Date: 2019-03-25
From: Len Foote Hike Inn

To: Stover Creek Shelter
Miles today: 7.2
Weather: overcast clouds

Food! Today I realized the true importance of food. I ate a nice big meal of sausage, eggs, and biscuits at the Inn, but I waited a while before I ate again. Something about the annoyance of taking my pack off completely to get food out and putting it back on... I¢m going to try to place some snack bars in my pack waist pockets for easy access! But because I didn¢t eat much, I was getting hangry and feeling frustrated. I got up to Springer Mountain without even realizing it! The trail had the blazes, but no signs! I had hiked about 4.4 miles and was pretty much alone the whole way. It made me happy to have my music because I really can get into my head sometimes, especially when hungry! When I arrived on Springer, there were two people from the Inn, which was nice! And I met a whole clan of thru-hikers, all boys! They were all nice, but I definitely felt proud being a solo-girl hiker! Some of them were very ambitious, planning for a 17-mile hike on their first day. I was still happy with my plan to hike 7 miles.... especially because it was starting to rain!! To all the folks praying for me back home, thank you! I was blessed with warmth and a light drizzle on my second day! I arrived at my shelter at about 2pm. There were a ton of hikers there already and it was starting to pour. I felt tired, but also didn¢t know if I should change clothes because I¢d need to filter some water for tomorrow and would need to go back out to do that. I am currently lying on my sleeping bag in my hiking clothes, but I¢m pretty cold because I¢m in my sweaty hiking clothes. One downside to today was that I found a tiny hole in my inflatable sleeping pad in the shelter. It¢s tiny, but enough to deflate the whole pad. Ugh. I expected some downsides and upsets, but not on day two! I figured out a solution... I packed some medical tape with me so I used that to cover it up and was able to reinflate it... until it deflated again. Maybe REI will be helpful and allow me to exchange, but if not, I can get a new one at Neel¢s Gap in a few days. These things happen! Overall thoughts for the day... I started out feeling pretty sore and homesick, but I took some Advil and headed off! I was hangry a few miles in, but happily ate my lunch on Springer and celebrated officially starting the trail! I felt really good the rest of the way to my shelter, but am now pretty cold and annoyed about my pad. I met so many wonderful people today and that helps me feel adjusted and happy to be doing this! And all the love and help from back home is also making me feel great, so thank you! I¢m looking forward to a warm Mountain House meal! And the GORP, or trail mix, I have is also delicious; it has sweet dried fruit, which really hit the spot! People I¢ve met so far: Eric from Litchfield County, CT (yay CT!), Jacob from Indiana, Colt from Arkansas, Emma from Texas, Amie, Graham, Amy (who brought her dog aghhh), Tyler (who showed me how to use my water filter properly and was very entertaining, and who had a whole block of cheese and powdered hot chocolate), two people from Germany, and two retired folks from Virginia! Honestly it¢s a lot of names haha so I tried to get as many down as I could! Craig left me with a great quote since it was starting to rain when I ran into him: no rain, no pain, no Maine! A little early to start thinking about Maine, but it¢s definitely on my mind. The first goal that will make me feel accomplished and encouraged is the NC border! Soon enough! Song of the day was Mr. Brightside. It is one of my favorite songs and it came on my shuffle, and just made me feel happy and comforted. Here¢s to a warm meal and hopefully a good sleep! So... I am not sleeping well and am fully awake at 11pm. I was totally wiped yesterday, but since I took it easy today and only hiked 7 miles, I wasn¢t really wiped. I went to bed at 8pm, which is pretty early for me anyway. Entertaining Tyler is a snorer, but he did offer me his extra pad tonight and I¢m grateful. I could¢ve hiked farther today, as I felt pretty good, but I know my body will thank me later. Tomorrow I plan on 13 miles... just the way the shelters and my plan worked out. I know I can do it, but I¢m a little thrown off by today. It¢s hard to have things go wrong so early on. I sat and wrote here for a bit, processing my own frustration, as that¢s what the whole past year of my life has been about and it¢s what I¢m able to do now. I did get out of my funk for a bit and made dinner with everyone. My Mountain House meal was noodles and chicken, and tasted like ramen, but it was good! I played a card game (Tyler brought cards, mad props) called ¢Shithead¢. Tyler and I played for the win and I ended up the ¢Shithead¢. Hope that¢s not my trail name! Haha. Emma and I walked to the stream to get water. It was crisp and clean-looking, but I¢ll still filter it. Emma¢s leaving the trail soon and I¢m sad I won¢t see her again. Tyler is a section hiker so I won¢t see him either. Amie was also very intriguing, suggesting we ditch camp and hitch a ride into town, all while smoking a cigarette. She ended up staying and I¢m glad she did. The retired dad passed out at 3pm and the mom was so sweet. Meeting people who are that age does bring comfort as they feel like parent figures and provide wisdom. The youthful energy of Tyler is also valuable so I am lucky to have gotten both. It is quiet now, with the sound of the stream in the distance. It was pouring this afternoon and there was thunder and hail; I¢m glad I didn¢t push on. I stayed dry all day and avoided being out in the storm. Very thankful for my expensive rain gear from REI regardless! I¢m going to try to sleep now, hopefully I can!! Diana