Hiker No. 867 / Hiker No. 862
- T.L. Seal
- Mar 24, 2016
- 2 min read
Day 1 on the Trail: 3.8 Trail Miles / 12.6 Total
We left our "resort" and headed to the trail about 9:45 am. When we got to the Approach Trail at Amicalola Falls we all weighed our gear, everyone averaged about 40 pounds so I suspect most of us will be sending extra stuff home this week (I know I will), and registered as thru hikers for the AT . I registered at #867 and Thomas as #862. It was surreal being at the head of the Approach Trail and standing under the stone arch. It's a well recognized symbol to all that thru hike the AT and I was there!
Thomas and I started out, after the obligatory group photo, and were promptly slowed by the several hundred step staircase that leads to top of the Falls. First let me say, I highly recommend doing the Approach Trail. Is it hard? Will it kick your butt? Will you possibly have a stroke? Yup, but it's worth it. The view is stunning and why worry about a 8.8 mile hike when you plan to do 2200 miles total.
It took us about 5 hours to make it to the top of Springer Mountain. We took a couple pictures, topped off with water, and grabbed a quick bite to eat. After watching most everyone else set up camp for the night, Thomas and I, decided to continue a couple more miles to Stover Creek shelter. On our way there, we ran into "Mama Goose." She was one of the original Warrior Hikers in 2013 and had just hiked over 17 miles from Gooch Gap South bound to join our group and hike with us for a few days going North. After a short conversation, we parted ways and Thomas and I continued to Stover Creek.
There were about a dozen people at the shelter and most wanted to pitch tents, as opposed to sleeping in the shelter. We were warned that there was some "virus" on the trail this year and I think it has most people avoiding sleeping near each other. Thomas and I choose to just "cowboy" camp, which is just like it sounds; we slept under the stars in our sleeping bags. Last I checked it was supposed to get down to about 40 degrees that night, but we ain't scared!
We met a couple of nice folks at the shelter, too. One guy, named Kane, had just hiked a 1000 kilometer trail in Western Australia. We also met a father and son group. Ralph was the father and was a former Ranger in the Army. He was an awesome guy and I would have liked to talk more with him but he was only gonna be on the trail a few more days before he left. His son had just graduated from Alabama (Booo!) and was planning on doing the whole thing.
As the sun set, we curled up in our sleeping bags and called it a night. More to come tomorrow!
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