Appalachian Trail in Georgia

Day 5 on Appalachian Trail. I woke early and enjoyed some conversation with Grandpa Hugh and two other guys that I had met. After breakfast Dad whose trail name may be turtle from now on, Jenn, Megan, and Loretta arrived and we left late morning. We hike a out eight miles over Levelland Mtn, Cowrock Mtn, and Wildcat Mtn. Everyone seems to think Wildcat has been the toughest climb yet except me. I still have nightmares about sasafras mtn.
Dad or Turtle has his trail legs now and is doing an. amazing job. Grandpa Hugh and his son Jeremiah are nearby and we probably continue to hike with them some the next couple of days.
I did hear my first Eastern Towhee of the year and heard several grouse and pileated woodpeckers.
This has been the first evening that it has been warm enough to sit around a campfire and talk. The views were amazing all day today. Tomorrow we will be going about ten miles to Blue Mtn Shelter.

Appalachian Trail, Neels Gap, Blood Mountain

Mountain Crossings Outfitters comes into view as you approach Neels Gap from Blood Mountain. This is a popular place not only because it is most peoples first resupply location, but it is also the first place you can send items home. Often when you talk to people who have hiked the AT and you ask them what they learned from the trail they talk about wants vs needs. When you are having to carry everything with you on your back up a mountain then you have some time to think about if you really need it. I think this experience will carry over to life after the hike for most hikers.
They treated us fantastic at the hostile and Pirate, whom has hiked the AT 21 times, will make sure you are well fed and entertained.

Updated - I was having trouble posting via my cell at this point and some of the blogs in this area are out of order.

Appalachian Trail - First experience in a shelter

App Trail Day 7 Last night was my first night staying in a shelter. One thing you have to realize is many of these shelters are rodent infested. About thirty mins after laying down I started hearing them running around. I made a mistake of laying at the end of the shelter next to the wall. Soon after one jumped on my arm and ran over to my shoulder and then moved on. Later I was laying on my stomach resting my head on my arm and one ran under my neck. Lefty was on the other end and he had one run across his face. They say if you leave all of your pockets open on your backpack they will just go in and out but not chew a hole through it. Fortunately someone left a can of pringles in the side pocket of there pack so the mice filled up on them and left us alone the rest of the night. I could hear them jumping to try and get out of the can, but after about a minute they made it out.

Appalchian Trail - Still figuring things out

App Trail general info. I know several of you are starting your hike soon so I wanted to share some things that have worked for me.
For breakfast honey buns have worked great. I like to hike a couple of miles to get warmed up and then have a honey bun with Gatorade or hot choc. For lunch I have cheese and crackers, fig newtons, trail mix, etc. I am going to start packing bagel and peanut butter for lunches. I am a firm believer in some kind of recovery food within thirty mins of the end of your hike. Those of you that know me know I swear by choc milk. I often make some kind of choc cereal with powdered milk. I use the milk left over for hot choc. I usually have some form of pasta later as well. I pour the water from the pasta into bottle and add Gatorade. I often snack on trail mix or cheese and crackers later at night.
Instead of relying on bladders I use a small Gatorade bottle in pocket and large one with pack. Much easier to get to, especially when everything keeps freezing.

Appalachian Trail at Unicoi Gap

App Trail Day 7 We had a long day today doing 12.6 miles including some crazy climbs. We started the day descending from Blue Mountain at 4025' down to Unicoi Gap at 2949'. Unicoi is a Cherokee word meaning white mans way. The first road crossing the Blue Ridge Mtns was built here in the 1840's. We then climbed Rocky Mtn to an elevation of 4017'. Then we made our way back down to Indian Grave Gap to an
elev of 3113. Our next challenge was climbing up Tray Mtn to an elevation of 4430, the second highest point in Ga on the A.T. After all this climbing we still had another 5 miles to go before reaching our destination. The sun was hot and I do have a bit of a sunburn but otherwise I feel great. I honestly was not looking forward to today but it turned out to be my best feeling day on the trail. My energy level was high and the miles flewby. Today is Jeremiahs last day as he has to get back to work. We will all miss having him around.

At Neels Gap on the Appalachian Trail in Georgia

Hello everyone I only have a minute on the computer but I wanted to say thanks for everyone's comments. I wish I could reply to each of them directly but I am sharing this computer with 26 other people so I need to keep it short. All is well, weather is great, people are great, views are great. Good luck to everyone.

UPDATED - We were part of an early group getting into Neels Gap and while they were very prepared with merchandise, their grocery items were pretty slim, and expensive.  After walking in the snow and ice for a few days, everyone that did not have trekking poles purchased them at Neels Gap.   I met Pirate, a legend on the trail, for the first time here and would see him another five or six times in towns further north.  I also meet Jonathan and Maggie, two people I would hike with later on in my journey. 

Appalachian Trail in Georgia

App Trail- Day 3. I made it a little over nine miles today and felt great all day. I got into a routine of walking for an hour and resting for five minutes and making sure I was snacking and drinking all day. I learned years ago doing triathlons that it wasn't just swimming, biking, and running, but in fact managing your eating and drinking while competing were equally important. I am camping with mosey and her husband Dulcemer Dave. They are a nice couple and I have enjoyed my time with them. I am also staying with three girls and the dad of one of them. He is the 63 year old guy that I am going to refer to as dad from now on. I have meet him on the trail alot the last couple of days. One of the girls has a blog http://www.greententnews.blogspot.com/ There names are Jenn, Loretta, and Megan. And I guess I shouldn't leave out their dog Georgia. Tomorrow I will cross my first mountain over 4000 feet, Blood Mountain. I may stay there
for sunset pics or I may head on into town. I will decide tomorrow.

Appalachian Trail in Georgia

Beautiful day today. It's 11 and I have made it about 5 miles so far. I stopped at this rock outcropping for a quick bit and then I head to big cedar mtn, my largest climb of the day. No wildlife today except for woodpeckers. I hear a grouse just down from me but I have not seen it yet.  I wish the days were longer. 

Appalachian Trail in Georgia

Designed for. It is ok though, I will be in town in a few days and I will send somethings home. I ran into a guy today 63 years old with a 42 lb bag. He and I talked for a while because he was in the same situation I am in.... to heavy a bag. He wants to get his down to about 30lbs in next town. I just want to below the bags design wt-40lbs. I told him that I hope I am still able to do this at 63 and he replied with "I hope you are smarter than this at 63". I also ran into itrod again (he had ran out of water also. I have meet another hiker, chopper, and both yesterday and today he was just sitting in the middle of the trail. I guess he hikes till he worn out and instead of looking for a rock or log, he just flops right on the trail.
I think I may have picked up my trail name today also....Mississippi. Well it is about my bedtime. Hope all of you are doing well.
What Iearned today..that a 2 legged tripod not good. it broke today. the good news is it is 1/3 lighter.

Hiking on a beautiful day in Georgia

I managed to get in 8.7 miles today which I think is pretty good considering I crossed three mountains (hawk mtn, sassafrass mtn, and Justis mtn). I have also started to despise gaps... all you do is hike down a mountain hit a gap, and then head right back up. And the signage..... anytime you see a sign that says you are 0.9 miles away from a gap you know you are in trouble because the terrain is about to get rough. Instead of putting it a mile back and saying 1.9 miles. Sometimes when you get there there isn't even anything there... they just want you to know it won't be bad for long.
I knocked out the first five miles in no time but then I ran out of gas. I knew better than to try and skip lunch but I did it anyway. I also didn't carry enough water with me today.
My legs feel great as long as I eat, but my shoulders are in pain. I know how to fit my bag, but the hip straps are sliding down and I cant keep them up so to much of the weight is being supported by the shoulders. It is more than this bag was designed for.

Long Creek Falls - Appalachian Trail, Georgia

This was the view I had last night from long creek falls on the Appalachian Trail. I got an early start and I am taking a short break at hawk mountain shelter. Yesterday I was walking through rhododendron and hemlocks all afternoon. Today I have been in hardwoods the entire time. Well I have several mountains ahead of me today so be back later
I did learn something today... frozen toothpaste and a frooze toothbrush does an awesome job. try it