Date: 2010-03-20
From: Unicoi Gap

To: Deep Gap Shelter
Miles today: 13.1
Weather: few clouds

Whew! Today has been a BIG day! As you can see, I did my longest day yet by about 4 miles. I'm exhausted! In a way, today also began my "real" thru-hike. Although I started on Springer on March 11, knowing I was going back home for a couple of days made it feel in many ways like just a short trip. I also was hiking with either Amanda or Dad the whole time, so this starts my first real solo hiking, too. On top of all that, I really don't want to be locked into going into Franklin, so I hiked out of Unicoi with a crazy 7.5 days of food! (Even with that and 2 liters of water, my pack weighed 35 pounds so I'm pretty happy with that.) There were also some pretty big climbs today, and I have news - I am no longer blister-free. They're not too bad, though, and the ones on my heels don't hurt at all - the skin just came off. So yes, today was a very big day. Oh! I forgot one more piece of sad news: I lost my nice warm thick fleece hat. I still have my smartwool beanie, but being the baldy that I am, I really enjoyed being able to layer both. I imagine I'll be looking to replace that at the NOC. Ironically, I almost left my hat at home this morning, but at the last minute checked my gear list and remembered it. Then, I just go ahead and lose it on the trail anyway. Grr. Of course, this is especially bothersome because it means I left something out there that someone else eventually has to pack out. Double grr. My chronology is all wrong today, but I would like to throw Dad a big thanks for driving me to the trail and for that awesome breakfast at Hofer's! What a fun way to start the day! In spite of the blisters, I'm pretty proud of how I did today. I also realized that I hiked 13.1 miles today, while my friend Krystal runs her first half-marathon (13 mi) tomorrow in Atlanta. Go Spud! Anyway, I'm exhausted, but feel that I did pretty well with the 13 miles, only one less than my target average when I'm in good hiking shape. Best of all - tomorrow I only have to hike 8. Yay! Another great thing today - my first trail magic! This awesome small group of Boy Scouts was near the Tray Mountain Shelter giving a clementine and words of encouragement to each thru-hiker. Thanks, guys!Oh, I almost forgot to mention, on this first day of spring: the weather was incredible!!! I hiked most of the day without any long underwear. Even now, at 9:05 pm, it's a balmy 54.7 degrees. I'll end today's journal with a bit of humor. As some of you have noticed, when my journal is listed on the "recently updated" list on Trail Journals, my trail name is abbreviated as, "On the Loo." As I was hiking today, I rewrote the chorus of On the Loose (real lyrics are in a journal entry from last week):On the loo on Springer Mountain,On the loo in ol' Hot Springs.On the loo on Mount Katahdinis where I'd like to be.For I've only got a season; Many privies in between. I'll be hiking up the AT,On the loo.I hope you find a tiny fraction of the joy in this that I did. Postscript, March 20, 2011: It's amazing to remember how huge this day felt at the time. I remember that towards the end of the day, I passed Longhaul, Roughin' It, and a few others, who were all setting up camp in a couple of different spots before going over Kelly Knob to get to the shelter. It was hard to pass them by, but I was really set on getting to that shelter. After pushing myself a lot, the climb up Kelly Knob seemed like it was never going to end, but I felt very satisfied with myself when I got to the top. I met The Crusher, Red Lobster, and the rest of the "Gooch Crew" at the shelter that night. This still feels like a momentous day, because in many ways it was the real start of my solo journey northward.