March 28 - 30 in Georgia

March 28, 2005 | Day 1 | Miles: 0.2 | Total Miles 0.2
Start: Amicolola State Park via approach trail. End: Springer Mt. Shelter

Danielle:
40 degrees. Rainy. Windy. Cold.
Well, we finally got to the trail. Cool. Of course the weather gods couldn't have made an exception to the "Danielle & Ryan hiking law of bad weather" and given us sunny skies. Instead it's rainy, foggy and cold. Oh well. We're out here on the white blazes and that's what counts! Mom and Dad saw us off at the arch at 9:25am, and we wandered our way up the trail. Then they couldn't take off without seeing us again so met up with us when the trail intersects the road at 1m. One of the guys we were with said we had a great support team! so thanks Mom & Dad! The approach trail wasn't as bad as some had said. It seemed moderate to us, and we arrived at the shelter at 1:45pm. Not too shabby! My pack weight was 30lbs.; Ryan's was 40. We could have continued on but decided not to push it. We'll probably being feeling the weight tomorow. Plus, the trail will still be here tommorrow and we have a ways to go. No sense hurting ourselves now... Anyway, happy to be here! Woo hoo! Maine here we come :-) "Anywhere is in walking distance, if you have the time."--Stephen Wright.

Ryan:
rain, wind, mist, low 40's
what a crappy day...weatherwise. not a nice day to be outside. but, we had a great hike up the approach trail. not as hard as everyone said and we made great time. now we're just hoping the weather clears. it's great to finally be on the trail...not just talking about it. today's song: we've only just begun, the carpenters.

March 29, 2005 | Day 2 | Miles: 13.4 | Total Miles 13.6
End: Justis Creek, Tent

Danielle:
Sunny and warm. Yeah!
Well, day 2 and we've already deviated from the schedule. I guess that was what it was for... We had planned to go to Hawk Mt. shelter and only do 7.4m but we got there by 12:30, so after a leisurely lunch with our "group" (can you be a group after only spending 1 night together?) of 4 other guys (Ghost, an older man from Gorham, NH who has already doen the trail and is just doing GA; Chris, a tall, skinny redhead who's lots of fun; Dennis "Mr Fusion" (we named him Monday nght after he was talking about Back to the Future. Plus he has a great white and black rain suit that is very Back to the future); Aaron, a friend of Dennis' who is out with him for a few days), we decided sure, we can go another 6m. The first 7.4 were nice and mellow. We went thru a beautiful stretch of rhodedendrum and big helmock trees. Gorgeous! But the next 6m were a bit tougher. A bit more ups and downs. We did see our first spring flowers--cool! Little violets and pretty white ones too that might have been rue anenome. Plus a bunch of turkey vultures floating on the air currents as we climbed what Ryan dubbed "Suckmyass" Mt. Finally ended in a great spot by a flowing stream, again with our "group." There are a ton of other tents around. Lots of people out attempting the trail. I'm tired, and think we'll sleep well tonight. But a good tired. All in all, a good day.

Ryan:
sunny, low 60's - beau-t-full
tough decision today-stay at hawk mountain shelter or push on. we awoke to a chilly but sunny morning, and had a nice mellow 7.5 to the shelter in under 4 hours. it's tough to call it a day at noon. so we pushed on. not sure if it was the best decision, but we'll find out. our morning was awesome. beautiful forest with huge rhodedendruns...no blooms yet, but we're not waiting around for them. lunch at hawk mt shelter with what has become our crew. chris, the tall lanky dude from ca and va. ghost, from nh, who has section hiked the entire trail, great stories. he's just out for a couple weeks. dennis, who we've dubbed mr. fusion, who has been slow but steady, great attitude. and, his friend aaron who will leave us at neels gap. great people, and it's been fun. the last 6 miles today were the hardest yet. highlighted by suck-my-ass (sassafras) mt. i'm definitely not in hiking shape yet, and my shoulders are really sore. hopefully, they'll get used to the pack. danielle, as always, has been in high spirits. i think she's feeling better then i am, but doesn't want to tell me. either way, we're having fun and getting into the routine. oh yeah, neal promised me rain on the first day and a gear calamity on the second. well, the fuel bottle leaked on the outside of my pack. i think the o-ring on the pump needs to be replaced. i blame neal.

March 30, 2005 | Day 3 | Miles: 13.7 | Total Miles 27.3
End: Slaughter Creek Campsite, Tent

Danielle:
Sunny and warm again. Get out the sunscreen!
As I write, we sit on the edge of the trail watching the sunset right from our tent. Gorgeous! And what a day. It started out with Ghost waking us up with "Get up you lazy, blue-blazing hikin' trash, or we won't even get in 5m today." So up we got, and out we went. Ryan and I were the last ones out, but we caught up a few hours later. Then to make the day wonderful, at Woody Gap there was trail magic! wow! Only three days out and trail magic already. Sharon and Frank had a spread out and lots of hikers gloriously enjoying the bounty. Diet coke and OJ, brownies and bananas. Yum! That fueled us up for sure. Then we kept on truckin' up and over and down and up. The sun was bright and with no leaves on the trees there were some great views of the hills and the green valleys. We decided to skip the shelter and go a half mile farther to this great campsite. I'm thoroughly enjoying lounging in the campchair/thermarest converter. A luxury item, definitely, but worth it so far! And the best thing is that tomorrow, we only have 3.5m into Neels Gap, where we plan to relax, shower, make phone calls and get a few god meals. Ahhhh. Sounds good. But no complaints for today. Life is good :-)

Ryan:
sunny, warm, almost hot
a kick ass day. another long day, and i'm looking forward to just 3.5 miles tomorrow. we've been making good miles, and overall the body feels great. shoulders feel better today. popped a good size blister on my little left toe. that should be good for tomorrow in walasi-yi outdoor center..to get clean, eat and relax. all you really need to know about today is trail magic rocks. fred and sharon from athens brought a ton of food to woody gap. i ate a ham sandwich. i don't even really like ham. we ate a ton, and it was sweet. hiked most of the day with chris, and we're sharing a sweet tentsite with him tonite. all is good. oh yeah, danielle kicked ass again today.