MARCH 8, 2003

Krystal, Mom, my sister Cameron, and I set out from Midlothian, Texas on Saturday bound for Amicalola Falls State Park which is about one hour north of Atlanta, Georgia, and about nine miles southwest of Springer Mountain, the beginning of our trek.  We stayed in a cabin at the top of the Falls and had anticipated beginning our journey on Monday morning, March 10; however, we had one small problem.  Our packs were too heavy.  By Monday afternoon, my pack was down to 55 pounds and Krystal's pack weighed in at 45 pounds.  I was hoping to get my pack down to 50 pounds but because of my height and weight - 6' - 229 lbs. - I felt that I could carry the extra weight.   Krystal at first felt comfortable with her pack because she is 5'11", but once we hit the trail this was not to be.

On Tuesday we were ready (or thought we were).  Since it is an 8.8 mile trek from the visitor center at Amicalola Falls State Park to the summit of Springer Mountain, we chose to take a quicker route via the Forest Service road which takes you up a gravel road to a parking lot which is .09 miles from the Summit.  Unfortunately, we forgot to read the part in our Appalachian Trail Thru-Hikers' Companion that said "pick up the trail on the right side of the road, across from the parking area".  We saw the Appalachian Trail sign and started out, with Mom and Cameron coming along for the .09 miles so that they could see the famous plaque atop Springer Mountain that marks the beginning of the Trail and take our picture there.  After hiking 1.8 miles we realized our mistake and had to backtrack to the parking lot, read our book again, and set out across the road to reach the  summit.  It was an extremely difficult and rocky climb.  Mom and Cam had no idea they would be hiking 5.4 miles to see us off!   There were several other hikers we passed that day that made the same mistake.   We signed the hikers' register located next to the plaque on the summit and turned around to head back down to the parking lot and on down the Trail.        

We expected to reach Hawk Shelter before nightfall; but because of our mistake at the beginning of the Trail, we chose to pitch our tent at Three Forks campsite.  We cooked our first meal on our campstove, and it was delicious.  I had no trouble hoisting our food bag on a cable over a tree limb to hoepfully keep the bears away.   On our second night we ran out of water, but four college students from South Carolina, doing some section hiking on spring break, came by on their way back to the parking lot where we had started.  Because the gravel road from the parking lot winds around, up, and through the mountain, they were able to get water from their car and drive back up the road to within shouting distance of our campsite to bring us their extra bottle of water.  They even stopped at a creek and filtered two more bottles of water for us.  This gift is known along the Trail as "mountain magic", and we were able to pass the "magic" around the next day when we ran into a hiker who had also run out of water. 

Krystal began having trouble with her knees as we approached Sassafrass Mountain and coming down the pain grew intensively.  I took on some of the items in her pack to lighten her load, and she took some pain medication but we knew we would not be able to make Gooch Mountain Shelter by nightfall.  It began sprinkling, and we were not looking forward to a cold, rainy night in our tent without the company of other hikers.   We were headed to Justus Creek campsite when Tripod and Fubar came by.  They were headed to the Gooch Mountain Shelter and told us they would save us a place at the Shelter in case we could make it.  Just as we reached Justus Creek campsite and were about to make camp, Tripod and Fubar showed back up and told us "you're sleeping with us at the Shelter tonight".  They had reached the Shelter, claimed their bunks for the night (and ours) and backtracked to help us.  They grabbed Krystal's pack and headed back for the Shelter with us following at a slower pace.  We were thankful for their help and grateful to be in the company of humans for a change.  We also ran into a very famous hiker here called Tin Man.  He makes camping stoves out of two soft drink cans and gave me one.  He showed me how to use it, and it weights only a few ounces compared to my stove which weights about two and one-half pounds.

It is Friday, March 14, and we are at a hostel at Walasi-Yi Center at Neels Gap.  We intend to hole-up here for two days to allow Krystal's knees to heal a little bit and get some help on our backpacks.  The people who run the place will show you how to organize your gear, critique what you have in your pack, what you really need and what you can absolutely do without.  When they got through with us, my pack was down to 50 pounds, Krystal's pack was down to 25 pounds, and we were shipping two boxes of things back home (including my original stove).  My pack did not go down as much because I took on most of the essentials that Krystal had been carrying in her pack.  We feel light as air now! 

Best of all, we had hot showers and clean clothes .  We even got to go into Blairsville for dinner Friday night.  We ate at the Cookie Jar Restaurant (all you can eat, thank goodness).  I started out with a salad follwed by macaroni and cheese, mashed potatoes, and baked beans.  Then I had a plate of nachos followed by fried chicken, cole slaw, and hush puppies.  Dessert was next - ice cream; however, the vegetable soup had smelled so good that I had to go back and get a bowl of that, too.   We decided to come back to Blairsville on Saturday night for pizza.  We will get back on the Trail  Sunday morning, accompanied by Tripod, Fubar, and three other thru hikers.  We call ourselves the "Magnificent Seven",