The adventures of Seinfeld

So this post encompasses the first thirteen days of my trip. Before I reflect, let me tell the gist of it.

On the 15th, I took a shuttle from northern Atlanta to 1 mile north of Springer Mountain (the start of the trail). I then hiked south to the official starting point and headed north from there. I decided to forgo the approach trail from the south because I had heard that it makes for a challenging and quite unenjoyable start. Later on, I heard from others that it was indeed hard and quite unredeeming when it came to scenery (pretty much all ascent and no views), so I was glad I skipped it. The first people I met on the trail (Jocelyn and Uncle Roj) named me Weedle after a Pokemon because the clothes I was wearing resembled it (I couldn't see it, but it stuck nonetheless). The next day, I hiked to Gooch Gap, where there was trail magic giving out hot dogs and soda to hungry thru-hikers (very much appreciated). I also met two people assembling an AT yearbook; this was their second year doing it, and they basically compile pictures of as many hikers as they can along with their trail names, as well as other action and fun shots. I will definitely be ordering a copy at the end of this year when it's ready. The following day, I left my pack at Gooch and hiked with the bare necessities to Neel's Gap, with the intent of getting a ride back to Gooch for a St. Patrick's Day cookout for hikers (followed by a ride back to Neel's with my pack the following day). I decided to try this idea of slack packing because I had never heard of it, and the opportunity presented itself. Though some purists may call it cheating, but I thought it made for a more pleasant hike without my pack.

The day after, I hiked to a shelter where I met a girl named Honeybee and a guy named August. He has hiked the AT multiple times and is actually now filming a set of videos about the trail, so he is carrying a fancy camcorder, a laptop and many other things that make his pack excruciatingly heavy (he's an army vet though, so he can handle it). He had been showing Honeybee the ropes of hiking since she was new to it. At camp, I had been reflecting on the reasons why I was hiking, and since Honeybee was a psychologist, she figured I should start fresh with a new attitude and a new nickname. That nickname turned out to be Seinfeld because I had quoted the show and had been telling jokes later that night. A much better name than Weedle in my opinion.

The next day was rainy and windy, so we only did 7 miles to the next shelter to wait it out. The next day though, I had heard about a great new hostel called Top O' Georgia Hostel and really wanted to stay there, so I hiked ahead 20 miles. It was very grueling, but I thought it made staying at a hostel even more rewarding. They did laundry for us, and even washed the clothes we had on (giving us scrubs to wear in the meantime, we all looked like we were in a sanitarium, haha). The next day, I crossed into North Carolina (first state out of the way, woohoo!) and stayed at Muscrat Creek Shelter, where I met my current hiking group: Teach (aka the Ambassador of Lance Creek, aka Gordon Bombay; I know, right?), Chewbacca (6'8'' tall!), JC, and a mormon brother and sister named Smoothie and Pumpkin Butt (aka Jacks). A little bit from the shelter, there was a trail leading to a plane wreck and great views. Going a bit off the trail for a good view is called blue blazing, as I learned. Two days later, we went to a town called Franklin where we restocked on food, had great mexican, and stayed at the Sapphire Inn. We got dropped into town from the trail by a guy who owns most of the town named Ron Haven who was very friendly and showed us around (as we passed by his favorite BBQ joint, he explained that that was what made him fat, haha). At the mexican restaurant, Chewie and JC each had 3 margaritas (or as JC called them: Margs), which sent JC a little over the edge, causing him to speak Spanish with the tag, "as they say in Mexico....". He got renamed Mexico after that. The next morning, we had a free all-you-can-eat pancake breakfast catered specially to thru-hikers, and I picked up a free copy of Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis (which I have been enjoying very much). I cut out the margins to save weight.

The next day, I made a huge descent (about 3000 feet) to the Nantahala Outdoor Center, which I heard was a very expensive place, but we actually had great burgers for a good price. The next morning, my plastic spork broke, and I dreaded getting a new one at the NOC, but I found a titanium one for a very good price. The next day, I hiked 22 miles in order to get to Fontana Village where I would take a rest day, right before Great Smoky Mountain National Park. I was very weary by the end, but it felt very rewarding to have what's called a "zero day", where I basically sat in a hotel room and hung out with friends. This morning, I will head into the Smokies.

Overall, I have not found the trail to be too hard physically, but with the extra time I have had to listen to myself, I have found myself thinking about things that I didn't think about before, things which would normally bother me. I am very thankful to be in a place where I can sort my feelings and thoughts out, and I think I have already become mentally stronger since starting the trail. I love the friendships I have made so far, and I hope that our schedules work out such that we can continue hiking for a while (some have to finish by mid-august in order to get back to school). That is all for now, and I will tell you how the smokies and the rest of NC goes!