AT ‘17 #3—Days Two Through Five
5/6/2021—I feel like a lot of thru hikers and long-distance section hikers will agree on this; that first week on the trail is a time of pure magic. Nothing feels real. Every night at camp feels like summer camp, all excitement and giggles and new friends. Every view offers a glimpse of what’s next. Pure magic that’s good for the heart.
Don’t get me wrong, it’s hard a hell too. Most of us aren’t used to hiking day after day without plenty of time off to rest. You spend to first few weeks physically suffering a little bit to earn your trail legs, but the wonder and joy far outweighs the pain.
Days Two Through Five
THE FIRST FEW DAYS
3/24-3/27
I don’t intend to document every day, but I have been having so much fun and I really want to share.
We could not be having more perfect weather. I write this as I wait in my tent for the rain to start tonight. It’s supposed start raining a bit overnight and really pick up around 7 or 9am. We are perfectly prepared to hike in the rain (and it’s supposed to be in the 60’s, so at least it’s not a COLD-cold rain), but I know I’ll be a little discouraged considering how perfect the weather has been. Sunny and warm, but not too warm.
DAY TWO
We were so tired we slept in until 8:30. That’s almost 11 hours of sleep. But, hey, listen to you body, right? It was a little chilly so I bundled up and took the time to make a hot breakfast at the picnic table with the trail friends from the day before. We didn’t actually get going until a little after 10:30, but we weren’t worried. The ridge runner at Springer said our hike to Hawk Mountain Campsite would be easy. It was only a little over seven miles away too.
It was an easy day after all. The path glittered with mica as we passed through tunnels of rhododendron and crossed rocky streams.
The terrain was gentle. The trail was wide and soft. And it was warm and sunny all day. We crossed paths with many of our friends from the day before and met new friends along the way. I have eased into introducing myself by my trail name, Little Bug. They call me LB for short.
The highlight of the day was stopping at Long Creek Falls (Pictured in the slideshow above). Many others had stopped for lunch and to cool their feet in the water. Day hikers took selfies and had picnics. It was a lovely sight.
Hawk Mountain Campsite is 0.7 miles south of the Hawk Mountain Shelter. We heard the campsite was lovely and decided to stay there, while many of our friends continued towards the shelter. The campsite winded around the side of the mountain and down into the valley where a spring emerged out from under a large slab of limestone. The campsite also had three bear boxes so we didn’t have to hang our food.
Side note: tried mixing dehydrated chickpeas in with my pasta and chicken. Not a good idea. Don’t do it. They tasted like cardboard. I’ll be tossing those when I get to a trash can.
THE RAIN
When we left for Springer on Thursday, the weather forecast predicted rain from Saturday morning until Tuesday. We wanted to avoid packing the tent in the rain for as long as we could. When the ridge runner stationed at Hawk Mountain came around, we asked him if he had an updated forecast. According to his last update, the rain would begin at 7am.
Well.
So we resigned to waking up at 6am and trying to pack up before the rain. We tried to warn everyone we saw of the coming storm and many of them began to adjust their plans as well.
THE POOPENING PART 1
Our second day was quite easy but I did have one concern… did I have enough fiber in my trail diet? Yes, people, I’m talking about pooping in the woods. I know this is too much information, but I intend to be real and they don’t talk about woods poopin’ in all those cute Instagram posts.
It seemed like everyone else had taken turns going to the privy, so when I thought the need arose, I marched to the privy with my toilet paper, wet wipes (sweaty butts are high maintenance), and hand sanitizer.
The privy didn’t have a door. It’s in an elevated structure with three walls and a kind of “closed” off cubby where the shitter is. I check to make sure I don’t see a pair of feet by the “toilet” and head on in. Laminated signs decorate the privy. The signs warn against touching anything or else you WILL get the norovirus (Norovirus outbreaks are common in the early thru-hiking season when there’s a lot of crowding at campsites) and die from pooping yourself too much… well, they scared me. So I carefully open the lid by using a piece of toilet paper as a barrier. I am so frightened that I don’t even want my thighs to touch the seat. I go about business as usual, but nothing happens.
Can I not squat and poop? Am I colon shy? Am I constipated? It’s been two days since I last pooped, should I be worried?
I am worried. Brian tells me to just poop but he doesn’t understand that it’s not that easy!
I try two more times that night with no success. I decide to read to take my mind off of it and fall asleep. Maybe I’d have better luck in the morning. Maybe I just can’t poop in the woods. Maybe I’ll have to wait three more days until Neel Gap to use a real bathroom. Maybe I’ll die.
DAY THREE
Fearing the rain would start at 7am, Brian and I woke up at six to pack up and head out. Others were up and packing as well.
I figured I’d head to the privy again to see if the time was right. To my dismay, it was not. I would spend all day worrying about my lack of bowel movements. Poor Brian. He had to deal with me.
As we headed out, already prepped for rain with all of our rain gear on, we warned others of the forecast. But, by 8am there was no rain yet.
We spent the morning hiking in fog.
As the hours passed, there was still no rain and we began our climb up Sassafras Mountain, one of the first climbs so far that felt truly steep. We immediately began to sweat buckets in our rain gear. A friend of ours passed us as we began to shed our sweaty rain gear.
Apparently it wasn’t supposed to rain until 7pm. Whoops. Sorry to everyone that got up early because we told you it would rain at 7am!
After that, we had a lovely day of weaving through groves of mountain laurel and spotting wildflowers like bloodroot, yellow violets, and a purple flower I’ve never seen before.
We got to Gooch Gap Shelter and the ridge runner there let us know we’d have a sunny afternoon and rain only overnight. We were overjoyed.
As we wandered off to find the a good spot for the tent, it struck me. It was time.
THE POOPENING PART 2
There’s not much more else to say. Guess I did have enough fiber in my diet.
Gooch Gap Shelter turned out to be a popular destination for the night and soon the shelter was full of backpacks and a tent city had been erected. We all gathered around the picnic table to make dinner and just hang out. Laughter was a consistent sound at the shelter that afternoon. In this early stage, thru hiking feels like a party.
Gooch Gap Shelter adorned with backpacking gear
A friend, who is solo hiking, shared this with us: “My family was worried about me hiking alone and being lonely. I should sent them a picture of all of you.”
DAY FOUR
I woke up to the sound of rain at night, but quickly fell back asleep when I realized we were staying dry in our tent. By the next morning, the rain had stopped. The tent was still wet and muddy, but were were just happy to be dry ourselves.
We experienced our first and second “trail magic” on our fourth day. Trail magic is simply unexpected kindness such as a warm meal, free gear, or even just a free ride to town.
Our trail magic on Day Four came in the form of two free meals. We had sausage muffins and banana bread for breakfast courtesy of a Christian Academy and burgers and hot dogs for lunch courtesy of a group of former thru hikers! Both groups were so happy to help us and bring a little warmth to our day. We have a lot of supporters out there.
We camped at Lance Creek and made our first fire of the thru hike. The wood and soil was still very wet, but after a couple attempts, we got a warm fire burning.
Late that evening, two hikers set up camp next to us. They, on only their third day, had hiked 21 miles. Brian and I had been averaging 7 to 8 a day. We planned to take it slow to ease into hiking for long periods without time off to rest, but damn, that fun fact made me feel out of shape. I began to wonder if we were moving too slow to get to Katahdin in September; should we pick up the pace? I decided not to worry about Maine just yet…
The evening was quiet; we read by the fire and enjoyed a clear view of the stars.
DAY FIVE
On our fifth day, we set out for Blood Mountain, the highest peak on the AT in Georgia. The climb was actually fairly gradual.
Once again, the views from the top were obscured by fog, but it was beautiful none the less. The peak reminded me of Spruce Knob in WV and Old Rag in VA. If the rain and fog had not made the slabs of rocks that covered the mountain so slippery, I know I would have had a blast climbing all over the mountain.
Instead, I spent the entire descent imagining my thru hike coming to an early end with every slip-turned-nearly tumble. I am glad to report that I did not fall and made it down safely.
Or so I thought… as the descent continued down into Neel Gap, my right knee began to burn with each step. I silently hoped that the pain would go away quickly but would soon learn that it would linger longer than I hoped.
A NIGHT OF REST
At the base of Blood Mountain is Neel Gap and the first haven and “rest stop” for thru hikers. As one comes off the trail by the roadside, you see a beautiful stone building filled with food, gear, and warm beds.
Mountain Crossings is a magical gathering place for hikers. The shop is filled with goodies for hikers and “normal” food, like bananas. They also have a bunk house with showers for hikers. It felt like home.
We stopped at Mountain Crossings for lunch and to chat with other hikers. That evening, we had the opportunity to stay in a cabin just down the road with some trail friends. Janey, who we met on day one, had rented a cabin and offered to split it with us. It was so refreshing to sleep in a bed, have clean laundry, and take a shower.
Blood Mountain Cabins are very affordable, cute, and clean. These folks really know how to take care of hikers. We loved our stay there.
And…. they have pizza.
View from the picnic area at Mountain Crossings
5/6/2021 Reflections—
Reaching Mountain Crossings was such an accomplishment back then. If you scroll back up to the gallery with the pictures of Mountain Crossings, you’ll also see a tree with boots hanging off all of the branches; those boots all belong to folks who decided to end their thru hike attempts after reaching Mountain Crossings. Those first 31 miles of the trail can be tougher than you might think. But we made it and we were loving it.
I laughed hard when I read the bit where I said we were prepared for the rain—let me assure you; we were not. In truth, getting wet is pretty unavoidable when backpacking like this, but there’s varying degrees of “soaked” and, well… You’ll see in the next post.
Also, hahahaha, I was very fixated on pooping in the woods; I’m an expert now.
The flower couldn’t identify was a kind of trillium called Toadshade or sessile-flowered wake-robin. Trillium has become one of my favorite kinds of flowers.