Day #1 - A Grand Beginning

***Preface/General Disclaimer - Pay no attention to the "dates posted." I have no idea when I will have access to a computer and internet capability. I will update as often as possible, and will put the date each post was written on the post itself.***

Monday, March 8, 2010

I decided to start my Appalachian Trail adventure during my spring break from college, since graduation isn't until May, leaving me limited time to get to Maine from Georgia. Me, Mamma and Daddy are staying in TN, a couple hours' drive from the trail. The plan was to get here as soon as possible and spend at least 8 days hiking. Averaging 10 miles/day, that would mean that I could hike the entire trail in GA over break, which would be a fantastic test run/head start. However, we decided to stay in Nashville for the weekend to watch the Murray State Racers WIN the OVC title in basketball (Go Big Blue!). Absolutely worth the delay, but it meant we didn't get to the trail until today.

Mamma dropped us off on the road up Springer Mountain at about 3:00 pm. The parking area is actually about a mile from the summit, but it's the closest you can get without hiking the 8.8 mile access trail from the bottom. Hugs and pictures and off we went. The mile up to the actual summit was a pretty tough climb, especially over the snow/ice/mud still lingering from February, but I was determined to go sign my name in the official AT hiker's log at the summit (which, as it turns out, is a spiral bound notebook shoved into a metal box wedged into a big rock...slightly anticlimactic...), and I did.

We actually doubled over the mile we had just hiked and made our way down Springer, past the parking lot we'd been dropped off at and on into some beautiful, meandering trails through the biggest (think "Land of the Lost" big) rhododendron thickets I've ever seen. I only wish they were in bloom. We made it a little over 4 miles from Springer's summit before we made camp just before dark. We picked a spot right next to the trail in a little clearing of trees right next to a river. I'm in charge of food, but I was so hungry that I didn't let our macaroni and cheese cook long enough before dishing it out, so it was..."al dente"...but still good.

At this point, my first night on the trail, I am completely bedazzled by the beauty of the adventure I've started. I don't really care that my feet hurt, or that it's 35 degrees outside. What an amazing, miraculous world we live in. And I get to explore 2,000 miles of it with my own two feet. It's real now. This adventure, this commitment. And I absolutely couldn't be more excited.

Quote of the Day: (picks up Springer Mtn. Hiker log) "You know I was really expecting something more official. Like a dusty, leather-bound tome tended by a monk. How disappointing." - Daddy

Miles Traveled Today: 5.2

Miles From Springer Mountain, Georgia: 4.3

Miles from Mount Katahdin, Maine: 2,174

Feeling: Awestruck