Date: 2007-03-25
From: Springer

To: Hawk Mountain
Miles today: 7.5
Weather: clear sky

Well, it is finally here!! Judy, Max (my 2 1/2 yr. old grandson) and I left home Friday morning. We drove about 10 hrs. to Cleveland, TN and stayed the night there. Max is currently heavily into Thomas the Tank Engine, so his day was made when we found a train display in the mall where we ate dinner. We left for Springer Sat. morning. We left Mechanicsburg with rain and about 40 deg. As soon as we got into VA, the weather improved. It was in the high 70s and sunny in southern TN. Before we left Cleveland, Max hit the jackpot again. There was an American Legion post around the corner from the hotel. They had a WW I train display that travels around to parades, etc. Max was in heaven.When we came into Amicolola State Park, the weather was simply the best imaginable, high 70s and barely a cloud to be seen. I had heard good things about the Lodge, but it exceeded my expectations. It's a beatiful wood and stone structure surrounded by woods and beautiful mountain vistas. If you plan a thru hike from Springer, stay in the Lodge or surrounding cabins if you can possibly swing it financially. It's not really that expensive, anyway.There's a visitors center at the entrance to the Park and then you climb a mile hill to the Lodge. Thru hikers sign in at the v. c. I signed in as prospective thru hiker 322 of 2007. There are 3 options for thru hikers starting from Springer (actually 4 if you stay at the Hike Inn and then start from there). One is to do the 8.3 mi. approach trail to Springer, which includes a several hundred foot increase in elevation. Another is to take some back roads that will put you on the approach trail about 2 miles from Springer. The last part of that trip is reported to be a very rocky and bumpy dirt road. The third takes you a different way, leaving you on the AT about .9 mile from Springer. This means you must go up to Springer and then back track the first .9 mile on your way north. Judy graciously agreed to take me up this way to eliminate the approach trail. The last part is a dirt road, but not too bad.When I got to the trailhead, I met Mt. Squid, another Whiteblazer. He is spending several days giving directions to people starting hikes. He said I am just the fifth Whiteblazer to check in with him for a thru hike. I left my pack with him and slack packed up to the summit. There I met Many Sleeps, a former thru hiker who is monitoring the summit for the GA AT Club. He took the obligatory pictures of me at the summit.When I got back to the trailhead, Mt. Squid showed me a dolley of the sort used by beer truck drivers for deliveries. A guy was planning to carry provisions on it and drag it to Katahdin!! Thankfully he was persuaded to leave it and some of his supplies. About 4 miles down the trail I found another cache of food and gear, maybe left by the same guy. I "liberated" a couple cans of vienna sausages, which became part of my dinner. His pain, my gain. I met a guy just before Hawk Mt. sitting down with a big pack and looking totally beat. He may have been my benefactor.I just did 7.6 mi. today, 8.5 if you count the backtrack. I got in just after 3 p.m. I could have gone a couple hours further, but I am taking it easy to start. There are many stories of folks who started out fast and got injured. Very pretty scenery today, and almost too hot. Big Stamp Gamp was particularly beautiful, winding down a hill through wild rhododendrums.