10:00 A.M. Monday February 27, 2017.

Standing atop Springer Mountain ready to start my trek north. It is overcast the distant mountains shrouded in mist. The temperature is 48 F. perfect hiking weather.

The first five miles is basically  down hill, I am on my way. A few miles into my trek I’m walking through a sea of rhododendron, they are close on both sides, the trail no more than three feet wide.

I eventually come to a small stream that I have to cross. Once across I decide to wait there for my friend Steve. While I’m standing there I notice a fallen tree with a fork and two large limbs, one of which is about three feet off the ground. I decide that this limb would be the perfect place to sit and give my legs a rest while I wait. So I sit, and as I sit the whole tree rolls and I go ass over tea kettle. There I am, on my back, with a 35 lb. pack on my back, uninjured except for my pride. There is no way that I’m getting up but at least I didn’t go in the stream. There happened to be another thru-hike there. A woman from South Africa, trail name Sleeping Beauty. She is laughing and I’m laughing. She puts out her hand to give me help getting up. I tell her no, there is no way that will work, just let me unbundled my pack. She says wait, I have to get a picture of this. After taking a picture, she switches to video and asks me to explain what happened. So there is not only a photo of this but also a video out there somewhere. She said that she was going to post it on her instagram.  Through the whole thing we were both laughing so hard that we had tears running down our faces. I eventually removed my pack and righted myself.

We hiked on and the rain came mid afternoon. We hiked in the rain for the last three hours of the day. We pitched our tents at Hawk Mt. And climbed into our sleeping bags for the night, exhausted but happy.

End of day one.

7.4 miles down     2182.4 to go

Day two

Tuesday February 28, 2017

Day two can only be described as brutal. Up and over Sassafras Mt. only to be followed immediately by Justus Mt. We hiked down the backside of Justus Mt. to Justus Creek to camp for the night. We found a beautiful spot right beside the creek. But just as we arrived the rains returned. I pitched my tent in the rain and quickly threw my pack inside. The night was spent with the sound of the creek, the rumble of Thunder, and torrential rain on my tent. Although exhaustion prevented me from really enjoying it. 

14.4 miles down     2175.4 miles to go

No rained, no pain, no Maine

Day three

Wednesday March 1, 2017

We awoke this morning to tornado warnings, the forecast of damaging winds, large hale, and a 90% chance of rain. We decided to err on the side of caution and hiked the 3.7 miles to USFS 42 at Gooch Gap and called for a shuttle to take us to Dalagona. This turned out to be a wise decision as we are safely ensconced in a Holiday Inn in Dahlonega. Outside it is raining sideways and the wind is howling. Not a night I want to spend in a tent, and I ate real food tonight. Not many miles today but still not a zero day. Will be back at Gooch Gap tomorrow morning.

17.1 miles down      2172.7 miles to go