Date: 2013-03-14
From: The Hike Inn

To: Long Creek Falls campsite
Miles today: 5.2

Total miles - 9.7 (4.5 on the Hike Inn/Approach trails)Good evening dear readers,What can I say about today? What can't I say!! Springer! Walking my first official miles on the AT!! Meeting up with Joan!!! Fantastic camp site!!!! Ok, I'm getting a bit punctuation happy What an amazing day. Started off at the Hike Inn, where everyone applauded me at breakfast for starting the AT today! I was so touched. Regina walked the 1 mile to the Approach Trail with me and after hugs and last pictures I was off on my own the 3.5 miles to the top if Springer.. It was a chilly morning, and I didn't see many people until the Black Gap shelter. I learned later it had been a horribly cold night, and everyone looked rather miserable. So, I climbed the rest of the way by myself, meeting a few day hikers along the way. When I got to the top, I was stunned, was this it?? Amazingly enough I had the summit to myself for a few minutes, and teared up when I saw the famous sign and the first white blaze. Soon enough, others came up, Winn, also starting the trail that day, and a mom with her 3 girls and a dad with his young son - how wonderful a spring break trip, I'm always so happy to see parents sharing nature with their kids. It was amazing for me to share with them all that I was starting the trail right then! After some pictures which one of the girls was so kind to take for me, I started on down the actual AT. As it was noonish, I stopped at Springer Mt shelter to eat the great lunch from the Hike Inn and chatted for a bit with 2 hammockers out for a few days, and 2 other young women thrus drying out their gear. I admired the bear cables (thanks GATC!) and was on my way down Springer where I met several day hikers scrambling over the rocks and admiring the icicles, along with a gentleman finishing up a section hike, how exciting! He had thru hiked before, too, and gave me some good advice on the trail before we went our separate ways. I even remembered to pick up a small pebble to carry with me to Maine. I loved Stover Creek Shelter, had a nice snack break there, and proceeded on thru amazing woods, it was like a primeval forest for a while, I couldn't believe my eyes! Shortly after 3 Forks, I saw the great site of Joan coming down the hill in front of me! We cheered and hugged, and had a great reunion!! We proceeded on a little longer to Long Creek Falls, chatting all the way, which has some very nice camping. Future thrus or section hikers, take note! Amazingly enough, we had an entire area to ourselves. It was so special to me to have Joan there - she was so interested in all of my gear, my preparations, etc, that I felt like a thru hiker for the first time, somehow. Ahh, everyone has to have a funny bear hang story, right? Well, I was lucky enough experience this with Joan and not with a bunch of other hikers who didn't know me! We had industriously thrown our ropes before we ate, and then went to hoist the bags up as it was getting dark. Well, when trying to get mine up there, my chosen branch creaked ominously and the rope was sliding alarmingly down the branch. Oy, not good. So, we tried with Joan's tree, also too weak (I packed way too much food!) to hold both of our bags. Thus began a laughing search, now in the dark, to find another suitable branch! 1 too thin, another too high, weaving and ducking in the Rhododendron bushes. I "lost" a glove (which was really in my pocket though Joan did see the other one when I dropped it) and got repeatedly tangled in the great shiny new rope I had just bought! It ended with us going back to my original tree and just throwing the line closer to the trunk! I figured, if a bear wanted my food enough in the odor proof bag i had it in, s/he is welcome to it at that point. . Of course, amidst all of this I slipped going down a leafy slope for my first fall on the trail! Word of the day - fortuitous, a fortunate or lucky occurenceOnce in my tent, I made a fortuitous discovery! At first I just laughed at myself, because I had left a clothespin from my parents' house inside from the last time I had aired out my tent! Guess that's some extra weight to bring along. As I thought about it further, I was amazingly happy to have this small reminder of home, I'm sure that clothespin is nearly as old as I am, if not older. I'm sure I can find a dual use for it .