I’ve had a couple months to process and am so grateful for the experience and to share it with Derek.   I want to be back out there right now.  Hard for me to put in words the experience I had.  For me it was more than one foot in front of the other even though a good portion of my thoughts on trail were simply that.   Where will I place my next step?   Although triathlons, marathons and time spent on stair masters no doubt helped with conditioning there’s not much to prepare one for what the trail has in store other than putting one foot in front of the other while on it.  Being immersed on and in the AT is a wonderful experience now leaving me with excitement for planning the next trek.  Already eyeballing some fall dates (labor day perhaps?).   For now I’ll look back on the memories of the people met, the gear used, the views, the valleys, the flowers, the wildlife, the lifesaving yet delicious mountain water, and so much more.  Like my food bag rolling uncontrollably down a ravine and me almost right behind it.

People met:

Sally our shuttle driver –  from Clearwater and now retired with her partner Joyce in the foothills of the blue ridge in north Georgia.  What a character and good soul.  She absolutely loves driving hikers and hearing their stories both pre and post hike.  She loves her fishing.  Particularly in the boundary waters every September after hikers have moved on.

Bob – owner of Top of Georgia Hostel.  Met him pre and post hike.  Not too personable with a slight air of know it all but he’s earned it as a triple peak hiker AT, PCT, and Continentail Divide through biker.  Great little place for the novice or experienced hiker alike.

Father and son we met on ride to Springer.   Dad took lots of photos of wildflowers and claimed to be a flower nerd.  Both of them from Indiana.  He went to IU.  Guess maybe some of his nerdiness rubbed off on me because I noticed and appreciated all the blooms I saw.

Scott –  from Jacksonville.  Met him early on and only saw him twice.  He was taking same route as us.  Wanted to take Derek and my picture. Think he was cataloging every person he met on trail.

Group of 4 girls with a mission to get to neels gap come hell or high water.  Started at approach and found themselves behind schedule and ready to be off trail. 2 of them from Florida one from Georgia. We passed them a couple times.  We think they eventually made it.

Sisters at low gap –  met two sisters hammock camping next to us.  They were part of a bigger group that got split up.    They managed to find firewood where the rest of us couldn’t.   Thought I’d do them a favor and get their fire going.  Managed to burn through half their wood before they came down to enjoy it.  I think.  Not sure because Derek and I went to bed before they came back to camp.  So I’ll call it a nice gesture, not using all the wood they collected.

Wanderer – we became most acquainted with wanderer.  A really nice lady in her mid 60’s I’m guessing.  Gave herself the trail name wanderer from Tolkiens quote ” not all who wander are lost”.  She got dropped off at approach trail by her husband early June and had all month to go as far as she wanted.   We caught up to her at low gap. She was primarily staying in shelters.  She started off early out of low gap and we proceeded to rubber band hike with her.  Catching up to her on a break.  We would break, she would leave, we’d catch her again and so on. She was planning on jumping off trail for a couple days to rest.  We ultimately got of trail at Unicoi gap at the same time as her.  We all spent the night at TOG hostel and shared more stories on their rockers out back into the evening.   Really enjoyed talking with her.  Great outlook on life.  As I type this my guess is she’s now moving into North Carolina.  Happy trails Wanderer.

Another father son combo going southbound.  Shared some conversations with them along with wanderer at blue mountain shelter.  All of us seeking reprieve from the rain.  This duo had been moving.  They were at 14 mikes for the day and had 8 to go.  What a great experience for father and son.  This was the beginning of their section hiking AT.

There were countless other people we met along the trail.  Most conversations were in passing and almost always was “where are you coming from today and where did you start before that?”  Same questions about where they were going.  Trail conditions and water sources came up often.

There truly is a “trail community” out there.

Scenery –  Georgia didn’t disappoint!  From the first steps off of Springer all the way to Unicoi Gap we blessed with wonderful scenery.  We must have hit the blooms just right as there were countless tunnels of Mountain Laurel in bloom.  Sometimes intermixed with the flame azalea which was also prevalent everywhere.   Some types of rhodedendrum were starting to bloom while others were at higher elevations that we had not experienced below 4000′ feet.

The canopy was lush and green throughout.  We were lucky to have great weather and even though it got warm out the canopy kept our temperatures in check.  The canopies at some points would give way to clearings and bluffs for awesome views.  I was surprised and delighted to view out and not see much if any sign human touch.  Just nature!

The hikes through the scenery always led us to our camp for the night.   We tended to have a general plan of where we wanted to end up but stayed flexible depending on how we were feeling.   Our intent was to stop in designated areas each night whether it was a shelter area or tent area.  Only once did we “stealth” camp.  This was due to our 16mile day, and a perfectly placed view when we said lets stop for the day.

Setting up camp always entailed a 5-10 minute rest and immediately getting our tents set up.  We’ve been working all day, lets finish the work (setting up camp), and then kick back.   All sites were unique in their own way.  Most important thing was getting as level a spot as possible.  For the most part succeeded in that although I never really had a solid night of sleep.  But loved going to sleep at night!!!

As I recollect a couple months later all of the details are not there as they once were but I can say without a doubt it was a great experience and one that has me ready to go again.  Soon!  Like maybe next weekend.  Seriously!