AT Days 0 to 9 - From Amicalola to North Carolina: The First Steps of a Two-Thousand-Mile Dream
Day 0
Little to no drama for the first part! My hometown had its marathon the morning of my flight, but we were able to plan around that to get me to the airport. I hardly fit in my seat with Spirit, but at 6’2”, that’s hardly noteworthy. Once in Atlanta, I retrieved my bag. It looked like TSA had searched it, and in the process, “lost” a few loose items I had in my duffle with my pack. None of it was mission critical, though, so all was good. I then took the MARTA to the REI in Sandy Springs. The red line was down, so I took the gold line and had to transfer over. Once there, I hurried to buy fuel and bug spray before ordering an Uber. Unfortunately, it took about 45 minutes to get an Uber driver, and I ended up arriving too late at Amicalola Falls State Park to pick up my tag. Once at Amicalola, I did the falls hike, which was absolutely gorgeous at sunset! I’ll have to walk back down and up the falls again, but what's a few miles! I then proceeded to check into the lodge and enjoyed a wonderful buffet after a day of mostly not eating. I then wrapped up the day, finding some water bottles from a vending machine, before passing out watching HGTV. Incredibly stoked to get moving tomorrow morning!
Day 1
I woke up early in the lodge and decided to skip breakfast due to the price and an upset stomach from sleeping poorly. Once packed, I hiked back down the falls, completed the ATC orientation, and received tag 804! I then chatted with a few of the other thru-hikers, had my picture taken, and then hiked back up the falls. At the top, I excitedly hiked the approach trail and took a break on top of Springer Mountain. At the top, I chatted with TC, whom I had met when I got my tag, and Christian, who rolled in after us and stopped for a snack. TC also filtered some water for me since my Sawyer exploded out of its side when I tried to filter along the way...
We hung out there for a bit, filled out the first trail log, and then hiked on to Stover Creek Shelter. Our actual trail mileage is only 2.9mi, total, with the approach trail though is 11.1mi for the day. According to Garmin, I did 14mi even, if you include all of my messing around. Shooting to go the same distance or maybe a bit farther tomorrow. We’ll see. I'm glad that I've already started meeting awesome people. TC and Christian are super cool dudes with similar goals, so hopefully we'll hike together for a bit!
Once we set up our tents, I had a wonderful evening around the shelter with other hikers, and became friends with a guy named Dillon as well! Despite the filter failure, all in all, an awesome first day!
Day 2
Today we hiked to Gooch Gap, decided we felt great, and continued to Woody Gap, mile 20.5, so roughly 18ish miles from Stover. We started the day with a gorgeous valley hike that had an awesome waterfall on a side trail. We bagged several “mountains,” experienced 2 different instances of trail magic, and met some "interesting" people. I hiked half the day with Dillon, and then we linked up with TC and Christian for the second half. My body is feeling pretty good, but I’ve got a small blister forming under my little toe that I taped up. We're also going to see if we can grab a Blood Mountain cabin tomorrow after we knock out the first "serious" climb of the trail, since they look pretty cheap. Either way, I’ll get my water sorted out at Mountain Crossings. Fingers crossed this weather holds for a bit longer! Also, we've met some weird people at two of the road crossings. They seemed like they just wanted to BS and told several lies in an attempt to impress strangers. Not really sure what that was about, but it was harmless.
Day 3
It was an overall easy day! We started at Woody Gap, where I think everyone slept poorly due to car traffic. We then split up a bit and separately hauled butt up Blood Mountain. The climb was honestly overhyped. Only the last half a mile or so was fairly steep, and that was mainly because I was dehydrated. I was dehydrated because I had to wait for my water tabs to purify my water... After soaking in the views for a bit, we headed down the mountain to the famed “Mountain Crossings” store with the shoes of hikers who had thrown in the towel. I ended up finally sorting out my water situation, and I bought our group a pizza! We then rented a cabin at Blood Mountain Cabins and had a chill night just hanging out. Dillon leaves us soon, but us other 3 seem to be getting along perfectly. I think I finally gave Dillon a good trail name of “Express” due to his FedEx cap. The rest of us are still unnamed, however. I do worry that they might leave me, though, as I am a much slower hiker. Who knows. I might meet some other incredible people to hike with!
Day 4
Decent day! I started pretty dang stiff from sleeping on a bad couch in the “Squirrel Cabin,” but we ended up crushing nearly 20 miles today after missing our original intended campsite. We chugged along, though, until we found a decent spot. Once again, we had trail magic at a gap that could not have come at a better time. I always appreciate a cold Gatorade and a hot dog! We lose Express tomorrow, but I think he’s taking us out for food. Depending on the weather, we might be riding out an incoming storm in town as well. Weather permitting, we’ll hopefully be out of Georgia by the end of the week! I have definitely noticed that I am needing more and more food and water, so hopefully I’m able to manage that well. Still no trail names for the rest of us, and we’re a tad isolated. Either way, still having a blast!
Day 5
Today was pretty good! We walked over to Blue Mountain shelter, had breakfast, met some new people, and saw a few familiar faces. We then flew down a steep descent and stumbled upon some absolutely amazing trail magic from the Clayton City Council. After pigging out there, Express drove us into Helen, a sort of weird German-esque tourist town. We resupplied at a Dollar General, and then slammed some 32oz beverages and massive burgers. After that, Express drove us back to Unicoi Gap, and we said our goodbyes. We then had a long and damp climb up Trey Mountain and wrapped up at Trey Mountain shelter, where we hung out with many familiar faces. The weather for the next few days is looking a bit iffy, so we may end up getting off trail for some of it. Who knows. Also, the temperature has plummeted, so with this front rolling in, progress is most likely going to be hampered a bit. I'm a bit worried about the weather, but I'm also stoked to continue to crush miles with Christian and CT!
Day 6
We had a rough start to the day after a very wet and windy night. The first half of the day looked like something out of a movie with heavy rolling fog and howling wind. Thankfully, by the time I started descending to Dick’s Creek Gap, the wind calmed down and the sun came out. Once there, I was treated to some trail magic before hopping on the shuttle to Hiawassee to resupply. After a quick re-up on supplies, we dried out our tents before catching the shuttle back to the gap. We then hustled a quick sunset 5 mile hike into Plumorchard Gap Shelter, where we stopped for the night. I ended up sleeping in the shelter for the first time, and it was honestly better than tent camping because it was flat and dry. Excited to cross into NC tomorrow!
Day 7
We made it to North Carolina! It was a fairly easy day, as we only hiked 13ish miles to Standing Indian shelter. There was a lot of climbing, and physically I felt pretty well; however, my stomach felt terrible. I’m starting to think that I should not eat breakfast like I normally do, and wait to eat until after I warm up a bit. We met many new faces at the shelter today, and saw only one or two that were familiar. We ended our day early to snag spots in the Standing Indian shelter so that we could avoid getting drenched in the deluge that is forecasted for early tomorrow morning. Fingers crossed the storm isn’t too bad and that it blows through quickly so that we can get to Franklin sooner. A town day/zero sounds wonderful. As a final side note, unfortunately, I had my first piece of gear break, sort of. I noticed when I was handing my phone to Christian to take my picture at the state border that the screen protector for my phone's camera lenses had shattered. Thankfully, it’s only the protector. So I’ll try and get it replaced when we go to town, since it looks like there is a Walmart. It's crazy to think that it’s already been a week! My mental health has been at its highest in months, and I have been continually amazed at how incredible this community is!
Day 8
Today was a mixed bag. We got absolutely soaked last night from that wild storm that lasted for nearly 12 hours, despite the fact that we were in the shelter. We had a late start due to waiting out the storm and waiting for our quilts to dry out. After that, we hit the trail, and I then proceeded to spend the day mostly hiking solo. The scenery was gorgeous with the mist, and it felt like I was walking through Endor from Star Wars. I ended up cranking out 16mi, summiting Mt. Elbert, seeing my first ever fire watch tower, and crossing 100 miles! I think I’ll reassess what my hiking plans/goals are during the zero in Franklin, as I’m tired of hiking alone. Overall, though, we are sort of falling in with a crew that seems to be solid, and most of them are at Long Branch shelter with us tonight. We were also with many of them yesterday at Standing Indian Shelter. I’m going to see if I can hike with them during the day and continue to meet up with the guys in the evening. We shall see!
Day 9
Pretty great day! We hiked a quick and easy 10ish miles to Winding Stair Gap, where we took the shuttle into Franklin. Along the way, we encountered 2 different instances of trail magic, which meant more hot dogs! We then took the shuttle to what we thought was a hostel, but when we got there, it was just someone’s house. After knocking on the door, we met a lovely woman who told us that it was indeed a hostel, but that it was booked out. She felt bad, despite it clearly being our fault for not calling ahead, so she offered us freshly baked cookies and then drove us to a motel in town! After checking in, we knocked out chores and then grabbed food and drinks at the local brewery with River and Darren. Overall, an excellent town day!
