Hiawassee here I come...

Day 8 3/30
We were hit by a nasty thunderstorm last night and were glad that we were not camped out on top of this mountain. The rain, lightning, and thunder raged all night. Of course, my tent is soaked on the outside. It's keeping me pretty dry inside. Even with all of the heavy rain I've experienced. I'm Sooo ready for a warm/dry spell. The weather is really making things miserable. I hike over endless Mtns each day but the views from the top are all wasted because I'm walking thru clouds with no visibility. I'm over it! Bring on the sunshine!
I cooked some oatmeal and coffee and started packing up my gear. We hit the trail at 9:15 and began the slow trek up Tray Mtn.... There were several tough climbs today and we covered 13 miles to Dicks Creek Gap. The trail comes out of the woods and intersects a major county highway. Hiawassee GA is 11 mi down the highway and we had a tough time finding a shuttle to come pick us up. We stood by the road with our thumbs out for about 45 minutes and finally a very nice lady in a small truck stopped and picked us up. We piled in the back and started the cold ride to town in the open bed of her pick-up. She dropped us at the front door of the Holiday Inn Xpress and we were very grateful for her kindness... After a nice HOT shower we headed down to the Hardees for dinner. I scarfed down a Six Dollar Thick Burger, fries, and 32 oz Mellow Yellow in about 2 minutes. I was tempted to order an encore meal but decided to walk up to the grocery store first. I got my resupply for the next 3-4 days, picked up a few snacks for the room, and a sixer of Sierra Nevada Pale Ales. Back at the hotel it was laundry, snacks, beer, and bedtime. I've pushed pretty hard the past few days and my left foot is in a sad state. I need to take a day off to allow my blisters to heal. I can hardly walk on my left foot and it may be getting infected. Im taking care of it now and it should be fine. I hate to fall behind my new buds but my feet need to be healthy to make it to Maine and it's too early to push my body past it's limit. I can't afford to stay in towns like this all the way to Maine but I think it's a wise investment in these first few weeks. I'm still hopeful that I can make it to Fontana Dam by next Sat and meet up with Alex. I have less than 10 miles to go and I'll be done with GA. GA is known for being a tough state and it will be nice to put it behind me. I've hike 67.6 AT miles... Only 2113.4 to go!

Midnight Mouse

Day 7 - 3/29
Last night I was visited by a mouse. I had stowed a half eaten Snickers bar in a mesh pocket in my tent. I woke up a few times overnight to the sounds of pattering mouse feet racing across the top of my tent. I thought I was just being paranoid until I awoke to discover a hole in the outside mesh of my tent. The little guy chewed thru and liberated my snickers bar. I found it nibbled and laying on the ground. Lesson learned. No food in tent overnight. We hang our food bags in the tree to keep the bears away. This is called a Bear Bag. I am now going to refer to them as Mouse Bags as the mice seem to be a bigger issue than the bears.
We all broke camp around 9am. Pace Car and Phil were the first ones out and accidentally headed South out of camp. We hiked all day expecting to run into them, not realizing they had gone the wrong way. They finally caught up with us by the end of the day. We had all put in a big day and pushed thru more rain and cold. Our friend Max bailed out into Helen GA. He's having trouble with his foot and also needs to shakedown his pack to reduce his weight. He's carrying a lot of non-essential items and is paying the price. I hope to see him up the way again.
The rest of us pushed on to a campsite located at an old cheese factory site. In the 1800's an eccentric Northerner had taken a land grant and decided to start a cheese factory up on this remote mountain top. Apparently he made a superior cheese and won several accolades. The site is now empty and nothing remains of the old factory. It's still an interesting spot. It's half way up Tray Mtn., so it will be nice to finish the climb in the morning.
When we rolled into camp, Grim was already there and had a BIG camp fire going. It was very cold and rainy so this was a sight for sore eyes. I setup my tent, pumped some water, cooked dinner, and went to bed. I was beat! I hiked 13 mi today. My new boots are treating my feet well. I have some nasty blisters from my previous pair but after a few painful first steps in the morning I'm able to walk all day with only a little dull pain. Tomorrow calls for more bad weather. We're going to push out 14 miles and head into Hiawassee GA for resupply and to get a hotel room for the night. Living out in the cold rain SUCKS! I'm dreaming of cheeseburgers and the Holiday Inn Xpress tonight... Ive hiked 54.5 AT miles... 2126.5 to go!

Truckin

Day 6 - 3/28
I met a group of guys last night and we ended up hanging out and watching a movie at their cabin. These guys have formed a group and are hiking together. They are Mark from Boston (Pace Car), Phil from Cape Cod (Smooth), Mike from NY, Max from Maine, and Martin from Germany. They're a great group of guys and it was nice to have some company... I made my way back to my cabin around 10pm and stayed up watching TV on the couch til I passed out around 11:30... It was still raining a bit when I woke up but had stopped by the time I was packed and ready to hit the trail. I was back on the AT at 10:30am. My new friends from the cabin left out at 9:30 and I was determined to catch up to them. I hiked 11 mi to the Low Gap shelter and pitched my tent with the group. I made good time and was only 20 minutes behind the guys. It's still cold and wet so the hiking and scenery has been pretty dismal. We started a small fire with wet wood to try and warm up and socialize a little but it was a lost cause. We were all in bed before the sun went down. The weather is going to be rainy and cold over the next few days so it's going to be miserable for a little while longer. I've hiked 41.5 miles on the AT so far. Just 2139.5 to go!

Racoon Cabin

Day 5 - 3/27
The rain finally stopped around 10am this morning. Everything I own is soaked or at least damp. I managed to keep one set of clothes dry to sleep in but had to put on my cold/wet gear again this morning to hike. I left the shelter at 11am and started climbing to the summit of Blood Mountain, the site of a deadly battle between Cherokee and Creek Indians. It's the highest peak on the AT in Georgia. The whole Mtn was covered in clouds so I missed the views. It was pretty eery up there with clouds hanging on the ground and no other hikers in sight. Quiet. Cold. Wet. I'm glad that one is behind me. It was a tough climb but I'm starting to get used to the climbing.
I walked into Neels Gap around 1:30pm. There was a group of ladies handing out free hot dogs, drinks, and snacks to the thru-hikers. We call people like that "trail angels". I had a hot dog and headed to the Mt. Crossings Outfitter. Turns out that my boots were a half size+ too small. No wonder my feet are a mess! I bought a new pair of boots (keen hightops), another warm pair of base layer pants, and food for the next 4 days. I also sent home a few odds and ends that were taking up weight in my pack. I nuked a couple of burritos and washed them down with a grape soda on a bench out front. I rented a cabin for tonight in order to dry out, do laundry, and stay out of the rain forecasted for this evening (it's raining now). They put me in the "Racoon Cabin" which is decorated with stuffed raccoons. Kinda creepy. All of the cabins here have different animal names and have the corresponding critters stuffed and minted within. Im heading to bed soon and will be up and back on the trail by 9am tomorrow. Hoping to make 11mi to Low Gap Shelter tomorrow night. I'm hoping my new boots will help ease the burden of my aching feet!
Sent from my iPhone

Rain. Rain. Go away...

Day 4 - 3/26
Last night i was awakened at 2:30am by a Zack Brown Band listening party sponsored by some redneck teenagers in the parking lot of Woody's Gap. They blasted the entire album and Sang along at the top of their lungs all night. Thankfully I had earplugs. I'm now sitting in the Woods Hole Shelter trying to get dry/warm. I woke up this morning to a light rain around 5:30am. When it stopped after a few minutes I decided I should get up and break camp before the real rain started.  I walked to the water source and filled my bottle then boiled water for coffee and oatmeal. I hit the trail at 8:00am and it started pouring rain around 8:02. I walked thru a thunderstorm for 3 and a half hours and covered 7 mi. I got to the shelter at 11:30am and thought I might rest up out of the rain for lunch before moving on to Blood Mtn shelter or Neels Gap. Once I stopped and realized how cold and wet I was I ended up changing into dry clothes and crawling into my bag to get warm and avoid hypothermia. It's now 4:45pm and it's STILL raining. I guess I'm staying here tonight. I'll hike 3.6mi tomorrow to Neels Gap where I'll get a bunk at the hostel, take a shower, and do some laundry. My feet felt ok today. I have a couple of tender blisters but they seem to be manageable. I'm starting to feel a little stronger and looking forward to pushing thru to Fontana Dam where Alex will meet me in two weeks. I need to average 10 mi per day out of Neels Gap to make it on time. I just hope the rain stops!

... and then the blisters came.

Day 3 - 3/25
I covered approx. 10 mi today and my feet have paid the price. I woke up at 6am and was
On the trail by 8am. About an hour and a half into the morning I encountered a guy named Adamant John who was finishing up a SOBO thru hike from last year and was having a break in the middle the trail. He left Blood Mtn at 4:30am and had covered 17 mi already. We chatted for a few minutes, i loaned him some salamander paste, he gave me an avocado, and we headed on our ways. I had the avocado at lunch and it was the tastiest avocado I've ever eaten! I considered stopping at Gooch Mtn shelter where i had lunch, but I was feeling good and decided to push ahead. Even though I had climbs all day long I felt pretty strong. That is until my foot blew out a blister about 1.5 mi from camp tonight. Im camping at a major road crossing called Woody's Gap. Tomorrow is going to be painful!

A better day

Day 2 - 3/24
Well, I decided to take it easy today and only did 7.8 mi to Hawk Mtn Shelter. The hike was beautiful all day but especially first thing this morning. I walked thru  hardwood forest with huge trees and lush vegetation. I finally felt like I was on the AT. My spirits were pretty low last night after the approach up to Springer. I sat down at the overlook and started thinking about Alex and the life I'm leaving behind to hike this trail. I was overwhelmed for a few minutes and shed a few tears.  Today my spirits were lifted and I'm hoping for another boost today. On the trail today I met Grim, Guiness + her dog and friend from Nasville, Mark from Boston, Phil, Mike, and several others. I'm camping with several of the folks from Springer shelter last night also. Good people so far. Well, except Grim turned out to be a little...."grim". Ok, finishing up my coffee and poptart and heading out. I'm hoping to cover 12 mi to Woody's Gap today.

So it begins

Day 1 - 3/23
Started at Amicicolola Falls SP and hiked up the approach trail 8.5 miles to the start of the AppalachianTrail at Springer Mtn summit and then .2 mi to the Shelter area to camp. It was the toughest hike of my life and I was wiped out.
I Met several good folks along the trail and at the shelter today but we were all pretty tired and I was the last one into camp so last to finish up my meal prep and camp setup. I got to bed at 9:30pm. It began raining really hard not long after and the wind was blowing fiercely all night long with gusts up to 60mph. I stayed pretty dry. I had a bit of rain blow under my tent fly over night but that was some seriously hard core weather. I had little appetite last night so I'm sitting here finishing up my Mexican rice w chicken this morning and will be back on trail in a bit. I'm hoping to make Justus Creek tonight at the 13.8 mi mark.

Leaving in the morning

I'm sitting back and enjoying my final few hours as an ordinary human being. Tomorrow I become a thru-hiker and my days of airconditioning, running water, and afternoon whiskeys at the honky-tonk are officially over (for now)...
The weather in Nashville has been Sunny and warm and I finally dragged myself out of bed to do some work around the house. As a farewell gift to Alex I planted a peach tree in the yard along with a few flowers. Now she'll think of me every morning when she walks out for work.
I'm hoping that I'll be eating home grown peaches in a few years and telling stories about my 2011 thru-hike!

Minor Delay

I'm all set to depart on my hike. Unfortunately, I've been sick the past three days with strep throat... The plan was to head to the trail head this weekend but it looks like I'll need a few days to get healthy again. No sense in starting out in a rut.

The gear is packed and I'm all set to go.

Stay tuned... The regularly scheduled programming will begin shortly..