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Miles logged - about 8. I'm at Hawk Mountain. So
far, it has been great!! Last night about 7:00, we arrived at the
parking area of Springer Mountain. The Appalachian Trail begins 1
mile away. Mom, Dad, Dana & Kody all
walked to the trail marker with me and after a few pictures, we said
our goodbyes. But not before I would meet 4 other Thru-hikers - Ben
from Tenn., Libby, Burnie (already
given trail name as a result of burning herself and jacket while
lighting stove), and Tim (I
think). We watched the sun
go down and retired to the shelter for the evening. It was cold
25 deg. when I went to bed. The wind was especially rowdy, too. All
night it blew. I didn't sleep well. Not because of the wind or cold
though, but b/c the rush wouldn't die. I anticipate another restless
night; I think maybe even 2. But eventually, the trail will exaust
me and a well deserved sleep will renew me fresh. It was a quiet
night in the shelter. Morning, we arose to a beautiful sunrise. Of
course, I was sleeping (or trying) until nine, so I didn't see it.
We (Ben & I) left camp bound for Long
Creek Falls. It was a mild walk to start. We talked and I didn't
realize we were even going up or down mountains. After a long two
hour break at the falls, we continued to here, Hawk
Mountain. Ben and I were the 4th or 5th folks to arrive. That
was about 4 O'clock. Now, at 6:16 PM there are near 20 people at
and around the shelter. So, see I'm not alone. Most are not thru-hikers,
but we are numerous. So, on that note I am going to join the others
for dinner and get to know some more folks.
11:04 - Just getting to bed. Readjusted
tarp - 1st official pitch. Ate oatmeal w/flax seed meal & brown
sugar. 1st official stove lighting & use - no major even, but
worth mentioning. The thru-hiker spirits are high. Another absolutely
gorgeous day. Easy miles and good company. On to Gooch tommorrow.
Hold on... sniff, sniff... nose was runny. 39 deg. Best peice of
gear, well, most used has been my hanky.
So far, no trail name. People have suggested Treatsie (because of Kody, which
by the way is becoming a legend - even on the trail - way to go Kody!), Doc
and that's it. Doc because I have tryed to help Ben; he has a sore throat.
Cayenne (sp) pepper is helping some, but is not knocking it out. I think the
stages are advanced and infection has already set in well. Hope he feels better
in the morning.
Good night to all. I'm sleeping under the light of a full moon; I took pictures.
Mark-out!
Day 2 (officially) - not couting Sunday 4.4.4.
51 Deg. 9:37 - I'm all tucked in. Full. hydrated. Dry. I'm doing
great!! Two major incidents today on the trail. The first incident
@ approx. 4 A.M. - Ben wakes me by nudging me, screaming, "I'm
going to Suches!" I kenw he was hurting but I thought a good
night of rest would improve his condition. But no - he left for Suches.
Gone - just like that! Before departing, thought, we agreed to attempt
a meet @ Walasi-Yi.
The other incident I was not a witness, but saw the aftermath. A young man,
Tom, and his father were dropped @ Amicola by his mother. They have hiked to
here. While cooking dinner, Tom bumped his Swiss Army knife through the crack
of the shelter picnic table onto his big toe! He was cut pretty bad. That's
when I came back from the waterhole, and passed this poor boy grasping his
big toe. They will have the end the hike to Walasi-Yi and return to New York.
Crazy!
I have been in good company. Met up with some boys from Tifton, GA. -Kip, Travis & Adam.
Adam is not a thru-hiker; he took a week off work to launch his friends off
to Maine. Tim - now, Roonie from Mass - sponsored his thru-hike by working
at a landfillfor 10/hr. He would collect plastic bags over 11 or 13 - something
acres. He is 20, I think, but very nice guy. Libby and Burnie are both here
and holding on - their team trail name is "Slow & Steady"! Amy
is from Charleston, SC. She reminds me of the neighbor, Terri Z. In fact, come
to find out, she also teaches 5th grade & sustained multiple knee (left)
injuries from soccer, she is on a 30-mile test runfor a 2005 thru-hike for
charity. She will also be heading for Walesi-Yi.
Today's walk wasn't too bad. I did experience two hot-spots (first stage of
a blister) on both big toes - one actually starting a small buble of water.
I wrapped it while I ate fruit roll-ups (homemade, with apple sause + fav.
juice + dehydrated), banana chips & some cookie that tasted great. After
lunch break, my toes felt much better, and the hike was the steepest section
yet. For me, I take uphill better than downhill - so I welcomed the climb!!
I arrived at the shelter about 4:30. I quickly seized a level campsite and
pitched camp. I rested shortly and decided to get water and wash up for dinner.
Washing up for dinner consists of changing into clean clothes, but only after
a quick mountain stream sponge bath. Yes!! With a bandana and my cooking pot,
I wash. I use the cooking pot to collect water and the bandana to rinse and
scrub myself. I even stuck my head in the pot of water to clean my hair. And
to think, 15 minutes later I was boiling water & dinner with that very
same pot. Hey, to a hiker - it works!!
Well, tommorrow I will hike another mountain and I am feeling good and ready
for it. Time for bed. Goodnight. Mark.
Day 3, Wood's Hole Shelter. 27 miles from Springer
Mtn. Left Gooch Gap approx. 10 AM. Many P.U.D.S. - Pountless-Ups-and-Downs
- but it is to be expected in Georgia. If anyone wants to know the
Georgia A.T., then imagine many rocks, roots, rocks, roots, dirt,
and some more rocks. It's great! Oh! Don't forget red mud, too! Anyway,
12 miles to here, Woods Hole. Will be @ Walasi-Yi early - probably
b/f lunch. I am setting.... have set alarm for 4AM. Want to make
it two miles to Blood Mtn. to take picture of the sunrise. Will walk
another 2 miles down to Neels-Gap, Walasi-Yi (an
outfitter), where I will resupply with my first mail-drop. Good
thing, too - 'cause I only have cold oatmeal for break-fast, then
I'm out of food. Yeah, surprisingly, I actually packed the correct
amount of food. Many other hikers (see
pictures) are carrying 7-8 lbs. of food - overkill. Of course,
I have also walked this section of the A.T., so I know what to expect.
I'm sure once I leave familiar territory, I'll over-kill the food.
I'll tell you what I have been killing is water. I have consistantly drank
4-6 liters of water these first days. When it gets hotter, more intense, I
wonder how much water I'll drink then? Water - love it!
I have two blisters on the inside of both big toes. I was expecting blisters
there; I always get blisters there. It's not the boots, either - it's the feet!!
I drained the blisters w/ a safety pin and wrapped them in water-proof, breathable
tape. After I dressed them and hiked, my feet felt great. That's th ereason
I pressed on today. Feeling alive! Much love to all away from me. Goodnight.
Day 4, Walasi-Yi Shelter/Hostel - woke up early
- 4 A.M. - to hike to Blood Mtn's summit. Best time so far breaking
camp - about 30 minutes. Made it to the top in about an hour. the
moon was so bright that it luminated the trail; I didn't hvae to
use my headlamp. Once at the top, I waited for sun-rise by taking
a small nap. The clouds never passed so the sunrise I was hoping
for could not be seen well - mostly, just greys & blues. So,
I arrived @ Walasi-Yi earlier than I thought. I have checked in to
bunk 4, taken a shower, and am in the process of washing my clothes.
Later, I will ask the outfitter staff for my mail-box resupply, buy
some fuel, and have my sleeping pad replaced. It acquired a hole/leak.
The other thru-hikers will slowly come off the mountain. At 6 P.M.
there is a shuttle that goes to Blairsville for AYCE!! Looking forward
to that. More later ~ T.D. ~
Walasi-Yi Shake Down
Sent home- Montrail boots, 10 ft rope, pack towl, 1 pair socks, 1
pair liner socks, Gregory Forrester back pack, Therm-a-Rest, duct tape (entire
roll, but carry small strips)
Picked up- Granite Gear Nimbus Latitude backpack
(3800 cubes, 3 lbs 8 oz) Salomon lightwieght high tops - 1lbs 8oz
each; new Therm-a-Rest.
I'm back. 9:42 and people still up in the hostel.
12 of us shuttled to Blairsville for AYCE @ the Cookie Jar. It wasn't
the best food, but what can you expect for $7. I ate 2 large salads & some
mashed potato. After dinner, we all talked about our expectations,
who of us around the table would or would not make it to Maine, gear,
food, family - basically, questions to get to know people. The trail
softens people's guard, so they are less distant.
I trade 2 major pieces of gear - backpack and boots! The backpack I used the
first 30 miles was not agreeing with my shoulders or waist (hips). I replaced
my backpack with a lower volume, lighter weight Granite Gear. These series
of packs were made for thru-hiking, so I'm confident this pack will make it
to Katahdin. Boots. Boots were too heavy. Instead, I switched to a boot built
like a sneaker. It is a hightop shoe, so my ankles will be supported. Making
the boot change will conserve energy with each step. Now, I hope the next 50
miles to N.C. doesn't cause blisters.
I am tired and have to check out of the hostel by 9 A.M. Also, need to mail
home box, call home, etc... laundry... Goodnight.
I made it to Low Gap Shelter today. It was a tough
11.3 miles from Neels Gap. I think this may have been my longest
day so far - yeah! The new shoes & pack are great so far. Shoes
have rubbed a small blister on my left heel, but it is fine. I applied
some moleskin and tape and it hasn't bothered me since. The pack
feels terrific! I knew from the get go that the Gregory wasn't going
to work out, but I wanted to try anyway. This pack I bought was made
specifically with thru-hikers in mind; I feel no soreness in my shoulders
or hips!
As a result of my new equipment, it took me a while to leave Neels Gap. So
most of the other hikers had left. After about 1.5 miles, while I was walking,
I bumped into Rooney Tunes - walking back towards Neels Gap! He had left a
$100 check, which was already endorsed, and a small bowl his father used as
a Boy Scout; he meant to send them home, but in his haste, he forgot. Luckily,
i convinced him to try calling on his cell instead of walking back. We had
to walk about 1/2 mile further to a small peak to get a signal, but it worked,
and the hostel/outfitter found both items and agreed to forward them to Rainbow
Springs 40 or so miles up the trail. It worked out great! We then walked the
rest of the day together.
When we made it to Low Gap Shelter, we were greeted by Goose Bump, Dutch, ProntoM71,
Myst, Bearbait, Tom & Switter. I was low on water (not enough for dinner)
so 1st thing I did was filter H2O for dinner & breakfast. Water filtering &/or
purifying is a daily task for a thru-hiker. Mostly, people carry enough water
to reach the next water supply, which, on the A.T. in GA., is about every 5-7
miles, & sometimes being even more frequent. For dinner I ate rice on tortillas
and it was yummy. Shortly after dinner, most hikers are ready for bed. We generally
talk for a short time; usually just after sundown most people are bundled in
their sleeping bags either reading a book, reviewing the day's mileage (or
tomorrow's), or writing in their journal. I like to read the shelter register.
The shelter register is a spiral bound notebook that people sign. It is a forum
to communicate to other hikers. Not always though. Sometimes hikers just write.
For instance, Switters of the Birdwatchers writes tonight, "Pain, perspiration, & persistance
is the only admission fee here." - He was right! And only 2132.8 miles
to go!!
Today I met up with the Three Amigos - Don, Tom & Jeff.
We all hike roughly the same pace and so we have stuck together for
most of the day. These guys are a riot. They all hiked the 2600 mile
Pacific Crest Trail (PCT) in 2003 & now are hiking a section
of the A.T. They are all good friends. We stopped for lunch @ Blue
Mtn. shelter but wanted to push hard to Cheese Factory camp site.
The news of rain will push you to do the extra miles while you are
dry. 13 miles later we are beat. Tonight we sit around a camp fire
talking about the PCT and funny camping stories. It was a blast!
One very noteable event occured today - my first trail magic!! If you don't
know what trail magic is, well it is when someone does something very kind
for you while on the trail. However, trail magic could not occur w/o trail
angels. So here is the story: I was walking (imagine that) when a young man
hiking toward me came in to view. I was listening to the radio so I knodded
a hello. He acknowledged me back and spoke "Do you believe in trail magic?" I
didn't quite hear him so I removed my headphones and he repeated the question.
Startled, I replied "well, yeah, I guess so!" He smiled and said "Good,
you should" and then walked away. I thought it peculiar, but I put my
headphones back on and continued down the trail. I wasn't far from Unicoi Gap
when two people - a man and his wife asked if I was a thru-hiker & of course,
I said yes. They congratulated me and told me that at Unicoi Gap there was
a red car w/ oranges & bananas and that I could have what I wanted. It
was true, too. Minutes later I was eating nanas and oranges in the shade. It
was awesome and totally appreciated! I never got any names, so all I can do
is thank trail angels!!
The Three Amigos missed the trail angels somehow.
Woke up today for the 1st time to rain. It was
more difficult to pack up - everything needs to be waterproofed,
including me. Only 9 miles completed today - the rain and a very
long, steep climb up & over Kelly Knob to blame. I hiked for the
second day with Don, Tom & Jeff. I especially like Don - a veggitarian
of 35 years and employee of the E.P.A. Super, super nice man. He
gave me some Balance bars for lunch @ Tray Mtn. Shelter when I wasn't
quite full. Really, though, all these guys are awesome. Jeff is crazy
funny; Tom tells good stories and they are fun to be around. We arrived
@ Deep Gap Shelter @ 4:00 PM. Thumper, Lumpy, Red Beard, Caveman,
Myst, Gypsy, and others were already there. @ the shelter eating.
It wasn't long though when the rain came back. It is still raining.
I'm going to bed @ 8:30 tonight. Should be an easy day tomorrow to
Dick's Creek Gap 3.5 miles away. Then I'll have to hitch to the Blueberry
Patch Hostel to recieve another resupply box & to stay the night.
Depending on the weather I may take a zero. Small blister remains
but is O.K. ; big toes feel good, too! Good night!!
Oh, P.S. - Sleeping with ear plugs in tonight to silence the chainsaw
snoring infamous to shelter night life. Later...
Continue to week 2
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