Day 12-3/22-Nantahala Outdoor Center-Zero Miles

I hitched a couple rides to get back to the NOC from Bryson City in the morning, and Squatch, Loophole, and Sleeping Beauty were in around 11. When I had seen them yesterday they had talked about a Zero Day and rafting. I had agreed to join. I broke the tip of one of my trekking poles yesterday and wanted to make some other gear adjustments at the outfitter. My convertible pants were out and two pairs of light running shorts were in. I also purchased a map of the Joyce Kilmer Slickrock Wilderness Area, the first such map I had been able to find. As one of the last old growth forests in the east, with an interesting story as to how it was able to remain such, it has been an area I have wanted to visit for quite some time. But with a reputation for being quite wild and no reliable information on trails or water sources I have not yet explored it. Finally, some new tips were in order. It was quite the ordeal to get the broken tips removed, involving more than one phone call with the manufacturer. Howard, a member of the NOC staff, finally volunteered to take my poles to his home for his lunch break where he had some more tools that might have been of assistance. They were, and I finally had a fully functional set of trekking poles. Clutch.

I boxed up the map and the gear I had replaced to send back to Rhiannon, and snuck into the extra bunk with the Three Muskateers. Loophole and Sleeping Beauty had taken advantage of the rafting while I had to deal with the pole issue. I wish I could have gone. A pint of Ben and Jerry's attempted to console me, and several beers succeeded. We loafed around all day as the rain came and went. We had dinner with my friend David, who I had met much earlier in the trip, and settled on a trail name of Whitewater for him. He is a lifelong kayaker and it seemed appropriate. Even with a nap before dinner, I was in bed early and anticipating the rain which was rumored to be strong tomorrow.

Day 11-3/21-Winding Stair Gap to Nantahala Outdoor Center-28.1 miles

What a day. I started by taking the shuttle from the Budget Inn back to the gap where I had left off yesterday. I intended to hike 15-20 miles depending on how I felt. I climbed up to the top of Siler Bald. I am not sure if the terrain of these mountains have changed since their naming, but I have been to several "balds" that have yet to be treeless. Siler had a large clearing but it was clearly tree lined. I pressed on without many breaks, and reached a shelter for dinner around 4:30. I ate some not-so-tasty rice and tuna quickly, and spoke with a few of the other hikers who were there. Animal is an older gentleman, seemingly not bothered by the hoard of flies who congregate around him. I have heard about him several times since my start, as he is the only hiker that carries a five-gallon plastic bucket with him. He is panning for gems in this area. I am not sure if he intends to thru-hike, but forward progress is not high on his list. I ask if he has found anything good, and he is quick to assure me he is not looking for items of value but items of interest. My question did not ask anything about striking it rich, so I take his defensiveness to mean he has been prodded on this topic many times before.
I also meet Coffee Bean(?) who has brought a very pretty Vizsla along with him. A good looking dog and well tempered, I consider all of the pros and cons of bringing a dog on a thru hike. The cons seem to outweigh the pros during logical thought, but right now he sure seems like a bunch of fun. He carries his own backpack, but I'm assured he only carries a few pounds of food and his owner carries the rest. I feel a little better, and hope to make it to Wesser Bald Shelter, many more miles and climbs later. I try not to think about it. As I press to the top of Wesser Bald I see a firetower that appears to have open access to the top. It does, and I enjoy the views and make a few calls with the good cell service. I meet another hiker who came up the firetower about ten minutes after me. He has come to take a few pictures of the pending sunset and meet with some friends who have not yet arrived. I get the impression he is a former thru hiker from the conversation he is trying to strike up, but I am too tired to oblige the words necessary to give him the opportunity to speak about it. I can't take my eyes off the Mountain Dew peeking out of his backpack. Again, I don't even like Mountain Dew. He does let me know that I only have a short distance to the next shelter and a short day tomorrow to the Nantahala Outdoor Center. I'd already traveled about twenty miles today, so the upcoming shelter was welcome news.
In planning this leg I had planned to press on to Fontana Dam directly, and had not considered the NOC as a stop. This meant that I had again brought too much food, fast becoming a perpetual sin for me on this trip. As I reached the next shelter I saw quite a few people. Loophole, Sleeping Beauty, and Squatch were all there. I had stayed with all of them in Hiawassee. It was good to catch up with them since they hadn't gone into Franklin. I relaxed by the fire and chatted for a while, but it became apparent the shelter was full and all of the decent tent sites were already taken. I figured I deserved at least some level ground after such a long day, so I decided to press on in an attempt to find a site just off trail without having to go too far. The sun had just set, so I donned my headlamp and set off. About 6 miles and two hours later I had not found anything, and had traveled much farther than I had anticipated. The next shelter was only a mile before the NOC, and I figured if I attempted to set up there I would just succeed in waking everyone. Another mile had me down on pavement at 10:30. A thirteen hour day I had not at all anticipated. My previous long day was about 17 miles, and that had about killed my feet. I had finally gotten my "trail legs" underneath me, and while I was certainly tired, I felt reasonable. I'm sure I was running on adrenaline for the last 7 miles, with the realization that I had completed my first marathon, with the slowest finishing time in history.
I grabbed a soda from a nearby machine whose mesmerizing glowing light could not be ignored. I found someone who worked for the center as she was leaving in her vehicle. Asking for a room for the night, she explained that they were closed for the night. Asking for any ideas on what I could do for lodging in the area, she simply suggested camping by the river. Knowing I wasn't in the woods anymore, and that small town police have a distaste for squatters, I decided to attempt to hitchhike the twenty miles into Bryson City and the nearest hotel. In the dark. In the middle of nowhere. With minimal vehicle traffic. With an odor the drivers could probably smell on approach. Not the easiest task. Finally a van stopped with a barefoot man exiting to take a look at the river which runs right through the various buildings of the Center. I asked for a ride, and after a quick interview as to my possible possession of drugs or weapons my stuff was in the back and I was in the passenger seat. Pink was his name, and he is an aircraft mechanic for Cessna. My backpack shared the back with two jet engine shrouds. We spoke about demanding clients who own jets and his children as I made my way to the Sleep Inn. After some forms were filled out and the box for a king bed checked, I was quickly in a room and more quickly in the shower. Sleep was not difficult.

Day 10-3/20-Glassmine Gap to Winding Stair Gap-7.3 miles

I woke earlier than usual and hit the trail by 8 AM. The upsides to an early start are an early finish, more time without bugs, and cooler temperatures. The downsides are being the kind soul that clears the night's spider webs from the trail. I hiked with a trekking pole in front of my face for a good bit. I hit the next shelter still fairly early and some of its occupants were still cooking breakfast. One of them, You Again, was a familiar face. He had stayed in my room at Hiawassee and had been with us for several days. His name comes from the fact that he hikes fast and stops often. He will often come up from behind after he's already passed you once or twice earlier in the day. He let me know that Switchback, another common face, had already hit the trail, and that they would be pushing through the stop at Franklin, NC. I could not, as Rhiannon had sent me a package containing some gear that I needed and some homemade beef jerky. I also saw two girls whom I had seen two days earlier at the shelter we had passed up to reach Standing Indian. That means they put in an approximately 25 mile day, big business.

The contraption you see here is some more trail magic, not the Wile E. Coyote booby trap it appears to be. It was hung like this by a ranger to avoid bears stealing all the goodies. It contained two or three different types of cake, and lots of it. Still, Gingersnap had to refill it often. I talked to one or two hikers who had run out of food at this point, and the cake was just the calories they needed. 

Another few hours on the trail had me out to Winding Stair Gap early, and it was about a mile walk along the road before my thumb proved its usefulness. The kind souls that picked me up were happy to take me into the Budget Inn where my mail drop waited. The passenger was a thru hiker class of '98, Huff and Puff, and he related some stories from his hike. The driver was a retired nurse who had just received a grant for making a goat cheese factory on her farm. My arrival at the Budget Inn had me staying alone, a nice change of pace from the last town stop, and I went about my usual resupply tasks. I gathered food and fuel with various other sundry item (Vitamin I being a crucial component) and made a special effort to not bring double the food I needed. My appetite still hasn't matched my output, and the postal scale has me approximately 6 pounds lighter in 10 days. I feel fine, so I can't really complain, but I need to put in more effort to getting some more food in me. At this rate I'll make Maine at the weight of a small child.

I also stopped by the barber, as the length of my beard was bothersome and I wanted a trim up top as well. Apparently a number 1 guard on the clippers is different in North Carolina than it is elsewhere in the country, as when she turned me around to the mirror I was almost hairless. The red beard isn't completely gone, but it would take a razor to get it any closer. I'm sure it'll be too long again in no time. I'm off to dinner at the steakhouse and then to bed. Shuttle is at nine in the morning, and I've got another 2100 miles and 13 states to go.

Day 9-3/19-Standing Indian Shelter to Glassmine Gap-16.2 miles

My feet felt fine as I set off and I was hoping they would stay that way. Some oatmeal for breakfast and we were off, a few leaving before me and still more behind. The day was easy for about the first 10 miles, with a climb right out of the gate mitigated by some wonderful trail grading and switchbacks. I wanted to thank the fellow who implemented that section. The big event of the day was Albert Mountain, and another milestone, 100 miles. The climb was the toughest yet, with sections that the trekking poles had to be stowed and hands used to traverse the rocks. It only consisted of about 700 feet elevation change, but my seat of the pants estimate put that over about 700 horizontal feet. Tough stuff.
The top of Albert Mountain rewarded with a firetower, which I climbed with my pack on out of spite.

As you can see the views were great, even without being able to actually enter the tower. With some cell coverage I was able to make a few calls and rehydrate, then it was off toward Long Branch Shelter, only about two miles away. When I had hit Glassmine Gap I knew I had gone too far but hadn't seen the shelter. I went down a side trail for a bit and found a nice quiet campsite with a strong creek nearby for some feet soaking. No one else joined me the rest of the night. Speaking with several people the next day, the general consensus was Long Branch Shelter has not yet been constructed. Good to know I'm not blind.

Day 8-3/18-Dick's Creek Gap to Standing Indian Shelter-16.7 miles

Today was the first big milestone of the trip, the Georgia/North Carolina border. These are of a few of my friends taking a break at the spot. Who knew a little wooden sign could make people so happy.

Just after the border was a big climb up to Courthouse Bald. A good "Welcome to North Carolina, don't come back," kind of climb. The day was a long one, and the rest day didn't do as much for my feet muscles as I had hoped. I met two National Guardsmen who were out for an extended trek (but not thru hiking). One was having backpack trouble, which I tried to help with a quick adjustment, and the others boots began to fall apart on him. Bad luck for sure on some crucial gear, so it was off the trail for a trip to the outfitter for them. At about mile 11 I started to feel the pain again, but a few others and I pushed past Muskrat Creek Shelter at 11.8 miles in to continue on to Standing Indian Shelter another 5 miles. The running joke was it was all downhill. It wasn't.

There was a strong creek next to the shelter, so I quickly cooked my dinner and went down to soak my feet in the icy water. Between that and some Vitamin I (ibuprofen) my feet actually began to feel better. The pain was manageable, but I worried about the swelling. Still no blisters or anything other than muscle soreness though, so I feel lucky. We got the first chance to hang a bear bag without cables at this shelter, which was an adventure in itself. After about 25 minutes and some good laughs we had our food bags hung well enough that a it was perfectly safe from any bears without the use of their arms. It made us feel better anyway. This was my first night sleeping in a shelter (up until this point I had always used my tent at the sites) and it was an enjoyable experience. The two most common complaints of shelter sleeping were absent, mice and snoring, so I guess I lucked out.

Day 5-3/15-Low Gap Shelter to Tray Mountain Shelter-15.4 miles

This was to be my biggest mileage so far in one day, and I was looking forward to the challenge. We had a series of pretty large climbs, which ended in a climb of 1300 feet to the top of Tray Mountain. The shelter would be just on the other side. The day was uneventful, but I carried extra water as the lesson from the day before. About halfway through the day I met up with Sasquatch again and we hiked together for the remainder. As we were entering the gap and about to begin our climb of Tray Mountain I verbalized to him that I hoped for some rain to knock the bugs down and cool us off. Approximately 1.75 seconds later the first raindrop hit my head. As we started to climb the thunder picked up along with the rain. Fifteen minutes later we had hail. The rain was so strong that we were quickly soaked and as the hail increased it began to hit so hard it was physically painful.

We reached a false summit and had hoped a side trail would take us to the shelter. The lightning was still striking with practically no delay between flash and roar, and the hail had not let up. The trail ended up being a side trail to water (which we certainly did not need at this point) so we returned to the main trail and pushed on. We were walking in a river by this point and my feet were beginning to chill. My muscles were tightening up and we still had not reached the top. I suspected the shelter would be full by the time we arrived at the campsite, meaning I would have to attempt to erect my tent in these conditions. I was not the happiest of campers at that moment. As we rounded a bend in the trail I thought I saw a pop-up sunshade erected to the left. I told Sasquatch it must be a mirage, but when I saw the grill and smelled the meat I knew I was wrong, it was Trail Magic.

Trail Magic is the term given to any acts of kindness given to thru hikers by others. Most of the time it comes in the form of a former hiker who has come to a point on the trail bearing gifts of food or drink. This time it was Bill and Steve(?) cooking what looked to be half pound plus burgers and handing out Mountain Dew. IN THE MIDDLE OF A FREAKING HAIL STORM. After consuming three burgers and two Mountain Dews ( I don't even like Mountain Dew) the storm had passed somewhat and the sun was trying to shine. A fire had been made by another dear soul who had his camper at that location and I was warming and drying myself. It took every ounce of strnegth I had to get myself out of that lawnchair and put my pack back on for the rest of the trip to the shelter. I arrived to beautiful views and a great campsite to pitch my tent.
Easily the best day on the trail so far, despite the monster elevation change, the long distance, and mother nature. Probably moreso because of it.

Day 4-3/14-Neels Gap to Low Gap Shelter-11.5 miles

There was a strong climb immediately out of Mountain Crossings, which gave way to a day of ups and downs that was by this point becoming familiar. I had left with about a liter and a half of water, but this being a clear day unlike the previous one I had neglected to account for the heat. I ran out of water right at a stream, but the flow was not strong enough for me to be able to refill without debris. Since I am not using a mechanical filter the debis will remain even though my chemical filtration will mean the water is clean. It is not a big deal, and it can be worked around by using a bandana to filter out the debris, but being four miles from the shelter I elected to push on.

I arrived a Low Gap Shelter fairly early, another common theme from my previous days of hiking. While I seem to have one speed that is higher than average for most of my fellow hikers, I am not yet in shape enough to put in the really long days. Hiking at 2-2.5 miles per hour allows me to cover this day's hike in 4-5 hours, for example. This is obviously a short day that could be extended easily, except for my muscles. While I have been without blisters or any other real injury, my feet and calf muscles have been letting me know all the work they have been doing. I am looking forward to the 7-8 hour days when I can cover some real ground, but I'm not there yet.

We had a good group of people at the shelter. I cooked some dinner and made some new introductions (I still did not have a trail name) and decided to sleep in my tent instead of the shelter. I could not find a campsite I was very fond of, but eventually settled on one that was less than level. I would slide around all night, but managed reasonable sleep. When I awoke for breakfast we found a mouse had chewed through Sasquatch's food bag overnight and (ironically) ate his cheese. It was designer cheese from the outfitter, which I think would have cost approximately $20 per pound if it were sold in those quantities, so the mouse at least had good taste. One of my purchases had been a food bag that is made from the same material as prison guards' vests (stabproof) so that small rodents cannot chew through it. I found my food unperturbed. I was also informed that the shelter had a pair of visitors overnight, and that several people had pictures of the bat with whom they slept. Some dried soup mixed with too little water was a very warm and tasty way to start the day, and I was off by about 9 AM.

Day 3-3/13-Woody Gap to Neels Gap-10.5 miles

The Hiker Hostel staff was kind enough to pick both David and I up from the Super 8 while Bryan stayed behind to sort gear and ship items home that he no longer wanted to carry. This was my first chance to see the Hiker Hostel while we stopped to pick up other hikers on the way back to the trail. A very nice place for sure if anyone is looking to stay in the North Georgia mountains for a few nights. It took three vehicles to get everyone where they needed to go, and as ours climbed toward the trail head the rain started again, heavier as our altitude climbed. Once we were on our way down the trail the rain was light enough to keep me cool and not be bothersome.

 

Blood Mountain had a reputation for being very difficult,
but I was at the top before I knew it. The view was wonderful. I stopped at the beautiful shelter at the summit for a bit of reading, but the bugs wer already out in full force due to the unseasonable heat.

Decending Blood Mountain was more challenging for me, each step seeming to beat me up more and more. The payoff at the end was Mountain Crossings. The structure was built in the thirties by the CCC as far as I understand, and the trail actually crossing through a breezeway in the building. It is the only point along the trail that passes under a roof. The breezeway separates what it now an outfitters on one side and a hostel on the other.

The outfitters is famous for "pack shakedowns," where they will disassemble everything in your pack and tell you where you can save some weight. They are in the perfect location for this, catching hikers after several days on the trail and a relatively large climb, people are known to spend a thousand dollars to reduce their load. Though I did not do a lot of trip planning, my pack weight was where I spent most of time doing research. I was very happy with what I had and did not opt for the shakedown, already being about 10 pounds lighter than most people. I did resupply on some food and picked up a few items. My favorite piece that I got was a Buff (apparently of Survivor fame). It is basically a cylindrical synthetic bandana, but it is so versatile I've really fallen in love with it. I believe Bates owns one and had mentioned it to me before, but I am really sold on it now. Especially with the amount of sun we have been getting it allows me to cover my forehead, ears, and neck and prevent sunburn.

A stay at their hostel totalled $20 including a dinner for donations and breakfast. I did laundry again and got some stuff sorted. I determined that I had a leak in my inflatable sleeping pad but couldn't find it so it was replaced the next morning. This was my first hostel stay and others were really seeming to come together as a group. More and more trail names and less and less real names were being passed around. It really was a diverse group of people, a lot young but some older, with names like Wrongway UK, Dirty Girl, and Misplaced Moose. Sleep was not easy that night but early the next morning I shipped a few cold weather items I no longer need to McDugle and hit the trail.

Day 7-3/17-Hiawassee, GA-Zero Miles

I'll get the previous days' entries up as soon as I can. Today the group decided to take a rest day, and being the good friend that I am I caved. I didn't take much convincing, trust me. Obviously my muscles needed the break, but I wasn't counting on where my mind would wander without the strain of the trail to focus it. I feel like I've been on the verge of crying all day, and I don't know why. I think of where I am and where I want to be. The latter being vague, the path between even more amorphous. I have nothing to complain about. I am in a wonderful position, with almost limitless options on where I go from here and so many great people around me. I am having a wonderful time at my current adventure. But I still have this sense of pain. My past feels unresolved and my regrets are eating at me.
I wonder what could have been different. How things would have changed if I had applied myself more in college, prioritized others in my life, and cared as much about the present as the future. I wonder what I have given up because of my decisions. I know I need to resolve these issues. I don't know how. One of my friends that I am staying with here has had his parents in town for the day. I was speaking with his father who expressed his desire to hike the trail after his retirement. I could see the excitement in his eyes, a love for his son, a pride and vicarious joy. I miss my dad. I wish I could see that in his eyes.
Anybody out there have any good reading material? Maybe something to help in this personal improvement, maybe just something to take my mind off of it.

Day 2-3/12-Hawk Mountain Shelter to Woody Gap-13.1 miles

The rain had slacked off by the time I got up at 8 but it was still coming down. A quick breakfast and I was out by 830. Hiked mostly by myself until lunch. I was well ahead of schedule for a hostel shuttle that was picking up at Woody Gap at 5 PM, so I stopped at Gooch Mountain Shelter to get out of the rain and cook.

Some fresh salmon and Ramen noodles really warmed me up. It was there that I met a few guys taking a zero day (no mileage along the trail) and another getting a late start. His name was Bryan, and the guys were giving him a hard time for having one of the largest and heaviest packs around. Lightweight packing is key to success on the trail, but some hikers can be less than courteous about the subject. Bryan slowly packed up, while David, a hiker that started from the same spot as me that morning arrives. I spoke of my plans to catch the shuttle to the hostel, and both Bryan and David thought it sounded like a good idea. Bryan headed out first, with David and I out about 15 minutes later.

David and I happen to hike at a similar pace, so we struck up a conversation. He has been an outdoorsman all his life, living in Yellowstone when he was younger so he could kayak regularly. He had taken time away from a construction company he owns near Atlanta to thru hike. We passed Bryan soon. We arrived at Woody Gap with an hour and a half to spare.

There we met a nice older gentleman who is section hiking the trail and hid under a small kiosk at the trailhead to avoid the rain. We called the shelter and they were full, no doubt due to the popularity of the start date that weekend for many thru hikers. They kindly offered to take us into Dahlonega for a stay at the famous Super 8. While we waited for 5 to roll around we wondered if Bryan was ever going to make it off the trail. Three minutes before 5 he emerged from the mist on the other side of the road. He said he had stopped looking at the time because it was playing games with his mind, so he had a huge smile on his face when he heard he had best the shuttle. He agreed to split he room with us three ways, making it about the cost of the hostel. Right on cue our driver pulled up.

The Super 8 had "FREE INTERNET," consisting of a desktop in the lobby that I believe was running DOS. We laid out all of our wet items on every available space in the room. I took the laundry for the three of us and walked a quarter mile down the hill to the laundromat. It was there that I met Brad(?) who owned the place. Reluctant to let me enter as I was his last customer, I had to entice him with the promise of how quickly all our synthetic clothes would dry. He caved, and I got to keep him company wearing nothing but boxers and a rain jacket (a hikers wardrobe is limited and everything else was in the washing machine). He seemed not to mind, but he did ask if I was hiking the trail. Not sure how many other customers he gets in his establishment with a similar wardrobe that wasn’t hiking. I proceeded to have a 15 minute long conversation about the exorbitant cost of water in Dahlonega (he owns the car wash next door too). He was kind enough to drive me back up to the motel, where Bryan and David had kindly purchased pizza and beer. It didn't last long. Bryan sorted out things from his pack to send back home, such as a keyboard for his phone and a full size umbrella. I might speak more about Bryan later, as he is a very interesting fellow.

Day 1-3/11-Black Gap Shelter to Hawk Mountain Shelter-9.5 Miles

Day 1 started fairly early with a quick mile and a half to the official start of the AT. Rhiannon hiked out with me to take pictures and send me off. We met a Trail Guardian who was signing people in for the start and helping with general info. He gave me a matchbook, which he asked I carry all the way. Apparently there might be some surprise in exchange at the end. We'll see. 

The view from the top was unobstructed and beautiful, as you can see. I set out ready to get the show on the road. With this much prep and build-up, I just wanted to get started. Day 1 was as beautiful as Day 0, something I was sure would come back to bite me. Rhiannon had quite the hike back to the car herself.

Most of the day was uneventful, getting familiar with my trail guide and putting in some miles. The terrain reminded me of a mix between North Carolina and Tennessee. I made good time and got into the shelter for the night quite early. I would estimate over 40 people at the shelter, which was obviously way over capacity. Tents and hammocks were everywhere, so I set mine up as well. I hung out at the shelter for a while getting to know everyone. I met one person who is actually from Bellevue as well, and he is taking a semester off from Tennessee Tech. It was fun to watch everyone figuring out how to work new gear and generally get in the swing of things.

I attempted to cook using the wood fire capabilities of my stove but couldn't get it lit, so I cheated a bit and used solid fuel to get the wood going. Had a good dinner and talked with everyone some more. The shelter had a loft, and it wasn't long before the marijuana appeared and the migration up the steps began. I called it a night. About 4 AM the rain began to pelt my tent.

 

Water

As you can see, streams like this one cross the trail every few miles. This is where I get water sometimes. Alternatively there is usually water access near the shelters. I gather it from whichever source into my water bladder which holds two liters. It is not usually full.

For purification I use Aquamira, a product made from stabilized chlorine dioxide. It is a two part solution and very simple to use. I mix 10 drops of part a and 10 of part b per liter of water in the little cap. After letting it sit for a few minutes I pour it into my bladder. After 30 min my water is safe to drink, and it doesn't leave a nasty taste like iodine.

Day 0-3/10-Approach Trail

Rhiannon and I arrived at Amicola Fall State Park in North Georgia after a few stops along the way. The Approach Trail is about 8 miles and is not technically part of the Appalachian Trail, it is simply where you hike to the start. Some people also use dirt roads to get dropped off closer to the start.

I signed in at the office (I was the 249th person to start with the intention of finishing in Maine) and we headed off for the almost entirely uphill trip. It was a beautiful day but it was certainly slow going. The trail starts at the base of the falls and climbs 604 steps to the top. Then we took more traditional trails to our campsite at Black Gap Shelter,1.5 miles from the start.

We had a great dinner consisting of Lenny's Subs (amazing foresight on my part) supplemented with some trail food. We stayed in a tent to avoid the mice in the shelter. It was Rhiannon's choice, but I think it probably had something to do with a Chatty Cathy in the shelter. He is a nice guy who has a lot to say. I'm sure I'll see him again. My sleeping bag is rated at 20 degrees due to predicted temperatures but as it has been unseasonably warm I slept ridiculously hot. Not my best night's sleep for sure.

Leaving Nashville

I am heading to Alabama today. Rhiannon will drive me to the start of the trail this weekend. I am looking forward to the trip. A lot of people have asked about how I'm feeling to start. I am mostly just curious. I really haven't put any pressure on myself to finish in a certain amount of time, or finish at all for that matter. If it gets boring, which I think it might, I am not going to hike for 5 months just to say I did it. I've pushed myself like that before (police academy as one example) with only the goal in mind. This time the journey is the goal, and I will find another adventure if this one proves to be monotonous. The nervousness or apprehension seems to be absent. I'm hoping it stays that way.

As I leave, I want to thank all my friends who have been there through my resignation and the preparations for this trip. McDugle is at the top of this list. He always has a positive outlook, even through rocky times for us both, and has been a great friend throughout. I really appreciate him allowing me to stay with him for the months between leaving my apartment and this trip. I also want to thank Drake for joining me for a few warm-up trips before the real thing, and generally always being up for an adventure. I really hope you all can join me for a portion of the trip. While I don't know anyone who has the opportunity to complete the entire trail with me (I'm the only unemployed person I know), I do want to share some fun times along the way. I expect that to be the main things that breaks up the routine of 2200 miles of hiking and makes it more enjoyable.

Finally, I will attempt to use this forum to update everyone along the way. Unfortunately, I have not done any test runs to make sure this is possible through my phone. My goal is to update every few days along with pictures and maybe the occasional video. Whether this is realistic will depend on cell service, internet availability, and phone capabilities. We will see.