Thru-Hiking Journal

Day 12 - March 12th Daily miles: 15.5 Official distance covered on trail: 125.2 Woke up this morning with relief. A few days ago, there was a prescribed fire in the area we camped in. We'd gotten official word that the burn had passed, and it was safe "but possibly smokey" in the area, but when we got back to our camp site after our day in town, we could see fires nearby. They weren't on or near the trail, but close enough that we could see them, which was unsettling. Not muc

Day 6, cont. - March 6th I know we've only been hiking for 5 days, but wowww did a day in town feel great! I don't think a hotel room has ever felt like such a luxury. A shower has never left me feeling cleaner. A load of laundry has never brought me such joy. Even the hotel breakfast was fun. Dee, the woman running food service -- "Dee for Dee-lightful," "fourth letter followed by two fives" -- was just a hoot, and she made sure we went to our rooms with full bellies and smi

Day 1 - March 1st Daily miles: 11.6 Official distance covered on trail: 2.8 So... we started our hike today. Instead of the official southern terminus at Springer Mountain, we chose to begin 8.8 miles south at Amicalola Falls State Park. So far this year, 361 people have begun their journey there as well. My number in the log book was 362, Mitch's 363. Today started without fanfare. There was a small group of people from the Georgia Appalachian Trail Club who talked to us abo

One of a Billion AT Gear Lists on the Internet Today All our stuff (minus food and water) for the next 4 months If you search "backpacking gear list" on your preferred search engine (s/o to Ecosia , which donates 100% of its profits to organizations and nonprofits that focus on reforestation and is carbon negative; I've made it my default search engine on my phone and laptop and it does everything you need it to do but has better environmental contributions), you will find a