Date: Sunday, April 19, 2015
Current Location: Hiawassee, GA
Trip/Journal Details: Springer Mtn, GA to Hiawassee, GA – 52.9 miles

So for my first 7 days out on the Trail it’s been raining its booty off!  Everything is wet, all my stuff is muddy and covered in dirt, the mountains have been turned into mud luges – making the walk more like a slip ‘n’ slide gone wrong.  And if you’re not sliding, your schloggering through, ankle deep.  I’ve become almost skilled at the art of setting up a soggy tent and keeping almost all of my posessions relatively dry.  Every potential view has been covered over by a misty, foggy white cloud.  I’ve slept in the rain, walked in the rain, eaten in the rain, brushed my teeth in the rain, and used the “facilities” in the rain.  I might have even cried in the rain at one point (on Wildcat Mountain) when it just…wouldn’t…STOP!!!  Ahhhh!!!

So hats off to you, Appalachian Trail, for the initiation.  Talk about a hazing!  Then again, this wouldn’t be hiking without it 🙂

Despite the relentless rain, I am so far enjoying my trip, believe it or not.  I have met some of the most genuinely friendly, good-natured people ever.  I’m learning routine and self-reliance, and to enjoy the little tasks.  I get to watch spring pop up all over the mountain – all fresh and green and happy.   I’ve had some fun conversations with fellow hikers, and have really gotten to know some nice folks.  We’re all in this together and watch out for each other.  Nothing like seeing a fellow hiker after a couple miles alone – you just smile and pick up right where you left off, like best buddies.  There is a certain bond amongst those toughing it out in the woods, sharing the same experiences – good and bad – that seems to speed up the getting-to-know-you process.

I’m currently taking what’s called a “zero day.”  It’s called a zero day because I am hiking zero miles on the Trail and am staying in a town – Hiawassee, GA – 52.9 up on the Trail.  I needed to rest the knees, sleep in a real bed and dry out all my gear.  My room looks like a hobo exploded.  The contents of my pack are spread out and hung up in every cranny and on every available surface.

There is so, so much I could blog about.  I feel like I could write a chapter with just these first 7 days.  I’ve been keeping a paper journal on the Trail (double-bagged to keep from getting wet!), and will summarize some of my notes for ya.

– The first day was really tough.  That was the day Neal left and we walked separate ways on the Trail.  I miss him every day, but that first day and night was exceptionally crummy.  I was sort of a weirdo that day.  I forced myself to socialize with fellow hikers, but I wasn’t right.  All I wanted to do was crawl into my tent, in the rain, and be poopy.

– Even with no sunshine, cheerfulness can be found.  The trillium, violets and ferns are springing up EVERYwhere.  They are my little sunshines on earth, and help to perk me up.  That, and my fellow hikers.

– Trash.  Oh what a thing it is to just throw your trash away!  Honestly, it is a luxury.  On the Trail, you have to pack out every bit of trash.  And your trash bag, a zip lock baggy, has to be packed away in your food sack, which is in your backpack, and which also gets hung up in the trees at night so the bears don’t get it.  So you have to strategize when you eat and what trash you will accumulate before doing so.  It’s a pain.  Of all the things I appreciate most in my hotel room – the trash can is up there!

– I mentioned those nice people I’ve met.  My fifth night on the Trail, a kind father and his two daughters, also hiking, offered me a space in their cabin after we conquered Blood Mountain together.  Totally took them up on it!  We plowed into Neel Gap, went to the outfitters there, pigged out on some freezer pizza and chocolate milk – total gourmet – had the best-tasting Busch Light ever (and if you know me, you know I don’t drink Busch Light!), and showered and dried out our gear at the cabin that night.  So nice!

– Out here, you are one with the dirt.  You step on it, sleep on it, live in it, and in some cases, even eat and drink it since you get all your water from natural springs.  MMMmmmm….dirt particles.  Crunchy.

– Only five days into the Trail, and I got a new pair of shoes.  I developed a monster blister on my right heel and will probably lose a toenail on my left foot, thanks to some shoes that were evidently too short.  And I thought they were too big!  I got upgraded to a size 11 shoe, and have been MUCH happier hiking since.  Just call me Big Foot.

– Mice can be very industrious little beings.  At the aforementioned cabin, in the middle of the night, a mouse came out and lugged a water-logged dehydrated strawberry off the table and up into the rafters, where it lost control and bombed it on my body.  Dude – it hurt!  Woke me up like a bat out of hell, it scared me so much.

– You will do anything to avoid a midnight pee.  I camel up in the morning, drink throughout the day, but taper down in the evening.  I ain’t getting out of my tent if I don’t have to.  No sir.

– Mind-expanding thoughts don’t happen on the Trail.  I spend most of  my day hiking with a song stuck in my head.  That, or a cacophony of endless, pointless brain banter.  Yesterday, the song was “The Warrior,” by Scandal.  Laugh if you will, but it got me over those hills!

– Trail names.  I don’t have one yet, but hopefully soon!  There is a small batch of us still waiting for the right name to befall us.  For those who don’t know, a Trail name is a nickname that other hikers call you. So far, I’ve met Twister, Pitbull, This Guy, Captain America, Jelly Legs, and 8 Days, amongst others, to give you some examples.

– Speaking of characters, I met a guy out here in full Civil War regalia, hiking the Trail as sort of a reenactment – sword and wool coat and all.  He was sort of an odd lot, with his homemade outfit and such, but entertainment nonetheless.  Definitely the oddest cat I’ve encountered thus far.

– No bears, no big critter sightings yet.  Just birds and bugs.

…And so are just SOME summarizes of my first week.  There is no way to put into words all the feelings I’ve had, the characters I’ve met, and the kindness of strangers I’ve experienced.  Just know that yes, this is hard, but yes, it is also gratifying.

My next zero day will most likely be in Franklin, NC (in another 5 days or so, or 56.9 miles up the Trail).  Reception is in and out on the Trail, and to be honest with you, getting on Facebook or journaling is really a challenge even when you do have service because you are in the element, so to speak.  So if you text, call or email me, and I don’t respond right away it doesn’t mean I don’t love you, and I am so glad that you care about my wellbeing!

Now, if I can just figure out how to upload photos, I will share them with you as well.

Until Franklin!

 

– Nicci