4/22/13 - Day 7

Low Gap Shelter to Cheese factory site
13.4 miles, 56.6 miles total
Today was the longest day yet. The first 7 miles were quite easy. It was the next 6 miles that kicked my butt. It was 1 mile uphill, 1.5 mile downhill, 1.4 mile uphill, 1.3 mile downhill, and finally 0.7 mile uphill. It was exhausting.
Tonight we are staying at the cheese factory site. Apparently there was a cheese factory here in the 1800's or something. It's a great campsite. Lots of tenting spots, easy access to water, fire pits, etc. Staying in the area tonight is Paul, Harry, Rider, Sarah, Alana, and a new guy, Wicca Witch. He helped us get a big fire going since it's supposed to be down to near freezing again.
Also, my feet are starting to get quite a few blisters. I'm taking good care of my feet, but they do still hurt at the end of the day. Maybe a zero/nero (near zero) day in Hiawassee will help.

4/21/13 - Day 6

Bull Gap to Low Gap Shelter
10.4 miles, 43.2 miles total
This morning I really did not want to wake up. My sleeping bag was just so warm and it was so cold outside. But now, at 4:45 in the afternoon, I'm laying in my tent with my shirt off because the weather is so nice. Today has truly had a lot of ups and downs.
The hike had a good amount of hills and some great views, but otherwise it was just your average hike. I did meet some nice people at one of the road crossings. Everyone always wishes me good luck and that is always appreciated.
Tonight, pretty much the same people are with us. We have Paul, Paul, Rider, Leo, Sarah, Alana, Jasmine, and Boogie. Oh and Harry is back, too! He is the 87 year old from Germany. There are also about 30 other people at the shelter and the surrounding areas. It's a pretty crowded night.
Otherwise, I have a great life right now. Tomorrow, I'm planning on going 13 miles. Wish me luck!

4/20/13 - Day 5

Lance Creek to Bull Gap
8.5 miles, 32.8 total

Today started off pretty slow, but got exciting really quickly. On top of Blood Mountain, at 4461 feet, the highest elevation so far, there is an AT shelter. But this one is different. It is built out of stone and has two separate rooms. It also has windows and doors. The views from Blood Mountain were also pretty spectacular, so I got some good pictures.

The hike down was quite intense. The elevation drops 1300 feet in 2 miles, which may not seem like much, but it actually is a pretty steep decline.

My favorite part of today was Neel Gap. It's the first place on the AT that you can resupply, buy gear, toss out unnecessary gear, mail stuff home, etc. There is an outfitter called Mountain Crossings right on the trail. They are famous for their "gear shakedowns", where you lay out all of your gear, and they go through it, helping you shave weight.

So I got a gear shakedown, and luckily, I didn't have too many places to shave weight. The main thing was my first aid kit and the fact that I was carrying too many stuff sacks. So I consolidated some stuff and sent some stuff home and probably saved half a pound.

I also replaced two of my stuff sacks with waterproof ones - my sleeping bag stuff sack (it's down, so if it gets wet it's useless) and my food bag (so I can hang a bear bag without all of my food getting soaked). I also bought some light camp shoes. Yay Crocs!

Afterwards, I hung out, bought a soda, and eventually headed out to hike another mile to a campsite. Tonight I am at a campsite with a whopping ten other people! And a dog! Let's see... there's Paul, another Paul, Brandon, Sarah, Alana, Ryder, Leo, Jasmine, and Boogie (the dog). There is also a guy and his son. Yeah.

Well, it's supposed to be another 30 degree night so I'm gonna go bury myself in my sleeping bag. Goodnight.

4/19/13 - Day 4

Gooch Mountain Shelter to Lance Creek
8.5 miles, 24.3 miles total

CAUTION: THIS POST CONTAINS JUST A LITTLE SARCASM

Downpour. All day. Literally. Okay, almost literally. I woke up at 7; it was raining. I had to pack up my tent while it was soaking wet. It was a blast. I made breakfast under the shelter; it was raining. Then I sat around the shelter hoping it would stop. It didn't. I ended up starting to hike around 11, at which point I decided it just wasn't gonna stop.

Today was my first really challenging day. Not physically, the terrain was actually pretty easy, but mentally. I crossed my first pavement road today and part of me kept thinking, "Man, it's probably nice and warm in those cars."

Anyways, it didn't stop raining until 2PM or so. But before that happened I reached the top of Big Cedar Mountain where the rain decided to go sideways. Fun. Also, the overlooks & views at Big Cedar were amazing. At least I assume they were. There was a huge white thing blocking my view. Although at one point, I did see a grey cloud BELOW ME within the white cloud, so that was kinda cool.

For all of you camp people out there: camp songs can really lift your mood. One cool thing I realized is that camp songs will cheer you up no matter what is happening. Even if it is raining sideways, 50 degrees, and you're on top of a mountain with no shelter because the trees are still bare.

Once I got to Lance Creek, I set up camp, hung my wet clothes to dry (it had stopped raining by then), put on dry clothes, got in my sleeping bag and took a nap. It was lovely. The only bad part is that my hiking shoes decided NOT TO DRY, so that will be fun tomorrow.

Tonight there are three others camping here. Alana, and two guys who I haven't seen before, but they seem pretty cool. Paul and Sarah decided to get a shuttle to the Hiker Hostel in Dahlonega so that they could get out of the rain and so that Sarah could heal up her knee a little.

PS. Guess what's behind the rainstorm... a cold front!!! It's supposed to get down to 35 degrees tonight! Woohoo! My brand new pullover that my wonderful girlfriend LAUREN got me for my birthday is going to come in handy the next few days! Thank you, Lauren!

4/18/13 - Day 3

Hawk Mountain Shelter to Gooch Mountain Shelter
7.7 miles, 15.8 miles total

I woke up in a blanket of fog this morning. It looked like it was gonna be pretty miserable, but it actually cleared up and was a good day. I really took my time. I took lots of breaks, a long lunch, and ended up at the shelter around 1:30.

I decided to tent today, simply because I didn't want to deal with the mice. But I do really like this shelter - two stories, shelves around the inside edges, and an awning over the picnic table.

Tonight there were six of us - two in the shelter and four in tents. There is Paul, Hank (he is just out for a few days), Harry (the 87 year old), Sarah, and a new girl, Alana. She did 13 miles today. Too much for me.

Around 7, we had two ultra-marathoners swing by for water. They were on mile 36 of a 57 mile loop. They started at 9AM and figured they would finish around 2AM. INSANE. One of them had thru-hiked before and kept telling us to keep with it and go all the way.

PS. Tomorrow's a doozy (spelling?). Are you in suspense yet?!

4/17/13 - Day 2

Springer Mountain Shelter to Hawk Mountain Shelter
7.9 miles, 8.1 miles total

I'm gonna try and start my posts like this from now on, with starting and finishing points, and daily mileage and total mileage.

Nothing too exciting today. The hike was pretty much all flat or downhill. I finished right after lunch. I did see my first snake on the trail today. It was 4 ft long, 2 inches thick at the middle, and all black. I passed Long Creek Falls today, as well as the "Keyhole" tree, which is a tree with a hole large enough for a kid to sleep in.

One thing I did realize today is that when you are hiking and get in the zone, everything kinda fades out. Knee pain? Gone. Blisters? Not at this moment. 30 pound pack? Oh, I forgot I was wearing that. In the end, you're just walking and kinda forget everything else.

I stayed at Hawk Mountain Shelter tonight along with 7 others in the surrounding area. There was Midwest Mama, Rain Dancer, Sarah, Paul, Hank, Harry, and Soarfoot. Harry is a thru-hiker from Germany and is 87 YEARS OLD!!! He doesn't speak much English though. Oh, and Soarfoot is hiking for a few days to celebrate the 25th anniversary of his thru-hike. Paul is just getting away for one to two months. Sounds like a good plan to me!

The only bad thing about staying in shelters is the mice. There were a lot last night. I could hear them going through my bag and rustling around in the plastic bags. It made it pretty difficult to sleep.

Day 1 - 4/16/13

So I survived my first day and it was quite the day. I woke up and headed to the beginning of the Approach Trail at 6AM. My wonderful father drove me 4.5 hours to Amicalola Falls State Park.

My final meals were... McDonald's! And... Subway! But really, they were delicious and we ate lunch over the waterfall. Afterwards, we went to the visitor center and I signed the thru-hiker register and weighed my pack. I am hiker number 996 and my pack (food and water included) weighs 34 lbs.

At that point we took some pictures and I began down the trail. But awkwardly enough, the trail follows the road for about 1/4 of a mile and two cars stopped and asked me, "You thru-hiking?", "Yep!", "Good luck!"

Then I see six or seven HUNDRED steps that go to the top of the falls. And they are part of the trail. Great. After that I am finally in the wilderness. Nine miles later, around 5PM, I summit Springer Mountain and sign the trail register. (Actually, I forgot and had to go back later and sign it.) My shelter for the night was only 0.2 miles ahead so I enjoyed the view for a while.

At the Springer Mountain shelter I met Sarah, a fellow thru-hiker, as well as Slo-Goin' and Dogwood, both of whom have thru-hiked before. Naturally, we asked them numerous questions and they love answering them, so we end up talking and hanging out until 11:30. They really knew a lot and were an amazing resource.

I didn't feel like setting up my tent so I slept in the shelter. It was okay, except for the constant pitter-patter from the mice running around everywhere. It was kinda hard to sleep through that.

That was my first day!

PS. I am only making one post today because I have limited service and don't want to kill my battery. Enjoy!

Food!

So just another quick update. What type of food will I be eating? Well, an Appalachian Trail thru hiker can burn thousands of calories a day (6000 maybe?). So the average weight you can expect to carry for food is 2 lbs per day.

So right now here is what I have:
• Breakfast - 4 packs each of oatmeal and grits, 4 double packs of smores flavored Poptarts
• Lunch/Snacks - 7 Clif bars, 6 granola bars, 10 Slim Jim's, a block of cheese (no, really)
• Dinner - Ramen noodles with a package of tuna to mix in for each night (I could also use the tuna for lunch if I want)

So that is what my food will look like for the next five months. Obviously, I will change some things, like for snacks I could do gorp, gummi snacks, or mixed nuts. For dinner I could do Knorr pasta sides or rice sides, or mac and cheese of some sort. There are really lots of options.

Also, did you know that Poptarts have 200 calories per pastry? Crazy.

Adam

On My Way!!!

I am now on my way to Amicalola Falls State Park. My lovely father is driving me all the way to Dawsonville, GA. Today I will be hiking the Approach trail (it is only 9 miles) and maybe some more.

I have all of my food for the next 4 days until I get to Neels Gap. I will resupply there for the following few days.

I am really looking forward to this adventure and I really appreciate all of the support everyone has given me. I'll see y'all in 5 months! (But I'll still be updating this!)

Adam