Appalachian Trail Experience 2006: Just Gene

My AT adventure began on 4/4/06 at Springer Mtn was completed on 8/6/06 at Mt Katahdin. I averaged 18mi/day with an average pack weight of 40lbs. I resupplied every 2 weeks via mail drops and spent lots more money on food along the trail. I took a total of 8 days off spending 6 of them with my wife. I'm looking forward to doing it again...a bit more slowly the next time...:)

Sunday, April 09, 2006

April 8, 2006: Low Gap shelter to Helen, Ga GA75...9.4 mi





Day 4 started out well with all of us recovering from the severe T-storms which rocked us from our sleep about 0200. And what a show it was for about 1 hr and rained till about 0800. Nobody hurt but all a little wetter, Im first up and out by 0830 looking for Joe who must have skipped this stop for a less congested campground... I decided, after speaking with our Florida friends and Glicken that a stop in Helen would be a nice change of pace. Helen has a strong German influence and is an interesting and fun detour...I didnt need too much convincing and with $25/person room rates for hikers in the downtown area how can you go wrong... The pictures seem a little mixed up again but here goes... (1) the courtyard of our hotel was blooming with all kinds of spring colors, very nice... (2) I caught up with Joe about midday, he is getting water here in the middle of a still dormant hardwood forest, plenty of buds on those branches though, looks like well miss the leaves here by a few weeks... (3) My first pic of the morning in a still misty forest...I wonder who planted the grass along the trail?? (4) Thats (from L-R) Glicken, Joe, and Me having some very nice German brew at a cafe along the river that runs through town... We did a little bar hopping and and AYCE (all you can eat) shrimp fest followed by listening to a local band at a nightclub/restauraunt across the street from our hotel... We were joined later by Dan and Bob, two guys in their 40s and 50s from S Carolina who are making their way N for 30 days... A fun night had by all...

April 7, 2006: Walayasi Inn to Low Gap Shelter



Well, I purged about 6 lbs of stuff from my pack and sent it home, a common occurance here at the Inn. As a matter of fact, when I checked in to the Walayasi, the UPS truck was just backing in and loading about 50 parcels from that days thru hikers. LOL.... Well the best laid plans dont always work out do they...LOL... Anyways, I was feeling pretty good with my lighter pack when I started, but that was about to change... The day started out beautifully with Sunny and 50's but soon crept upt to the mid 80's with continued clear skies. The breeze we enjoyed in the morning vanished in the afternoon. And to top that off, I missed a couple of water stops and ran out of water for my last 5 miles... Not good... I was exhausted when I reached water and decided to call it a day after only 10.6 miles...it was only 1400. (1) This day brought us throught the rugged Raven Cliffs Wilderness Area with lots off sustained ups and downs, real hard on the feet and will really take the wind out of your sails... (2) I dont know where Glicken gets all his energy but he made sure we didnt run out of firewood tonight...LOL... This shelter was full with 8 campers; 3 weekend campers from Mexico Beach Florida - Brian, Ryan, and Steve were a riot...I really enjoyed their company while I was rehydrating myself...And yup the girls just squeeze in between the guys...lol... Bit close quarters for me so I pitched my tent...LOL

April 6, 2006: From Justice Creek to Walasayi inn



Day 2,

Got up bright and early...and a bit sore... My internal alarm is waking me up at about 0530. Not good when the sun doesnt even rise till 0645... Anyway... the day was simply beautiful...chilly in the morning with a nice breeze, but easily into the 70's with plenty of sun throughtout the day. I was packed by 0700 and on the trail shortly thereafter. After a first day of 13.6 miles in 7 hours, today was to be 16.9 miles. A good pace of about 2mph and got into the Walasayi Inn, US 19 & 129 @ Neals Gap Georgia at about 1730. The day had plenty of elevation gains and losses which humbled me some. I had miscalculated the tough Georgia hills. I will have to rethink my 250 miles every 2 weeks at least down here... (1) Thats me crossing Woody Gap, about 6 miles into my second day hiking, (2) I met Joe airing out his tired feet and started walking with him today, thats a pic of him on one of the many trail views. (3) We finally made it to Walasayi Inn just before they closed. Joe and I stayed in their hostel (bunkhouse) with a motley crew of about 10 hikers. This is the place where about 50% of all prospective through hikers call it quits, and I met a few here today... We bought some frozen burritos, fruit, and other necessities before the store closed at 1800 and retired to the bunkhouse to rest our weary bones...

April 5, 2006: The Beginning...A wonderful start it was...





Well, pardon for the weeks absence from the computer... Not much internet stuff in NE Georgia... Its the 9th and Ill try to catch up... And by the way these images apparently loaded backwards.
(1)First image is of me having a bit of trouble sleeping the night before... I got up at 0500 and watched the sunrise at about 0700, we didnt get to the trail head until 0930... Kind of an agonizing morning for me... It was a beautiful day though in the hight 40's early then getting into the sixties with plenty of sun during the day, great hiking weather... I havent seen the people I started out with since we were dropped off. They were planning to tackle about 5-8 miles a day while my plans were more like 10-15. I have managed to stay healthy so far without any blisters or any other injuries. Dont get me wrong though my feet hurt...ALOT. But the aches and pains associated with hiking, the sore muscles in the neck, shoulders, legs, etc. are deminishing. But... on this day I start at the (2)Trailhead Springer Mountain....thats me with my finger on my ultimate destination...MT Katahdin in Maine. While on Springer Mt, I couldnt help but look North (3) at a few of the "hills" I will have to traverse on my way to Katahdin. (4) The Dogwoods are in bloom down here, its early spring and there are plenty of buds on the trees but the leaves are only out in the lower elevations. (5) Thats me at the end of my first day setting up camp by a nice brook... I had been hiking alone all day and was quite ready to turn in for the night. Funny I picked a camp spot in the middle of an ARMY Ranger training site. At about 2145, by the moonlight about 60 ARMY Rangers came through on night ops...Needless to say I was a bit startled at first. Thought someone, (somebear lol) was after my food which I had hung a ways from my tent. But the wispers and stomping from the boots were a dead givaway. And no I didnt get out of my tent to chat with them either...lol... Catch you all later...