Erwin, TN 6/18

I finally hav a little time to write on a computer, so hopefully this post will update everyone on our happenings on the trail. I guess the most difficult place to begin is to figure out where to begin. I guess we'll start with Georgia.

Our hike began in Amicalola Fall State Park. This is where the approach trail to the appalacian trail begins. It is about a 7 mile hike to the top of Springer Mountain (the begining of the AT), and features a hike up about 500 steps (which probably to this date was the most difficult thing we did). Days in Georgia began slow, keeping our mileage below the 10 mile per day mark. This is where we first met The Pacemaker Man. The Pacemaker Man (aka Allen Law) is a 64 year old man hailing for the suburbs of Cincinatti, technically in Kentucky. He is section hiking the AT for about a month, and we saw him often through our first two weeks. While Georgia's geography posed some challenges for us, we were able to temper it by curbing our mileage a bit. But towards the end of Georgia, and as we entered North Carolina, we started to pick up our pace.
North Carolina topographically was not so much different than Georgia; I mean, it is only a "man made border", as jake likes to say. Entering NC Josh and I faced our first experience with the animals of the AT. As we walked a foggy trail mid morning (jake was probably miles ahead of us at this point), we entered a ridge after a short decline and noticed a herd of wild boar grazing on the side of the trail. Just as we saw them, they seemed to have noticed as, and began to run. Lucky for them, they ran the direction opposite of us, because Josh and I had our trekking poles at the ready; Josh already beginning to utter the words "lets flank them!".
NC led us to the Great Smokey Mountains. Now those mountains are a natural border, no man made nothing. These are some of the largest, and most beautiful mountains not just along the trail, but in the entire country. Our book (the throughhikers guide to the appalacian trail) quotes that the smokey mountains are the "most diverse forest in north america", and i believe this to be true. They were big, they were smokey, and they definitly were mountains. The largest mountain on the AT is located in the smokeys, Clingman's Dome, standing at 6643 feet. Unfortunatly, our first day of real rain occured the day we were hiking it, so not only did we ascend some of our highest peaks during a thunderstorm, once we reached the top we were unable to see the supposidly magnificant view off the observatory on the top.

Since the Smokey's we have been riddled on and off with rain (luckily our tents are holding up nicely) but our boots (especially mine) have had a few problems. Despite the saleslady's pitch, my boots are NOT waterproof, so i would NOT suggest entering a stream while wearing them if you are planning on staying dry.
Currently we're straddling the North Carolina Tennessee border, literally crossing it daily.

I do have a new animal update. While I only saw a baby snake today, yesterday Josh saw himself a new animal we can add to the list. As he was walking alone on the trail (a little ahead of me, a lot behind jake) a large deer entered the path just behind him and began to stop its hooves in his direction. He able lifted his poles above his head and began banging them together, but this proved to no avail as it kept stomping and stairing in his eyes. Next josh (in his words) "looked around for her little bambi, and after determening there was none, just continuted walking away frmo her". Lucky she didnt follow, and luckily she had no man close by, because he could have done some serious damage.

I promised Josh his own section, so here goes. I shall entitle it: Josh's Equipment Malfunctions. Josh has been the king of problems during our short time on the trail so far. Zippers from his pack have snapped, his tent poles have cracked, the fly to his tent has ripped, and lastly, and most importantly, as many of you know, after the first week in he damanged one of his most important pieces of equipment, his bladder. With a partially damanged bladder, we were set back a few miles, but he has since healed his bladder, but unfortunatly nothing else. He has been on and off with illness, but were hoping we can get him healthy soon. Because of this ill fate, josh has earned himself a trail name. Ichabod Crane.

All three of us have been giving our trail names. Josh's, as mentioned above, is Ichabod Crane, after the famous character from the Washington Irving story Sleepy Hollow. The similarities are uncanny. Not only is josh tall and goofy, he loves reading, and is harnessed with extremely bad luck (although he has yet to been chased by a headless horseman).
Jakes trail name is Outlaw Pete. This name stems from the Bruce Springsteen song Outlaw Pete, were he sings of "being born on the appalacian trail". Jake, Bruce Springsteen...Need i say more?
My trail name was thought up by Josh, and agreed to by Jake (basically a trail naming ceremony). I have been given the name Achilles. This stems from my lack of blisters (cross your fingers/knock on wood that this stays true). Once day i was almost developing a blister, inevitably, on the back of my heel. While i did not get that blister, i have had a sore heel for a while now, and it has become apparent that my only weakness is my Achilles is my only weakness- same as the ancient greek hero.

Mileage analysis time. Right now i am writing from mile 339.9 of the trail. We have successfully completed 22 days. This gives us an average of 15.45. Writing that number, it actually seems pretty low, as the past few weeks i feel we have been avering around 20 miles a day. Our longest day was a 24 mile day, but our shortest were two 4 mile days taken after joshs bladder problem.

While walking on the trail, i pondered of things to say in this blog, and sitting at this computer, i fear i have lost them. I could tell you the arguements that josh jake and I have faced eachother with, but those have yet to be perfected, and will probably some day be published as great political and environmental thinkings.

One last shout out to all the nice poeple we have met in Irwin today. We were giving rides to and from town, numorous times, especially by the guy who drove us to the supermarket and back (sorry, i never caught your name).

Also, Tanya, i love and miss you. I will call you soon!

Everybody else, i hope you enjoyed this. Feel free to email me with comments and questions. I hope you had fun, i know i am.

Best