Date: 2014-04-16
From: Springer Mountain

To: Hawk Mountain Shelter
Miles today: 8.1
Weather: clear sky

"Are you as nervous as I am or am I the only one freaking out on the inside?" "Yeah, I'm nervous too."   I could barely eat breakfast in the morning. Considering I could only eat grits and fruit (I forgot to mention to the Hiker Hostel that I'm vegan), that wasn't so terrible. We packed up all our stuff which I was able to weigh before we left. 34 pounds but the pulley scale is a little rusty so it might've been off a little. I thought just shy of 32. We'll see if I get rid of anything after time.    The ride over was an hour long, we left at 8:30. Next to me was a 65 year old man from the UK named Timber. In 2006, he cycled from Virginia to Portland. A couple years ago he did the AT from Harper's Ferry to Katahdin. This year he's looking to do the rest. His wife told him it's his last long trip. I said you might as well take advantage of that and do the whole thing straight through! He said he might. She told him his trail name should be "Never Home" and in my head I was thinking he was going to say "Never Again". He liked that one better. He told me to take my time in the beginning and not push the miles for a few weeks and to also take care of my feet. I hope I run into him often because he's great to talk to.    I made myself drink a whole Poland Spring bottle on the drive and toward the end I was ready to pee myself. They drop us off at a parking lot that doesn't have a bathroom or anything so I just started walking with half of the guys (9 guys on the van plus me). The other half which were the older men looked like they were going to look at the maps and stuff in the parking lot first. So I waited until we got a little bit up the mountain and told the guys I'll see them later cause I had to pee. No sign of the others behind me. I pulled out my fancy urinary director that allows me to pee standing up and go to town. Except I was still super nervous and excited so it was taking forever. I turn to my right and Grant comes walking up the trail out of nowhere! I laughed and said, "Don't mind me, just peeing!" And he laughs and goes, "I didn't know that was possible!" So I explained what it was and he snuck a peek and thought it was the coolest invention ever. I agree. It's insanely convenient to be able to go whenever and not have to take my pack off. The rest of the older men passed and I trailed behind them.    The trail to Springer Mountain that I took is actually the first mile of the AT itself so I did have to walk back down it. It was incredibly rocky and fairly steep and reminded me of the last half mile or so of the Cold Mountain trail in North Carolina. There was also some ice and I slipped once slightly on my way up. The worst fears ran through my head of course. When I got to the top, everyone else was there. It was overwhelming and not exactly what I imagined it looked like. Just two plaques in the rocks on the ground. I took a couple of photos and had Grant take a photo of me. I think because of all the people and the fact that I really had to pee again, I forgot completely about anything I wanted to do up there. I even forgot to sign the registration book (in my defense, it's hidden in the side of a rock behind handle and when I saw one guy writing, I thought he was writing in his journal). I later found out a bunch of other people forgot to do it as well. No big deal.    I was alone for pretty much the whole rest of the day's hike. I did stop for lunch at a shelter where three guys were. And I had to pee really badly again soon after that. I felt like a puppy that was in a new place - overly excited and nervous all at once... so they pee often. It was ridiculous.    The trail was beautiful. I was smiling to myself so much of the time. Seeing the first white blaze didn't have that reality-hitting effect like I thought it would. It was cool seeing one while driving up there actually. A moment that hit me on the trail was after about a mile or two when I came across a sign that said <--S Appalachian Trail N--> and I touched it on the northern part and started to cry a little. It was just crazy to think about finally being out here in Georgia and thinking about walking all the way to Maine. The weather put some smiles on my face too. It was absolutely perfect. The night should be chilly but I think I'll be fine all layered up.    Getting water is time consuming since my dirty water collection bag is kinda small and the filter takes a while to squeeze out. It's not like I'm in a rush though once I get to camp. Boiling my water and food took a bit too since it was windy and chilly but it tasted great with my added nutritional yeast and spices. I met another Ben who I guess I'll refer to as short Ben to differentiate. He's 19, from Huntsville, and has a nice compass tattoo on his calf.    We all split after eating at the table by the shelter. There are probably 25 tents and then a handful of people staying in the actual shelter. Big crowd. Speaking of 25 tents... I found 50 cents on the MARTA train right when I got off, then I got a quarter change from the hostel, then today I found another in the shelter. It's nice to find money but I hope it doesn't become a thing with quarters at least. They're too heavy!   It's not as noisy out here as I thought it would be. People aren't loud, not many animal sounds at all. Just noise from the wind. But I'll use ear plugs anyway to help me sleep since I think any little thing might keep me up.    I miss tissues.