Getting to the Trail

We planned to leave for the Appalachian Trail last Sunday, but I got food poisoning on Friday night. Friday as I was running to Sports Authority to pick up a few last minute things for our trip I stopped at the Evil Taco Bell and had a soft taco and bean burrito. This turned into being a terrible decision. That afternoon I felt fine, that evening as we were having dinner with friends I started feeling sick. By midnight I was in pain, and by 3 am I was being tortured by my stomach. Saturday I thought I might need to go to the hospital, but Matt reassured me that it will pass and he took care of me. Sunday I woke up feeling about 80% better but had no appetite and water was hurting my stomach. I told him I was ready to go hike regardless so started packing. We put the tent together in the living room as a practice run, it was super easy. Matt figured out the water filter and I got all the food ready and packed. Four days of food gets heavy pretty fast especially when we have to carry four days of dog food for two dogs. I had high hopes at this point that Blue and Petey would be able to carry their own food and water in their packs. First run through with the packing, Blue had 18 pounds, Petey had 9, I had 32 and Matt had 30. Blue couldn't carry that much, so after Matt and I purged our packs of all the frivolous items and just went with bare necessities we both had 29, Blue had 13 and Petey had 8 pounds- all without water.

We drove Monday, it was a warm 77* and super sunny. We got to Amicalola Falls Visitor Center and checked in as hikers and parked in the special hiker's parking lot. There was another guy checking in to thru-hike. They ask everyone how far they are going, he replied "As far as I can make it!" We wrote down 2 days out and 2 days back, 2 people + 2 dogs. It was such an official way to start a hike.

We got on the trail at about 2:30. The boys were excited and eager, and my pack felt surprisingly comfortable even with the added water weight. The approach trail to the Appalachian Trail begins right directly behind the Visitors Center. The entire trail system goes by 'blazes' which are painted marks along the trail on trees, rocks and posts. The Appalachian Trail is marked with White Blaze markers that you follow all 2,175 miles to Maine. The approach trail is a Blue Blaze that winds up Springer Mountain for 8.8 miles to the Southern Terminus of the famous AT. We really didn't have a plan other than to take it slow since I'd been so sick so recently and just enjoy being out there and hiking with the dogs and each other. About a mile up the approach trail there is a sign that warns- Springer Mountain 8 miles, STRENUOUS HIKING, 6 hours ONE WAY. This is a little discouraging because for whatever reason the Approach Trail is HARD!! The first couple miles is straight up and steep, with lots of tree roots and rocks that are built into steps. A year ago we came up here for the first time and was planning to hike the approach trail. I was so out of shape and winded and struggling that we only made it the first 2.5 miles and it took us hours. It was then that I realized I needed to change my habits because I didn't want to NOT be able to do this sort of thing. By that time the seed to hike the entire trail had been planted in my mind and barely being able to get up that trail was a shock to that dream. It was on that approach trail that I decided to just start walking with the dogs, and trying to get healthy. A year later we made it to the summit (8.8 miles) in under 5 hours!


Now I made that sound too easy...here is the real story! We were feeling great, as I said. Blue's pack was too heavy with all the water weight and we had to stop and lose most of his water and Matt carried half the dog food. This helped but since it was pretty hot Blue was not 100%. I was tied to Blue and Petey and Matt were tethered together. Blue would just stop and need to rest and need water. Which was fine we just took our time. Petey on the other hand was 110%!!! The ultimate trail dog! I was really impressed as 9 pounds was the most he has carried ever. We got him a new pack at the last minute and were really happy with how it fit and he seemed to really like it too. Matt and I kept commenting on how great I was doing compared to last year!


The next thing we new we were at the shelter at the end of the Approach Trail at mile 7.3 and it was only 6pm we were flying over the trail! It was only 1.7 miles to the Summit and the next Shelter/Camp area and we had about an hour and a half til dark. So we pressed on thinking we'd make it. About 7 my legs gave up, it was grueling- up hill doesn't really describe it, it was a CLIMB up a mountain trail. We decided we needed to camp at the next flat-ish area as soon as possible. It was all steep- too steep to put up a tent anywhere so we had to keep going. Darkness was coming fast and we thought we HAVE to have gone over 1.5 miles by now! We kept thinking the summit was just around the next corner and would flatten out enough to put up the tent. But it just kept going! We finally made the decision that Matt and Petey would go ahead and put the tent up at the first spot they saw and then come back and finish with Blue and I while we kept plugging away. Boy Blue and I were slow, we were both BEAT! Blue kept pulling though when Matt and Petey pulled way and disappeared out of sight. He was trying to pull me to keep up. Turns out Blue was my hero on this trip he pulled me and my pack up those hills. He is strong as an ox and doesn't give up! Matt said Petey kept whining and stopping and looking back, they didn't like to be separated, turns out neither did I!



Blue and I got to the summit just as the sun was setting. It was beautiful! I was so tired and cold and hungry I felt I could cry. The sunset at the summit was the first view of the Appalachian Mountains on the trail and with the orange colors was breathtaking. Matt had the camera so I had no picture of this special moment. As I looked around I realized this was a perfect stop why wasn't Matt and Petey waiting for us here?? Then I saw the sign....NO camping at the summit, high bear activity, go to the campground 200yds off trail -blah, blah, blah. All I had to see was 'bear activity' and we were moving.



Growing up in Alaska, and spending as much time as I did in the woods "bear activity" means a lot to me. I have a distinct reaction to this warning. I start chattering away, singing loudly, making up songs, talking to Blue and kind of just moving, I don't even realize I'm doing it. As a child Grandma would tell me to sing and keep talking when we'd be out in the woods, as then we won't surprise the bears if we are being loud- so keep talking! Because of this conditioning I turn into a chatterbox in the woods. Many people have the reaction of being quiet and almost sneaking through the woods, I tromp loudly and try to laugh and talk while we're hiking. I think it annoys some people but I can't be quiet in the woods.

Anyhow, it's getting dark and I of course am telling myself there aren't Grizzly's (thank god) only Black Bears here in Georgia and they really are few and far between- not like in Alaska. And I have big ol' Blue with me anyway, and I'm going on and on in my head and getting more and more mad at Matt because we STILL haven't come across him with the damn tent and it's almost dark. Blue and I stop finally as I am exhausted and I dig out my cell phone and start trying to call him. Of course no reception, and then I realize we are going down hill. This can't be right. So I make the decision to go back up the hill to the summit area and look for the Shelter/Campsite. I must of missed it. Sure enough I did. There was a clearly marked trail and sign to the Shelter. Our tent was there, but Matt and Petey were not. I asked the other hikers at the campfire and they didn't' know where he went. So I just waited.

About 20 minutes later him and Petey come up completely out of breath. They RAN down the trail and couldn't find us. I told him that was because we went the wrong way and were on the other side of the dang mountain. OK, OK I wasn't quite that calm or nice at that moment. I was pissed that we had pushed on to the summit and reminded him that this was supposed to be easy going and no mileage goals! OK, OK that is still making it sound light, and I wasn't. I was in break down mode at that point. We tried to get things together to go to sleep, but the dogs were in disarray as we were in the tent being our first night and all. The campgrounds are pretty nicely set up for hikers. They all have campsites, a 3 sided shelter, above ground outhouses called privy, are next to water sources, and have food bag pulls. Some would say this is for bears, it's not, it's for the mice. MICE that's right- every shelter and campground along the AT is INFESTED with mice. I had read this, but we thought how bad could it really be in a big ol' wilderness?? In addition Shelters have a 9pm curfew, where it is supposed to be quiet time and in your bag or tent by then to be courteous to others.

We had just got settled in and had forgone putting our food up with our little fiasco (ok, my little fit!) of getting in so late and the curfew and all. We turn our headlights off and snuggled in. I immediately started to fall asleep when I heard something.

"Do you hear that?" I asked Matt.

"It's just the dogs claws on the tent." he replied.

I listened closer, it wasn't' the dogs. I grabbed my headlight and listened- it was in my pack. I turned on the light to see two little mice looking at me as they sat on my pack and were getting the bagels. They just sat there, looking at me. I hit the pack, they scattered...then came back in seconds! No fear! We had to do something. I told Matt we couldn't bring the packs in the tent they would eat through the tent, I had read about that happening. Then our tent would be ruined. He got up and went and found the pully system and hung all of our packs in complete darkness. He is so good. I was so mad. God I HATE mice!!! They make such a mess and carry disease. Matt couldn't find the pully system to hang our bags at first and was going to use the leashes to hang our packs. I told him they would climb the tree and get in our packs and chew them up- I also read about this happening. He finally found the system it was about 100 feet away from the camp area. It had 5 pully's to use and had metal pizza baking plates at either end to prevent the little creatures from walking the lines to get to the packs. It was ridiculous, but necessary and a good system. The little bastards didn't come back, I was worried all night that they were going to try to get in the tent. I woke up a couple times and looked around, but didn't see any signs of them. They knew there was no point once the packs were gone.

Blue shivered all night long, I don't know if he was cold, nervous or scared or what. But it kept waking me up. The wind was howling at the top of Springer Mountain, it sounded like an 18-wheeler on the highway. Temps never got that cold, our tent stayed warm. I drifted in and out of deep sleep all night long to the comforting sound of Matt's snoring. Other than my melt down, so far so good.