Date: 2005-03-20
From: Amicalola Falls State Park

To: Stover Creek Shelter
Miles today: 11.3
Weather: clear sky

I don't think I've ever been this excited before! It's a beautiful day. The air is crisp and cool, and the sun casts an orange glow on everything around me. I attempt to drag my family out to the Super-8 parking lot so we can start the forty-five minute journey to Amicalola Falls State Park. Once we're in motion, I've got plenty of time to look out the window and think about what lies ahead for me. Have I brought the right gear? Am I in good enough shape? Will the back I overstressed at work heal or get worse? It's just walking, right? Why do SO many people not make it the whole way? Maine is really, really far away. Needless to say, I'm suddenly feeling a LITTLE anxiety. I'm about to be dropped off alone to explore the unfamiliar for SIX MONTHS!!!My dad (Ralph) and step mom (Pam) have come from Tennesse this morning on their Goldwing to say goodbye in person. I'm happy to see them finally arrive, and we all sit down to a big breakfast inside Amicalola Lodge. It feels great to have my family together like this, and I'd love to hang out with them all day, but I know that I have to get going soon if I want to finish the approach trail before dark. So we shuttle ourselves down from the falls to the visitor's center where I meet Nick (from Florida) and Dave (from Chicago). They seem to be around my age, in very good spirits, and one of them has the same pack that I do! I then proceed to register, weigh my pack, and have a polaroid made to go on the wall (By the way, there's already about two-hundred pictures of regisered hikers posted, which is only about a tenth of who's expected to start this year). It's fifty degrees outside, and a perfect morning to shove off on a long-awaited adventure. I say my bitter-sweet good-byes to everyone and walk through the (famous?) archway that marks the start of the 8.8 mile approach trail. Wow, no turning back!For the next few hours, I'm like a machine. I don't stop for long because I'm running on adrenaline and feel like I've got to hurry. However, I do manage to pause and talk to a few people along the way. The first hiker I meet is Bob (later named Buffalo Bob) who appears to be sweating to death, and for good reason; His pack probably weighs as much as I do. Bob says that he's just retired from the Marines the day before coming out here, and he offers me five bucks to carry his pack for him (I say no). Later, I meet Sailor Sid on the way up. He's from Fayethville, NC and is also retired. Eventually, I arrive at Springer Mountain itself, which looks just like every other large hill that I've climbed today. There's a group of hikers standing around the terminus that dissapear soon after I arrive. I could've made an effort to talk to them, but I'm too shy. Fortunately, I'll get to know some of them later as Dready Bear, Blaze, and Samson (their dog). Libby (later known as Vogue) is still around and volunteers to take my picture on Springer. After she leaves, I take a moment to be alone and appreciate where I am... at the southern terminus the Appalachian Trail! It's not even four o'clock yet. I see the sign for Springer Mtn. Shelter, but I don't see the shelter anywhere, and I feel like hiking a little more today. I thought that everyone must have gone on ahead, and that maybe I should too (However, I'll later find that everyone DID stay there after all). So I continue a few more miles down the trail to the next shelter in order to have put in a really good day. I've been warned not to over-exert myself at first, but I'm feeling pretty good as of now. Pirate and Loren are found occupying Stover Creek Shelter, and there's a tent set up nearby omitting some loud snoring. So I set up my tarptent and start to cook dinner. I'm really shy, and It's kind of awkward eating dinner with people I don't know. Furthermore, Pirate's got a video camera and decides to record various things from time to time. Apparently, he hikes the trail every year, hopping from one shelter to the next while taking his time. His plan, he says, is to get to Harpers Ferry but take a left towards Michigan. Loren, although pretty quiet, informs me that he's been on a month-long canoeing trip up north before. I'm impressed.