Date: 2003-01-17
To: Half way to Amicalola
Miles today: 5.0

Well, I finally got out to hike for real. And in a manner of speaking, I thru hiked my first trail¢¦ Sort of¢¦ The Approach trail to Springer Mountain, the Southern Terminus of the AT in Georgia¢¦ I was headed to Amicalola State Park for a gathering of hikers (called a Ruck), so I figured I might as well hike the trail in to the get together, and test gear on the way.Well, we started at route 42 & hiked south in to Springer Friday. It was about 1:30, sunny & 20 degrees, with 15-20 mph winds, and there was 2 inches of snow on the ground from a storm the night before. There were no tracks in the snow as we started down the trail¢¦.. Pretty cool¢¦I was wearing:Thin baseball cap (REI)Ear warmer band (windproof, light material)Patagonia Stretch Expedition Weight Capilene Crew topBlack Diamond 100 fleece jacket (full zip).ATC buff worn as a neck warmer (think of the survivor multi purpose rag)Patagonia R1 Tights Patagonia supplex type shortsWigwam merino wool socks (reg weight)Lowa Tempest Mid bootConvertible mitten/gloves (windproof fleece)Leki Super Makalu COR TEC PA polesNeoprene solar belt (to keep my back warm).Cool Sun glasss (Gotta be cool.. I'm the Dawg..).This is all I hiked in the first afternoon (5 miles). I zipped & unzipped the fleece as needed. The Sun was bright & reflecting off the snow, and the ice in the tree branches.. The sky was so blue above the sparkles, and we just looked sooo cool in our fancy shades¢¦ Gotta be cool to hike with us¢¦. The view of and from Springer was just spectacular¢¦ We took care of some difficulties I had with my Lekis, they wouldn¢t lock in place (I screwed them too far the wrong direction & they needed to be collapsed & adjusted.. What can I say, I never used poles before.. sigh¢¦). I added an ear warmer headband & headed down the trail. What a beautiful day¢¦.So about 4 miles & 2 falls later (One fall on my butt & one on my left knee), we decided to stop for the night.Just South of Nimblewill Gap, we stopped to set up camp. After I had the tent set up & dinner was cooking, I put on my Patagonia Puff vest, then I added my Marmot precip rain top to block wind, and put on a pullover acrylic hat. As we ate dinner, the sun set and the temperature plummeted.. We cleaned up & quickly got into the tent & our sleeping bags. My feet hurt from the cold (from sitting around eating dinner), so I put on new dry socks & put my sleeping shirt (Patagonia EW Fleece) into the toe of my bag (so my feet could cuddle), with a Nalgene bottle of hot water. My toes felt better in no time.. Toasty¢¦..The tent I was using, was a Clip Flashlight (2), instead of my thruhike Nomad single (it¢s better in thecold). I tried sleeping on a Cheap blue foam pad, and a Z rest pad, and was very warm with this combo, but not comfortable. My back needs more cushioning... I knew it would, it always does. We got in our bags & laid down at 6:30 PM, and were there until 8AM (it was still -1 degree then), so I needed much more cushioning to lay down for that long. I think a thermarest pad will be coming with me on my thruhike. If I want to really act like a princess, it will be a full length 2 inch thick one (we¢ll see).My sleeping bag is a MountainSmith vision +15 750 down bag (long).My bag liner is a silk Jagbag liner. Both combined to keep me warm on a cold night.I slept in the stretch top & bottom I hiked in, & my fleece jacket.I never wore my Patagonia EW fleece sleeping bottoms.I had a cheap fleece scarf just in case, but only used it to wrap my camera at night.At around midnight, after many fitful naps, I had to get up and pee¢¦. Not fun when you are warm, and it¢s freakin¢ cold out there¢¦ ;-) So I got my headlight & went out to do my thing¢¦. No ice cubes formed in the process¢¦. As I headed back to the tent, I checked the thermometer I had left on my pack¢¦. I thought I was sleepy, but did that really say it was 5 below zero?!?!?!?! OH MY GOD!!!! IT DID!!!IT¢s 5 BELOW¢¦ What am I doing out here?!?!??! I ran back to the tent & dove into my bag¢¦. Brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr¢¦¢¦.. But withing minutes, I was warm again and feeling pretty good about things.. Hey!!! I¢m camping in the woods, and it¢s 5 below!!! And I feel good¢¦ Very cool¢¦.