Date: 2005-03-13
From: Springer Mountain

To: Hawk Mountain Shelter
Miles today: 7.6
Weather: clear sky

My flight on Saturday to Atlanta left an hour late, which added to the nervous tension I'd been feeling - not from any concern about what I was about to embark on but simply my impatience to get this particular show on the road. The good news was that my wife had arranged for an upgrade to first class which came through at the gate, so it was at least a comfortable flight even if late. As planned, my son picked me up at the airport and shuttled me up to the lodge at Amicalola Falls State Park. The original plan was for his girl friend to come with us and the three of us to have dinner at the lodge and then for them to return to Atlanta. Unfortunately, she had to work, so my son decided to stay over with me at the lodge. This raised the possibility of my skipping the approach trail and having him drive me up a forest service road to a parking lot just a mile from the summit of Springer Mountain.The virtues of this option included getting started on actually hiking north on the AT a day earlier, since the approach trail, while only about eight miles long, is pretty much all up hill and would have consumed all of Sunday. More importantly, I knew that there were members of "M Company" already on the trail, including one of my best cyber hiking buddies, MotherGoose. It was an easy choice!So, today we were up at 6, left the lodge at 7, reached the parking lot at 8 and started up the AT to the Summit. On the way up I was thrilled to begin meeting members of "M Company coming down from their stay at the Springer Mountain Shelter. Wyatt, with a crowd of five or six came first. Pied Piper, another through-hiker was next. On the way back down, I met Traction heading up.We reached the summit, signed the register, took the obligatory photos, and collected two small rocks. The idea is to carry the rocks to Maine, leave one at the summit of Katahdin, and take the second one home. I managed to find a couple of suitable sized rocks without too much trouble. Ok, they weren't exactly "rocks," more like pebbles. Well, ok, maybe pebble would be somewhat of an exaggeration. Truth be told, they pretty much resemble the fist diamond I ever bought for a fianc©, one that did not, in the end, marry me. It was a one quarter carrot diamond that you could only see if you sorta squinted at it and held it up to the light at just the right angle, which may have had something to do with the fact that, in the end, she passed on the marriage thing. But hey, I couldn't find anywhere in the hikers manual that said the rocks had to be any particular size. And besides, somehow the stuff in my pack must have been foolin' around or something, 'cause it definitely multiplied. My pack weight managed to shoot up by a full four pounds in the week before I left. Bummer!Of course my pack weight is already high due to all my winter gear and clothes, which really came in handy today as the temperature dropped to EIGHTY DEGREES! I kid you not. When I arrived yesterday, it was 72 degrees in Atlanta, which was great, but today was NOT what I had been led to expect. And I really hated to have to put all my gloves, outer layer shirt, balaclava, etc. into my pack as there wasn't room for that in the first instance, and the last thing I needed was a heavier pack! But I'm really not complaining. It was actually a gorgeous day, and altogether perfect for a first day on the trail.My first seven point six miles of the AT were also surprisingly easy, with no major elevation gains and a tread way that was mostly soil or pine needles rather than rock. It will be more of a challenge tomorrow, with Sassafras Mountain on the agenda, but still only an eight mile day.The shelter experience tonight was everything I had hoped it would be! Wyatt had his pirate flag flying, my rabbit ears were well received, and we had a super group of hikers. Among others Red Hat showed up, and Foot Loose and Fancy Free from "M Company." Also here were Nu B and Skylark, and a bunch of others - too many to remember all their names. The shelter is full, and tents are everywhere. We also had two SOBOs (Brett and Evy) spending their last night on the trail with us. We also had two Canadians show up and they made a super campfire.The military were through a couple of times (they are from a nearby army camp and carry out maneuvers here regularly). They cautioned us not to be surprised if we heard explosions and gunfire around six thirty as they were planning a surprise ambush just down the hill. But they must have changed their mind as we never did hear anything.It¢s dark now and the temperature is dropping rapidly, so I'm going to close this off. With one final thought¢¦this has been one of those incredible, "one of the best days of my life" kinds of days. It was a day of joy, and exhilaration, and awe, with intense feelings of both humility in the face of all that may lie ahead and gratitude to all who made it possible. In fact, I've decided to dedicate each day of my hike to one of those people until I have covered them all. Today's hike is dedicate to my wife - "she-who-knows-me-best-but--still-loves-me". If it's any consolation, dear, I am having the time of my life so far. It's only one day, but it's been better than I could have imagined. I can't wait for tomorrowStay tuned, Longhaul(Editor¢s Note)Well, it appears that Longhaul is well on his way. I think that he is being very smart about his hiking. He is listening to his body and taking care of himself. I am also impressed that he is allowing his body time to adjust to the trail, which is really important. By keeping his miles low at the beginning, he will have a decreased chance to be injured and have to come off the trail early. Before we know it, he¢ll be cranking out 20 mile days like they aren¢t anything! But, that will come in due time.Congratulations, Longhaul on such a fine start! I wish I were out there with you.Tenacious Tanasi (Shelly Hale)