OmPi's Adventures

The first 4 miles went by so quickly we were all shocked when we got bottle necked at the water source. If only the whole trail were so easy,  but without the hard work you never get the view from the top. Anyway it was good to have an easy start as we had a pretty intense hike ahead. Just before reaching this difficult stretch on a back road in the middle of the NC mountains we  came across some Trail Magic.

A gentleman had all sorts of fresh fruit, coffee, OJ along with homemade cookies. Come to find out he does this 3 times a week for about 2 months a year during major hiking season over the last 4 years. It's still amazing to me that people will take time (45 minute drive) to help people they don't know. When I asked him he shared with me that he does it out of boredom but I suspect a nagging wife and this is his freedom. Lol.

The hike to the fire tower was basically straight up and a rock scramble but the view from the top made the struggle  worth it. It also marked the 100th mile on the AppalachianTrail, big milestone! As I continued my hike it has occurred to me that I am starting to develop my trail legs. I am moving faster with less pain and recovering more quickly.

When I arrive at camp I discover it is Freefall's 21st birthday. I've heard of him early on the trail and the story about how he fell out of his hammock on the first night which is where he got his name. He's a cool kid who saw the movie WILD and was sparked to hike the AT. He started a little under prepared but which of us didn't?

The hiker bubble that I've been hiking with includes the Royal Couple (Simon and Sarah), Sarah and her dog Isla, Bojangels, Spink and their dogs (Stella and Baxter), Freefall, Charcoal and a few others. It's been nice seeing familiar faces at camp every night. We are all running into Franklin tomorrow for a resupply and to get Freefall his first legal beer.

Tonight ended as many do around the camp fire laughing and talking. It's amazing the community and friendships you build in just a few weeks. As I write this I reflect on the statistics that say 75% of us won't make it, who will it be? I love all these guys and want to see them atop Mt. Katahdin with me. Hopefully we are the top 25% and just happened to find each other early. The fire is smoldering, it's well past hiker midnight. Much love to all.

OmPi ( ॐ π )

Sometimes you just need a day off to get you head back in the game. Today provided that for me. I woke up around 6 and hurriedly packed my camp so I could get down to the hostel when they opened. The last few days they had been booking up and it was a Saturday so I wanted to make sure I got a bunk but more so I wanted to just be able to relax.

Well relax I did from the moment I arrived I sat down with my hiking shoes off and enjoyed the day. As I arrived I crossed paths with Cole, Pantyhose, JT who I met at the camp fire at Tray Mountain, and a few others. They were all leaving on the next shuttles out and I was just happy as a GA peach to be sitting in a rocking chair catching up and relaxing.

As everyone departed I was welcomed in and offered a beverage. Nothing like a hot cup of coffee to warm you up, especially when you don't have it regularly. I settled in and took advantage of their wifi to update my blog. I also met tumbles who I would have packed out of there in an instant. Some of you may have already seen her of you are on my instagram.

I got a shower, laundry done (they even gave you scrubs to where so you could do all of your laundry in one load) and caught up with other hikers. I'm feeling better and better about knowing lots of people, both ahead of me and behind me.

Bob (aka sir packs alot) was the proprietor of Top of GA and a triple crowner. This means he has hike the three key trails in the states. These include the Appalachian, the Pacific Crest and the Continental Divide trails. Someone with this much experience is a guy I wanted to learn from. When greeting those staying at the hostel he always congratulated them for making it past woody gap (site of my first Trail magic) apparently at that location approximately 10% of people drop out if hiking the trail. At Dick's Creek that number increases to 25% and after the smokies nearly half of all people who will not make it to Maine will have given up.

While there so early i relaxed for a bit before catching a shuttle into town for lunch.  There was an All You Can Eat (AYCE) buffet for $8.95 that included a salad bar, veggies, southern fried chicken, mashed taters, beef tip gravy and plain brown gravy, oh of course and dessert. I ate and ate and ate then the first couple I was sitting with left so I moved over with some other hikers and ate some more.

Once done stuffing my face in went back to the hostel and retrieved my resupply box. I have been kicking myself for picking up a few of the supplies I did at Mountain Crossing, specifically a 16oz jar of peanut butter. Really OmPi you are carrying a pound of peanut butter. Absurd. Anyway after bitching and moaning about how much food I had I organized it all into my stuff sack and just relaxed a bit more.

Each night Bob gives a little talk/lesson on successful thru hiking based around his 10 guidelines. All of them were great, most I was familiar with but it is always nice to have a reminder. He also shared some stories about things on the trail that were pretty awesome. One being that Dr. Seuss got his character and story of the grinch from a tomb of a hermit that is on the AT. I'll be sure to post when I pass it.
 
As a whole the time there was nice, the Accommodations were what you would expect from a hiker hostel. Staff was friendly and the entire place was clean (as in by a cleaning person, daily between checkin and checkout.) Breakfast the next day that was included was a nice touch. The biggest values of the hostel however were the shuttle services and Bob himself. Highly recomend staying there!

I left camp fairly early. As a whole my experience at muskrat was just average, so I didn't feel a lot of sentiment about leaving. I wasn't just a bit up the trail that it warmmed up and so I took off my jacket but left on my pant baselayer. Note to self just take all cold weather items off before leaving camp and get to hiking asap in order to warm up.

Jouls caught up with me, she had stayed at the border. Averaging about 20 miles a day, that lady can hike. We had a number of good conversations and hiked along at a steady pace. As we were discussing Trail Magic a gentleman named Luke caught up and hiked with us for a bit. Nice guy around my age from upstate New York.

The day unfolded without a lot of excitement. There was one section where it felt like I was hikeing into a shire. Then I crossed Coleman gap, which reminded me that my cousin Coleman will be coming to hike with me with me within the next month. As midday approached I found myself on top of Standing Indian Mountain so I took a blue blaze trail and found a magical little grassy bald at the top that overlooked a beautiful mountain range. I took a lunch, did some yoga and meditated. It was pretty magical just sitting there hearing the flies, bee's, birds and watching the butterflies. The gentle buzz of nature just set me at peace with the world.

Coming off the mountain I found a bear sanctuary sign, but what interested me was that the tree was consuming it. If this is what the trees do I'd hate to consider what is possible by the bears. Just before entering camp I came across a beautiful stream and just sat there enjoying the flowing water for a bit. I tried to get a recording of the sound but haven't quite nailed that down yet so a photo will have to do.

The day ended like many others with setting up camp and doing camp chores before settling in around a fire for some community. I met Kid and Don who were hiking from Amacolola. Both devout Christian's and Kid had taken a semester off to hike the trail as a form of a mission trip. Nice guys and enjoyable fire conversation.

As I settled into my camp I talked with my Partner and we managed to arrange his first visit which will be over trail days. This is a huge hiker festival in Damascus, VA. I'm really looking forward to seeing him, as the distance has got to be the hardest part for me out here. It is now well past hiker modnight. Tomorrow is a hard day so I must rest. Much love to all.

OmPi ( ॐ π )

The morning started with muffins and little cakes and coffee at the Top of GA Hostel. Oh and coffee of course. I learned a lesson from another hiker, Luigi, to add hot cocoa powder to the coffee cup in order to make it a mocha and of course add calories. HUMMM... Bullet Proof coffees would probably be amazing for hikers.

Anyway I caught the 8am shuttle up the .5 mile road leaving TOG behind. I think the biggest thing I took from my listening to Bob was to slow down. There was something freeing about being given permission to just take it slow. Early that day I hiked with a few people from the hostel but the one specifically impressed me. Her name is Tink Toes who had until August 8th to finish her trek. 4 months is a short period though entirely doable, hell grandma Gatewood did it in about 4 months and she was 65, I hope she makes it.

My meditation for the day found its inspiration from the trees. I was reflecting on how trees are so grounded and go not just deep but also wide. They are grounded in what feeds them and gives them life. So too must we figure out what nourishes our spirits and commit ourselves to that, diging in deep and spreading out from there taking all that we can from the source.

A huge milestone was reached today when I crossed the GA/NC border. The Appalachian Trail  runs through 14 states and I have managed to hike through the first of them. This was a monumental occasion and cause for a celebration.

While relaxing and enjoying the accomplishment over lunch at the water source just inside NC I had the pleasure of meeting a lady who goes by Jouls. She is of German heritage but has lived in the states for many years. We go to talking food and I discovered she dehydrated much of her own farm raised foods. Come to find our she lives a self-sufficient lifestyle in Northern California on 40 acres, something that is somewhat of a dream of mine. We didn't talk long but she invited me to come visit on our adventure up the costal highway.

North Carolina's welcome was like a huge F-U! Within the first mile and a half we had an elevation gain of 1000 feet. Luckily before the climb there is this amazing tree at Bly Gap thst provided sone beauty to consider on the bitch of a climb. Needless to say when I reached the next camp I was ready to crash. The shelter was nice enough and camping around it very dispersed where everyone had their own spots. I set up and did my camp chores and got situated with a few people around a fire. The night went fairly quickly and before I knew it hiker midnight had come.

Hiking the AT is a microcosm of life. Day to day can be so different, one day you can enjoy every step and the next day you can struggle to find anything that interests you. Some days can feel like a constant uphill struggle but then the next moment you find the struggle shifts to spiraling downhill. Just like home when we see and experience the same things, no matter how awesome or once enjoyable, when we sexperience them so consistently we sometimes lose interest or it no longer impresses us.

Today was a long hard struggle for me. I woke up to find a little hole in my hammock bug net. After rolling into camp late last night I hurriedly set up my camp and kept a small thing of trail mix with me to snack on. A little mouse found it in the night and helped himself, damaging my home for the next 6 months in the process.

 After that I had a hard hike the vistas all started to look the same to me and I realized I was just walking to walk. A few times along the way I reflected back to what other successful thru hikers have told me. They all seem to agree that you have to find something enjoyable each day. Today I struggled for most of the day to find something enjoyable.

I stopped for a late lunch at Deep Gap Shelter. It was a bit off trail but it was beautiful. I was tempted to stay, I understand the privy was clean and hardly used. Nice! There I met AP (accident prone), and 2 guys one from FL that makes at least 10. The three of them all made arrangements to stay at the Holiday Inn express in Hiawassee. I was already feeling down so I may have felt a little excluded though I know it wasn't the intention.

Anyway I rested for a bit and decided to push on to get a little closer to Dick's Creek Gap so my Nero was as close to a Zero as possible. I went ahead and found a camp with Bojangels and his girlfriend and their two dogs Baxter (aka Foghorn, because he barks a lot) and Stella but decided to push a little further because they were still over a mile away. I then crossed paths with 2 guys a little further up but no room for my hammock they told me there was some flat space ahead. I went and bushwacked for a bit trying to arrange a spot then decided to just keep walking and if nothing made itself available I'd just head in to the hostel tonight.

Sure enough just by the road there was a  spot and even better someone had left some Coca-Cola cans next to a tree (more trail magic just when I needed it.) I used the running stream next to the camp to cool the coke down while I set myself up. After getting set I prepped my bear bag line and started a fire. Damn this shitty day has taken a turn. I'm about a half mile from the hostel so I should be one of the first there, my dinner of lime black bean was dip was delicious with my trail grown sprouts on flour tortillas. I have an awesome fire and one of the best camp sites I've yet to enjoy and I was enjoying it all to myself.

The sun set and some cars pulled into the gap parking lot. Out comes a guy with a headlamp and I began thinking that maybe I'm camped too close to the road or that I'm not allowed to have a fire here or something. Come to find out, he was scoping spots for him and his buddies to camp before their section hike this weekend. I told him they were more than welcome and the camp had plenty of space. Little did I know there was about 15 guys and a dog. Lol my peaceful little camp quickly filled with guys setting up gear in the dark, mind you with headlamps and all. It reminded me again that just when you think you are set on level terrain that there is always an adventure ahead.

The guys turned out to be really cool and offered to drop me at the hostel in the am or into town. Very generous! They asked for my blog and said they would like to follow my journey along the way.  Guys, if you are reading this, I hope you had an amazing section hike; I enjoyed the company around the fire and thanks again for the offer. Sorry I was so out of it.

What a day, one with lots of ups and downs both physically and mentally. In the end I found something enjoyable in a little lonely camp that became a hub of great trail community.

OmPi ( ॐ π )

On the Appalachian Trail and in the hiking community there is a tradition to take a different name while on your adventure. The WSJ just published an article discussing this Trail Name Tradition that I highly recommend. As well on Appalachian Trials there is a post on the Psychology of Trail Names. Between these two articles you can get a better understanding of the tradition and reason for trail names. Below is my name and how it came to be.

OmPi or in symbolic form ॐ π is the name that I have taken for my 2016 AT thru-hike. I can't fully express the deeper meaning it holds to me but I can say a few things about it.

In June of 2011 I adopted the π symbol as an expression of a developing life phrase (Positive Impact) being formed deep within me. It is something that I have always desired, namely to be a positive impact in this world and on the people around me. It came to surface at a time when my world was crashing down and gave me strength, hope, and pushed me through some difficult times in my life. As I continued to meditate on this symbol I found it to be somewhat of a Scientific and Western conundrum. It is a mathematical constant, something solid that does not change, but something that is statistically random and is of infinite length. I see it as somewhat of an expression of the divine in our natural world. It has also become a representation of my logical mind and western thought, my type A personality.

In the years following, I continued my daily life and was introduced to the Eastern concept of Om, symbolically ॐ. It is believed by some that as creation began, the divine, all-encompassing consciousness took this form as the first and original primordial sound. It is a reflection of absolute reality, without beginning or end and encompassing all that is. As I continue to meditate on this mantra I hope to find greater connectivity with the divine, nature, and those around me. This has become for me an expression of my desire to leave strict logic and be mindful of life and life's experiences as well as it is a reflection of a growing eastern thought, a little more of a developing type B personality.

I am by no means a expert mathematician or all knowledgable guru but these two symbols came together in my life and help connect me with something greater, with others around me and inspire me to look beyond the humdrum of daily life to become a better person. These two symbols are somewhat of a representation of what I hope to find/experience on the trail.

No plans and no rush. The day started lazily as I spent a few hours relaxing in my hammock and catching up on blogs and postings, benefit of a campsite with 4G. I finally got going and 3/4 of the camp had cleared out. I talked with the last few stragglers as I packed my camp and prepared my day of food.

I had no plans or goals today and said I would just walk until I was tired. The beginning days hike was enjoyable apparently the easiest 4 miles in GA. I hike with Storm and Trooper for a bit, she got her name as she was basically crawling into camp one day not giving up and someone said to her, you're a trooper. I don't know the story of storms name but I do know that someone from his college heard of his hike and called him up. His friend shared with him the a story of how his friends grandfather had hiked a few miles of the trail in the NE and planned to do the whole thing when he was diagnosed with cancer and had died 2 years later. He asked if Storm would leave his grand father's walking stick on Spring Mountain in hopes that someone would take it to ME and leave it on Katahdin. So he has been carrying that wooden hiking stick the last 50+ miles.

This is the trail community, sure we can stink, eat like crap, and be a little rough but as a whole it is one of love and devotion. Strangely enough this became my walking meditation today. While at Blue Mountain shelter this afternoon I got word that there was Trail Magic on the form of bugers and soda down the mountain in Unicoi Gap which was 2 miles away at an elevation drop of 1000 feet... Needless to say those may have been my quickest miles of the day but all along the way I reflected on the immense love that trail angels embody. They take time out of their own lives to help others they don't know and will probably never see again with zero expectations. This is the meaning of Love!

After a double bunned sausage bacon hotdog with mayo, mustard and ketchup, some good conversations and an IPA that may have tasted better than any beer I have ever I had to leave. Before I did I asked the former thru hikers what they would do different in their hike. One said they would make a better account through journaling or blogging, the young lady said she would take a multi vitamin as she came off the trail highly anemic nearly needing a blood transfusion. The other guy who had blogged the whole way said he wouldn't change a thing.

The following miles were tough but with a full belly and renewed spirits I pushed on. Though I made no plans I knew I wanted to at least break up the crazy elevation shift near the end of the day. I managed to not only break it up but pushed on past it. Though I hobbled into camp just minutes before sunset I had hiked over 15 miles with almost 5800 feet of elevation change. It was an intense day and I am able to put Tray Mountain behind me. Another mountain conquered, another journey had and a day lived.

Much love to all. I look forward to hearing from you.

OmPi ( ॐ π )