Springer Mountain to Hiawassee

The first morning on the trail was freezing! I woke up to frost in my water bottle and frozen droplets on my tent. As we started our hike we began to warm up and thaw out, it was a beautiful sunrise!

It was about a 12 mile hike into Cooper Gap.

The weather was excellent and we got to experience our first round of Trail Magic, which is volunteers who come to the trail and offer up free food, coffee, beer, pop, etc. I even got to meet the legendary Ms. Janet!! She is known to just about every thru hiker on the Appalachian Trail. I got her phone number and can use her shuttle service if needed.

The next evening was spent at Woody Gap, before a very long day going up and over Blood Mountain into Neels Gap. Upon arrival you see the famous “shoe tree” where frustrated hikes throw their shoes over a branch. We had the luxury of staying in the Blood Mountain Cabins again and having a feast delivered by a local church group.

After leaving the cabins we spent the night in the woods at Low Gap. I got a very early start and spent about the first hour using my headlamp. It was my worst night of sleep on the trail yet since I had a popped sleep pad already! I have the worst luck with those, I think I am now on my 8th one. I’m hoping my new one lasts longer than a week at least! We had even more trail magic where I picked up a donated hat with a white blaze! I won’t be carrying it with me on the trail, but will enjoy wearing it when I get back to MN. We then made it to Unicoi Gap where we were picked up by a local VFW and brought to a motel and treated to an all you can eat buffet, I’m feeling very spoiled! It was our last day with the support of Warrior Expeditions, it was sad watching the van drive away, I will miss having them around!

I am ending this blog while sitting in the hotel lobby, we are taking a zero day today since there are high winds, lightning, thunder, and rain coming down like crazy! I hope to hit the trail bright and early tomorrow and make my way to the town of Franklin over the next 4 or 5 days….. See you then!

South Carolina through mile marker 0!!

(Note: I do not have great service at the moment, some of the pictures may not upload from today’s hike, but they should when I get in better service, hopefully tomorrow) After missing my connecting flight I made it to South Carolina around 11 pm and was picked up by Allison, who was an excellent hostess and showed me around Greenville, SC. Aside from the rain, it was a very pleasant trip. It was better than staying in a 5-star hotel as she did my laundry, made me a delicious dinner, and made sure I had everything I needed 🙂 We walked around the city before heading back to her house so I could organize my gear before hitting the road to head to Dahlonega, GA where we met up with the rest of the group before starting the hike.

It was approximately a two and a half hour drive from her house to where we met the rest of the group. On the way there we had the opportunity to stop in Helen, GA, a cute German town. Unfortunately it was still raining, but we grabbed a really good lunch and walked around for a bit!

We had an extra hour before we could check into the lodge so took a self guided ghost tour in Dahlonega. I had at least a dozen different dots show up on my spiritual activity app on my phone! 👻

Not many pictures were taken over the two days we met up before starting the hike, but it was nice to reunite with last year hikers, and meet the three new ones! It also gave us a chance to unload any gear we didn’t want to carry; I have to admit I left a bag in one of the vans of items that should never have made it to Georgia!

My roommate, Amity, organizing her food bag (4 day supply)

March 19th, 2021 = the big start day! Although we did the first 70 miles of this trail last year there were definitely some nerves all around! Knowing you are about to embark on a 2,200 mile trail is a huge undertaking, physically and mentally. After signing in and taking the obligatory pictures under the arch, we were off! We luckily had really good weather today, it was about mid-40s all day and no rain. I don’t know the official count of stairs, but I think it hovered around 600. Some say this is the hardest part of the trail! All in all, it was about an 8 mile day. Other than some minor foot arch pain, I am feeling great so far! As I type this it is only about 7:00 p.m. but raining outside so everyone is in their tent. I will include a bunch of pictures below that started at the arc and ended at the mile zero marker, we are currently camping about .2 miles from the southern terminus of the Appalachian Trail! It is cold 🥶⛺ After watching one episode of Netflix I will probably be falling asleep around 8:30, which is considered “hiker midnight!” Zzz zzz 🥱 We have a 12 mile day tomorrow, followed by a few 10 mile days, so I hope to update this again at Blood Mountain!

Here we go again….🌲⛰️🚶‍♀️⛺🎒🥾

(Note: I am not well educated on doing blogs, you may have to click “continue reading” to see full post, and click “see all posts by shav0017” to view previous entries)

I’m baaaaack! As promised by Sean, the founder of Warrior Expeditions, he held our spots for 2021 since we had to get off the trail 70 miles into the hike last year. I’m very glad to be heading back! We will all meet up where we met last year on St Patrick’s Day, and then officially start the hike at the approach trail on Friday, March 19th. I am sitting at the Atlanta airport as I write this, unfortunately I missed my connecting flight (darn MN weather!) ❄️🥶🌨️ up to Greensville, South Carolina where I will stay with my friend for a couple nights, a part of the country I have never been to before. She will then take me to the start of the trail and hike with our group for the first week, I am very grateful for her hospitality!

Out of the 10 of us that attempted the hike last year, 6 of us are returning, joined by three new veterans. To be allowed to hike with this program we were required to receive the covid vaccination, so I was able to go to the Minneapolis VA and receive it.

I must admit, I’m not quite in the same headspace this year compared to last year. We just found out two weeks ago today that we are officially reattempting the trail, so it was quite a scramble to get everything ready! Goodbyes are always sad but it was weird to have to do it all over again. I’ve had the feeling of deja vu a ton over the last two weeks! Here are a few goodbye photos, I didn’t go quite as crazy as last year:

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Ending early 😢

With great sadness I am ending my 2020 Appalachian Trail thru hike and heading home. Everything along the trail has shut down and the Appalachian Trail Conservancy has ordered hikers to get off the trail. I had such a pleasure getting to know the other military veterans and the organizers from Warrior Expeditions……such an awesome experience!!! I will more than likely reach Mount Katahdin in 2021 with the same organization, can’t wait!!! Until then I will self quarantine in my van until I figure out my next plan ♥️⛰️🥾✌️😀🌲☮️🙏🚐

Made it to Haiwassee

After hiking the approach trail we spent a few more days on the trail getting to Blood Mountain. We had our first taste of trail magic, which is where people bring treats to the trail, we had coffee, fruit, and other snacks brought to us by a local church group, they also had plenty of hand sanitizer and buckets of bleach for us to wash up before touching anything. We stayed in Little cabins for one night, we were treated to an awesome dinner brought to us by some local veterans who support the Warrior Expeditions veterans program. unfortunately with the virus they just dropped the food off and we didn’t really get to socialize with them, but we definitely appreciated what they did for us! We had a very good night’s sleep before heading out the next morning.

It was definitely the coldest hike yet today! We spent two days, one night, hiking from the base of Blood Mountain (neels gap) to Haiwassee. Last night my tent was on a bit of a slope so I barely got any sleep, but luckily we are in a motel tonight, and also tomorrow night since we are taking a rest day for our bodies to recover. We had our first resupply at a local grocery store today, was quite eerie with how few people were there and some of the items missing from the shelves, but we definitely had plenty to fill up our food bags!

Day one: The Approach Trail

It was hard! We set off around 10:00 this morning and climbed right up to the top of Amicola Falls. We weren’t quite sure if we’d be able to get tag hiker numbers due to the coronavirus and the possibility of buildings on the trail being shut down, but it was still open.. I’m number 1296!! We hiked around 12 miles today, and the next two days will be around 10 miles each…..so far so good!! Just getting to know the other members of Warrior Expeditions, everyone is really nice. 8 pm = bedtime on the trail… Goodnight 😴💤

(for the ease of my blog I will probably just do a paragraph and then put the pics below)

Coronavirus?!

As far as I know, the hike is still on! based on the Facebook groups I follow about the Appalachian Trail there is a lot of fear right now, but I can’t wait to get out there! I think being on the trail is one way for social isolation 😂 I plan on staying in my tent versus the shelters, not shaking hands with new people, and try not to congregate in large groups. Right now my biggest fear is just the flight there!

Cheers!! 🍻

In all seriousness though, something to take into consideration is all the ticks that may be encountered on the trail. While I will be starting and fairly cold temperatures, I treated all the clothing I will be wearing with permethrin to kill the ticks that may land on me!

All the little things

I am just over a week out and somehow my to-do list keeps getting longer and longer! It is almost like getting ready for a military deployment since I know I will be gone for 5-7 months. Some of the dreaded tasks include last-minute visits to the dentist, doctor, veterinarian (for Mango, lol! 😾), car mechanic, etc. Something a little more fun, but I’m sure I will find much unnecessary, is buying hiking gear! I should mention, Warrior Expeditions is providing everything when it comes to gear! I am very fortunate. They are even providing us new hiking shoes every 500 miles, I feel very lucky! with that said, I have turned into a bit of a gear junkie over the last 5 years with the section hikes I have done. I probably have enough gear to outfit at least two other people, but what I have learned is the lighter you want the gear the more money it will cost! My parents have agreed to be my “support system” back home and will be on call if I want them to mail anything I might need/wants when it comes to clothing, “kitchen” (cook/water) items, and potentially a warmer sleeping bag if I feel I need it. On the FUN side, I have been able to meet up with a lot of friends over the last couple of weeks to say goodbye for now 🙂 I debated having a party but did not want that added stress the weekend before I fly out.

Preparation

The length of this hike is unlike any I have done in the past. My longest section hike previously was about 2 weeks where I did just over a hundred miles on the Appalachian Trail, this is where I first got hooked! 🥾🚶‍♀️When getting ready I am preparing eight boxes that I will have my parents send me along the trail when I request them. Certain toiletries, foods, hydration packets, etc that I purchased and prepared ahead of time. While this is not necessary, it is sometimes nice to have it done ahead of time and may save a bit of money when I hit towns that have high prices in stores for resupply.

I know it is weird, but there are many things to think about before heading off on this journey. One being a portable bathroom! AKA, TP packets

I am going to continue taking fruit and veggie pills well on the trail, something I take currently in my day-to-day life, since it will be hard to come by fresh fruit and vegetables unless staying in a town.

This is what hikers refer to as “vitamin I” (ibuprofen) while on the trail, part of a daily regimen.

Food, food, and more food!

Warrior Expeditions

Last fall I was randomly reading the Star Tribune online when I came across an article about this group who sponsors military veterans to go on long-distance journeys. Not only hiking, but they coordinate biking and canoe trips as well. I knew I had to apply! Thru hiking the Appalachian Trail has been on the top of my bucket list for about the last 5 years. I knew this group would be an awesome resource to help me reach this goal! I filled out the necessary paperwork and waited to be contacted. In December I was asked to complete a one-way online interview. They asked me questions about my military service and previous deployments to Bosnia and Iraq. After the interview I had to wait approximately two weeks to find out if I would be accepted, those were some of the longest two weeks of my life! Just before New Year’s Eve I received an email while I was dog sitting, as I was jumping for joy the dogs started freaking out by my excitement! I had been accepted to the group! I will be one of 10 people starting off in the middle of March.

link to Warrior Expeditions