Date: 2014-04-14
From: Springer Mountain

To: Hawk Mountain Shelter
Miles today: 8.1
Weather: light rain

There are two choices when starting the AT from Springer Mountain. You can take the approach trail from Amicalola Falls State Park and hike up a steep 8 mile path to the AT trailhead. The advantage is a view of some great waterfalls. The disadvantage is a steep hike, the jokes on the trail are that half of the declared "thru-hikers" quit right on the approach trail, and that they throw out so much gear that you can gear yourself up simply by hiking up that trail. One hiker reported seeing a cast iron frying pan trail side, yikes imagine carrying that to Maine.Quick Pic at parking lot at FS42 before heading to SpringerWe elected to take the easy option and start 0.9 miles up the trail from Springer, hike the 0.9 down to Springer, chuck a quick U-ey and take off. Our shuttle dude Richard snapped a quick photo of us in the parking lot at Forest Road 42 and off we went, the start of a great adventure.The day was cloudy and cool, definitely looked liked it might rain, most everyone had their pack covers on, which also served to obscure the generally large nature of most folks packs at this early stage of the trail.One guy had what looked like a banjo tucked away under that cover, you could kinda see it from the shape, and sure enough that's what it was, I promptly gave him the trail name "Banjo Man", but it didn't stick. We wouldn't see him again until Franklin, NC, plucking for Ronnie Havens at the Budget Motel.The Plaque on Springer that marks the Southern Terminus of the AT There were quite a few folks hanging around at Springer, snapping photos and generally having a little celebration to mark the start of the journey, all the while wondering what kinda journey it would be. Some take the attitude "just gonna start walking towards Maine and see what happens", while others showed attitude like "I'm gonna make it to Maine come hell or high water".I started wondering "what defines a "thru-hiker" at this stage of the trail. It's a valid question-anyone can declare themselves headed to Maine, only about a third actually make it to Katahdin however, so at this stage how can anyone really be called a thru-hiker, is it enough to simply declare it to all and sundry and hope it sounds convincing, or is something more required, say like completing the first hundred miles, or the first state (Georgia), or some other requirement?Bit of a Cuddle on the Plague Rock Before We Start We cross back over the parking lot, and within minutes it starts to rain, just a bit of a light shower at first, then getting heavier to the point that we need to stop and cover our packs and ourselves. There are two shelters within 3 miles of Springer, the first almost at the mountain itself, for those who are exhausted by the climb up the approach trail, and the second at 2.8 miles, for those who are almost exhausted by the approach trail but can make it a little further.We stop at the second shelter to regroup a little, there's a very nice family there sitting out the rain for a bit, the kids are very young, they seem to be doing an exploratory trip to see what it's like on the trail for kids and adults, I'm reminded to Homer Witcher who took his 2 kids on a thru-hike and schooled them on the trail, they had to do home work every night at the shelter.Hawk Mountain Shelter After the Rain StoppedIt rains and rains, it seems like an omen for the trip, it's not a downpour but very steady,  it doesn't slow us down much because the trail is very easy here and we make it to first stop by 3:30pm-Hawk Mountain Shelter, it's packed to the rafters (well almost), people seem to be coming outa the woodwork, there are a cupla spaces right in front for us however, we decide to grab them even though we haven't decided to stay yet.The crowd is very new and very friendly, and very diverse (at least hiker wise). There are some declared thru-hikers, some section hikers, and some people just hangin out on the trail, not sure what they're doing or how far they'll go. It's crowded and damp, water drips down onto our pads and sleeping bags from all the gear hanging from the rafters, so it feels like its raining inside the shelter.Trying to Squeeze Into a Packed ShelterSoon the rain stops and we pile out, glad to be able to walk around a bit, it's foggy and misty on the mountain but at least not raining. There's not much to do except think about a fire, some are dismissive but I know I can do it, just need some wood that at least isn't green, if not dry.There's an old fire place in the back and it has some wood, it looks well seasoned, and collect some more from the woods, I have fire starters and someone has alcohol fuel, so we get the fire going, it never really takes off though until a hiker on the trail for his 25 year reunion thru-hike dumps a pile of wood and it gets up some steam.Cozy Outa the RainIncluded in the guest list is ridge runner, a hiker on a small stipend who ranges up and down the trail keeping an eye on things and helping anyone in trouble, his name is Zach or Blue Eyes and he hiked the trail last year, very friendly and understanding, a guy rolls outa the shelter who looks a little a shorter version of Jeff Bridges in the Big Lebowski, so Zach immediately gives him the trail name "The Dude" and it sticks.There's a women in the shelter who has dog tied up inside, she emerges after the rain stops and turns out to be a bit of a water color artist, starts to paint a scene of the woods in the mist in (very) early spring, still little sign of green here even though we are well South. When we left DC there was green all around so it's a bit strange to seem to go backwards to a winter scape way to the South.Two older guys roll in, turns out they're doing the same section in roughly the same time frame and they seem very friendly, if a little outa shape, wonder how much we'll see of them on the trail?