Date: 2004-03-06
From: Amicalola Falls State Park

To: Hiawassee, GA
Miles today: 66.8
Weather: broken clouds

Two thousand mile tripBegins with a single stepI'm Katahdin bound3/1/04I hiked the approach trail yesterday. It was a beautiful precursor to spring, with bright sun and warm thermals blowing up the mountain. There was a big crowd staying at Springer Mountain shelter, and we stood by a fire and drank a bottle of scotch Bloody Cactus carried up.Today was cooler and windy. I hiked during the day with Burn, Joy, Airferret, Captain Hook, and Mailar*, and arrived early at Hawk Mountain shelter, about 8 miles from Springer. A lot of the crew from last night - John, Bloody Cactus, Dave and Miranda, Arwen and Heather, C-Giddy, Sarah, and others I can't remember - rolled in while we waited for dinner.I have too much food. I don't know what, because looking through it I know I'm going to eat it all, but my food bag weighs almost more than the rest of my pack. Guess I'll eat well for the next few days.I experienced some of the "green tunnel" today, walking through rhodedendrons twenty feet high and all around. Otherwise the woods are bare, carpeted in brown leaves.3/2/04It rained during the night, and today's walk was through fog and showers. It was perfect temperature for hiking - not too hot, not too cold. The shelter tonight should be crowded, with the same crew from last night, and a few others as well.Last night we all tried to stay up as late as possible, so we wouldn't wake up early. We lasted until about nine, and of course we were all up early in the morning. It was another short day to the next shelter, so plenty of time to kill until bedtime again.3/3/04Hiked in the fog all day - the views from the mountains showed fog filling the valleys, with islands of hills poking up amongst it. The sun showed up a few times, and I set up my tarp to dry while I took a long lunch break. The big crowd from the last few days split up as some went ahead to stay at Neel's Gap, while a smaller group of us stayed at a shelter, watched the sun set, and hung out around the campfire.3/4/04Walked with Mailar over Blood Mountain to Neel's Gap and Walasi-Yi outfitter in the morning. I bought a few more days of food and headed out after an hour or so break. I was going to stop at the next shelter, but it was a mile and a half from the trail to the shelter, soo I pushed on to Low Gap shelter for a long day.I've seen two other kilts on the Trail - a Sport Kilt and a Mountain Hardwear hiking "kilt". At Neel's Gap someone came up to me and said, "Now that's a REAL kilt. I've seen other people wearing things they call kilts, but I know a real kilt when I see one." I told him about Bear Kilts, and he seemed interested.3/5/04Hiked through dense fog over easy terrain in the morning, then three steep climbs in the afternoon to find a full shelter with new people that I've been following for the past few days: Wildcat, Katherine, and others. We started a damp fire that soon began to blaze cheerfully, if smokily, and shortly after going to bed it started to pour. The wind was intense, and Burn, who's sleeping in a hammock, got up in the middle of the night because the wind kept pushing him sideways. I didn't get wet, but I tossed and turned all night as the wind buffetted my tarp against me.3/6/04Woke up early and hiked into Hiawassee to stay at the Blueberry Patch Hostel. Had a well-needed shower, and anticipate a big breakfast of blueberry pancakes tomorrow.* Trail Note: people on the Trail take Trail names, so don't be confused by all the crazy names.