I woke up at 2:45 a.m. and caught a flight from Toronto to Atlanta. The flight left at 6:10 a.m. and arrived around 9:00. After a very long journey through the airport to get my luggage I got on a MARTA red line train and rode towards Sandy Springs station where my shuttle driver, No Dog, was waiting. We drove to the REI which is just across the street so that I could buy a fuel canister and then we hit the road. It’s about an hour drive from the train station to Amicalola Falls State Park and No Dog recorded our entire conversation for a podcast he does. It was fun to talk about why we choose to hike and what gear makes sense and why I chose the clothing I did, the pack, the Sleep System and so on.
When we arrived at the park, No Dog took my picture under the arch, and also drove me up to the base of the falls so that I could get a good look at it. Then he headed on his way and I went in for my AT hiker orientation. After about half an hour there I set off on the trail. The first 45 minutes of the trail is not very far as the crow flies, but it is a ton of climbing. It goes up beside Amicalola Falls and it is grueling. But the Falls are beautiful.
I hit the trail around 1:15 p.m. and got to Springer Mountain shelter around 6:15 p.m. so roughly 5 hours of walking.
At Springer Mountain there are four or five people in tents. I met Tim from Boston and Chris from Indiana. Since it was late and no one was in the shelter I decided I’ll sleep there. I’m having my favorite homemade dehydrated meal, Mediterranean potatoes with sun-dried tomatoes and olives. Once I can get all that down (because I sure made a lot of it), I will pack up my bag and lay out my sleeping gear and go to sleep. The food is already in a bear box.