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The following has been transcribed directly from the journal that I kept while hiking the Appalachian Trail (AT).

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Wednesday, July 26th, 2000

For a few weeks I have been talking with Todd about going out again. Well, here we go!

Todd is out of the Active Army and is living in Manassas, Virginia which is a short trip to the Appalachian Trail which lies along the Skyline Drive. Skyline Drive is a slow traveling road which continues for over 100 miles in the Shenandoah National Park. The drive just so happens to shadow the Appalachian Trail. That’s were we are going.

I am driving up to Manassas from Fort Bragg, an approximate 5 hour drive-on Wednesday. I will stay at Todd’s house then we will head out to the trail on Thursday afternoon.

Our plan is to take 2 cars into the park ($10 each by the way) and park them approximately 30 miles apart. Since our 7 day walk in Georgia, we have discovered how far you can actually walk in a day without pushing too hard or relaxing too much. We figure 10 miles is a good planning distance.

So, with that in mind we will set out to go hiking on the Appalachian Trail…

MY THOUGHTS
I am, again, a bit apprehensive about walking. The apprehension, I think, stems from the fact that it is not easy! It is challenging and I think that the challenge is the draw! Walking the trail has been calling me since the minute we left the trail and it is a hard thing to disregard. The reality is that it is indescribable. The feelings that are generated from a few days of near silence and guaranteed freedom from the real world’s hectic ways is GREAT! When you get out there you are free. There are no timelines and no deadlines…just you and the Trail (and of course all that extra weight you have on your back).

It is, in a way, an escape from reality, however I like to think of it as a reality refresher. It opens your mind back up to the fact that there are other things in life that are far simpler and much more important than we deal with on a daily basis. I really feel like I have a refreshed sense of priorities and direction when I get off the trail. The hard part then is to incorporate your priorities back into your life. That’s the hard part. I feel that we all have a good conscience that attempts to guide us in the right direction. Sometimes, perhaps many times in my case, we refuse to listen to that conscience. I really believe that somewhere in our conscience most of us know the better thing to do, but some other, unknown factor allows us, almost encourages us to decide, yes it is a choice, to ignore it.

My next goal is to somehow take the whole family out for a few days and just take it as it comes. It is especially hard walking with young children. They do not have the stamina or attention span to quietly or even loudly walk for more than a few hours…that is our challenge: To find a way to make it interesting for the children. Maybe I will start by taking Emily and Benjamin out first? Give Stef a break for a weekend and see how it goes?

Today’s total: 300 miles LONG Drive to Manassas Virginia

The following has been transcribed directly from the journal that I kept while hiking the Appalachian Trail (AT).

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Friday, May 19th, 2000
12:10 pm. 86 degrees.
Drove family to Asheville, NC for vacation and looked for the Appalachian Trail due north of Asheville towards Faust, NC. We found construction, heavy construction, being done to pass a four lane highway right over the top of the trail (which currently crosses a lonely stretch of 2 lane highway within view of the Tennessee border). The trail was slightly hidden due to the construction but not hard to find. It was 100 yards before, and in view of, the Tennessee border. We parked the van after a 5 hour drive and everyone got their boots on for the hike.

This will be their first steps on the Appalachian trail! It is much greener here, in NC than it was in GA. It has been 18 days since the “Army 5” got off the trail and it has called me every day since I left. Perhaps the 18 days of Spring weather was enough to foster al this growth or maybe it is a totally different ecological system—probably a bit of both. The trail here is pretty easy going. No elevation changes to note for quite a while. Many birds chirping and lot’s of grasshoppers jumping out of our way as we step.

We pass a nice stream with a trail that leads up to a secluded area to camp. We continue on the trail, up a steep, but short series of climbs up to the top of a great hill with the most awesome view of a grassy meadow.

During our walk up the hill I was passed by a woman thru hiker-I pause and turn around to see—Yes! It is and older man thru hiker behind me. It is the father and daughter that we saw on the 25th of April on Frosty Mountain—Sonny and Rascal! What luck to see them again on this very spot of all places on the trail. I am very excited and talk to the man and remind him of who I am. They both move on and disappear into the woods…

Minutes later we summit the Mountain and the trees open to a beautiful flowing meadow full of flowering strawberry plants. Awesome view of the Smokey mountains. Perfect place to live. Took many pictures of all of us and of Emily and Benjamin alone. Then back up the hill, down the hill, past the stream and to the sound of the construction on the highway. This hike was more difficult mentally than the 7 days in Georgia. Even though we had no specific goal today, we inevitable felt rushed. We did a good job of trying to relax and let the kids guide us at their pace-which is important for creating a good environment in which they will want to hike more-but they do tire out…and maybe that drags on your mind to try to keep them happy and walking…was fun though! Good trip and happy to get them on the trail!

Today’s total: 4 miles (round trip)

Trip Total: 4 miles

The following has been transcribed directly from the journal that I kept while hiking the Appalachian Trail (AT).

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AT PACKING LIST ( for trip on 25 April 2000)

IN / ON MY PACK
-Backpack cover (came with the pack
-Army sleeping bag-bivy cover and lightweight insert
-Backpack (REI Wonderland copy www.royalbag.com)
-Sierra Designs Flashlight CD tent-great for 1 man, worked for 2
-Thermarest Classic-drew a chessboard on it with marker
-Blue ground cloth from Wal-Mart cut to size of tent for ground cloth
-Baseball Hat-need something to catch sweat
-Campmor Pack light Jacket (rain coat)
-sewing kit-could have been smaller
-3 pair Thorlo Coolmax light hiker socks-worked great
-2x Duofold Hydrid Coolmax Lightweight Men’s Short Sleeve Tee
-Hydrid Coolmax® Lightweight Long Sleeve Training Shirt
-fleece shirt
-REI convertible Sahara pants/shorts-the BEST investment
-Canvas shorts-used once
-3 pr. Boxer briefs
-towel
-Gloves-small cotton ones were nice
-Outdoor Research Rocky Mountain Low Gaiters-AWESOME
-PT Cap
-army polypro top / bottoms-used once
-33 oz fuel bottle-could have been much smaller
-MSR Multi fuel expedition stove-love it
-Stainless steel drinking cup
-MSR pot 1,600ml capacity-perfect for Mac-n-cheese
-hard plastic utensils-non-melting
-MSR Waterworks II filter
-Dromolite 2.5 L water bag-water filter attaches to it
-Dromolite hands free hydration system-like camel bak-awesome
-32oz Nalgene wide mouth bottle-water filter attaches to this also
-2.5 gal Water Sack & Pillow-only used once
-Petzel headlamp w/ halogen lamp-lightweight, must have
-AA spare batteries
-Castile Soap-need tiny amount(brush teeth, wash clothes, dishes etc)
-toothbrush
-mini compass/thermometer for zipper on pack
-2 disposable cameras-take lots of pictures
-waterproof bag (for food)
-Book to read
-pen
-small journal (5″x8″ army green notebook)
-id/credit card, cash, emergency contacts
-1st aid: aspirin, Imodium, Band-Aids, moleskin, chap stick
-550 cord
-maps
-Gerber multi tool
-Toilette paper/baby wipes
-Garden trowel

FOOD (In waterproof bag, middle of pack)
-Pemmican Beef Jerky
-Power Bars for snacks
-Multi vitamins and garlic pills-took everyday
-Stovetop Stuffing One Step
-Minute Rice
-Mac-n-cheese-get powdered kind
-Trail mix-homemade: Salted nuts, coconut, m&m’s and rice chex-heavy but good stuff
-Lipton’s meals-easy to cook, good meals
-bullion-to add to Lipton’s and use in Stovetop and rice
-Dried Apricots-heavy but nice
-Ziploc labeled “trash”
-Extra Ziplocs
-All food in Ziplocs and in waterproof bag
-lighter / matches
-Salt and Sugar
-green scrub pad-to clean pot and water filter
-Oral Rehydration salts-just in case
-Sugar free Tang-don’t need much to get 100% vitamin C and tastes Good!
*Stored sugar, salt, bullion and tang in plastic film cases.

IDEAS
-MSR Waterworks II filter worked well. Pumps like a bee bee rifle and has a bit less throughput than the Pur model. Really like how it screws directly to the Dromolite and Nalgene bottles. Do need to get an extra piece of tubing to hook to the clean end of the filter if you are filling something that it will not screw onto.
-Pur brand water purifier worked nice. Pump up and down and have fast throughput. They are purifiers: clean water really well.
-Put coffee filter over the end of water filter to keep sand out.
-Would be nice to carry the other piece of the blue Wal-mart ground cloth that I cut up to use as an overhead shelter in case of much rain. Lightweight and easy to pack.
-I tied everything off to my pack so I wouldn’t lose it (knife, filter, water bottle)
-Stovetop, minute rice, bullion and dehydrated chicken makes fast, easy meal and very filling!
-Leave a camera along the way with instructions for finder to take it with them, take some shots then drop if for next person. Leave your address so you can get it back.
-Take a notebook to leave at shelter for the register. Again, put address in it so you get it back.

Forgot or didn’t take and wish I had
 -Tevas-camp shoes to get out of the boots
-Foot/groin powder
-100 mph tape
-Few stamps
-Polar pure tablets-iodine tablets as back up to filter
-Nature valley twists
-MRE heater
-Emergency drinking water
-Sunkist Vitamin C Tablets
-Skittles are great!

The following has been transcribed directly from the journal that I kept while hiking the Appalachian Trail (AT).

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EPILOGUE: Tuesday, May 2, 2000
Could not sleep for some reason and finally woke up at 6:00 am. Slowly crawled out of bed and washed clothes at the laundry mat with Mike. We went to Hardee’s for breakfast while our clothes washed.

7:00 pm. After a day of pizza (nasty junk) and watching videos on MTV, Mike’s Mom and her boyfriend arrived to take us all home.

During the day we all got our pictures developed and even had time to get reprints made of the pictures that we all wanted.

So, the truck arrived and we cleaned out the room and loaded our packs and our bodies into the back of the camper topped truck.

As we drive away, it all seems unreal, surreal. I can see Brasstown Bald-the highest point in Georgia (I remember barely being able to see that Mountain and walking so far that we came to it, around it and beyond it) and all the ridgelines that I am sure we labored over. I feel like I can’t even remember that foggy day when we all set off to do nothing else but walk. I can’t remember the pain from last weeks first steps towards Springer or yesterdays last steps to Dicks Creek Gap. I wonder if your mind shields you from remembering pain? I suppose it does. Why else would or how else could people of all ages endure such pain for 2,160 miles?
“Pain is but an instant in life, only the scars will last forever.” -Gordo

I try to think about what I learned and I asked everyone else what they have learned as well. The common thinking is that is takes a hell of a lot of mental strength to continue climbing when you look up at yet another switchback to summit yet another seemingly endless mountain only to have to descend back down and have to do it all over again (wasn’t someone condemned in Hell to roll a heavy boulder up a huge hill only for it to roll down the other side and have to do it again? This was nothing like Hell. It was truly enjoyable and I am so ready to go again); to wake up in the morning and know that all you have to do today is walk on and on.

Even though the weight is there, always clinging to your back and digging into your shoulders, the weight is not the hardest thing to overcome. Sure, if you pack too much you will have problems, but I noticed that even without the pack on it was just as difficult to climb hills (like when we had to drop down the hills to fetch water). So, I think that leaves mental strength as the most important quality to get you through such a walk whether it is for 7 days, 7 weeks or 7 months. I believe it is fair to say that the longer you walk, the more mental strength you will need.

If I learned anything, I hope that it is to take life slower and spend more time on the important things. Take time to enjoy life and there is no reason to rush through it. When things get rushed, relax and take it slow.

What you give is what you get. Treat people well and they will treat you well in return (you don’t have to treat the people in your group that well cause you have to see them every day! haha)

When you carry your life on you back, things inherently become so much easier. You don’t have the room or the strength to carry a bunch of excess stuff–so you just don’t. You inevitably leave behind all the trouble causing things and quickly relearn how to live each day as it comes; to adjust your life to deal with each day’s unique obstacles.

It’s all that simple. We just have a tendency to confuse things and get caught up in doing more, being better and going farther than the person before us did.

This was the first time I ever walked for more than a day-I learned a lot from reading what others did and packed on many of the Appalachian Trail sites. I would suggest a little research for anyone interested in hiking.

I had a truly great time and I am already planning the next trip. Next, I will take the family out for a few days on the trail to share the experience with them.

So, the walk continues. Only a few thousand miles to go. Thank you for sharing this with me.

The following has been transcribed directly from the journal that I kept while hiking the Appalachian Trail (AT).

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Monday, May 1, 2000
New month-2 days left on the trail. Broke camp a little late and moved out at 9:38 am. 66 degrees. Have long ascent of Kelly Knob. Like always, lots of ups and downs but we are pushing a good pace. Decide to pass up water and climb up and over Kelly Knob and down to the Deep Gap Shelter-that way we aren’t carrying the extra weight.

Descend down to Deep Gap for lunch. Lipton’s Soup (2 of them) with some extra bouillon and some tang. Had cream of wheat for breakfast.

Mike went to get water and I stayed up at the trail waiting for the others. Met two thru-hikers-”R&R” and “Dull Knife,” 68 and 50 years old respectively. Have it pretty slow going-only 6 or 7 miles a day, but they are here and doing it!

Seems like we haven’t seen any full trees. Just seems like the branches are mostly broken off and only a few leaves on the tops of the trees. I am lying on a fallen tree that once blocked the trail. It is pretty smooth and large enough for me to stretch out on and lay in the Sun.

Only 4.6 more miles to go today. 3.6 miles to the highway at Dicks Creek Gap and then 1 more mile to the camp for the night. Tomorrow we are looking at 16.5 miles up and down continuous 500 foot ascents and descents on up to Bly Gap, North Carolina. Looking at hiding our packs in the woods and only taking water and a filter. We will see.

3:00 pm. After an extremely long and painful descent, Mike and I arrive at Dicks Creek Gap and Highway 76, which leads into Hiawassee, Georgia.

Game over. Once the others join us, we decide to stop here and go in for a hotel and a good nights rest.

Long downhill to here, long, long downhill.

3:30 pm. We try to hitch a ride into town (11 miles away) and Mike is successful in getting one from a couple that just came down after camping in Bly Gap.

Todd gets the license plate number of the car that Mike goes off in-just in case…it had Florida plates.

45 minutes later a truck arrives from the Hiawassee Inn-our ride to freedom. We load the packs up and get the 11 mile ride to the beautiful town of Hiawassee. Mountainous, huge 7,000 acre lake-nice. Arrive at the hotel and pay for the room and we make plans to meet after a shower for dinner.

*We left another note for Donny so he would know were we had gone. Last time we saw him he thought we were going to the campsite 1 mile beyond the highway.

We get in the room and how quickly we return to being lazy couch potatoes-TV on, remote in hand, laying on the bed. Mike gets a shower then me. Clean clothes on and we are out the door to get Todd and Skye.

5:15 pm. 86 degrees. The restaurant is 1 mile away (didn’t add these miles in our totals)-no problem!

We past the Post Office and arrived at Daniels Steak House. We initially wanted pizza but the less expensive buffet sounded much better (turns out that it was! The pizza sucked). Our eyes bulge and our stomachs do too as we soak up fried chicken, baked ham, rolls, salad, cake and cups and cups of sweet tea! All for only $6.77! What a great meal!

Walked back to the hotel and stopped on the way to buy some beers to take back to the room. We all pile in one room and watched TV and drank beers. I can’t even finish one cause my stomach is so full from dinner.

7:30 pm. Donny shows up. He found our note and hitched a ride to the hotel. We saw him outside in the parking lot (Donny). He got some dinner and a shower and joined us for some beers also.

It rained lightly at 8:20 pm-even better reason to not be on the trail-we had some great weather for our walk.

We ventured from Amicalola Falls to Dicks Creek Gap in 7 days of walking.

Tomorrow-Post Office, buy a Georgia Lottery ticket-$150 million at stake and watch TV while waiting for our ride later that night.

1:09 am. Goodnight from a warm, soft bed with Monday Night Nitro (Wrestling) on TV! Can’t believe that Hulk Hogan is now a good guy again!

*No blisters of any sort-sore hips are gone-only problem is my left Achilles tendon. It hurts and noticed today that it is swollen pretty large-so much that I can’t see the tendon behind my ankle. Everyone has some sort of ailment: Mike has sore ankles; Donny has sore knees; Skye has sore knees also and Todd seems to have the beginnings of his big toe nail falling off-his boot rubs the top of his toe.

Goodnight

Miles today: 8.8 miles

Overall Total: 74.5 miles

The following has been transcribed directly from the journal that I kept while hiking the Appalachian Trail (AT).

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Sunday, April 30, 2000
6:13 am. Woke up in time to wait on the sunrise. Got out of the tent and walked over to the other tent and unzipped it so they could see the view also. Not cold at all. Watched the ridgeline to the east get brighter and brighter with orange and pink, we took a picture and then the sun poked up from behind on of the distant saddles. Within minutes the sun was fully up.

48 degrees but seems much nicer this morning. Very lazy feeling so far but we have to drop down 1,000 feet into Unicoi Gap and then take the long climb to Summit Tray Mountain at 4,450 feet. Only 8 miles or so then we plan on staying at a shelter-mice-nasty. (Note on the shelters: Every shelter log that you read talks about how the mice are abundant and not afraid to run across your face while you sleep…or don’t sleep)

Beautiful blue sky. Took a picture looking up at some trees.

Need water badly. Have to walk .8 miles to the water source: other one that was supposed to be near by doesn’t seem to be there or at least it wasn’t last night when Mike and I took a walk to find it. We found something, but there was no flow, just mud.

9:05 am. Got to the muddy spot that Mike and I were at last night. There is a bit more water now. We climb down a steep bank for some water. Took a picture with Mike’s camera.

9:48 am. Walk on. Up a few hills then up to the top of Blue Mountain and the Shelter. Left a message in the shelter log then cruised on. Shake down after a few more hills.

*Shakedown is something that I read about on the Internet. It is an unstoppable need to conduct bodily business NOW! Shakedown is real!

Extremely steep descent into Unicoi Gap. Heard lots of cars as we came down the mountain. Took a break before the ascent of Rocky Mountain.

40 minutes to climb 1,000 feet up, 1.3 miles UP! Stopped for lunch on top of Rocky Mountain looking south to Yona Mountain. Clear-no clouds. When things are quiet we can actually hear the buzzing of the flies! Lots of them but I must smell pretty natural cause they aren’t bugging me.

12:51 pm. 78 degrees. Headed down to Indian Grave Gap then right back up 1,300 feet to the top of Tray Mountain.

Tray Mountain. Long ass kicker. Passed a water source that I was looking for (didn’t realize it was the LAST ONE until the other side of the mountain!) and had to continue to climb and summit the mountain. Were a lot of rhododendron and laurel thickets to provide shelter from the sun along the way. Definitely sweating a whole lot today.

The view from Tray Mountain was breathtaking! Could see all the terrain we had previously walked as well as where we were going. Could see the mountain ranges in North Carolina also. Totally clear day. Bad bugs: gnats, on the top of the mountain.

**Hiccup cure: Hold your breath until you absolutely can’t go any longer then swallow the air then let your breath out really slowly…GONE!

From the mountain we descended out of the bugs and the flat, rock summit down to the shelter for some much needed water.

***Wow, you can really smell the clean people as they pass you-doesn’t seem like we smell but I am sure we do.

Anyhow, we got to the shelter at 2:45 pm and went down to get water (always down a considerable slope) a ways down the hill. A guy said, “It’s (the water) coming out of a pipe, you don’t need to filter.” Yeah, sure. Always filter-not worth getting sick over. At 3:05 pm, Todd and Skye joined Mike and I at the water hole. Mike suggested we all wash up so we did! washed hair, body etc..feels great! Took some candid pictures of that event too!

Finally back up the hill and we left a note for Donny. Continued walking down the other side of Tray Mountain looking for a campsite. We found a place to sleep and set up camp. Arrived at 4:40 pm. Still hot.

Mac-n-cheese for dinner.

Overall Total: 65.7 miles

The following has been transcribed directly from the journal that I kept while hiking the Appalachian Trail (AT).

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Saturday, April 29, 2000
6:50 am wake up. 46 degrees. I relit the fire by blowing on the hot coals that were hidden in the ashes. Cool. Light breeze up here, birds chirping. We can see the fog in the river valleys below slowly dissipating. Trying to push to Blue Mountain Shelter today-15.6 miles or so and will perch us above the awesome Unicoi Gap-1,000 feet down and 1,000 feet up! Getting an early start today. It is 8:35 am. 50 degrees. Moving out soon.

8:50 am. We climb a little hill and find a very small spring. We take pictures and pump water for everyone. Sooner we leave, the quicker we get to our goal. Will we make it today?

10:00 am. Reach top of Cowrock Mountain with an awesome view of a mountain valley. Hawks soaring around floating on the currents. Now a huge descent.

12:00 Noon. Stop for lunch after running down hills and wallowing back up the other side. Not sure where Mike went to but we haven’t seen him since Whitley Gap Shelter which would put him 2.4 miles behind us-think he would have caught us by now. Could have gotten mixed up at Hogpen Gap cause we had to cross a 2 lane highway then walk along it for a hundred yards-we took a picture then back on to walking. Haven’t seen Donny for a while now either.

Saw two big ticks while on our lunch break and now being bitten by mini horse flies.

We are all laid out, clothes hanging in the trees to dry then out, blowing in the wind, socks and boots are off also. We are all lying in the sun on a saddle between 2 hills. Below us we can see another valley with mountains running off to the northeast. It is a clear day, but hazy in the distance. Light clouds are flowing southeast and the breeze is blowing from the west against our backs.

Will have to do a tick check before walking on again.

Oh, while we were in Tesnatee Gap we all looked in car mirrors-the first time since we started. Everyone is scruffy looking.

Todd says if they do not show in 15 minutes he is going to go back and look for them.

13:55 pm. 76 degrees – Todd was leaving to go back for them just as Donny came rolling over the hill behind us. Still haven’t seen Mike-so he must be ahead somewhere.

Time to move on.

2:55 pm-Low Gap filling water. Got confirmation that Mike is ahead of us. Moving on. Made it much farther than we thought before we stopped for lunch! Ate on Sheep Rock Mountain and not Poor Mountain.

5:10 pm. Stopped and saw the headwaters of the Chattahoochee River. Small spring. Caught up with Mike about 30 minutes ago.

Continuing on to the campsite for the night. 1.3 more miles to go. Been pushing hard to catch Mike and found him sitting around all bundled up. The wind was blowing hard. We climbed an old road for 3.9 miles when we finally found Mike. Other people on the trail told us they had talked to him.

Once we reached Mike we hiked on looking for a place to sleep. It rained, misted, lightly and then cleared up. We crossed the headwaters of the Chattahoochee River, which is just a tiny spring (looks like a mud puddle)-took a picture there.

Continued on till we reached the campsite. Through Laurel thickets winding around a ridge line then up extremely rocky slopes before descending to our campsite. Got in at 5:45 pm. and set up the tent. We will have a great view of the sunset and sunrise.

Ate Mac-n-cheese and had hot cocoa. Lunch today was trisquits and salami.

Everyone is tired and not much talking tonight.

*Saw bear shit on the trail while ascending the old road. (so, to answer the age old question: Does a bear shit in the woods?! Yes it does! I have been searching all my life for the answer to that one and finally found it here-on the AT!)

**Next days plans-go to Tray Mountain Shelter to sleep tomorrow night then on to Dicks Creek Gap then up to the North Carolina border and back to Dicks Creek on Wednesday. We will see.

Miles today: 14.8 miles

Overall Total: 56.6 miles

The following has been transcribed directly from the journal that I kept while hiking the Appalachian Trail (AT).

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Friday, April 28, 2000
7:45 am wake up. 45 degrees. Rained steadily all night long. Only a few drops of water in the tent. Need to waterproof it next time. Would be nice to have the other piece of the blue drop cloth (I am using a blue camp tarp (from Wal-Mart) as a ground cloth to protect the bottom of the tent. I cut it to the size of the tent) to use as a small overhead shelter so if it kept raining we would have a place to step out and pack up.

Think we are going 5.7 miles today and stop at an Outdoor center called Walasi-Yi. We will be headed up Blood Mountain-the highest point on the AT in Georgia-4,461 feet-long continuous climb.

Can see the sun peaking through a bit, but bitterly cold with the clouds and wind.

*Note on water procurement-DON’T carry more than you need! Water weight is a killer!

10:23 am. 46 degrees. Just beyond Woodshole Shelter waiting to climb Blood Mountain. Looks cloudy up there. Just ran across a 77 year old woman and her son hiking up from the parking lot below Springer Mountain (which is where the AT begins).

Made it atop Blood Mountain-what a climb. Many switchbacks. Started off as lush green hills with a sparsely populated forest of trees. Looks like a fire recently swept through (after we got to Walasi-Yi, I confirmed that the fire had come through in January I believe). We have been walking on the Tennessee Valley Divide. To the North the weather seems dark and to the south it seems clearer. We are ascending into the clouds that have been hiding Blood all day. Higher up, the trees change to small, curled over, thick trees with no leaves. It looks like all the trees are dead. The higher we go, the rockier the trail becomes. Can see about 20 feet ahead of us.

We summit Blood at 11:15 am and take some pictures in the stone shelter that was built in 1934. Climb atop a huge boulder that, if it weren’t for the clouds, would allow us to see down in the valley (100 miles on a clear day I am told). We climb down passing through the changing trees again and over even rockier terrain. Steep switchbacks on the climb down.

At the bottom is Walasi-Yi Center. We run into the guy and his dog and the couple who was with them (they are the people who stayed in the devils kitchen with us 2 nights ago. His dog was carrying a pack-he said, “No one rides for free!”). They stayed the night in Suches with a farmer and will stay the night here also. Not sure where the kid from Durham went to but he had no tent last night!

Washing and drying our clothes here and restocking on food. Mike almost left us today to take care of personal business, however, in the end he decided to stay. Changed clothes so I could wash everything.

We decided to get picked up in Hiawassee on Wednesday-hope to go up and touch the North Carolina border and make it back by Wednesday for the pick up. Will be home by Thursday.

Was 45 degrees on top of Blood Mountain and 55 degrees midway down. Was 1,250 feet up and 1,000 feet down!

5:30 pm. Clothes weren’t dry yet so we took them out and had to move on. Climbed up Levelland Mountain. Rocky climb, hurts like hell but everything feels pretty good. Came down rocky switchbacks (saw 2 brown rabbits on Levelland). 2.1 miles later we found a good campsite. It is Swaim Gap. A saddle between two hilltops high above a valley on both sides. There are trees, but not a lot. We arrived at 6:30 pm and set the tents up quickly. Off in the north we can see rain coming our way. We build a fire and eat stovetop and rice and apricots. Also had cocoa and skittles! Awesome skittles!

Rain arrived with a hellish wind. Mike and I packed rocks and logs around our tent to help ease the heavy winds. The fire was burning good as the rain hit-Mike and I dove for the tent. Rain only lasted a few minutes. Sunlight finally gone, rain too, everyone gathered around the fire and kept it blazing. I stayed in the tent and relaxed and watched.

Was thinking today that I am not thinking a lot about anything special. Not even food. Everything seems to be a matter of, “Where is the next hill and how big and how steep is it?” You just push on up the hills and hope for some level, non-rocky, ground.

We are at 32.8 miles on the actual AT and Hiawassee is at 66.8 miles.

Lips are chapped. Met a crazy haired guy who is a forest ranger assistant in Alaska. I took a picture of him sizing a pack for Donny. He is going to Alaska in 2 weeks and has been living outside, here, in the woods with 9 Malamute dogs for 8 weeks.

A guy just came walking down the trail, in the dark, and just turned his headlamp on. He said he came across 4 Black Bears 2 miles ahead on the trail.

Overall Total: 41.8 miles

The following has been transcribed directly from the journal that I kept while hiking the Appalachian Trail (AT).

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Thursday, April 27, 2000
7:38 am wake up. 35 degrees. Cream of wheat for breakfast. Blackhawk helicopter flew through the valley twice. Heard a grouse I think also. they make a low drumming sound…like a distant 2 cycle engine revving up.

10:34 am. 60 degrees. Sunny day. It was 45 degrees when we started 1 hour ago. Pretty fast going along ridge lines one big climb up from Blackwell creek. Going to jump on Georgia Highway 42 and head into the town of Suches.

*Blackhawk flew over once more before we left. We also took a picture of us in the Devil’s Kitchen (the place we slept last night).

Arrived at Gooch Gap-2.9 miles-1 hour of walking-we took a 15-minute break (total 1:15). Mike, Donny, and I are going to walk into Suches-2.7 miles. Todd and Skye are going to continue along the trail and will meet us at Woody Gap.

2.7 miles took us 47 minutes-slow winding road with continuous up slope. Got to the crossroads of GA 42 and GA 60. Old store (abandoned) sits here: Tritts Country Store. There is a pay phone on the other side of the street. Very pretty view. Wooden fence in front of a lake at the base of a small mountain.

Lots of people driving by but no one stopping at all. We have decided that I will stay here with the packs and Mike an Donny will walk to the Post office and dump some of their weight (Mike sent home his mixing bowls, mini-color TV and some other stuff and Donny dumped a lot of MRE’s (Army food-heavy!).

Two girls just walked by. One with long, brownish-blonde hair and the other with long brunette hair-they are dressed in apparent home made, long skirts and long sleeve shirts and hats. Both have shoes and socks (not sure why I wrote that). I imagine it is similar to dress, which has been worn for hundreds of years. They walked up the hill (towards Woody Gap) and then came slowly running back down. Exercising I suppose.

1:18 pm. 61 degrees. Lying in the sun catching some rays. Not sure, but I think Donnie ditched most of his MRE’s-he was way over packed. Mike is sending home some shoes? camp lantern, mixing bowls, TV and other stuff. Waiting for them to get back so we can move on and meet the others at Woody Gap.

We will by-pass 4 miles of the trail but end up walking 4.7 to get to and from Suches.

By the way, my Gaiters are great-have no problems of getting stuff (rocks and such) in my boots. Zip off pants are worth the price also.

Ate a power bar, MRE frankfurters and MRE shoestring potatoes for lunch (Donny was getting rid of it so we had a feast).

Woodshole Shelter is 6.6 from the Gap-I imagine that the father and daughter will be there tonight but don’t think we can make 8.6 more today. Depends on when Mike and Donny get back-we have 5.6 so far today.

1:32 pm. 65 degrees – 4 cyclists just rode past me.

Kind of weird, although we are not bound by a need to reach certain distances and times so much, you almost feel disappointed that we don’t cover more than 10 miles a day. Really end up pushing over some huge, steep hills and almost run down the other side.

“The relative serenity of the downhill is often interrupted by the chaos of the uphill.” - Gordo

Man just came to intersection driving a blue, 1980′s Chevy station wagon. There was a young child-3 or 4 years old- standing in the front seat looking out the windows.

1:52 pm. Drying my socks out. Took boots apart. Left toe is cracked (plastic inside of boot) but I didn’t notice while walking. Still no blisters but left Achilles still hurts when walking. Definite bruising and irritation on my Achilles. Will put some moleskin on before walking on.

Had 2 Bell, hand-held walkie-talkies and just made radio check with Skye and Todd-they arrived at the Gap 15 minutes ago. 1t is 2:00pm. Mike and Donny are approaching. Should make the Gap by 3:00pm.

Took 30 minutes to climb the long hill to the Gap. Went to the bathroom in an outhouse. Took a picture of Mike and I with an awesome overlook in the background.

3:00 pm. 73 degrees. Time for water and walking. 6.6 miles to Woodshole Shelter. Heard it may rain. Big hill coming up-up out of Lunsford Gap.

Kicked ass up Lunsford Gap and Big Cedar Mountain. Switchbacks but what a view from the top! Clear and open on a large rock-unobstructed view down to a huge river valley. We can see many mountains in the distance. We think it is Yona Mountain and Helen, Georgia. Down the hill and up a slight incline to Granny Top Mountain then a sharp decline via switchbacks down to a valley.

In the valley we decide to refill everyone’s water since we will not make Woodshole Shelter. Todd and I fill all bottles out of another small spring while the others continue on and look for a suitable campsite. We have the walkie-talkies so we can talk. All water is filled and they radio us from beyond the steep walls of Baker Mountain and still haven’t found a place to sleep. Todd and I pick out water-laden packs up and they are heavy! Steep climb. We see 2 owls and a woodpecker that has a black body, white neck, and a read head. We continue along Baker Mountain and it is way steep up and down. We have to cross up, steeply, 3 switchbacks where we summit a hill with another rock and clear overlook. Great view. Now, down the hill and into our campsite.

Campsite is on level ground down the hill. A nice spot. Time enough to make some powdered man-n-cheese. Damn good with some extra water (don’t have the milk or margarine to add so some extra water makes it just creamy enough-probably would hate it back in the “world”). Also did some cocoa, beef jerky and some Pringles (they picked them up for me in Suches). Built a fire and somehow a lighter got in there and it blew up.

My shit (gear) was still spread out and a few raindrops start falling. Packed up, put my pack in Skye’s tent and we climbed in our tent (Mike and I are sleeping in a Sierra Designs Flash-light Clip cd tent-designed really for 1, but fits 2 with no gear). Rain continues to fall steadily but not too hard.

8:30 pm. 60 degrees.

Miles today: 12.6 miles(4.7 miles not on the trail)

Overall Total:33.8 miles

The following has been transcribed directly from the journal that I kept while hiking the Appalachian Trail (AT).

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Wednesday, April 26, 2000
Woke up at 7:41 am. Couldn’t tell, but it is clear and sunny. Breakfast is 2 Cream of Wheat packets and some dried apricots.

The man and his daughter and someone we haven’t seen before have already passed us. It’s 8:53 am and we are finally breaking the tents down for movement. Sleep was ok-don’t think it got any cooler than it is now. Kept waking up every few hours. Definite pain in my right hip-might be tough to walk? Shoulders are really sore also. Looking to hit Gooch Gap today-it is about 12 miles away.

10:08am. 45 degrees. Arrived at Long Creek Falls-going off the trail .1 miles to take pictures. Everybody is talking about their shoulders hurting-yes Sir! It hurts badly. The hip is feeling great-no pain anywhere but my shoulders and they hurt pretty bad.

The falls drop about 60 feet and have two tiers. Mike got too close and almost slid right into the pool.

11:50 am. 49 degrees. Taking a break after the long climb up some steps climbing the Mountain. Pretty tough. Now we are headed down to Hightower Gap then up the HUGE Sassafras Mountain. Looks pretty level and down to the gap.

My Achilles tendon on my left heel and my shoulders hurt badly..whoooohoooo!

After climbing some nasty tall, steep trails, we had lunch. Stopped at 1pm just above (before) Horse Gap. Rough going today. From where we are we can see Camp Merrill, which is the mountain phase of Ranger School. We are all tempted to stop in the Ranger Camp for a shower and food. From here we can also see Blackhawks flying out of the Camp. It is 56 degrees. First crap for Skye and I. We moved off the trail and did our business.

Stayed at lunch for an hour and soaked up the sun. Hurting badly. Hills are steep so we break (or at least I break) often on the ascents-on the other hand, I speed race down the steep descents.

Back down the hills working on Sassafras Mountain, which hurt too. Down Sassafras to Coopers Gap where we stop to figure out what to do about going into the Ranger Camp. It’s 3 miles downhill on a gravel road. No one can totally decide so we resort to a coin toss. Heads for the Camp and tails to continue on. Best 2 out of 3. Both tails-destiny calls. March on.

Next up-Justus Mountain and Phyllis Spur.

Justus is bad cause it goes up steep and levels out-BAM-then back up and through some bramble thickets-lots of trees that seem to have blocked the trail when they fell. Steep downhill to Phyllis Spur. 4 hikers camped out on their backs. Guess this may be a good place to stop. We fill lots of water-actually clogged the filter cause I had it in the sand. Cleaned it (porcelain filter) and it worked again.

Dinner is Velveeta Mac-n-cheese. Good! Used 8 oz. of water. Also mixed up a packet of Oral Rehydration Salts.

*Lunch was Salami and crackers again.

Total today: 9.6 miles
Overall Total: 21.2 miles