First three days on trail!

Hi folks!

I have officially been in trail for three days. I’m writing to you now from the hiker hostel at Neel Gap. There is not only a place to stay here, but also the first opportunity to resupply on trail.

I can say this much with absolute certainty now: if you are looking to hike the AT, you had better be prepared for and ready to hike in the rain. My induction into the hiking world included two solid days of hiking in torrential rain. Rain gear is great to have, but I guarantee that after 8 hours of hiking with no cover but the leafless trees, you will be wet. So wet that at the end of the second day, I was able to wring out a solid cup of water from my sodden underwear (don’t worry, this was not the cup of water later used to cook my dinner).

As it has been so wet, I have spent my first nights on trail at shelters instead of pitching my tent. For those unaware, the AT has shelters every 10 miles or so available for first come, first served hiker use. A shelter is more or less a three-walled hut with a roof. Sometimes, as was the case with the shelters I overnighted at Stover Creek and Gooch Gap, these shelters have a second level. They provide an excellent opportunity To get out of the rain and wind, but there is ample evidence of mice and squirrels, so care needs to be taken to hide your food and gear.

I’ve spent the night at the shelters with a hodgepodge of other hikers. It’s a pretty good mix of folks of all ages, genders, races, etc. It is generally pretty easy to strike up a conversation with folks, though. After all, no matter how different you are from the person sitting next to you at the shelter, you at least were both crazy enough to try and tackle the AT, so you’ve got that in common.

So far, my breakdown of mileage looks like such:

Day 1: 11.8 mi – Amicalola Falls to Stover Creek

Day 2: 12.9 mi – Stover Creek to Gooch Gap

Day 3: 15.6 mi – Gooch Gap to Neel Gap

The hostel here at Neel Gap sleeps 12. There are 6 here so far; all thru hikers. Very nice people, though nobody knows how to play cribbage. I’ll try not to hold that against them.

I would be lying if I said I was not homesick the first couple of days. As the rain pelted down on me, I found myself wondering if I’d made the right decision coming out here. However, the sunshine today and the company of the nice folks I’m staying with tonight have done wonders in turning my mindset to the optimistic end of the spectrum. I also got a nice pizza here at the outfitter, which I’m sure also helped. I remind myself that good things are seldom easy. With my newfound resolve, I’m thinking I may hike 18 miles to Blue Mountain Shelter. We will see how I’m feeling in the morning. The WiFi isn’t great here, so I can’t post photos, but I’ll update y’all with some imagery next time!