Whitley Gap Shelter to Blue Mountain Shelter

Pooh wanted in a picture with me.

Another panorama.

So, I got up this morning and was on the trail by 0730ish. It was 1.2 miles from the cabin back to the intersection of the AT, then about 12 miles to Blue Mountain Shelter. I arrived here at 1430 and was greeted by a large party of people, including one who is thru hiking, too, named Mitch. He started on Wednesday but is significantly ahead of me, well, until now. He took a zero day here at Blue Mountain Shelter. I don't think I will be taking zero days in a shelter. If I'm going to waste a day of hiking, it's going to be in a town or somewhere I can get good and a real bed. Granted he's in college, so he's not encumbered by the old age issues I have. Nevertheless, I still wouldn't zero day it in a shelter!

Mitch did show me his phone charger, a Bushnell solar charger that rolls up. He said it works well in low light and keeps his phone charged, and you can get it from Amazon. Anyone want to buy me a hiking present?!

Between yesterday and today a couple of things happened. Last night we stacked up wood in the fire ring and started a fire. After the fire started going a bit, a rattlesnake crawled out of the rocks of the firepit. A guy who came in with his kids wrapped the snake up on a stick and dropped him off way out in the woods so he could go find a new group of people to torment. So, there wash first rattlesnake of the trip.

As I was leaving the shelter this morning, I got about 0.3 or so miles up the trail, turned a corner and found myself about 20 ft from a black bear. I think I got out "oh, sh*t!" And the the bear took off up the hill until the woods. Needless to say it freaked me out a little. I spent most of the rest of my hike today talking to myself and singing songs to give the bears a heads-up that I was coming.

Other than that, I really didn't have any grand thoughts today.  A large portion of the trail was very rocky and I found myself exerting much more energy than I would have liked to get over them.

I'm going to rest tonight, get up in the morning and then determine how far I am going to hike.  I would like to go to Dicks Creek Gap, but at 19 miles with many significant changes in elevation, I just don't know if I'm up for that much. I will probably end up in a shelter somewhere between here and there, but I think when I get to Dicks Creek Gap, I'll probably stay in the hostel there that night just for a shower and a comfortable bed. I may not, depends on how things go.  Either way, I'll fill you in. 

Day Four - Neels Gap to Whitley Gap Shelter

A couple of panoramas from overlooks on my hike today.

I left the Blood Mountain Cabins at about 1000, arrived at Whitley Gap Shelter at about 1430. It wasn't too long of a hike today, about 7.9 miles. I could go 5 more miles to Low Gap Shelter, but it's thundering, lightning and pouring down rain so I'll just stay here. So far I'm the only one here, don't know if it will stay that way or not. If it does, I may set up my tent in the shelter for more protection from the rain. 

It was a really nice hike today until the thunder started. I veered off on the blue blaze to Whitley Gap Shelter and about 5 minutes later the lightning came along. It worried me when I had to walk across an exposed granite face with no trees and lightning in the distance. But I made it to the shelter before the rain really got bad.  Now it's pouring down rain and the temperature dropped. I put on my raincoat for a little extra warmth. If it gets much colder I'll have to pull out the base layer, but I don't think it will come to that. 

I saw a lot of snails on the trail today, but I didn't take any pictures of them. It made me think there must be many species of snails, though it's something I normally wouldn't have given much thought.

I was also thinking about a quote Fr Richard John Neuhas made, I ant remember it exactly, but it was talking about how we don't have the right to despair. While I agree with him, after the first couple of days of the hike, I could see how someone could give into despair.  It's really easy when your legs and shoulders hurt and your trying to catch your breath as you climb up a steep hill, stopping every 100 yards to let your breathing settle. But, I was alone those first couple of days, and that seemed to exacerbate the problem, and make it easy to slip into despair. I didn't, but I was a hurting puppy! Then I stumbled on the four Georgia Amigos, and it was all right. Walking with them I caught my breath and felt better.  I guess sometimes you really do just need to be with people (introvert or not).

I also pondered "hike your own hike" today. A very important concept and, yes, that is exactly what you should do. Just remember this, though--you have never done this before and you're going to make mistakes. Talk to people who have done it before, especially about gear, to make sure your ego isn't setting you up for failure when it feels like your pack is going to rip your shoulders off.  I reevaluated my pack at Neels Gap, changed out some gear and lost 5 lbs. My pack feels much better now. And my spirits feel better, too.

That being said, I guess I'll sit here and watch it rain for a bit, eat a honey bun, and then when it gets closer to 6pm, cook some mashed potatoes with some dried chorizo.

Blood Mountain Cabins - Getting Ready to Start Day Four

I stayed at Blood Mountain Cabins last night for a short respite. I stayed in the squirrel cabin. I rather enjoyed my stay here--especially the pizza and beer! Colley and George Case own the cabins, and they were about the two most friendly hosts I have ever had the pleasure of meeting. They have two cats, I don't remember one if their names, but one is Pumpkin. If you saw my personal Facebook last night, you would have seen a picture if him sitting in my lap, and also learned that he has cancer. So, if you have it in your heart, send him some prayers and/or good thoughts.

This is the main cabin where the office is located. Mr. And Mrs. Case live above the office.

I wanted to share because I thought this was a really cool place to stay! And to do some shameless advertisement for someone other than myself! Gotta get my bag ready and head back out in the trail!

Day Three - Woods Hole Shelter to Neels Gap

No pictures today, but this is one of the scenic overlooks from yesterday.

Day three was a short day (4 mi). I stopped at Neely Gap and did a complete pack shakedown. I spent a little money, but I took my pack weight from 32lbs to 27lbs. It doesn't sound like a lot but, trust me, when I picked the pack up it felt *much* better!  I also spoke with one of the guys at the outfitter who had hiked the trail.  He gave me some good pointers that I'll definitely use. I sent a box of stuff back home that I didn't need, or couldn't make work effectively/efficiently, and will ask Jeff and (maybe Kim, depending on work) to bring them as I need them when he/they meet me at various locations on the trail.  

I'm feeling better about the hike today.  Okay, after the pack reevaluation, I decided to stay at the Blood Mountain Cabins and am eating frozen pizza and drinking beer and coke--that has definitely helped!

I met four guys while I was hiking, four good old Georgia southern boys--good old, in the sense of classic southern boys who know how to make things work and how to survive. I respect them for that, and respect them for sticking with me for a couple of days of my hike. If you guys are reading this--thanks! 

I have discovered while sitting in the cabin with the TV on that I'm not thinking about writing as much as I did while sitting in the campsites.  I think I'm distracted by watching political news on TV.  Having been out there, I don't think that is necessarily a bad thing. I'm discovering that my mind wanders so much while I'm out there that it gets difficult to focus on anything.  Sitting here with the TV on, my brain is more focused. Which is a nice relief from my brain wandering incessantly from subject to subject.  I now *fully* understand why Aristotle said that God has to be a contemplating being that contemplates contemplation--if he contemplated anything else, his mind would wander. While I don't necessarily agree with that distinction about God, I do understand how that would apply to people (me :-).

Tomorrow I set back out on the trail. I'm looking forward to it, though I'm sore and will take Motrin to help.   Wish me luck! And keep the prayers/good vibes coming!

Day Two - Gooch Mountain Shelter to Woods Hole Shelter

Day Two done. I'm tired and I'm sore, but it is done. Tomorrow I will take a detour in Neely's Gap to go to Mountain Outfitter. I think I'll re-evaluate my gear and potentially re-evaluate the course of my hike. I plan to sit and talk to the people there, pick their brains and figure out what is the best thing to do. I'll probably make a few phone calls tomorrow, too.

 

Part of this trip was discernment, and, not exactly knowing where the discernment is supposed to take me, I'll can tell you where it has taken me: I like being with my friends and doing stuff with them. I like to enjoy nature in a Theaurovian sense. I like to think and philosophize. I like to write and share my thoughts with people. I have stories inside of me that I want to tell everyone. I have thoughts I want to share with the world. I think that about sums up my discernment...to sum it up nicely, I want to spend time with my friends and family; write stories; and share my thoughts with the world. To go with that, I am going to finish my master's degree in theology - I think it will add to the richness of the thoughts and stories I want to share.

 

Another part of this trip is trying to figure out why I want to hike the AT. It's funny because people ask me that question and I don't really have an answer for them. I pondered that while I was hiking, and I didn't really come up with an answer. Of course, part of it was that while I was trying to figure out the answer to that, I was instead having the epiphany of figuring out my life.

 

Anyway, day two is done. And I have a lot more thinking to do.

 

*Note: this is day two of the trail, but day three of hiking (Amicalola Falls).

 

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Day One - Springer Mountain Shelter to Gooch Mountain Shelter

Day one of my hike of the AT. I started out in Springer Mountain this morning. I had originally intended to hike to Hawks Mountain Shelter, but I got there at 1300, and couldn't see myself sitting around until it got dark and time to go to bed. So, I decided to hike to Gooch Mountain Shelter. It made for a 15 mile hike today, but that's okay. Tomorrow I won't hike as far, I want to make a stop in Neely Gap and stay overnight there to go to the outfitter and reorganize and nd maybe even purchase new gear. Want to get my packweight down a little. Which will make the uphills easier. And probably the downhills easier, too. As I pondered yesterday, I realized that there are certain things I need to do to help ensure success while hiking the trail:

1) Don't give myself too much down time, especially when I'm in a shelter by myself. This leads me to start thinking about everyone and everything back home, and that does me no good. That was part of the reason I decided to continue on from Hawks Mountain today.

2) Get into a routine with hiking. Get up early, eat, get water, pack, move. And move until it's close to sunset. Don't push it to sunset, push it where I have enough time to eat, get set up for the night, and write a blog entry.

3) Keep in touch with everyone when I get a chance. I have to figure out a charging schedule for the electronics. So far, the solar charger hasn't been effective. I have to rethink that (probably pack weight I can cut).

 

While I was walking today, I also started thinking about different things. Some things I thought about a lot. Which leads me to believe that things you think about while you're walking and not having anything to really think about are things that are important to you. Those things today were:

1) Sitting at Kim and Jeff's, eating Kim's garlic & rosemary chicken (which I still haven't been able to replicate), drinking Williamsburg Winery Governor's White, and just enjoying the evening.

2) Sitting on my couch with friends and the two cats, watching Netflix and drinking a glass of wine.

3) Believe it or not, going to Church. Sounds weird, but if you walked up some of the hills I did today, you, too would've been praying the Hail Mary.

 

So, day one is done, tomorrow starts day two.

 

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Prima Nocte

 

Springer Mountain Shelter. My first night, then I begin the trail! Though, take it from me, the approach trail isn't a walk in the park! Seven miles of trail, with a LOT of up hills. Trust me when I say that your hips will feel it!

 

A learned a few things on my hike today, things that I think would be good to share with all of you.

 

First: if it starts raining, don't tell yourself that maybe it's just a quick shower and then will stop. Because it isn't and it won't. You and your bag will get wet and then you'll have to stop in the middle of the strongest part of the shower to put your raincoat on and put your pack cover on. Doesn't seem so bad until you realize that once you put your raincoat on, you are no longer getting wet, but you era already wet. So, you will steam inside of your raincoat while you hike and while it rains. And you can't open your raincoat, because you'll get more wet and have a chance getting hypothermia. So, when it starts to rain, put on hour raincoat and your pack cover.

 

Second: the uphills are brutal and the downhills are even more brutal. To help with that you need trekking poles. They are important...VERY important if you don't want your hips and legs to scream in pain. They are going to, anyway, just not as much if you use the trekking poles.

 

Third: bring ibuprofen. You are going to need it. Your body will hurt and be sore and the ibuprofen will help. Take it, take lots of it!

 

Fourth: when it stops raining, the bugs multiply! I didn't see too many before it started raining, but once it stopped, it was a constant swarm of them around me. There was a horsefly that was stalking me for probably two miles of the trail, flying circles around me and trying to divebomb my head. Garlic tabs. Any work on ticks, but apparently they don't work on horseflies.

 

It was a long trek today, and yes, I'm third and sore from it, but that's okay. It's the adventure we're after, right? Granted, there are people I miss back home, and I miss my cats. But I think they understand why I'm doing this. At least I hope they do. In the end, I either make it or I don't (I'm voting for make it), and I hope that some of my friends will come see me on the trail.

 

Now I have to figure out what I'm having for dinner, then I'm going to sit and relax a while. As I get more in shape, I'll hike longer stints through the days, probably pushing it as close to sunrise and sunset as I can.

 

That's it for now, I gotta eat and relax!

 

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Solum Primum Nocte

 

Hammock all set up in the trees.

 

Now I am alone. Kim and Jeff have left and I am sitting at my first campsite in Amicalola Falls State Park alone, getting myself prepped to start my walk of the AT. I am somewhat apprehensive, though I don't think apprehensive is the appropriate word. It's more like anxious and excited and ready to start and do this! Which has, for some reason, triggered my body to produce way too much adrenaline. So, I sit and ponder. And drank a beer to help with the adrenaline rush. I mean, it's not going to be an earth shattering thing I do, though it may be a life changing thing I do. But, I'm okay with life changing, it means that the world is my oyster, and I've adapted to it as it adapts to me.

I guess I'm never truly alone. There are people in the campsites all around me. I hear birds singing, the wind is rustling in the trees, so I guess I'm not truly alone. Though it seems like it because of the sociability aspect of everything. But that is not necessarily a bad thing. Being alone, I'm hoping, will help me center myself and listen to my own voice and the voice of, dare I say, God, in discerning what I am going to do in the future now that one journey in life has ended and another begun. Though I believe the purpose of the discernment is to determine what I am going to do when THIS journey ends. There are many different things that are running through my mind right now that, hopefully, by the end of this trip, I will have figured out. Or at least discerned a direction in which to move. But it's still early now, so there's a lot of time left to figure things out. Until then, hopefully the good Lord will look over my shoulder.

 

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Amicalola Falls State Park

We made our way to Amicalola Falls State Park today to find the AT Trailhead and to figure out my camping situation in the ADA campsite. The trailhead was easy to find, the arch for it was right behind the Visitors Center. I asked about the ADA campsite...I was worried about an handicapped RV Site for just me and my hammock tent. The lady at the visitors cent told me it's ok. The only difference between the regular site and the handicapped site was the handicapped sites have 50amp service. From the looks of it (though I don't exactly know which site I get, so this could be a shot in the dark), there will be a wooden fence/rail around the site. If so, I'll string my hammock up between two sides of the fence and sleep there. I also asked about bears in the park, because I don't have a bear container nor a vehicle to lock food in. The nice lady told me that they have one bear in the park and they haven't seen her yet, so I should be ok. I'm good with that. All of that out of the way, I'll talk about the park.

 

Amicalola Falls is beautiful! It is 729 feet high, and cascades down a beautiful rock slope. The top of the falls is a mostly sheer drop down, cascading over rocks. As the water goes further down the slope becomes more pronounced as the water flows down the slope.

This is a view from about half-way up the falls, looking up at the top. There was a walk up a steep slope, followed by 176 steps up a ladder that went up the side. This was taken from a bridge at the top of the ladder that traversed the falls.

This is a view of the bridge that traversed the falls (and from which the previous picture was taken).

This is from the top of the falls. You can see the water before it goes over the falls. You can also see that you are looking from the top of the mountain across the valley.

This is me at the arch at the beginning of the approach trail to the AT. I'm not starting the trail today, but my campsite is further up the approach trail, so I wanted to get a picture of the approach trail head.

This placard is at the visitors center.

 

Today's expedition was a good expedition. I got to see the park and I got to see the approach trail to the AT. It gives me a warmer fuzzy as I get ready to start the hike. Tomorrow, Jeff proposed that we get some stuff for lunch and take it to the park. Kim and Jeff can help me get my camp set up then we can eat lunch. Then, they'll leave and I'll stay the night and get ready to start the approach trail when I get up Monday morning.

 

I'm definitely looking forward to his adventure. I hope I can at least share some of it with everyone through my pictures and writing here.

 

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AT Gear

I decided that while I'm riding down to Georgia, I could post the gear I'm taking with me to 1) give everyone an idea of what I'm carrying, and 2) keep a list so I can annotate what worked and what didn't.

This is my pack, an Osprey Atmos 65. It has a good frame for my back with breathability built into it, adjustable hip belt to rest the weight of the pack on my hips vice my shoulders (it does this very well and it's a necessity for me with the titanium plate on my right collarbone that sticks up a little). On the bottom of the pack are my sleeping pad (Thermarest side-sleeper pad) and my hammock tent (Hennesy Jungle Hammock with Snakeskin covers).

I know I know, everyone sees crocs and cringes. However, you need camp shoes to get your shoes off when you stop at night. Crocs work very we'll because they stay on your feet and protect your feet (think walking over rocks and twigs/branches). These crocs served me VERY well when I was in Iraq and had to walk to the bathroom and the showers over 200 yards of aggregate.

This is the Goal Zero Nomad 7 solar charger and battery back up pack. I chose this particular charger because: 1) lightweight, 2) foldable, 3) USB charger to direct charge iPad and iPhone, 4) came with battery back up you can use to provide emergency charge to phone, and 5) it was on a 24 hour sale from Woot for $69.99 vice it's normal price of $149. I bought lightweight titanium carabiners to clip it to the back of my pack while I'm hiking to charge my gear.

The bare necessities of toiletries while hiking...though I did forget floss, so I'll have to pick some up.

Knife and headlamp. You never know when you'll need to cut line or something so you'll need a knife. The headlamp will come in handy for early morning or late night hikes...and for trips to the privy in the middle of the night.

Bright colored para cord for a myriad of needs. Most importantly, to hang a bear bag if I'm not at a shelter that has a cable system or bear pole.

Meds: Ibuprofen, garlic tabs (keep ticks away), cephelexen for infected cuts, azithromyacin for sinus/bronchial infections, epi pens for bee stings, fenegren for nausea, prednisone for poison ivy, zeasorb powder for chafing and Benadryl.

Here are the meds all packed up.

Slapstraps and tent spikes for the hammock and it's rain fly.

Believe it or not, this is my raincoat. It weighs like 6 oz and folds into this little pack--it's about the size of my hand and about 3/4 of an inch thick.

This is my pack cover, e.g. the raincoat for my backpack. It's smaller and lighter than my raincoat (backpacks don't have arms nor need a hood).

This is my jet boil--my stove for cooking (mostly just boiling water). Inside the unit is a gas can, burner and burner-stand for stability. The small silver things are emergency lighters--they weigh about an ounce and will light in the rain. The blue thing on the left is my water filter - 0.1 microns and will filter app. 100,000 gallons of water. Beside it is a syringe to back flush the filter (when there is a lot of particulate in the water you filter you need to clean out the filter).

This is the jet boil, lighters and water filter all packed up in a bear bag (has hooks for hanging in a tree, a bear pole or a bear cable system).

This is my sleeping bag and sleeping bag liner. Weighs less than a pound and together will take me down to 10F. I should've taken the picture with something for size reference, the sleeping bag is about the size of car headrest when compacted in this bag.

This is my food bag. I didn't want to take a picture of the food, but I did grossly overload with food for the first leg...8 packs of instant noodles, 8 foil packs of tuna, salmon and chicken, 6 x 1 qt ziplock bags of trail mix, and 12 packs of instant oatmeal.

Finally, my clothes bag. It has a pair of hiking pants with zip off legs, pair of socks, pair of underwear, extra UV protecting synthetic fiber shirt, a long sleeve base layer shirt and a sweatshirt.

 

Not pictured in all of this is my camp spork, iPad, iPhone and camp pillow (it's a down pillow that is about the size of two hands together. It has a pouch on the back you put a sweatshirt or something in to give it bulk.

 

If you have any questions on my gear, feel free to ask either here or on my 'The Next Great Adventure' Facebook page and I'll answer them as I can.

 

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Beginning the Adventure

Starting the first step of The Next Great Adventure. My friends, Kim and Jeff, are driving me to Georgia to the trailhead to start hiking the Appalachian Trail. We'll get to the hotel this afternoon. Tomorrow we're going to go scout out Amicalola Falls State Park, the campsites, and the trailhead for the feeder trail to the AT. Sunday afternoon they are going to drop me off in the park and I am going to camp overnight, get up on Monday morning and hike the 8.8 miles to the AT Trailhead at Springer Mountain. I plan to camp overnight at Springer Mountain and then wake up on Tuesday morning, sign the log and start the AT! I'll keep everyone posted. Wish me luck!

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More Final Preps

There are some last minute preparations I have to make as I get ready to hike the AT.

First, since I will spend one night in Amicalola Falls State Park before I make my trek to the AT trailhead, I needed a campsite.  So, $28 later and with only an ADA campsite left, I reserved the campsite.  Don't know how that is going to play out since it is a handicap site, but I guess I'll talk to them at the park when I get there this weekend.

Second, Great Smoky Mountains National Park requires a Thru-Hiker permit for the back country.  Fortunately, you can get it up to 30 days in advance.  Everything I read said prior to leaving to start the trail, get your permit so you're ready when you get there.  $20 later, I have my AT Thru-Hiker permit for Great Smoky Mountains National Park.  Shenandoah is different than GSMNP in that when I arrive at the park entrance, there is a station where I will fill out a backcountry permit.  GSMNP gives you eight days to get through the park, but I'm not sure of Shenandoah's time limit.  I believe they want you to estimate when you will leave the park, though.  I don't think it will be too difficult.  If worse comes to worse, I'll just stop and talk to a Park Ranger to figure it out.

I bought a bunch of food yesterday for my first leg of the trail before I resupply.  I decided it would be easiest to get food now--more than I needed--to determine about how much food I'm going to eat as I hike.  This way I'll have more than enough to start with and I can pare down my load as I hike and figure out what I'm going to consume daily.

The next step is getting everything out of my pack, reorganizing it, taking pictures of it, then repacking.  I have to do some pondering on the hammock tent.  It doesn't seem to want to fit as easily as I would like it to, so I'm going to see if I can find a different way to pack it.  Ideally, I'd like to strap it on the outside of the pack with my sleeping pad.  It may take me a little while to figure that out, but I should have time.

The last thing I have to do is finish what I'm calling my PIM (a Navy term - Plan of Intended Movement).  Essentially a rough estimate of where I'm going to be on a daily basis.  While I know I will deviate from it (won't have a choice), I'd at least like to do it to have an idea of resupply points.  I'm not as worried about them in the south as I am the north, so I'd like to get an idea on paper and in my mind.  Remember, a plan is nothing more than an initial point from which to deviate.

Guess I need to get back to the grind.

Setting the Stage

       This post is me setting the stage for my blog for my hike of the AT. I had this pathtag made to commemorate my hike, and also to give out on the trail. It's going to be some added weight, but I don't think that will be a problem.
       This week will be spent getting all the last minute things ready for my hike: buying food, packing my gear, getting my initial water supply ready, etc. My friends, Kim and Jeff, are taking me to Georgia on Friday and I plan to begin my hike, in earnest, on Tuesday morning. I'll spend Memorial Day weekend with them until Sunday evening, when they will drop me off at Amicalola Falls State Park. I'll spend Sunday night in the park, Monday morning I will hike the 8+ miles to Springer Mountain and the AT Trailhead. I plan to spend Monday night at the trailhead, get up on Tuesday morning, sign the log, post a picture to Facebook and to this blog, then turn off the electronics and start hiking!
       I may post some stuff this week as I prep for the trail to keep a log of everything I started with.  This way I'll know what was good and bad as I progress along the trail--and what I *should* have had as I started!

With the first post, my excitement grows....

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