Date: 2006-05-18
From: Day One on the Trail-Springer Mtn to Hawk Mtn

To: Day One On the Trail-Springer Mtn to Hawk Mtn
Miles today: 7.6

May 18, 2006 DAY ONE ON THE TRAILSPINGER MOUNTAIN TO HAWK MOUNTAIN SHELTER Day 1. Springer Mtn to Hawk Mtn Shelter (7.6 miles)Up early, I took my last shower for a few days. Josh fixed us breakfast of waffles, eggs, grits and orange juice. We filled our water containers and loaded our gear into Josh¢s Suburban. He drove us up Forestry Service Rd #42. The road was gravel and rough. Josh knows the road well and we progressed quickly. We arrived at the trail around 9:30. We hoisted our packs and began the hike UP to Springer, happy to be out the car and finally walking! We arrived at Springer Mountain at 10:15 and it was 58 degrees. We were actually walking in a cloud. The top was shrouded in a light mist. This is what I have thought and dreamed about constantly for the last seven months. There on top of the mountain are two plaques set into the mountain stone. The first is a plaque placed by the Georgia Appalachian Trail Club that says ¢A Footpath for those who seek Fellowship with the Wilderness¢. There is also the first white blaze (the markings we follow) beside it on the rock. The second plaque is set into a large rock. In the side of the rock is a metal compartment that contains the first official Trail Register. (Note: Most shelter houses also have registers. The registers are a place for hiker comments and they provide a way to track the hikers¢ progress for emergency contacts.) This plaque shows the US Eastern Seaboard showing the trail route. It also identifies this as the Southern Terminus. We spent some time taking pictures and then turned our attention north and began our long hike. This is one of the greatest feelings in the world. The first 0.9 miles from the parking lot to Springer don¢t count because we retraced our steps on that path and then continued on our way. We arrived back where Josh had dropped us off and it was starting to sprinkle. To be on the safe side, we put our rain gear over our packs. First mistake. The rain gear is slick and the pack hip belt wants to slide down off my hips. Now the reason packs have hip belts is to transfer part of the load off shoulders/back and onto hips. It is not good if the belts slide down. We stopped again and took off rain gear. It was just as well because the sun was shining. Quote from the trail planner:¢The beginning of a thru-hike is a wakeup call for most hikers¢¦the moment of truth. Your first day of hiking offers a taste of what the entire 2170-plus miles will be like. In a word: TOUGH¢In general the first day was uneventful. The ups and downs just simply kicked the stuffing out of us. All my hiking in Florida helped with the recovery time at the tops of the hills, but the hills were still tough. I had read about using the ¢rest step¢ and had asked Josh to demonstrate. This definitely helps. Only a little, but over the miles, it will be worthwhile.We met a Columbian/Venezuelan couple who had been out hiking for several days. We eventually named the lady, ¢Emerald¢ and the man chose ¢Sharpie¢. We came to a sign and hiked down a blue blaze trail to the Hawk Mountain Shelter. We were the first ones, followed by a single man, Bob and then Emerald and Sharpie. They moved off to a tent site and we didn¢t see them until the following day. There are many wildflowers in bloom. I saw a pink lady slipper flower, which is a fairly rare flower. Seeing one was a treat!The shelter is a neat three-sided structure with a loft for additional hikers. The shelters are placed roughly a day¢s hike apart. The only problem with this shelter was the first step. It was about 24 inches up to the first level. After a day of tough hiking, we crawled up on the platform. I imagine the design is to limit animals, but it almost limited us.The first order of business for the evening was getting water. So, Bob headed out and a short time later we followed. We learned a major lesson¢¦wait until the first person gets back so we know which trail to follow. There was a sign, but we didn¢t pay close attention. We all took the wrong path, returned, took the right path and filtered enough water for the evening. We cooked our dinner of sausage, red beans and rice. Tasted great!! But we were so tired and hungry that the plastic bag would have tasted good.Then another hiker, Backfire, joined us. I won¢t even talk about how he got his name.Backfire uses a hammock setup for his shelter and sleeping. He said it worked well unless it got really cold. After Backfire ate, we set around and talked until dark. Backfire was very interesting because he had thru-hiked a few years ago. Then on just a spur of the moment, he decided to do it again. See, there really are others starting as late as I am. About 9:00pm we hung our food on the bear cable system and went to bed. I did not sleep well. I had a little bit of trouble getting used to the mummy sleeping bag and silk liner. I was trying two pads as suggested by Lightfoot for back relief. It dropped to the mid 40¢s but my 32-degree bag performed well. Dennie was really warm in his 15-degree bag.May 19, 2006 DAY TWO ON THE TRAILDay 2. Hawk Mtn Shelter to Gooch Mtn Shelter (7.3 miles)We woke up around 7:00 a.m., had breakfast of Pop-tarts and carnation instant breakfast. Then we rolled out about 8:30. It was around 46 degrees. We started out with our fleece and then had to stop to make a stop to remove them. Another lesson¢¦I will get hot in about 30 minutes so don¢t overdress in the mornings.I feel good, the miles are easier and I am taking the hills at a decent pace. It is a great day to hike. I CAN DO THIS.Dennie is having trouble. The climbs are tough and he is having trouble with his feet. The 600-foot climb up Sassafras Mountain followed by another 400-foot climb up Justus Mountain just about did him in. We descended down to Justus Creek area, stopped and talked with Emerald and Sharpie who were eating dinner and then climbed back up 450 feet to Gooch Mtn Shelter where we were going to spend the night. We had originally planned to do 5 more miles, but Dennie couldn¢t make it and I would have had a tough time.A short time later, Bill showed up and we all began to set up. Emerald and Sharpie came in and were off to a tent site to setup. This is a new shelter built in 2001 and it¢s really nice. Bill talked a little about his section hiking. He has hiked more than 1000 miles on the AT. This time he is just out for overnight. Then a group I will call the ¢Gang of Five¢ showed up. Three of them decided to sleep in the upper level and two will stay in their hammocks. They are all fairly young and just out for a weekend hike. They fixed an incredible amount of food. Each one had a stove and at one time they were all blazing. They fixed fancy dehydrated meals. Then one of them got out a small espresso machine. Later, they broke out bourbon and cigars. These guys are living! About an hour after the Gang of Five arrived, another hiker came in. He looked like he was in really bad shape and I think he had major foot problems. He was walking in Crocs and had his hiking shoes hooked to his pack. He had walked from Springer (which is15 miles) in one day so no wonder he looked tired. When we see Ris«, Dennie has decided he is going to dramatically reduce the amount of gear he is carrying. I am also going to reduce some of mine. We are now going to be a day later meeting Ris« and we need to let her know. I haven¢t figured it all out yet.During the night, a mouse ran across Dennie¢s forehead. He got up and hung up his pack. Then I woke up again heard a mouse chewing on something. So I moved my pack outside and re-hung it.