Day 3: Food Porn Already? (Hawk Mtn Shelter to Woody Gap)

Day 3:  Food Porn Already? (Hawk Mountain Shelter to Woody Gap):

This morning was typical for the past few days with temperatures around 55 degrees.  There was still a little moisture in the ground from the night’s rains, but the sky was clear. 

Due to restrictions further down the trail (at Woods Hole and Blood Mtn Shelters) involving bear activity, the next day’s options were, 1) camp at Woody Gap, 2) get a shuttle back to Hiker’s Hostel and stay there, or 3) hike all the way through to Neals Gap.  Staying at the Hiker’s Hostel was a no brainer for me, as there were more storms expected and an additional 10 miles to Neals Gap was just too much.  Plus, a mattress and shower seemed like a pretty good idea. 

Azalon, Erik, and I stopped at Gooch Mountain Shelter for a leisurely lunch.  Also stopping in were Half Moon, Always Fine, Matt, and Mamma and Papa Bear.  After some boot drying and clumpy protein drink drinking, we continued hiking with Matt in tandem.  The 2^nd part of the hike dragged on much longer than we would have liked… and it was HOT.  My thermometer read 82 degrees (in the sun) at one point.  We were chatting about any number of things to get our mind off the heat and the miles.  Cars, sports, gear, women… and then it happened.  Out of nowhere Matt said the word, “Brats”.  I’m fairly certain I heard all 4 of our salivary glands begin pumping uncontrollably.  Immediately we were diving into all the things we were going to make at the Hiker’s Hostel that night.  Matt finally stopped us and said, “Oh no. Food porn already?! We’re in trouble.”  Ultimately, we decided that I would make my famous mustard and pepper steak along with some beer brats for anyone that was interested.

Further down the trail, filling their water from a cruddy-looking spring, we found GI Jayne and her hiking buddy Sipsey.  I was very happy to run into GI Jayne again, as I had not seen her since I left on the Approach Trail and she went ahead to Springer.  She is my mom’s age, short, and with a buzzcut of short grey hair (thus her trailname).  But she has the gleam in her eyes and enthusiasm of a playful young girl.  We told her of our plans to stay at the Hostel again that night.  She seemed happy see familiar faces and even happier to hear I was cooking dinner.  Before we were out of earshot, she had already ordered a steak and salad. 

Not too much longer and we had arrived at the road crossing at Woody Gap (Ga 60).  Matt went to hang out with Todd, who was also tenting there for the night.  We went over to see Always Fine and the large-framed man he was talking to.  “HT1”, a military acronym for Hull Maintenance Technician 1^st Class, had what looked like a Marine drill sergeant’s full-brimmed green felt hat on.  Vincent, who seems to keep to himself, also wandered across the road and set up his tarp tent in the trees.  Soon enough, GI Jayne and Sipsey would join us as well.  Sipsey is an older gentleman from Alabama sporting a snow white beard, quick wit, and friendly sense of humor.  His trail name is derived from the Sipsey Wilderness area near where he lives. 

Man, the dinner we cooked.  They will be telling stories about it up and down the trail.  1 ribeye and 3 sirloin steaks.  10 beer brats.  12 Heineken.  Lettuce and spring mix salad with sliced tomatoes and Italian dressing.  Buttered corn cooked in husk and foil.  Steaks prepared with powdered yellow mustard, Worcestershire sauce, white pepper, and lime and cooked on a cool grill and splashed with Liquid Smoke.  I started marinating the steaks while everyone else showered.  Once everything was on the grill, I was able to take a glorious shower as well. 

It is unbelievable how ravenous hikers can be after just a few days in the woods.  HT1 finished his steak with no problems.  Even GI Jayne killed her ribeye without remorse.  Not to be outdone, I struggled to put the last tasty morsel in my mouth after 2 sittings, a salad, spicy sausage, and a brat.  Azalon, on the other hand, saved some for steak and eggs the next morning and Erik just ate a few brats.  Other Hostel guests nibbled on this and that as well. 

If you know me, you know that I love to grill out for people. It has been one of my favorite things to do for years now with my Volkswagen friends.  The feeling of community and camaraderie is always heightened when a group is well fed, even when they are basically complete strangers.  Even though I received multiple compliments and thank you’s for my cooking, I don’t think they really realize how much I loved doing it for them.  We had such a great time! 

Day 2: Thru-Leapers FTW!!! (Springer Mountain to Hawk Mtn Shelter)

Day 2:  Thru-Leapers FTW!!! (Springer Mountain to Hawk Mtn Shelter): 

This morning, February 29^th, the Swiss couple was on the move quickly, leaving Erik, Azalon and me to crawl out of camp.  Soon the excitement of starting our Thru-Leap attempt was coursing through our veins.  As we approached Springer Mountain, the mist settled in, blocking any view we may have had and giving a mysterious aura to the place.  When we arrived at the top of Springer, it was just Erik, Azalon, and myself for about 10 minutes.  Then a flood of hikers arrived one by one by one.  “Mikey Buckets” (22, NJ), Matt (23, Illinois… not Chicago), Luke (25, Maine), “Yogi” (47, Kansas City), “Half Moon” (48, Boston), Joe Cobb and his inner child (50, upstate NY), Sue (50, Gorham, Maine), Paul (about 57, Verona, Penn), “Always Fine” (60, NJ), “Flip” (62, NY), Janis with an “s” (62, Manassas, Virginia), and “Ol’ Hiker” (“old”, Tampa) all came up within a few minutes of each other.  Erik, Azalon, and I got off the top of Springer as quickly as we could, passing by a father/ son pair from Singapore, named Peter (60’s) and Victor (20’s), still on their way up.

17 people on the top of Springer at once... What a traffic jam.

At the end of our hiking day we found ourselves at Hawk Mountain Shelter, which has a loft.  As the lower area was already mostly occupied, Erik, Azalon, and I climbed up to the loft to set up our sleeping bags.  When Half Moon arrived, he also joined us in the loft.  The shelter slept 10 that night with another 9 folks tented, tarped, or hammocked out nearby.  We met Vincent (21?, Colorado), Sean (25, Idaho), Paul “Orange Lightening” (49, Syracuse, NY), and Todd “NorEaster” (50, Vermont) that night.  Momma and Papa Bear were there as well.  What a group!  Thru-Leapers FTW!!!

Another night using the sleeping bag as a blanket.  It rained intermittently.  And did I mention that Azalon snores like a lumberjack sawing down a tree?  Ipod Nano > ear plugs. 

Day 1: Hiker 99 (Approach Trail to Black Gap Shelter)

Day 1:  Hiker 99 (Approach Trail to Black Gap Shelter):

We woke up in the morning to the smell of pancakes and eggs, as cooked by the Hostel owners.  Everyone downstairs was already buzzing with anticipation.  “GI Jayne”, “Two Isles”, and “Gung-ho and Tagalong” from Cincinnati, Las Vegas and Michigan respectively were on their way up to Springer to begin the AT that day.  Azalon and I, on the other hand, decided to walk the infamous steps at Amicalola Falls State Park.  At 729 feet, Amicalola Falls is the tallest cascade in the southeast, according to the Georgia State Parks website (http://www.gastateparks.org/AmicalolaFalls).  Along with the 500+ steps up the falls, the Approach Trail adds 8.8 miles to the front of the AT.  As these miles are not technically considered part of the AT, many thru-hikers choose to skip this section. 

At the Amicalola Falls visitors center, there is a scale for backpacks and a sign-in for AT thru-hikers.  Amazingly, Azalon’s pack only showed 38lbs on the scale (though I’m sure he had no water).  My pack weighed 39lbs (w/ 6.6lbs of water and 8.5lbs food… I immediately noted that I was carrying too much food).  With this information, we walked inside to sign the thru-hiker register.  The page was open to the 90’s, ending in 100.  Azalon signed in as hiker #91.  But, always having to make trouble, I half-jokingly asked the young ranger at the counter if I could sign in as hiker #99.  Without hesitation he said, “Go right ahead.”  I stopped and asked, “Are you sure?”  Again, he responded, “Sure.  It’s no problem.”  “Cool!” I said loudly as I signed in next to #99.  But, not two seconds after I finished signing in, a much older ranger came into the room and raised his voice, “You can’t do that!  He’s supposed to sign in at the bottom.  Now it’s all screwed up!”  It seemed like a good time to take a look at the famous “Arch”, so we quickly slipped out the door to take some photos and begin our hike. 

On our way up the Falls, we ran into a 71 year old man from Grants, New Mexico, named Eli Jahanovich, who was toting an external frame pack up the stairs.  He said he was going to go as far as he could go on the AT, but wasn’t planning on going the whole way (no one else seems to have run into him since that day).  Further down the Trail, we ran into “Momma and Papa Bear” taking a break on the side of the trail.  This couple is from Wisconsin and in their early 40’s and 50’s respectively.  I don’t want to sound disrespectful in any way, but Momma Bear is quite overweight (and I would later find out that she is a breast cancer survivor).  Both she and Pappa Bear looked very tired already, but both were in fantastic spirits and very friendly towards Azalon and me.  I was very happy to begin making some trail friends.  As Azalon and I walked on, he said to me, “Man, dat takes some balls.” I agreed that it was amazing and inspiring.

After a day of hiking in beautiful 55-65 degree weather, we finally arrived at Black Gap Shelter for the night.  A little while later, another 30-something hiker named Erik wandered into the shelter.  It turns out that we had met each other in the “Hiker Trash 2012” group on Facebook just before I left for Asheville.  He is originally from Clearwater, FL (near Tampa) and currently living in Franklin, NC.  A little before dark, a final couple walked into camp.  Simone and Boas were both in their early 30’s and all the way from Switzerland.  As they were only issued a 6 month visa, they have a fixed time table to complete the AT, so they planned on making serious miles right away.  After dinner, they offered everyone about 2 dozen heart-shaped swiss chocolates wrapped in red foil, which disappeared quickly.  Just around dark, there was a headlamp just outside camp but they never came by to say hi.  We could hear him chopping at trees with a hatchet or something.  We joked that it was a sasquatch banging on trees.  Since we never found out who it was, we decided to dub him the “headlamp sasquatch”.  It was a little warm that night for my down sleeping bag, which remained unzipped the whole night.