Total mileage: 73.9

After critical gear adjustments and drier weather than forecasted, finishing the week was much less emotionally draining than expected. Day by day revealed incredible sights, tricky scenarios, and intriguing characters.

Two quick notes before I jump in:

First, in order to save storage on the website, I’ve decided to keep photo uploads to the blog minimal. You may want to have the Google photos album up (link in navigation bar) to follow along.

Second, calling is not a reliable way to reach me on the trail. If I have no signal, the call will bounce with no record that someone tried to contact me. If you text, the message will eventually be delivered whenever I acquire signal. Even if your call goes through, I may be too focused on finishing a climb to pickup. Just make sure to message me first, then we can set up a time for a call.

Day 2 – Monday, February 5

Springer Summit to Hawk Mountain Shelter – 8.1 miles

Nothing too eventful on the hike itself. Given the low distance and the mild terrain, I made great time and rolled into camp about 3:00 PM. I was greeted by six other adventurers representing many of the typical thru-hiker categories: social media influencers, retirees, veterans, and fresh-out-out-of-college youngins. The chance to swap stories and laugh around the campfire was a welcome finish to an otherwise solitary day. Despite the army ranger school (located in the valley below the campsite) running exercises at 1:00 AM, I still slept a solid 9 hours that night.

Day 3 – Tuesday, February 6

Hawk Mountain Shelter to Ramrock Mountain – 10.6 miles

A number of tactical adjustments on this day vastly improved the outcome of the entire week.

First, the toe box on my boots was a bit too roomy. I felt hot spots forming on my feet, precursors to dreaded blisters. By wrapping the front of each foot with a triangle bandage and applying tape to my feet, blisters were avoided (until the tape fell off later in the week without my knowledge).

Second, I stopped carrying water in my reserve storage. I have two water bottles that each hold 1 liter, in addition to a large 4-liter storage bag in my pack. Filling only the two bottles while keeping the storage bag empty creates just enough room in my pack to fit the bear canister in the main compartment. This in turn meant I could finally deploy my pack cover (think of a rain jacket but for a backpack). With the knowledge that my pack contents would be safe from the rain forecasted Thurs-Sat, I no longer needed to rush to town so soon. Additionally, I knew I could have easily gone several more miles on top of yesterday’s easy jaunt. So, I pivoted my resupply town from Blairsville (31 trail miles) to Clayton (70 trail miles).

You might be concerned to hear me carry 66% less water, but a few factors make this a safe decision. Since the weather is nice and cool, water evaporates less. All of the water sources marked as “seasonal” by my guide have been abundantly flowing, with year-round sources rarely more than five miles apart. Trying this method all week, I’ve had more than enough water for hydration and cooking needs. The extra storage will be useful when things dry out in the summer, but by then I’ll shed 5 pounds by transitioning from winter to summer equipment and can easily accommodate the extra bulk. The other hikers I’ve conversed with are doing the same.

Back to the trail. During my morning snack break, one of the through-hikers who stayed at the Hawk Mountain campground caught up with me. “Pyro” and I shared most of the day together, moving from light conversation about movies and books into deeper struggles we’ve lived through. I’ve been pleasantly surprised at how vulnerable and open to sharing my fellow hikers have been, perhaps this is part of the magic of remaining anonymous through a trail name. We got along quite well, so it was a shame when we had to part ways in the late afternoon. I knew I needed to hit more miles to stay on schedule, where Pyro had more flexibility with his deadlines and could afford slower starting days. Additionally, I was missing the seclusion if I’m honest. A trail buddy quickens the hours and eases the burden, but I’ve encountered a greater… depth to the experience when going solo. My heart and soul is drawn to the interior struggle that is somewhat drowned out by companionship. Not to say I was annoyed to have company most of the day, but I get the most out of the trail when I’m facing it alone. I find I can bear the solitude quite tolerably.

Day 4 – Wednesday, February 7

Ramrock Mountain to Neel’s Gap – 12.6 miles

Camping on Ramrock afforded the supreme pleasure of watching both sunset and sunrise. Pyro and I talked yesterday about appreciating each slice of the trail for its own beauty instead of blindly trudging on to “the next big thing”. I stole a few moments to gaze at the mountains awash with pink before fixing breakfast..

Without the extra water and a gradually lightening food canister, the load was most closer aligned to my training and previous backpacking ventures. This elevated my mood significantly, casting away any thought of leaving the trail. I was caught up in the sensation of being on an adventure, even with the yet again increased mileage.

Blood Mountain was the day’s largest task, right before my stopping point at Neel’s Gap. The shelter on top was built entirely of stone (as opposed to typical wooden boards). I stopped inside to look at the trail log (notebooks in each shelter for hikers to publicly record their travels) and noticed an entry from “Milkman”, who was there a day ahead of me. I thought it’d be cool to catch up to him, since I’d already split off from the main pack that started on the 4^th (foreshadowing). Blood Mountain’s rocky summit reminded me of MacAffee’s Knob near Virginia Tech. Because the descent was stony and uneven, my ankles were overexerted and tense come nightfall. However, maintaining my stretching routine and adequate sleep have countered all the ligament and muscle strain this week. Slowly, my joints will adjust and strengthen, but it will still be a few weeks before I can safely begin 20-mile days.

Aside: In the photo album, the tree with boots hanging from it is located in Neel’s gap. 25% of NOBO-ers quit there, and some fling their footwear into the branches.

Day 5 – Thursday, February 8

Neel’s Gap to somewhere between Cold Spring and Chattahoochee Gaps – 14.4 miles

This first half of the day was fairly standard (except when I saw my first wild armadillo!), but the latter section featured gently sloped terrain conducive to a faster pace. To increase my distance every day, I focused on walking for longer rather than increasing my pace. I wanted to capitalize on the easy slopes and cover as much ground as possible before the rain predicted for Friday, so come 6:00 PM I was still at it. I stomped into Cold Springs Gap only to realize that the campsites were buried under fallen trees. With no other choice, I clicked on my head lamp and pressed on,

By 6:50 PM I still had not found a suitable campsite. Until now I’ve neglected to mention the idea of “dispersed camping”. Since plants don’t take a liking to being sat on, camping on top of vegetation is a great way to kill a forest fast. Even though this particular section allows dispersed camping, that applies only to established campsites where vegetation is already cleared. I was struggling to find such an area, and thus I found myself on a ~3500 ft ridge with winds quickly picking up. Even though my gut told me Chattahoochee gap was less than 10 minutes away and probably had good camping, I decided to hunker down before the weather got worse. I pitched the tent on the actual trail. The wind carried no rain, so this was good practice for setting up the tent in potential storms. Early next morning proved my intuition about the gap correct, but hunkering down where I was seemed like the best choice in hindsight.

Day 6 – Friday, February 9

Chattahoochee Gap to Tray Mountain Shelter – 10.9 miles

The roughest day by far. The middle of the day saw a steep descent to 3000 ft, climb back up to 4000 ft, immediately plunge back down to 3000 ft, then a slog up to 4500 ft, all within the span of 5 miles. The most aggressive elevation change so far. To make matters worse, I went through all of my good snacks, meaning I was constantly fighting to keep my energy levels high. Rain was projected for the entire day, so I chose to hike in waterproof layers which added to the exhaustion. While a significantly shorter trip than the previous days, it took desperate prayer and willpower to trudge the last few miles.

With the campsite at 4400’, I was sleeping well into the clouds. It turned out that Milkman was camping here, too. I had caught him at last!

Day 7 – Saturday, February 10

Tray Mountain Shelter to Dick’s Creek Gap (and shuttle into Clayton, GA) – 11.5 miles

Milkman and I spent the whole day getting to Dick’s Creek Gap, where I’d arranged a shuttle pickup and he planned to stay at a hostel. While I won’t go spilling his story without permission, his heartbreaking route to the AT dwarfed my own struggles. In spite of that, he was a humble and cheerful soul. Though we parted ways this afternoon, likely to not meet again, his story will continue to inspire and uplift me throughout the months to come.

My first stay in-town has been quite busy cleaning gear, carefully selecting provisions, making phone calls, and typing all this up. However, I feel compelled to share a few things I’ve learned in my short stay here:

1. French Burnt Peanuts are a thing
2. 1.5 lbs of finely pearled couscous packs a whopping 2600 calories. I exclaimed “Couscous is my new secret weapon” right there in the aisle.
3. In lieu of a dryer, you can string paracord from a door hinge to a couch and hang your clothes in front of the heater unit

Day 8 – Sunday, February 11

Dick’s Creek Gap to Plum Orchard Shelter – 4.5 miles

On my way out of mass, I chatted with a parishioner who was from my hometown of Centerville, Ohio!

Today’s was a short trip to get me started on the trail again. The extra weight from the new provisions had me in poor spirits. With the rain finally coming in this evening, I knew I was set for a dreary start to the week. Until along came a winter SOBO-er by the name of Turbo. He gave me a donut and politely answered all my questions about Great Smokies and the trail in general. Although he only stopped to rest, bumping into Turbo was a huge gift this day and boosted my motivation.

Tomorrow I cross into North Carolina. Right away I hit some of the highest elevation on the whole trail, with peaks breaching 5000 ft. It’s still very wintry up there, so get ready for snowy pictures!

Pebbles

These are the fun little tidbits that don’t fit anywhere else in the update.

Other lessons  learned:

• Spend more time in town. I was very rushed to get everything done, hence this is coming a day late. I didn’t get much chance to relax, and I didn’t bulk up on as many calories as I ought to’ve.
• I’ll draft each update day-by-day so I can news to you faster.

Songs stuck in my head: “SOS” by ABBA, “Parachute” by Chris Stapleton, “Cool Change” by Little River Band, “God Bless America”, “Weekend Song” by Billy Joel, and various selections from the musical “She Loves Me”

Birds close enough to positively identify (in order of appearance): Dark-Eyed Junco, Spotted Towhee, American Robin, Chickadee, Yellow-Bellied Sapsucker. Good photos have proven elusive.