Date: 2008-11-06
From: Allen Gap, TN (8mi north of Hot Springs, NC)

To: Springer mtn
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: clear sky

Well I am done. I summitted Springer on November 1st with Mango, Grettle, Cubby, Santana, Check, and Filadelphia Greenberg. Since my last update a lot has happened. When we left Hot Springs we were hit by a little bit of bad weather until we got to the Smokies. We met mom at Davenport Gap and she picked up Check because dogs aren't allowed in the park. We had awesome weather through the smokies. When we got through them Dad picked us up and drove us back to his place for the night. The following day we started out of Fontana dam and it started raining that night. Then we hiked to the Nantahala Outdoor Center (NOC) the next day through some nasty wind and rain. There Tim, Matt, Micheal, Biggs, and a couple of their friends met us and hung out with us while we took a zero day. Matt brought up my kayak so Biggs and myself went kayaking it was a little chilly but still a lot of fun. The day we were there also just happened to coincide with the NOC's NOCtoberfest celebration. The highlight of which was the Pumpkin run where a raft was throwing out pumpkins on the river and if you got one you could exchange it for a prize. Sadly neither Biggs nor myself were able to get one, however we had a good time trying anyway.The next day we headed out and at the same time the temperature started dropping. By the second night that we were back on the trail the temperature had dropped to the lowest that we had experienced yet on the trail. I wore everything I had overnight in my 20 degree sleeping bag and I was still very cold. The following morning there was about 2in. of snow on the ground. While it was a cool sight it was also very uncomfortable. This prompted us to make changes to our plans so that we could stay in town the next couple of nights until the temperature rose back up. It forced us to hike longer distances than originally planned a couple of the days but it was worth it. Plus it gave us the opportunity we were looking for to find Halloween costumes and candy. October 31st we left Neels Gap on our second to last day of hiking. We dressed up that morning in our Halloween costumes and with our candy ready for a great day of trick or treating. While we hiked we handed out candy to every hiker we passed. It was a fun way to spend our second to last day on trail.November 1st we woke up at Gooch Mtn shelter with just 15 miles left on our trip. Grettle and Mango had friends planning on meeting us at the access road a mile from Springer's summit. So we got moving pretty early. The temperatures had finally risen back up and it was very comfortable all day. On top of that the excitement of finishing the trip made it a very enjoyable day though it did fly by way to fast. Once their friends got to the trail we headed up to the summit with champagne and beer to celebrate and take pictures. Then we hiked back down and headed to Mango's cousin's house for one last night together as a group. The following day they took Cubby, Filadelphia, and I to Atlanta where we all caught our different modes of transportation. I'm gonna miss hanging out with this group we have become very close friends over the last few months and I wish we didn't have to part. However, I am looking forward to getting home, taking it easy a few days, and seeing some friends.This is my final entry so to everyone who has helped me and followed my trip along the way Thank you and I hope you get to experience some of the amazing things I have experienced during this trip for yourself.