Today I've made it 50 miles. For me, a not so active person, this is a great accomplishment. I started on Sunday the fifth with my best friend Eric. We hiked amicalola falls and the approach trail and stopped at Stover Creek shelter the first night. This was it! I was on the AT after a year of planning and saving. The approach trail was pretty difficult for me. I wasn't used to, and I'm still not, the elevation. It's one thing to walk 12 miles, it's another to do it up and down. My ears popped a few times. My second day and first full day on the AT it rained all morning. Eric and I stopped at Hawk mountain shelter for lunch and we waited for the rain to slow down a bit. The first couple of days were beautiful in an eerie way. The trees were all shrouded in mist and I could barely see ten feet in front of me. I think the first time it cleared up was Woody gap. I came out of the trees and the were some picnic tables. We sat down to eat lunch, and slowly the mist cleared. We could see across the road to the bathrooms and the trail, and then on our left it cleared away into a breath taking view. The land rippled and rolled, small buildings dotted the landscape. Some trees were greener than others adding to the patchwork quilt that was Georgia. I'm born and raised in Miami and although I've traveled to North and South Carolina before I'm not used to how the world looks when it's not flat. The day I climbed and descended Blood Mountain was the first day I thought I might quit. The climb wasn't as bad as I thought it would be but the descent was knee breaking. It was all rock shelf and steep at that. Steps made of rocks that were a foot to high. I skinned my knees falling once and tore my thermals that I was wearing under my shirts. My ankles liked to roll. I have to concentrate on each step or I'm likely to roll them again. They don't talk about that much, the fact that your body is basically destroyed and rebuilt. My feet ache, legs are constantly sore and my back feels terrible. I was told on the trail by an old man who had section hiked the whole thing that if you made it 28 days on the trail it was in the bag. The rest of it was mental. I've been holding on to that thought. I spent the night after blood mountain at the cabins there with two other thru hikers, lucky charms and Ohio. We enjoyed some drinks on the back porch with Patches, Rosebud and Fitz. I think just that one night rejuvenated me and brought me out of the Blood Mountain funk. There is a reason that a good chunk of people quit at Neels Gap and I was almost one of them. Eric, whose trail name is now yoohoo due to his undying love of the drink of the same name, felt really good after blood mountain and kept hiking. He's at least a day ahead of me now but that doesn't worry me. I've actually enjoyed hiking alone with my own plan. Yoohoo wants to finish by the time fall semester starts so he's being very aggressive with his miles. I've been given the trail name Rainman, because I knew the exact altitude of the summit of blood mountain when Jukebox asked. I'm in Hiawassee now, staying at Mulls. I've stocked up on enough food to get me through to Franklin. I've heard the beginning of North Carolina is tough but I'm looking forward to hitting my first state border. I have t mobile so reception is nonexistent. I will update as often as I can.
