Day 10 to 12 - Angels and Reflex

Susan's Journal Entry 5 - Recorded Friday, April 6th for the preceding two days.

"Bravery is acknowledging your fear & doing it anyway.  Vulnerability is strength.  Trust your gut, forgive yourself, be grateful" - Jean

Some bonus pictures from yesterday.  Left: Toilet Tree (any takers?  Anyone?).  Right:  Devon carrying two packs.


Day 10 (Hiawassee, Georgia) - "Tuesday 4/3/18 - Zero day.  Samantha, Mike & Devon went fishing today while Sam, JoAnn, & I got some supplies & picked up our first mail drop box.  Later we went to dinner at this restaurant where Samantha earned her trail name." - Susan

 " I got my trail name this week!! We were at dinner with some fellow hikers.  The server was serving us our drinks and someone knocked her and a bottle of beer toppled over my shoulder.  I caught it by the bottom of the bottle (face up) with my right hand twisted behind my back.  Of  course, the beer was already bubbling over.  I one handed swooped it to the front and instinctively started chugging so it would stop spilling.  It was epic everyone was laughing and talking about my mad skill!! After a few failed attempts at a trail name that could have been taken the wrong way, Reflex came out." - Sam

Hiking with our Trail Angels, lots of smiles! :)


Sam's AT Mileage Tracker:  Day 11 Mile Marker 52.3 to 58.1 to reach Tray

 "Wednesday 4/4/18 - We were up early and JoAnn dropped us off at Unicoi Gap to continue our hike.  Once Devon, Mike, & Reflex got to the Tray Mt Shelter 5.8 miles in, we discovered we were going to have 40-45  mph gusting winds with a wind chill of 24 degrees.  We decided to stay at the shelter rather than tent several miles away.  It was extremely cold!!  We used the Therma heat pack warmers that we had bought the day before and our trail angels set up a tarp over the shelter opening to block  the wind."
 Left: Tray Mt summit - 4398 feet in elevation. Right: Us in our sleeping bags.

Sam's AT Mileage Tracker:  Day 12 Mile Marker 58 to 69 to reach Dick's Creek Gap

 "Thursday 4/5/18 - We were all up early, packed, and on the trail before 9 so we could warm up.  It was a beautiful sunny day with highs in the low 50's.  Reflex, Mike & Devon finished early so Mike got his truck to pick up Sam & I around 3:45 at Dick's Creek  Gap.  It w as a great day.  We said farewell and are now back at the Holiday Inn in Hiawassee.  I just cannot say how much fun & joy they brought into our trip.  Their kindness has been overwhelming."

Comments

  1. UnknownApril 7, 2018 at 6:33 PM

    Wow! That is some tree! Stay safe!

    ReplyDelete
  2. UnknownApril 8, 2018 at 12:38 AM

    Love the toilet tree. No, I would not use it. May be snakes in that there hole! Great trail name and story, Sam! So glad you found your lovely Trail Angels. Sending love to you both. PS Saw Rebecca today and she's following your blog but, like me, is having trouble figuring out how to post. I finally did though. LOL

    ReplyDelete
  3. UnknownApril 8, 2018 at 12:39 AM

    This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Suzette TrucksessApril 8, 2018 at 7:28 PM

    Great story Sam! Enjoy reading about your adventures. Stay safe and have a great time!

    ReplyDelete
  5. MichaelApril 9, 2018 at 9:39 AM

    It was fun hiking with and hanging out with you both. Good luck and have fun, Michael

    ReplyDelete
  6. UnknownApril 10, 2018 at 7:17 PM

    Sue, what's your trail name? Sam's is great the way she acquired that name! Sounds like you guys are having a great time. Love the pictures and narrative that you have been posting. Seems like we're right along with you except we're warm at night, have hot showers, sometimes decent food, and we don't have to use a toilet tree! Stay safe and happy trails!

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Travel Day 1

Image
(Posting note:  The girls drove down to Georgia today with Sarge and are preparing for their hike!  So far, the forecast looks wet, but spirits are still high!  The plan is to send pictures/updates whenever cell reception is accessible and battery power is still high.  Stay tuned for more updates as SG squared start the hike and make their way through Georgia!) Drove to the beginning of the AT in Georgia today, super long drive (14 hours!), but nothing compared to what we are about to do!  Our hiker legs are getting restless.  Here, we passed the AT on the PA Turnpike. The stats from the trailhead in Georgia.  ONLY 2190.9 miles left to go!  Easy, right? :) Samantha and I are at the entrance to the approach trail.  Here we go, tomorrow is the big day!!
Read more

Day 31 to Day 40 - Another 100 miles down!

Image
Tuesday April 24th Sam's AT Mileage Tracker: Day 31 Mile Marker 207.3 to 217.8 to reach Peck's Corner Shelter Wednesday April 25th Sam's AT Mileage Tracker: Day 32 Mile Marker  217.8  to 230.7 to reach Cosby Knob Shelter Thursday April 26th Sam's AT Mileage Tracker: Day 33 Mile Marker 230.7 to 237.8 to reach Davenport Shelter Friday April 27th Sam's AT Mileage Tracker: Day 34 Mile Marker 237.6 to 241.4 to reach Green Corner Rd Hostel Saturday April 28th Sam's AT Mileage Tracker: Day 35 Mile Marker  241.4  to 254.0 to reach Max Patch Rd Sunday April 29th Sam's AT Mileage Tracker: Day 36 Mile Marker  254.0  to 267.0 to reach Old Rd Monday April 30th Sam's AT Mileage Tracker: Day 37 Mile Marker 267.0 to 274.5 to reach Hot Springs Sam, "There is a spreading forest fire on the trail right before hot springs...  My trail buddy, This Way, and I called in the fire at 9:30am when we walked by it...  It took...
Read more

The beginning

Image
Welcome everyone!! At last - The blog is finally set up and started.  Jonathan and Michael have set this up for us and now it is up to Samantha and me to supply content and pictures.  A note about the blog name - SG squared stands for Susan Grasman and Samantha Grasman - double trouble hiking the Appalachian Trail. I cannot believe all the snow we had yesterday.  Hopefully, we have seen the last of it and it will warm up by Monday down south especially in the evenings. We are busy gathering last minute supplies and weighing everything.  More about final pack weight later when we get to Georgia. Special thanks to all regarding supplies and much needed support and encouragement for this journey. We are very excited and (I'm) a little nervous waiting for the start date. (Supply Sergeant Mark is ready to keep us going throughout the Trail!) We have checked out all of our gear ensuring everything is working properly and we have what we need.  The ...
Read more