Date: 2016-04-02
From: Amicalola Falls State Park

To: Unicoi Gap
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: overcast clouds

Day 1 - Anthony and I arrived early to Amicalola Falls State Park thanks to Brandon my brother-in-law, after regestoring for my thru-hike we set off up the 604 steps to the top of the water fall after walking 8.8 miles we reached Springer Mountain where we got some great pictures and signed the hidden journal behind the plaque set in stone. We walked another .2 miles to get to the Springer Mountain Shelter where we set up our first camp site, there were easy 70+ people camping for the night. We met some fellow hikers due to the fact they had a fire going and we didn't a spot for one. After dark it was time for sleep.Day 2 - After a night of hardly any sleep due to the fact I forgot my sleeping pad... We set off, the scenery is beautiful it's hard to believe that scenes like this are so close to so many people and yet hardly anyone will make the effort to see them. After about 2 ish hours of hiking and around 4 miles into our hike we came across what hikers call trail magic at Cooper Gap where we had free hugs(Anthony hid from the girl trying to hug him) and free food. A bunch of people gathered together eating hotdogs and drinking Dr Pepper in the middle of the woods, what more could someone ask for. They had a little enclosed trailer where all the thru hikers got to thank them by signing it. Reaching Gooch Mountain Shelter was the goal for the day and we got there pretty fast and set up camp for the second time each time getting easier. Day 3 - Sleeping is rough without a mat and Anthony has started to give me the trail name Matless which I'm not a fan of but hey! We met some people that are walking at the same pace as us, one of them go by the name Slice because last year he was on the PCT and cut himself pretty bad on accident, and another guy carrying a 50+ pound pack...loaded with camera gear we were talking about trail names and the camera guy didn't have a name yet so Anthony said his name should be Kodak(that name stuck) days later his group was calling him Kodak. Anyway, The scenery changes every day it's amazing really. Ramrock Mountain, Preaching Rock, and Big Cedar Mountain were all scenic views of the day. We stopped at Lance Creek for the day the elevation changed have left my heals in blisters, my knees in pain, and my medkit half empty. Day 4 - Was a butt kicker although it was only 8 miles, the elevation gains and losses were brutal. We started at 2865 ft and up Blood Mountain Shelter it was up to 4457 ft then at Neel Gap our stopping point was back down to 3125ft coming back down off Blood Mountain was pretty much rock hopping. Once we got to Neel Gap we were at the Mountan Crossing Outfitter where we got some food and planned to get a ride to town to stay the night in a hotel to get some sleep and resupply. After calling a bunch of places we found a place in Blairsville GA that had a room for us. We got a ride into Blairsville by a guy named Sam who is well known in the hiker community, he was pretty entertaining after telling the same story twice back to back we were starting to wonder about about this guy but he was funny and he only charged us 30 bucks there and back again the next day so we weren't about to complain. Day 5 - Getting back to the trail was refreshing and knowing all the sights to see on this day was exciting. Levelland Mountain, Wolf Laurel Top, Cowrock Mountain, and Wildcat Mountain all with scenic views and great pictures we stopped at White Oak Stamp and after hiking up and down 5 mountains it was a welcome sight. For the first time we had a site to ourselves. It rained off and on but that didn't stop us from getting a fire going. It rained though the night and was cold in the morning. Day 6 - We decided to push today making it our longest yet over 13 miles but the reason for the push Holly was picking us up at Unicoi Gap and take us back to Greenville where Anthony could stop his hike and I could take a zero day and heal up a little while letting this cold front go through. We did over 60 miles in 7 days not bad for a couple old guys. This rest is much needed.