All Journal Entries

Had a great night sleep in my tent. Woke up to some rain which was expected. It rained all 7.3 miles! Wasn’t too bad considering. Kept trying to remind myself to embrace the suck. Rain gear held up really well and made it to Gooch Mountain Shelter shortly after 2pm. There were still a few spots in the shelter so I decided to set up there instead of my wet tent. Hopefully the mice won’t be too bad. Its weird how comfortable I’ve already become with complete strangers. Everyone still seems to be in ...

Slept ok first night on the trail. Sore legs kept waking me up, but was overall comfortable. Morning started off foggy and a little wet, but turned into a beautiful day with the sun coming out. Had lunch next to a pretty waterfall. Made it to Hawk Shelter and meet even more great people. Several people started from Springer today, so our total number grew. Easily over 20 tents here, but plenty of room. It’s suppose to start raining at 4am and continue all day tomorrow. First real day in rain. Wish ...

We hit the trail again yesterday in the midst of a steady rain. I found out quickly that my packable Goretex jacket and pants are shot. I got soaked to the bone. I feel fortunate that it wasn't any colder than it was. if it would have been another 5 degrees colder, it could have been a hypothermia situation for me.

We crossed into North Carolina yesterday. Our second state! We also climbed Courthouse Bald, a mountain that stands 4,690 feet, maybe the highest we climbed until today. ...

Started today at Amicalola Falls to do the approach trail. Made it to Springer Shelter for a total of 8.8 miles. Feeling a little soreness in my legs but not too bad. Good reminder to keep it nice and slow. Excited to have already met so many nice thru hikers. One in particular, Full Time. He completed his thru hike in 2011 after he retired. He said he had a total of 83 friends and family join him for a section of his hike. I thought that was so awesome. What a motivator! He’s back on the trail ...

Have all my food ready to go. 5 days + 1 day just in case. Weights 13.8 lbs 😟. Now just need to fit it in my pack.