Date: 2005-02-10
From: Amicalola Lodge

To: Springer Mountain Shelter
Miles today: 7.9
Weather: overcast clouds

Well, since I've been on the trail for nine days I thought it would be a good time to start my journal. I'm thru-hiking the AT with The Great Whazoo (Jim). We're both from Texas and we started the trail on Feb. 10, about 8 months after I decided to go. Day 1 we started from Amicalola Lodge and hiked up to Springer Mountain. This first stretch is considered by many to be one of the hardest parts of the AT, probably because you're not in shape. I had studied the elevation maps the night before and had a general understanding of the terrain. We start at 1500 ft, climb up Frosty Mountain, climb down Frosty Mountain, climb up another mountain, climb down, climb Springer Mountain and from there a quick hike to the shelter. An hour into the hike I was sure we had made it over Frosty and suggested that we take a break. The climb had been rough, but that was on less mountain between us and Maine. We had just finished our break when an older couple passed us going the other way. The man stops and says to us, "You see that mountain over there? That'll really get your blood pumping." When I asked him which mountain it was he replied, "Frosty mountain." As it turns out the AT is no walk in the park. Especially not when you have 50 lbs on your back and haven't gotten into trail shape. Nevertheless we got through everything the Approach Trail could throw at us and made it to Springer Mtn. about 1:30, 5 1/2 hours after starting. The wind on Springer was fierce, and after we took a few pictures we hurried off to the shelter, .2 miles away. Hiking in cold weather isn't bad. With all of the work your body is doing you warm up surprisingly fast. Sitting around in a 3-sided shelter doing nothing in cold weather can be bad. When we got there we donned our down jackets and spread out of therma-rests and sleeping bags, got water, and cooked supper. After that there wasn't much left to do. The wind was howling ferociously around the poor shelter and the cold was seeping in from every direction. By 5:00 we were both in our sleeping bags keeping warm and waiting for the sun to set.After much time had passed with few words being exchanged, Jim said to me, "You know what, Keith. I wish we were girls." I was puzzled by this and replied, "Okay. Why would that be?" The imeediate reply came, "Because they can talk for hours about nothing. We've been sitting here for 2 hours and have hardly said anything." I was unable to argue with such well-reasoned logic so simply replied, "Yep, I think you're right." A few minutes later he began to snore.As I was laying in the shelter trying to sleep I heard a strange sound. I opened my eyes and watched for several minutes. Just as I was about to dismiss the sound and try to sleep I noticed a movement on the floor about 3 feet in front of me. A mouse. For the next hour I attempted to sleep amid the sounds of scurrying and rummaging of tiny creatures. I heard them all over the shelter, on the floor, on the walls, and in our packs. As I lay there hoping that the furry demons would leave I felt one jump onto my head and quickly run away. Somehow I eventually got to sleep.