Second Week on the AT

Week two didn't start out the way that I had hoped. A blister that had formed early on my right pinky toe was turning into a dagger being stabbed into my flesh every step I took. 

After leaving Hiawassee, I hiked just over 13 miles to  Deep Gap shelter. The next morning, my toe caused me to get off the trail and head to see a doctor. The flesh on my toe was red and swollen to the point that it was starting to cover my toenail and I was concerned it was infected.   I walked the 2.4 miles to Dick's Creek Gap and got a ride back into Hiawassee to get checked out. 

As it turned out, there was no infection; just a lot of swelling from being a big wuss with delicate feet. I got some antibiotics in case my toe does become infected later and a tetanus shot just for good measure. My first official zero day was spent icing my knees and my toe. 

Getting out of Hiawassee was good, but the toe still was not healing up adequately.  On March 8th , I made it to the Georgia/North Carolina state line and camped at Bly Gap with about 20 other hikers.  The next morning I got up and made the 12 mile hike to Beech Gap where it was less crowded. 

By the 11th, my feet had almost driven me over the edge, so I caught a shuttle into Franklin, NC to see if the foot experts at Outdoor 76 could help. They could.  Jonathan spent about an hour with me, figuring out what the hell was wrong.   Once he did his magic, he chose a pair of North Face Ultra Fastpack II boots for me, and my pain was instantly gone. To celebrate, I went to the back of the store where they have a bar with 18 different craft brews on tap and I had a beer. 

On the 12th, the shuttle dropped me back off at the trailhead and I hiked to Siler Bald Shelter. Avoid this one if you can. It's a 0.5 mile hike down a steep trail to the shelter. That means the same hike in the morning, but uphill. 

My home for the 13th was the tent area just above Cold Spring shelter. It's a nice area that I would recommend for anyone with a tent or hammock. There are plenty of flat spots for all size tents. 

My plan for the 14th is a shelter just shy of the Nantahala Outdoor Center, which I will check out on the 15th.

First Week on the AT My lovely wife drove me to Gainesville, GA on Friday, 26 February. After a night with almost no sleep, she drove me to Amicalola Falls State Park where I could register with the Appalachian Trail Conservancy, then get my fat ass through the archway and on my way up to Springer. When signing in, I ended up being number 174 of the year to start an AT thru hike from Amicalola Falls. Neisha wanted to get a picture of me before I started my hike, so we waited for a couple of kids to get their picture taken before it was my turn. As it turned out, one of the kids was /u/jacob420, and he and I had been talking online for a couple weeks before we started, as well as subscribing to each others' YouTube channels. His channel name is Jacob Downing. Check out his videos. The approach trail which I tackled Saturday is 8.8 miles, and not part of the 2189.1 miles of the 2016 AT. Official mileage starts at the summit of Springer Mountain. Once I got to the summit, I signed the log and continued another 0.2 miles to the Springer Shelter. There were a bunch of AT hikers and a few locals at the campground. I set up my tent in a spot next to an 18 year old hiker that ended up with the trail name Nutella. The next morning, a bunch of us packed up and headed out within 30 minutes of each other. I hiked with Nutella to Hawk Mountain Shelter 7.9 miles away. There were a bunch of new faces, human and canine that we encountered, and Lucy the Schnauzer was the one I liked meeting the most. 29 February was a pretty rough day. I got up expecting to only hike about 8.5 miles, so my breakfast consisted of a bag of peanuts. When I reached my destination, another hiker called AK had caught up to me and convinced me to do another 6.5 miles to Neel Gap. In order to get there, I had to climb over Blood Mountain, which was about 6,000 feet higher in elevation than Everest, or so it seemed. By the time we were just short of the summit, I was walking for about 30 seconds, and resting for about 2 minutes. This was as close to bonking as I have ever been. AK waited for me at the top, and I ate a Clif bar, some Oreos, and as much peanut butter as I could fit on my right index finger. After about 15 minutes, I was good to go, so we headed down the back side of Blood with Neel Gap a couple miles away. When it was all said and done, we had completed 15.8 miles over the biggest mountain so far along the AT. We split a cabin 3 ways with another YouTube friend, Eric Lutz. It beat the hell out of sharing a hostel with 30 other stinky, snoring hikers. If you ever have a chance, stay at the Blood Mountain Cabins. I promise that you won't be disappointed. March 2nd was a pretty uneventful day. We didn't start hiking until after 10, and we only did 11.5 miles to Low Gap Shelter. By the time I arrived, it was getting late and cold. I set up my tent and went to bed early. On the 3rd, I was planning to get in about 15 miles to make it to a shelter, then another 11 the next day to get to the Top of Georgia Hostel, where I would stay overnight and pick up a package of food that Neisha sent out to me. Plans changed. When I got to a shelter 7.5 miles into my trip, I stopped to see who was there. Within 10 minutes, it started snowing. Then, it kept snowing. For 6 hours. Instead of pushing on, I set up my tent and stayed for the night. I love my tent, but I hate the condensation that was collecting inside it and dropping into my ears throughout the night. Today is the 4th. When I woke up, I had the start of a sore throat, so I decided to just walk the 2.4 miles to Unicoi Gap and get a shuttle into Hiawassee, GA. After 6.5 days on the trail as a 45 year old dude, it's a good time to take a break, have some hot food, and heal up for some good miles this next week.