Date: 2013-04-19
From: Spence Field Shelter

To: Derrick Knob Shelter
Miles today: 6.3
Weather: moderate rain

We walked 6 hours in the wind/rain/snow. We stopped early or we would have literally been blown off the mountain! The trekking poles were a life-saver against the 40 mph winds. We got to the shelter about 2:00 and the shelter was full so we set up the tents in the rain. I got inside the tent, pulled off the wet clothes and put on dry ones. Crawled into the sleeping bag to warm up. The sun came out about 3:30 and we started to dry off. We hung our wet clothes on the trees and bushes to dry off. There were about 20-30 people in camp. Met a young man named Squirrel yesterday. Nice chap. It was pretty juicy on the trail today. Water, mud and leaves were washing down over roots and wet rocks. Not a very good combo. I stayed on my feet against all odds. I have gone 188 miles now and have managed to not fall once. Good boy, my kids would say.Thought for the day: When it rains, the flowers grow. It's a good thing. Hiking in the rain for 6 hours is not a good thing.****Here's a bit more of "Trail Life" on the AT in Georgia:I get out of my warm sleeping bag and warm clothes at 6:00 AM. I put on cold clothes and shoes and put my sleeping bag and air mattress away. It is breakfast time so I cook oatmeal and heat up tea. I take down the tent and pack everything into the backpack. Around 8:00 I hit the trail with White Sidewalls. Our daily thing is hiking up or down. Very seldom is there flat ground. I step on stones, trip on stones, and remove trek pole from rock crevice. Next there could be a little stream to walk through. Then along comes some mud to walk through and get your pant legs muddy. They soon dry off and the mud rubs off the pants. Up the trail I step over big logs, step on other logs, then maybe trip on the next log. Next could be a big uphill climb. I go slow and rest, go slower and rest longer, more gasps for air and finally go very slow. The top arrives and then we go downhill. Next up come the roots to step on or trip on and get the trek pole stuck in roots. Along comes a leaf covered trail and you trip on unseen rock or root. Then you happen to kick a small rock down the trail into the leaves then step on it again. It's a very flashy life! Next a low hanging branch snaps back at you from your partner in front, then a root trips you. The trail drops off at a 500-1000' decline a foot from the trail so the tripping has to be done very carefully if at all. Going up a 2000' rise in less than a mile will have switchbacks every 50-100' and the going gets very slow. So slow at times the snails pass me. I have photo times (between all the tripping and walking and almost falling) which are awesome. So it's not all bad. My phone just doesn't ring at all up in the mountains. Most of the time there is no signal on the phone. So trail life on the AT in Georgia can be rated very demanding but also can be a good time. Unless you hike the AT, it's hard to explain. So I endure 6-8 hours a day going up or down. At the campsites all the ants from the area line up along each side of the trail with little sticks in their legs trying to trip us hikers. If one trips a hiker, he or she gets the next day off plus a hiker patch. And so it goes mile after mile, day after day until we get further north where the trail starts to get a bit easier. The day ends with finding a campsite, set up the tent, filter your drinking water for evening and the next day, make supper, sponge bath in tent, and do the daily journal. Next is getting out of trail clothes and put on sleeping bag clothes to stay warm. It's now 9:00 or 10:00 PM. I drop exhausted into the sleeping bag. Repeat this every day and be happy. And remember, all the walking time you have 35-40 lbs in a backpack on your back which has all your food, water, clothes, tent, sleeping bag, mattress pad, cooking stuff, first aid and other things. So be happy with your life of ease at home!