The rookie that I am with my Garmin Watch, I forgot to “start” after I selected hiking as the activity. We did hike 8.4 miles. We started at the Amicalola Lodge, hiked to the official start point (or ending point if you started in Maine), and then hiked to the Hawk Mountain campsite. At the top of Springer Mountain is a boulder with a plaque and a drawer that holds a “sign-in book.” We started later than most people and then went slower than we thought. That meant we didn’t get to camp till about 6pm, just before dark. Julia skipped her hot meal, but I did not. I had freeze dried chicken pesto pasta (reconstituted). Not bad when you are very hungry. We met a hiker from Pennsylvania (hiker name: Hattrick) at about our second mile and he ended up hiking the rest of the day with us. A super nice guy that will be in Julia’s video when she posts. The trail varied from rocky to muddy. It rained enough to cover our packs, but eventually stopped. We haven’t had cell service, and there’s a reason I have it Friday night (I’ll post why in day two). During the day, we saw Long Creek Falls. They were worth the walk slightly off the trail. At our lunch stop we met a few more hikers. During conversation, I learned both Hattrick and Julia’s cousin are long term cancer survivors. The topic came up because another hiker at the lunch spot was also a two year cancer survivor and was hiking the AT with a colostomy bag. I was in awe of her determination. If you’re interested in Julia’s YouTube link, search: Juliasigghikes once you are in YouTube. I’m sure I’m already forgetting things…
