OmPi's Adventures

After a good nights sleep at The Hiker Hostel in Delonega, GA I awake to the percolating of the coffee machine. 7 am is coffee to get the day started then 730 is breakfast made by owners (Josh and Leigh) and the hostel hands. Delicious! It included pancakes, eggs which I had hoped were from their chickens (but Leigh said they only produce enough every 4 or so days),

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Grits (a southern delicacy and requirement) with cheese, as well as oatmeal with raisins and brown sugar. Everyone was so polite and only took a small plate but not me, well I was polite but filled my plate then when I got to the table smothered my pancakes with butter, peanut butter and syrup and hit those grits with a generous sprinkling of salt and pepper. Simon who is from England and also a Thru-hiker with his wife Sarah, asked about the grits and was enjoying trying an American Southern delicacy. The Germans (Sebastian and Brian) tried the pancakes in the "American fashion" aka loaded, when Kate who is from MSP informed them that the PB was not as common. Clearly from the Midwest. Lol.

830 we settled our tab and departed the Hiker Hostel arriving at Amacolola state park around 915.

We all met Clarity the RR and 2015 AT Thru Hiker and I signed in with a 31lb pack not bad but I would like to drop 6 or more pounds. The pounds will come off  know, as I had 2 ltrs water and in reality 1 ltr is all you really need to carry so long as you camel up at sources. I also had a left-over subway sandwich for lunch that I was packing out, that was soon to be gone (sorry Leigh no luck when it comes to my food being left behind.)

Clarity offered a brief demo on how to use trekking poles and helped adjust the weight distribution of my pack. In comparison to my FT hike the pack felt much better though I know I will still make tweaks along the way.

After a photo at the Arch we hiked out.

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Brian & Sebastian (Germans), Cole  (from Baton Rouge, LA), Kate (MSP), Stretch who has done sections of the trail in NE but is setting off to thru and Simon and Sarah (the brits) who I met intitially at the Marta and shared a shuttle to HH with. Really cool couple who have just spent 6 months in South America. They also jumped at the opportunity to share a pizza with me last night at the HH, I don't see sharing a pie after a few weeks once Hiker Hunger kicks in, hell I barely share a pizza now.

The initial walk is beautiful and not too intense with some creeks and streams common in GA.

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Then the stairs come, first 175 to the falls and then another 425 to the top. (Mikey, I thought of you and how much you would love it.)

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Holy cow that is a great work out for the calves and quads, I can see why hikers have legs of steel.

The Germans pull ahead with what the Brits attribute to renown German efficiency and I fall in with Stretch, Kate and Cole, as the Brits lagged a little behind then catch up with us at resting and photo ops. The falls were incredibly beautiful and worth the effort.

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The view at the top was magnificent 

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but little did I realize what I was in for just to get to the start of the AT atop Springer mountain. This sign greeted us just a hair up the trail.

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(Yes that's right, to make it to the start of the AT I would have an aprox 6 hour hike, that doesn't even "count". I don't want to say that sign burst my bubble but well it burst my bubble. Nonetheless, I kept spirits high and hiked mostly with Cole and Kate for a while. As we were hiking we picked up some trash along the trail in the form of tin cans and Merrill boot soles. Really people? Pack out your shit and don't leave it to destroy the experience for others. LNT.

The next few hours were a nice but pretty serious hike. I really enjoyed the flat portions, the descents inspired me less and we'll you can keep the climbs, but being from FL what would you expect? It was beautiful to see the rebirth in nature taking place before my eye's and it got me thinking how in this journey I am also experiencing a bit of a rebirth.
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New leaves budding.

Cole and I stopped for lunch at Frosty mountain camp site and well let's just say it is called Frosty Mountain for a reason. Cole plans on cooking 3 meals a day which is commendable but I think that will change. As he fires up his stove I'm thrilled to eat my sandwich. He shares that he is packing 6 days of food which is quite a bit and then as he cracks into a tuna packet, he mentions that he isn't sure if he even likes tuna. Needless to say he doesn't care for it as much as he had hoped and offered it to me. You better believe I'm gonna eat any food that is offered cause afterall I'm a foodie and more so I know calories are king on the trail. Best yet it was food I didn't have to carry. THANKS Cole! Jack a section hiker was also atop Frosty mountain for lunch but he was wrapping us as we got settled in. StarCrunch another ridge runner passed us as she made her way from Springer Shelter to the state park collecting trash and educating hikers along the way. We mentioned collecting the cans and shoes and she offered to take them but I said that it was OK that I would throw them away at the next can as she already had a pretty full bag. As we talked she informed me that the next can would not be atop Springer mountain (as I had visions of it being a developed mountain top) but it would be another 20 miles or so at Woody gap. I was starting to wish I hadn't said no to her taking the trash or wishing she would offer one more time.

The next bit of trail provided a workout for my quads which stiffened up at times though I know they will grow rapidly. It was amazing to see how quickly a group of 10 can spread out based on hiking speeds, breaks, etc. Cole and I hiked for a while together, he really seems like a cool kid who has traveled much more than some people 2 and 3x his age. His father Reid dropped him off at the trailhead and was heading back to Baton Rouge, LA. I know Cole is really thankful for his father and his support on this journey. This gratitude got me to thinking of all those who have made my journey a possibility, especially my partner Chad, who I could never do this without.

We passed Nimblewill gap and I had to get a picture in honor of a AT Trail Blazer and one of the Trail Angels while I hike a little of the FT. Nimblewill Nomad was one of the first to hike the ECT (Eastern Continental Trail) from the FL keys up the FT, through a trail in Alabama Trail which connects to the FT and AT, it then shares the lenght of the AT continues on past Katahdin into Nova Scotia if I recall. Has a book called 5 Million Steps which I highly recomend.

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As I continued my hike to the top of Springer I found myself hiking alone in a forest of no leaves as I approached the ridge.

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After a couple of stops to rest and stretch my burning quads, I happened passed some other hikers, a few were thru, some were section as well as a couple day hikers. I found Simon, Sarah and Cole atop Springer at the first white blaze, the official start of the Appalachian Trail.

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My journey officially begins with a touch of the first blaze and of course a phone call to my partner and mother while I was atop a mountain and had service. Cole and I scanned and signed the registry at the start monument and headed on our journey. We had discussed wanting to get past the springer shelter to at least the next one and give ourselves plenty of time to set up camp and get the camp chores done with light to spare. I actually wanted to stop near a stream and stealth camp as the shelters generally freak me out as they can be a haven for rodents and can become host of norovirus.

We hiked on and came to the parking lot a mile off springer where we met John and his 3 kids who came our for a day hike on the Benton McKay trail. He was a nice guy that I had every intention on pawing off my trash to so I didn't have to carry it for another 19 miles. John became my first trail angel or trail magician who agreed to take my trash off my hands and dispose of it for me. Thanks John you go down in OmPi History. As I write this I realize I didn't get a photo of him to commemorate the event. STINK.

Cole and I made it to a few way points and the trail became pretty nice. We found some really incredible camping spots but it was early in the day with lots of light so we hiked on. When we arrived at the next  shelter and there was lots of space and plenty of room for camping. Cole was set and I was not so I continued on.

I went about another mile past the shelter and decided I wanted to get setup before I lost too much light and was glad I did as camp chores took me a little longer than expected. I am currently writing from my home for the first night on the trail.

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My humble abode. It is supposed to get to freezing Temps tonight so I was trying to figure out how to pitch my tarp to keep out the wind. I think I was only half successful. Still lots to learn! After setting up camp I got some water from the stream opposite the Trail from me and started to cook my first meal. I winged it as I had no measurements and decided the extra calories of a warm dessert would be helpful in freezing temps so tonight's meal was Lentil Rice & Veggie Curry with Banana Bread mush for dessert.

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Both homemade recipes and I was happy with both. While the meal cooked, I attempted to bear bag for the first time. If only someone was there to video it may have been the most dangerous thing I've done on this trip so far and probably the funniest. I made a major mistake a lost a carribiner and some rope as I attempted my 103rd attempt at hanging my food bag. Another couple dozen attempts yielded a sufficient first bear bagging.

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I ate my dinner and realized just how much food it prepared so I stored some in my termos to have for breakfast or lunch as a quick warm meal... this will become very convenient once I work out the details. I found that I was missing a piece, well 2 stakes for my stove set so will have to pick up something at mountain crossing but will work it out till then.

I brushed my teeth, hung any scented items in the bear bag and settled into bed around 830. Needless to say with freezing temps expected I bundled up. Here I am inside my hammock for the first night.

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I know my partner in going to say I look like a terrorist but I will say I stayed toasty warm through the night. Woke up at 11:55 and thought my tarp had come unstaked on one side but it had held. So back to bed I went. Around 5:45 I woke up again very refreshed but not ready to break camp in the dark so I started journaling. It is nearly 7:15 and dawn has broken so I think it is time to hit the trail. No plans today I'll hike and see how I feel and stop when ready. My belly is grumbling, I guess its time to break camp and have an energy bar or 3.

Much love to all and thank you for your support. If you have insight into how to do things better or well wishes please share them.