Tag: Georgia

“You load 16 tons, what do you get? Another day older and deeper in debt…” – Tennessee Ernie Ford

Sunny, with a high near 60. North northwest wind 7 to 10 mph.

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Woke up at 8:30. Cold but sunny. Watch at 50% and Garmin at 33%. Charged them both for 30 minutes while I got moving. Hard to get moving this morning due to the cold. Finally got packed up and headed out at 10:15. Back to normal hiking clothes today… convertible pants and long-sleeve heat gear top. Chilly but I’ll warm up within a mile.

Made the top of Kelly Mountain at 11:00. Tough climb but great view. Making good time. Took the legs off my convertible pants before heading down the mountain.  Nice to be in shorts again.

On the way down we ran into Fred from checking in at Amicalola. He was day hiking and playing trail host for the day. Commented that he counted more section hikers than thru-hikers today for the first time this season. Confirms we are at the tail end of the bubble, which is exactly what I wanted.

We stopped at Deep Gap shelter for water and lunch about noon. It is a very nice day going downhill. After that cold front blew the bad weather out, we should have clear and mid-60s the rest of the week. Much more seasonal weather than the near 80 and humid last week. 

Got to Dicks Creek Gap at 2:30. We hiked .6 miles down the road to Hostel Around The Bend to pick up my first resupply box. I had planned to stay here, but the zero day at Neel Gap has messed up my schedule. Made a quick 30-minute stop at the hostel. Unpacked the resupply box, loaded my food bag, and tossed out half the lunch food I sent myself. I’m just not doing a full lunch, and the lunch food is heavy. Still more stuff than I needed, but I’ll eat through it. The main thing I did need was my meds. I will have Dana take all the lunches out of future boxes. We left the hostel at 3:15, and the owner drove us back to the trailhead. We were back on trail at 3:35. It was a tough decision not to stay at the hostel for the night, but we need to make miles. We have 4.4 tough miles to go yet today. Hope we are in by 6:30.

My pack is VERY heavy after that resupply.

Got to Plum Orchard Gap shelter at 6:45 and had camp all set by 7:15. I’m getting really good at this! Hung up clothes to dry a bit and put on cold-weather clothes for the night. Supposed to get to 38 again tonight. Phil, our English friend, was here. Good to see him again. Chatted briefly. We are running into him about every other day.

Went down to the shelter and ate at the campfire with the crowd. Ate a cold dinner…trying to eat my heavy lunch food as I have too much of it. Also conserving fuel. I think I only have one or two more boils left and forgot to get more fuel when I resupplied today. Doh!

Nice conversation around the fire. Ran into the youngsters again, plus a few new faces. Everyone headed for bed about 8:30.

Called Dana. Read for a bit. Tried to sleep at 10:15.

Some views of the trail from today, including the famous H tree.

Technical Notes:

• Big Sur bar:  300
• Summer sausage: 450
• Sausages x9: 360
• Hohos: 380
• Pepperoni: 560
• Fritos: 600
• Snickers: 250
• Water: 4 liters
• Miles: 13.44
• Time: 8:46
• Elevation gain: 3330
• Calories consumed: 3400
• Calories burned: 7000

“… Raindrops keep falling on my head

But that doesn’t mean my eyes will soon be turning red

Crying’s not for me

‘Cause I’m never gonna stop the rain by complaining

Because I’m free

Nothing’s worrying me” – B. J. Thomas

Rain likely before 9 a.m., then rain showers between 9 a.m. and 1 p.m., then rain. Cloudy, with a high near 51. North northwest wind around 12 mph. Chance of precipitation is 80%. New rainfall amounts between a quarter and half of an inch possible.

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Up at 7:00. Rainy and 48 degrees. Will get colder later today. Nice breakfast of bacon and French toast with the big group at the hostel. We are all deciding what to wear in this weather today. Trying to balance rain and cold vs sweating too much in rain gear. More on that later.

The Green Dragon Hostel was awesome. It is less than a year old, so everything is nice and new. The two-level bunks all have memory foam mattresses, fully enclosing curtains, electrical outlets, and a small overhead light. One shower and two bathrooms. Lights out at hiker midnight, which is 9:00 p.m. There is a separate small building, like a detached sunroom, for socializing and eating so that you can stay up late and not bother others. That’s where I hung out last night to finish blogs. Nice breakfast and laundry is included with each night’s stay. The three owners are very nice and knowledgeable about the trail in the region. There were about 12 of us here.

Got packed up and ready for the complimentary shuttle back to the trail at 8:00. Decided to wear lightweight thermal bottoms, long-sleeve heat gear shirt, rain coat, and rain kilt. The kilt covers down to my calves and does not generate the heat/sweat that rain pants do. If it were in the upper 60s, I’d skip the kilt and just deal with getting wet, but it’s gonna get damn cold later as a cold front moves in and we gain a lot of elevation. Will also put on my 8-mil Nitrile waterproof gloves before I start hiking.

Oh, what a fashion statement I am!! Unfortunately, the zipper in the kilt ripped out 3/4 of the way from bottom to top. I’ll be sending the manufacturer a nastygram this weekend! Still usable, but it lets in some rain.

My hiking partner, Mike, was not ready, and we missed our shuttle at 8:00! At 9:00, I got very lucky and texted a shuttle that was going to pass right by us in 10 minutes on his way to Atlanta. We could have been stuck here till mid-afternoon. Ron picked us up at 9:15 and drove us back to Unicoi Gap. 

We ran into English Phil again at the gap. We chatted a bit, and he headed out a few minutes before us. We finished getting our rain gear on and headed uphill at 9:45. Mike is wearing Frog Togs top and pants. More on that later. We started a big climb up Rocky Mountain in steady rain and 45 degrees…so far. Hard climb, slippery, steep, humid, fog/clouds.

It’s really cold and wet and windy. My core body is fine, but my fingers are super cold. I put on my HEAVY sealskinz waterproof gloves over the 8 mil nitrile gloves. These were a lifesaver for me. My fingers became usable again within 10 minutes. Those heavy gloves are seen hanging from my chest strap in the picture above.

Summitted our second big mountain of the day, Tray Mountain, about 1:00. Elevation 4398 feet, very windy, temps down to the low 40s, we are in a cloud, and rainy. Mike is struggling a lot with low energy and cold. He did not eat enough so far today, and the cold saps the energy on top of two big climbs. We got into the Tray Mountain shelter and hunkered down from the wind and rain for an hour. The shelter blocked wind nicely. I hung out with a Canadian couple on a section hike while I fired up my stove and made hot tea. That really helped my hands and core. I also ran into Phil again and met a young couple from New Orleans on a week-long hike. Those later two were super chatty. Mike and I both ate lunch, and Mike was feeling better. As cold as it’s supposed to get up here, we have no choice but to head to lower altitude. 

Temperature started to rise as we descended Tray Mountain…thank god. Finally rolled into Addis Gap campsite at 5:30. Weather started to break at 5:00. By 6:00 we had some sun, but wind picked up and temps were starting to drop as the cold front blew in and moved the rain out. Got tent setup quickly due to cold. Put out extra tie-downs due to forecasted winds. Also got bear hang setup while it’s still light. We needed water and the stream was .5 miles downhill. Just what I needed, another mile of hiking to top off this lovely day. 

Met an older gentleman named Tom (tent on left) from NJ with a Boston accent who is hiking with a 50-pound pack. He is carrying an older model CPAP machine along with several large batteries for it. Yikes! Nice guy. Trying for a full thru-hike.

Made a hot dinner at 7:30, then closed up the tent against the cold. Wind is picking up and it’s 100% clear and a full moon. Pretty, but I ain’t standing out here long to view it. Supposed to get down to 38 tonight. Got my smellables hung at 8:30, called Dana and tried to sleep about 9:30.

My rain gear did really well. I stayed quite dry other than sweat. The thermal underwear and the heat gear top were dry by the time I went to sleep. As frequently happens, Mike’s Frog Tog pants split at the crotch sometime today. That seems to be a common flaw with those bottoms.

Surprisingly to me, I’m still in a very good mental place. As Pitcrew knows, I have been nervous about the combo of cold and rain in the early part of the hike. I planned and tested my rain gear several times in the cold this past winter, but you never know how it’s gonna work until you really need it to keep you from hypothermia and a generally miserable long day. 

Technical Notes:

• Watch 11%
• iPhone 66%
• iPad 50%
• Shokz 59%
• Garmin 44%
• Tea 0
• Bacon 200
• French toast 400
• Coffee 0
• Sausages 480
• Fritos 600
• Dehydrated Chicken 170
• Ramen x 2 740
• Water 2.5 liters
• Miles 14.42
• Time 8:21
• Elevation gain 3604
• Calories consumed 2590
• Calories burned 7000

Up at 7:00. Partly sunny, with a high near 66. Northwest wind 5 to 15 mph.

Didn’t rain after all last night. Pop-Tarts and tea for breakfast.

Packed up and headed out at 8:30. Mike stopped for water at .25 miles. Humid today!

Rained for about 15 minutes at 10:00. Umbrella works but need to reconfigure it now that I’m wearing my pack differently. Umbrella is too low and leans forward.

Made Blue Mountain shelter at 12:15 and 7.58 miles. Last mile up was very tough. Steep, big rocks, slick from rain this morning. 

We took a break for about an hour and I had a snack. I called Dana and chatted for a while. Walked .1 miles downhill to refill water. Here is how to use a leaf and a rock to hack a stream. Look close!

Left shelter at 1:30 and made it to Unicoi at 2:35. Grabbed a coke at Trail Magic in Unicoi Gap. Bill from Green Dragon Hostel picked us up right away.

Got to Green Dragon Hostel and chatted with a lot of familiar faces, showered, unpacked. Shuttled to Hiawassee outfitter and grocery store at 4:00. Got one dehydrated meal and some snacks. Probably too much food. 

Did some basic planning and looks like Franklin next Friday or Saturday. Will need to resupply Wednesday or Thursday. Assumes my resupply box is at Around The Bend hostel on Monday, April 22.

Shuttled over to Hiawassee Brewery at 5:15 for group dinner. 

Back to Green Dragon at 8:00. Uploaded day 5 and 6 blogs. Got electronics charging and crawled into bunk at 9:15. Worked on day 7 blog and some route planning for the next week. 

Lost 4 pounds this week…down to 215 pounds.

Technical Notes:

• Pop-Tarts x2 400
• Tea 0 
• Snickers 250
• Trail mix 270
• Electrolyte x 2  50
• Coke 130
• Cider x 2  520
• Bacon x 1.5 200
• Double cheeseburger 800
• Fries 400
• Water 4 liters
• Miles 10.57
• Time 6:00
• Elevation gain 1950
• Calories consumed 3300
• Calories burned 4500

 “I woke last night to the sound of thunder. How far off I sat and wondered.” – Bob Seger

Showers and thunderstorms likely before 9 a.m., then a chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly sunny, with a high near 75. West wind 10 to 15 mph. Chance of precipitation is 60%. New rainfall amounts between a tenth and quarter of an inch possible.

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Woke to alarm clock at 7:00. Woke up to thunder, lightning, and heavy rain in the middle of the night. Slept really well. Made tea and nuked a frozen burrito for breakfast. 

Mike and I decided to wait till around 9:00 to leave as the worst weather should be good enough by then. Packed up all my gear, did morning chores, filled water with electrolytes this time, got rain gear in easy-to-reach locations (not wearing that stuff unless very necessary due to heat), and headed out. Stopped at the office to drop off the cabin key and then did the FINAL uphill walk to Mountain Crossings to get on the trail. 

Feeling good about today. Mentally upbeat and bodily sound. Can’t wait to see how my newly fitted pack does. Hoping for big changes thanks to the Wizard! The sun just started peaking out and the radar shows the worst weather web by us. We have a nasty first 2 miles up a mountain, then 9.7 miles up 200-300 foot ups-and-downs….not bad overall. Should be to camp by 3:30.

Mountain Crossings is the only place the AT goes through a structure.

Hiked up a decent mountain and then onto ridges with sun on one side and dense clouds on the other. Walked into the clouds, but it just does not show well as a photo. Hiked 3.3 miles and took a break for a second breakfast (I.e. morning snack).

Stopped 5.2 miles in for water. No more easy water for the next 7.2 miles. Ugh 🙁 Got to Cow Rock Mountain after 6 miles so far for the day at 1:00. 

Reached Tesnatee Gap at 1:30. Had a snack and a water break. Started up the hill at 2:00.

 Ran into a couple from New Orleans again and chatted. Dropped our packs and walked. 1 mile to water to refill. Easy walk this time. Very humid today from the storm this morning.

At 4:40 and 12.23 miles in, we rested near the top of Sheep Top Rock. Had a snack and a rest. 

Made it to the camp area at 5:25, 13.65 miles. Low Gap shelter. Group of about 10 youngsters (20s and late teens) near the trailhead with most of the good spots. We explored closer to the shelter further  downhill and found a decent spot with a downed log for a seat. Just room for the two of us. One old codger was near us as well. The shelter has a bad rep about the Norovirus. 2 people evacuated from here this week. The stream is about 50 yards away, and the privy is close. It has bear cables close too. Overall, not a terrible spot.

Did a Friday happy hour call with some friends for an hour this evening. Just enough cell coverage if I walked uphill from camp about 100 yards.

Made dinner at 7:35…coconut chicken curry for dinner. Really good!!!!

In bed at 9:00. Read for a while. Could not sleep. Critter tried to chew into my tent. Read some more. Worked on day 5 blog. Read some more. Finally tried to sleep again around 1:00.

Harder day than expected. Hot and a few mountains were more challenging than expected.

Technical Notes:

• iPhone 38%
• Watch 26%
• iPad 100%
• Headphones 83%
• Garmin 68%
• Burrito 700 
• Tea 0
• Tea 0
• Snickers 250
• Trail mix 270
• Trail mix 270
• Electrolytes x 3   75
• Next generation back country Chicken curry 550
• Fatty jalapeño beef stick 310
• Tea 0
• Water 5 liters
• Miles 13.65
• Time 8:05
• Elevation gain 3068
• Calories consumed 2460
• Calories burned 6500

“Be careful what you wish for, you might just get it.”

Today’s weather is amazing. Mid 70s, low humidity, clear, breezy. Great day to chill, catch up on blogs, and get ready for the next section of the trail. My body needs some rest.

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Up at 7:30. Great sleep in a real bed. Zero day. Mike and I said goodbye to Eric about 8:30. He has people to meet in a few days further north. I should cross paths with him again around Franklin if not before.

Eating like a college student again…hot pocket in the cabin microwave for breakfast along with a Body Armor to wash it down. 

I sorted my remaining food so I could plan out my resupply. I only need to pick up two dinners, three breakfasts, and electrolytes. The lesson learned on food is that I’m really not eating lunch. Just breakfast, second breakfast, two mid-day snacks, and dinner. I need to replan accordingly. 

We walked to Blood Mountain Cabins store to pay for the cabin. Apparently, we missed seeing a bear walk right down the gravel road by the store this morning. There were very minimal supplies at the store. I may pick up coffee for tomorrow morning, but all else will be shopped at Mountain Crossings.

I walked up to Mountain Crossings to do laundry. It takes  about 90 minutes. They do it for $8 per load. I am thinking about shuttling into town for early dinner around 4:00 ish. I picked up my resupply as well as some junk food for later tonight. 

I took the supplies back to the cabin, then walked back to the office/store, bought a cup of coffee, and finalized the text and pics for my blogs while sitting in a rocking chair on the store’s porch using their Wi-Fi. It took a couple of hours. Mike found us a shuttle into town at 4:30.

Hiked back up the hill to Mountain Crossings to pick up our laundry and deposit it back at the cabin. Since I was washing all my worn clothes, all I had to wear most of the day was a pair of black thermal underwear, a blaze orange thermal long-sleeve, and light gray shorts, and my baby blue Speedgoat shoes. Dana is making me share….

Changed into semi-normal clean clothes and hiked back uphill to Mountain Crossings to catch our shuttle into town. 20-minute drive and some good conversation with our driver. 

Mike and I shuttled into Blairsville, GA, for dinner at Blairsville Restaurant Grits & Greens. Good southern food. Country fried steak and green beans. And tater tots. Walked around town square then popped into Blairsville Brewing for a nice porter. Got a shuttle home about 7:00.

Wrestled with getting four days of blogs uploaded till 9:30. Ugh! Had technical issues with the photos being over the allowed image  size for the site. Pain in the ass to fix one by one and could not fix them all. Finally got things uploaded and notices sent to Facebook. Modified my camera settings since I won’t have this problem again. 

Got back to the cabin around 9:30. Mike was wooed I had been eaten by a bear as I was gone so long. Prepped gear for tomorrow so we can move out early. 

Called Dana at 10:30. Long talk about lots of things and not just my hike. Miss her and the dogs. Could not sleep so read till almost midnight.

Retrospective

This shit is hard! Harder than I expected. The mountains are big and numerous. We skipped spring and jumped right into summer…at least for now. I’m two full days behind where I expected to be and taking my first zero on day 5 instead of day 14. Will lose at least one more day before Fontana. Seriously doubt I’ll be able to hook up with Eric Hanson in June due to our schedules not aligning.

I should not have made any firm reservations or decisions (one hostel reservation in Hiawassee, GA, and a 2-night hotel reservation in Fontana, NC). I need to stay more flexible and only plan ahead 2-3 days in general. Stop thinking in terms of schedules.

I’m eating surprisingly well. I had trouble eating on the trail last year. Glad I got over that!

I’m  lucky that I have clicked with Eric and especially Mike. We keep each other moving and we reign each other in….like me pushing for an early zero day. Good to have company at camp and on the trail. Not sure how long this partnership will last as Mike needs to finish a month before I plan to finish. He starts a new job on September 2. I’m hoping we can keep pace with each other at least until after the Smoky Mountains. But at some point, he will need to really push big miles day after day to meet his schedule. I don’t think I’m up for that. Will see what happens as time progresses. 

Mentally, day 1 was hard. My mind wandered a lot about emotional topics. By day 2 and later, I was mainly focused on the physical challenges.  Left, right, left, right, climb, descend, repeat. How much water do I have and how far to the next water? Can the sun please go behind the clouds and where is a breeze when you need it?

I have been lucky to not have any cold, rainy days yet. That helps the mental game immensely. Worried a bit about what days alone on the trail will be like later on.

Will revisit all this next time I take a zero. Either in Franklin or Fontana.

Technical Notes

• Ham n cheese hot pocket 270
• Tea 0
• Body armor lyte 20
• Twix 250
• Body armor lyte 20
• KitKat 250
• Pretzel bites 200
• Country fried steak 700
• Tater tots 550
• Green beans: 60
• Porter: 220
• Body Armor Lyte: 20
• Pringles: 100
• Pringles 100
• Miles: 4.54
• Time: 0
• Elevation gain: 500
• Calories consumed: 3000
• Calories burned: 2500

A slight chance of showers and thunderstorms between 3 p.m. and 4 p.m., then a chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 68. Southwest wind around 15 mph, with gusts as high as 30 mph. Chance of precipitation is 40%. 

Up at 6:50. OK sleep. Drizzled a bit in the middle of the night but had a dry morning. Packed up and ate a small bag of Fritos for breakfast. All I had left, plus I needed the salt badly. Headed out at 7:40 to tackle Blood Mountain.

Side note…I had not planned on this heat so early. I did not bring any electrolytes this early in the trip. Mistake! I need to get a lot more salt in myself. I have been cramping a bit since last night.

Hiking with Mike and Eric again today. They both planned on bigger days today, but between the approach trail, Sassafras Mountain, and now Blood Mountain, they both are going to stop for the night at Neel Gap and share my cabin. Mike is leaning towards also taking a zero tomorrow.

Hiked 2.5 miles to Jarred Gap by 8:50.  Had a Snickers bar. Challenging but not too bad. The bad part starts now as we ascend Blood Mountain.

We hiked 4.5 miles to Wood’s Hole shelter at 10:00. The stupid shelter is .4 miles off the trail, but it has a privy, and all of us needed to use it! Had a second breakfast before ascending Blood Mountain. Two packs of trail mix, mostly for the salt. Topped off water and headed onward and upward at 10:45.

Passed several people on our way up the mountain. Some we recognized and some were new faces. Randi and Debbie shuttled to Neel Gap this morning and slackpacked the mountain in the opposite direction. We passed them headed down as we were coming up. We summited at 11:55. It was hard but not as hard as Sassafras. The storm for tonight is moving in. Between altitude and weather front, temperatures have dropped over 10 degrees and winds are picking up. Not complaining! We hung out for about 20 minutes. The views are amazing. My camera does not do it justice. The weather is moving in and the 2.2-mile descent is STEEP…plus there is frozen pizza waiting for us at the bottom!

So glad we started early today. The descent is harder than the ascent in many ways. Steep, long, slick rock formations, big rock steps. We lost the trail at one point and had to climb back up. We added about a quarter of a mile of nasty to our day.

Finished descending Blood Mountain and reached Mountain Crossings Outfitters at 2:10. We got a soda and Mike bought us two frozen pepperoni pizzas. Mountain Crossings cooks them for you! We explored the outfitter while waiting for pizza. This place is the best outfitter I have ever seen. The selection of gear, food, and equipment is outstanding. We will resupply tomorrow.

After inhaling two pizzas, all three of us took advantage of the resident expert to do a pack fitting. I knew my pack was not fitted perfectly, but I can’t describe how much of an improvement he made to my pack with a few simple strap adjustments. My pack now feels like an extension of my body. It is the same for the other guys. We are now calling him the pack wizard!

Eric and Mike also had the wizard fit them with new shoe insoles that made big improvements for them. I’m sticking with my custom orthotics.

We shopped for dinner, breakfast, and snacks. We loaded the food into our packs and hiked down the road about 8 minutes to Blood Mountain cabins. Rain started just after 3:00….exactly when the forecast predicted. We got wet but not soaked on the way to cabins. 

Turns out I rented the cabin the absolute furthest away…downhill then uphill then uphill 🙁 Stopped at the office and picked up the key they left on their door for me as they are closed today.

We got into the cabin about 4:00. Exploded our gear everywhere, relaxed, and nuked our dinners. My appetite caught up with me. I ate a lot tonight. Two big frozen burritos, chips, and soda on top of the pizza we just ate an hour ago! Showered and put on clean clothes. Feels great.

We are all figuring out our plans for the next trail stretch. Mike and I are going to hike together for at least 3-5 more days. We move at the same pace and are compatible. Reserved bunks at the Green Dragon Hostel for 3 nights from now. Plans set up to Hiawassee, GA. Eric is young and moves fast. He has to haul ass for a couple of days to meet up with friends. We will likely catch up to him when he does a double zero in Franklin, NC.

I researched backpacking and calories and came to the conclusion that the Apple Watch sucks at estimating calories for this level of exercise. Looking at several resources including the Mayo Clinic, at my body weight and pack weight doing strenuous hiking, anywhere from 5000 to 8000 calories per day is a generally accepted range. I’ll be using this chart going forward:

Cleaned up gear, back flushed the water filter, got laundry ready for tomorrow, charged battery banks, and went to bed about 9:30. Called Dana and talked for about 30 minutes. Thought about reading a book, but just decided to sleep instead. 

Technical Notes:

• iPhone 40%
• Watch 20%
• iPad 80%
• Headphones 50%
• Fritos 320
• Snickers 250
• Trail mix 270
• Trail mix 270
• Root beer 270
• Pizza 800
• Body armor 120
• Burrito 740
• Body armor 120
• Burrito 740
• Chips 150
• Fritos 160
• All in 4160
• Water 4 liters
• Miles 9.79
• Time 6:40
• Elevation gain 2302
• Calories consumed 4160
• Calories burned 5000

High 78, low 56, sunny, breezy, dry

Up at 7:20. Probably got 5 hours of sleep. Had a waffle and Justin’s nut butter for breakfast. Out of camp at 8:55. Hiked with a nice guy from NC named Michael. He is 50 and recently laid off. Starts a new job first week in September. Moving at my pace.

Body is sore; any blister is bugging me.

Made Woody Gap at noon for my first trail magic! Nice older couple who thru-hiked several years ago. Got a hotdog and a soda. We are not in a hurry today, so we hung out and chatted with people until 2:00. Ran into a father and two teenage sons who are thru-hiking. Saw them yesterday too. Dad is a super fit ex-Army Ranger. I swear this guy is carrying 45 plus pounds of gear like it was nothing. Splitting the load to lighten things up for his sons. Nice family. Had full bars of cell, so I called Dana and booked a cabin at Neel Gap for two nights. Decided to take a zero day early as my body will need it.

Could not find a hostel for tonight (last minute), but did push my reservation for Around the Bend Hostel from April 19 to 20! That still won’t work. Will need to shuttle there or push it yet another day to the 21st. 

Took time to charge up my electronics. Chatted with Randi and Debbie before we headed out at 2:00. They are going to a hostel tonight, but we should run into them tomorrow. Was hard to get moving again. The Vortex was sucking us in! 

Purple shirt dude from day 1, whose real name is Eric, joined us leaving Woody Gap. We plodded north several miles and reached a small stream .1 miles before our destination for today. We all chilled our feet in the stream. Super cold water, but wonderful. I took the opportunity to rinse out my shirt after 3 days. I had so much salt crusted on my shirt that Eric thought it was covered in sun tan lotion. We hung out at the stream for half an hour, then moved on to camp.

Got to Lance Creek Restoration area at 5:30. The 4 tent pads were full, so we walked about 300 yards down an old logging road and set up camp on the road. Good, quiet, shady spot as the road was flat and a stream was about 30 feet away. Set up camp, got water, and did my first PCT bear hang since there is no bear box/cables nor privy here. Nailed the bear hang on the first attempt!

My original plan had been to hike all the way over Blood Mountain and reach Neel Gap today. That would have been another 8 miles, and Blood Mountain is nasty. Realized early today that plan was just insane. That meant I was out of dinner food. Not a crisis as I had two leftover lunches with me and plenty of snack foods, but Mike had a spare Mountain House spaghetti meal, and I borrowed that from him. 

Had dinner about 6:00, hung out and talked till 8:00. In bed early as we want to get over Blood Mountain before it gets too hot tomorrow.

Side note…almost everybody around me is struggling a bit with the sun. Wear in long sleeves and/or sun hoodies. Hot! Thankfully, Dana and I just got a good base tan in Jamaica. I’m bronzing up nicely and not worried about sun burn.

Technical Notes

Battery 1 ran out, switched to battery 2.

• iPhone 50%
• Watch 23%
• iPad 80%
• Headphones 60%
• Stinger waffle 150
• Justin’s nut butter 200
• Trail mix 270
• Hotdog 151
• Bread 79
• Soda 160
• Mountain House spaghetti 460
• Fritos 320
• Water 6 liters
• Miles 9.92
• Time 8:00
• Elevation gain 2000
• Calories consumed 1690
• Calories burned 6000

Mostly sunny and breezy, high 77, low 53, dry.

Up at 7:00. Probably got 5 hours of sleep. Put on hiking clothes and a long-sleeve camp shirt. Walked over to the shelter and made tea. Had a Stinger Waffle with Justin’s Almond Butter for breakfast. Wrote yesterday’s blog and started on today’s. That killed an hour. People were gradually getting moving and heading out. 

A guy came into camp at 8:00 who has been running the trail south from the NC line since 8:30 yesterday morning. He just set the Fastest Known Time (FKT) record for the Georgia section of the trail. He was exhausted!

Took my meds, brushed teeth, used the privy, washed up with soap and water, put on a short-sleeve hiking shirt, got everything packed up, and headed out to Gooch Mountain shelter about 9:10. Should be about 12 miles today. Sent my Garmin daily check-in message.

Slow getting out of camp today. Should have blogged last night. That cost me 45 minutes. Still, I was happy with all my camp chores today. Chatted with Debbie before leaving. Should see her and Randi at camp tonight.

Damn Apple Watch is already down to 88%! Need to find cell service so I can upload the blog from yesterday and chat with Dana.

Decided to listen to a book today. Going to redo the Honor Harrington series start to finish. Should last me into Virginia.

Stopped for water .2 miles from camp. Topped off and moved on up the trail. Very warm day.

Caught up to the Texans from last night. They are going to try to make Gooch Mountain but will decide in 5 miles at Hawk Mountain Shelter. They were struggling a lot with the elevation and their heavy gear. I found out a few days later that they bailed out Hawk Mountain after 1.5 days. 

Stopped at Long Creek Falls about 2.78 miles in so far today. Still no cell reception. Falls are beautiful and the grotto they are in is probably 15 degrees cooler than on the trail. Took off pants legs and had a Snickers bar and chilled for 20 minutes.

Met Jim from TN. Seems about my age, maybe a bit younger. He’s thru-hiking too. Moving a little faster than me. 

Stopped at Hawk Mountain Shelter at 12:30 to try to fix a blister. Same little toe again. Punctured it and wrapped it. Gonna try my toe sock liners instead of my heavier toe socks. Had lunch with Debbie and Randi. Pepperoni and cheese. Had some cell and checked in with Dana. 

The Army Rangers are training near here today. Got buzzed by a Blackhawk helicopter that landed and took off near Hawk Mtn several times. Heard sporadic automatic gunfire on and off. No big deal. It’s all blanks and was aware we could run into this.

Stopped for water about .3 miles after leaving Hawk Mountain Shelter. It’s 80 degrees, sunny, and hot. About 7 miles to camp. Gonna be a tough afternoon.

Wow… tough day and my nastiest mountain is right in front of me. Sassafras Mountain. I have not radically underestimated the physical challenges and hard mountains, but it is harder than I thought. GA is the second mountainous state on the trail. 

Stopped for a break at 3:30 before my last nasty climb of the day. Sassafras Mountain is 1.1 miles up and about 655 feet. Took till 4:40. Nasty!! This weather is unseasonably warm, but it was all cold and rain last week so I should not complain.

Got to Justus Creek at 6:00. Exhausted. Met Randi and Debbie. They are staying here instead of pushing on. Watered up and rested. Thought about staying here, but all tent sites are full. Slogging 1.4 miles uphill to Gooch Mountain Shelter for the night. Ugh!

It was more like 2 miles uphill, but I made it at 7:09. Stopped and got 3 liters of dirty water about .3 miles before camp. 

Tent setup by 7:28. Checked weather. No rain, so not using rain fly tonight. Finished camp setup by 7:50. Made mountain house white bean chili with chicken for dinner a bit after 8:00. Chatted with two people who also ate late. Filtered water, put smelly things in bear box, and got settled into tent at 9:00. 

Hard day physically. Still having fun though!

Technical Notes

• iPhone 45%
• Watch 23%
• iPad 90%
• Headphones 80%
• Stinger waffle 150
• Justin’s nut butter 220
• Tea 0
• Snickers 250
• Pepperoni 560
• Cheese 100
• Mountain House White Bean Chili 575
• Dehydrated chicken 170
• Water 5 liters
• Miles 12.9
• Time 9:47
• Elevation gain 2745
• Calories consumed 2025
• Calories burned 7000

Sunday, April 14, 2024. Mostly sunny and breezy, high 73, low 53, dry.

Up at 7:30. Pitcrew and I had a nice buffet breakfast at the lodge. Enjoyed my last good meal for about a week. Got packed up and reassessed the plan for today. Checked out and Pitcrew drove me down to the top of the waterfall parking lot. We said our goodbyes and I headed north on the AT approach trail at 10:10.

Perfect weather today. The 8 mile approach trail is basically uphill the entire way. Didn’t listen to any music or books this morning. Very introspective today thinking about what got me to this point and what the next 2200 miles will bring.  Maxed out at about 2 miles per hour.

Only saw two other NOBOS, but lots of people headed south. All weekend hikers headed back to Amicalola to wrap up their weekend.

Stopped at mile 6 to refill my .7 liter water bottle from a small spring. I filter anything that doesn’t come out of a water faucet. Met Randi, a retired female teacher from Florida out for a 3 week hike. She’s moving a bit faster than me so I let her take the lead.

Summitted Springer mountain at 2:50. It was a 7.95 mile day in 4:45.

Last 1.5 miles was a bitch. Took me almost an hour. Stopped 3 times in last .15 miles. About 4 miles to go to camp. Resting here for a bit.

There were 5 people here when I arrived. One had recently passed me. Guessing others did not do approach trail. I am certain 2 of them were at the lodge when I left this morning. 

There were 5 people here when I arrived. One young guy in a purple hooded sun shirt recently passed me. Rested at Springer for about 30 minutes, had some trail mix and a lot of water. Took some pictures, signed the log book, touched the first white blaze on the AT, put on my pack and headed to camp. About 2.8 miles to go to camp. 

Passed one older gentleman named Tony who is also on his first day. He started at Springer. Stopped to refill my water at a nice creek about .1 miles from camp. Took an extra liter with me in my dirty water bag for later this evening.

Got to Stover creek shelter at AT mile 2.8 at 4:30. Found a good spot and set up my tent. That’s when I discovered my glasses were missing! Searched camp site then walked .1 miles back to the creek where I had filled up on water…and there they were!

Zero cell service. This is why I love my Garmin satellite device. Checked in with Pitcrew via Garmin. Could not have touched base with just a cell phone. I hate those people who say that you don’t need a satellite device on the AT since you almost always have cell service. I learned last summer that was bullshit. But plenty of people online still preach this crap. End of rant. 

Sat down at the shelter and chatted with a group of 3 retired gentleman from Texas on a week long hike. Also saw Randi and Mark who I met at Springer. Mark also did the approach trail today. Overall there were about 14 of us in camp by the end of the evening. There were 5 in the shelter and the rest tented. 

After resting, I got the remainder of my camp set up for the night..inflated sleeping pad and pillow, got out my quilt, generally unpacked gear, started charging electronics. Since I was dry, I did not change into camp clothes. My apple watch died a bit before reaching camp. Need to tweak the settings on power usage. Garmin at 94%, iPhone at 70%, iPad mini at 100%, headphones at 95%.

There were 14 people in camp. About 5 in the shelter and the rest tenting. Made dinner at 7:00. Leftover garlic bologna I did not eat for lunch, curry noodles with dehydrated chicken, and tea. Most of us cooked while hanging out at the shelter picnic table or around the big fire pit by the shelter. Got all my smellables (food, hygiene items, trash, cook gear) packed up and stowed them in the bear box for the night.

Hung out by fire pit and made introductions and generally relaxed and chatted. Amusing that I was the youngest of the 6 of us who hung out and talked till 8:30. Lots of talk about grandkids 🙂

Headed to my tent and settled in. Updated some blog entries for today and checked in with Pitcrew. She was about an hour from home. Being able to text via Garmin satellite device when there is zero cell coverage is awesome. Main reason why I invested in it. Took something to help me sleep and tried to go to sleep about 9:30. 

Overall a good day. Nice to meet a few folks. Great weather. I actually ate well which is something I struggle with the first few days on trail. My body feels good…not much worse than one of my training hikes back home.

Technical Notes

• Breakfast 1000 calories 
• Trail mix 270 calories 
• Bologna 560 calories 
• Curry noodle 450 calories 
• Chicken  170 calories 
• Tea 0 calories 
• Water 4.1 liters
• Miles 10.8
• Time 6:44
• Elevation gain 2900 feet
• Calories consumed 2450
• Calories burned 5500