March 25, Hiking Day 1!

Sunday, March 25th 2018
Sam's AT Mileage Tracker: Day 1 -8.8 to 0.9 miles 


This is it - the start of our thru-hike on the AT!  Samantha did the approach trail today.  The plan was that Mark and I would hike to the Springer Mountain trailhead from the other direction (via road access, about a mile each way). 


Uhhh....  Where's the trail?  I thought we were hiking a trail, not a paved walkway!  If this keeps up, we'll be done in no time.  ;)


Day one was misty, but the trail was well marked and everything else went well!


VERY well marked.  They even counted the steps for us.  How thoughtful...


Notice how everything is "strenuous" here?  Not a problem for Samantha, but it doesn't seem like there's much of a change in difficulty!


"604" steps, they said...  No idea where those extra 4 came from, they could have just designed things a biiiiit different to make it a rounded number.


All joking aside, this trail was very well kept.  If only the rest of it would be this nice!


Ah.  Here's the dirt we've all come to know and love.  The sun was trying to come out for a minute!  Saying "hi" while Samantha was on the trail.


A slightly older trail mileage marker at the Nimble Well gap.  Only 3.4 miles to Springer Mountain, and the official start of the AT!


While Samantha was hiking, Mark and I roughed it in Helen, GA, having lunch at the local Haufbrau Haus.  It was a nice jaunt into Bavaria, and a really fun experience.  Of course we got the t-shirt, not to mention the curryworst.  Rough way to start the trail.



We eventually caught up to Sam.  She flew through those 8.5 miles in 4.5 hours!  Then she had to wait for about an hour for me to join her.  We found her happy, but practically frozen.  It was a cold day.


First white trail blaze.  THIS IS IT!  Our start date is official: 3/25/18!  Only 2190 miles to go!

Comments

  1. Sue CoyleMarch 27, 2018 at 7:47 AM

    Congratulations on your official start. Sam's approach may have been easier than all those steps! Lunch looked wonderful. A good last meal before trail rations. Hope the weather improves! Best wishes SG2!

    ReplyDelete
  2. UnknownMarch 27, 2018 at 6:12 PM

    Go get em! Looking forward to your check ins, hopefully we can meet up in NC.

    ReplyDelete
  3. UnknownMarch 28, 2018 at 7:37 PM

    Have fun, and try to stay warm and dry. I've completed a little over 1200 miles of the AT the last three summers. It's great fun and there is nothing else like it. This time a year you should see lots of trail magic. Eat whenever you can. Looking forward to following your blog. I did the Approach Trail to Fontana Dam last year. Take your picture underneath the roof at Neel's Gap. It's the only place on the AT under a roof. Remember, no matter what anybody tells you, PA is no that bad.

    ReplyDelete

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