reading, discussing the fact that I should be writing a blog post, watching drew make a fire, not hiking.
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Todays activities included: watching Star Wars on VHS, eating until my stomach hurt, casually browsing the store at Mountain Crossings, napping, reading, discussing the fact that I should be writing a blog post, watching drew make a fire, not hiking.
In reality, Drew reads while I take candid photos and bum around on my phone...
Shelter: Blood Mountain Cabins ($60 each cabin)
Miles hiked today: 0!
Total miles hiked: 40.5
Miles from Springer: 31.7
Miles to Katahdin: 2153.6
***PS. Please bear with me while I figure out how to blog through my phone.
***PS again. This is my third attempt at writing this post, as the entire thing was accidentally deleted twice. I'm bitter about it.
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