Bama to Baxter, Day 30: Officially on the Appalachian Trail

Amicalola Lodge to Gooch Gap Shelter

Sleeping in a comfortable bed for two nights is a pleasure and a curse. I love getting a good night’s sleep, but then the fear of sleeping on the floor for the next few days sets in. Anyway, I got up early after a good night’s sleep and since I had packed the night before, I quickly left the lodge and walked back to the trail.

I was on the approach trail at 6:15 a.m. I had a couple different options planned for the day depending on my progress. Since I had climbed the stairs to the falls the day before, I picked up where I left off on the Approach Trail. I made it to Springer Mountain in good time. I stopped and took some pictures to commemorate the official start of my AT hike.

I continued walking until I reached Long Creek Falls, where I stopped for water and lunch. I had camped near here a couple of nights ago, so I had already found a good place to sit while having lunch. While I was there, I had my first official conversation with another AT hiker while on the trail. David was a young man, recently graduated from college, looking to hit the road before beginning his career. Cool coincidence: he was born and raised in the city where I went to college: Greenville, North Carolina. (Go pirates!!!)

Soon other hikers joined us and David was gone. I didn’t see him again for the rest of the day. After lunch, I was still feeling good and arrived at my first possible stopping point too early to call it a day. I continued and headed to my second possible stopping point. It’s still a little early, so I moved on. Wow, that was a mistake. I made the decision to continue forward without checking the elevation profile for the last few kilometers. Yes, of course, it was all uphill. It wasn’t that steep, but the trail was rocky, so I slowed down a bit before finally reaching my final stopping point at Gooch Mountain Shelter.

At the shelter I got my first taste of real life on the trails. The shelter is large, but few people decided to sleep in it. However, there are also a dozen tent platforms, each of which can fit two tents, so the area was full of tents. Because the lodge is about fifteen miles from Springer Mountain, it’s a logical first-night stay for many people, and for those starting out at Amicalola, it’s a good second-night stay.

Since it was a long day for me, I arrived at the shelter a little later than usual at the end of the day. The tent platform was well built, so I was able to set it up quickly. I changed out of my sweaty clothes and hung them on the clothesline while there was still some sun available. Once my clothes were dry, I began the process of preparing dinner. Even though I’m starting week 5 of my general walk, I haven’t had to double up on any of my freeze-dried meals yet.

After dinner, I planned my trail meal for the next day and made sure both of my water bottles were full and had electrolytes. At 8pm, the camp was starting to calm down, so I took the hint and went into my tent. This would be my first night sleeping on the floor after spending the previous two nights at Amicalola Lodge. I was hoping for a good night’s sleep.

Happy trails. . .

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