OmPi's Adventures

Day started by being warm in spite of the freezing temps. To break camp and hit the trail took me nearly an hour but I will get better. Today I experienced my first bout of PUD'S as the AT hikers call them. That stands for pointless up & downs, it is coving a mountain and not getting anything from it,  no view, no specific beauty, just up and down for shits and giggles.

I hiked a lot by myself today which is to be expected and will become more common as the trail continues though I did leap frog a number if hikers, the PA section hikers, Carl and Debbie being one group. Sarah and her dog Isla, and a hiker named T. Near the end of the day Stretch caught up with me I guess he, Simon and Sarah, as well as Kate stayed at the Springer shelter. Cole is a little behind but wanted to make it to the shelter I am staying at (Gooch Gap). I also met some guys from Des Moines Iowa named Jared and Dick30 who also wanted to make it here tonght.

Shortly after starting my hike I found at least 6 amazing camping spots less than half a mile from my stealth site and while mine was not bad and it served me well I will know what to keep my eye out for a little better in the future. Three forks was a beautiful spot for camping as was spot by the long falls. (Thanks Leigh for mentioning it.) The long falls were on what we call a blue blaze trail. The Appalachian Trail is marked with white rectangles or blazes,

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while side trails off the AT including the Approach trail and Trails to shelters are marked in blue rectangles, miles that don't count. Many thru hikers won't follow a blue blaze for many reasons I wont bore you with,  but some of these side trails lead to incredible things and are pretty short. A great example is the blue blaze to Long Falls if you take a mere 150 steps or so off the AT you will find this.

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I ran into a couple with their kids who were kind enough to take a picture for me in all my Hiker Trash glory. The sun was just coming up over the falls, it was secluded and just beautiful!

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Later down the trail I ran into who I call the Alabama Slammers, they were admiring one of the few views of the day. I got a photo for all of them and they got one for me at the view.

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This group of 5 are out for a few days trying to see if hiking is for them.  Great personalities, and both at the same time over and under prepared. Fun guys anyone would enjoy hanging with.

The rest of the day's hike was hard with sassafras mountain which was a bitch, having a constant grade up then back down and followed by another quick strong uphill before a subtle decent off the mountain. I made a rookie mistake today and didn't pay attention to the water sources and ended up without water going into the hardest 4 miles of the day. Ugh killer! Stupid mistake that will probably happen again but provided a lesson to consider. ALWAYS take note of water sources at the start of the day and figure out of if and where I need to camel up. This story has a happy ending though with trail magic of jugs of water cached at the bottom of Sassafras.

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So, I was without water for less than 2 miles, though not ideal and I could feel my body experiencing some the initial phases of dehydration (no urination for hours), I was in no real danger.

I met some others and hope to keep seeing then along the way, if I do I'll share more about each.

Setting up camp was a whole lot easier today. First having flat ground did wonders, second having my guy lines already attached helped, as did having done it just yesterday.  I will be a pro before I know it. The sun has set behind the mountains and darkness is upon us it is about 9 pm so it is hiker midnight.

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I'm very sore after all the ups and downs and my body is still adjusting to the hardships of this adventure but I will make it through and make it to ME.

Much love to all. Think of me and please comment.