Date: 2005-04-03
From: Springer Mountain Shelter

To: Gooch Gap Shelter
Miles today: 14.7
Weather: clear sky

9:33 pm - The Story of DaveThe Story of DaveThe Story of Dave serves to illustrate the range of people you¢ll meet hiking the AT. Dave was from Texas and came prepared for Texas weather. On March 30th, he bundled his all ration gear into a blue tarp, rigged it over his shoulder and climbed Springer Mountain. Unfortunately, he twisted his ankle and took a zero day on the trail, remaining on top of Springer. April 1st, Matt arrived that evening in a blizzard and saw Dave, thinking that he was a hard-core ultralight. In the morning, though, Matt found the tarp collapsed and Dave soaked, along with all his gear.Matt helped Dave to the Springer Mountain shelter a few hundred yards down the trail. He spread out all Dave¢s gear to dry while the snowstorm continued. An older gentleman named Gene arrived later on, and pitched in too, giving Dave some dry clothes. Together, they helped save an unprepared hiker from possible hypothermia. It¢s nice to know that there are hikers like Matt and Gene. It underscores that nobody hikes alone. We¢re all hiking our own hikes, but at some level, we¢re in this together.Part Two ¢ The Story of Another DaveI woke up cold this morning ¢ I couldn¢t feel the little toe on my right foot. I removed my sock to look and saw that it was ghastly white. My foot had dangled off the edge of the shelter¢s loft overnight and I was paying the price. Though I wanted an early start, my priorities were clear: Get Warm.Thirty minutes later, I was. I ate a hot breakfast, quickly interviewed Gene and left. (Sadly my camera got some moisture inside it and wouldn¢t work ¢ but it dried out later, and is working again.) I headed out alone and almost immediately ran into a ridge runner in the guise of a trail angel. While I munched on a donut of his, he explained leave no trace ethics. It¢s nothing I don¢t know and follow, but it¢s good to see they¢re making an effort to educate the swarms of hikers passing through.It warmed up quickly, and I soon shed all my layers, save my jacket. I lunched by a side trail overlooking some falls. Shortly thereafter, I ran into Matt and Andy from last night¢s shelter at Long Creek Falls. Since we were headed in the same direction ¢ north ¢ I joined up with them for the afternoon. We were feeling good when we reached Hawk¢s Bill shelter so we decided to push on for another 7 miles to Gooch Gap shelter. The back half was hard, and today¢s 14.7 miles was a bit more than I expected to do. Oh well-- I¢ll get into hiking shape the hard way.We were briefly tempted by the idyllic campsites of Justus Creek, but kept going for the shelter. Perhaps we should have stayed. Not surprisingly, the shelter was full when we arrived at 6:30. More surprising though, was finding all the official campsites and a lot of unofficial sites taken. We ended up finding some spots up the gall from the shelter. It¢s a bit slanted, but I think I¢ll be okay.We¢re talking of trying for Neel¢s Gap tomorrow, so I guess we¢re now hiking together, at least for the time being. Matt and Andy are good fellows, and I¢m quite enjoying their company. Even if we only make it to Blood Mountain Shelter, tomorrow has all the workings of a long, hard day. I think I can grow to like this trip.