This article contains affiliate links. When you click these links and make a purchase, I may get a small commission. It won’t cost you anything, but it helps me run this site.
If you missed part 1, click here.
As you know, I went to bed with no food or water last night. I didn’t eat breakfast either, for fear of not having water during the hiking. I finally made it to a tiny stream about an hour and a half later. The stream was so tiny, it was quite difficult to get water. I sat there for awhile, waiting for my filter bag to fill. Once I had a liter of filtered water, I drank most of it, then used the rest to make myself some oatmeal for breakfast, as well as some hot tea. I sat for awhile near the side of the trail, savoring my food. Once I was done, I filtered another couple liters so that I would be all set until the next water source, which turned out to only be a couple miles ahead.
Springer Mountain
I finally made it to the top of Springer Mountain around noon on my second day. The view from the top was incredible! More exciting than anything was finding the plaque that indicated the official beginning of the Appalachian Trail!! After taking several pictures of the view and surroundings, I sat down to enjoy some lunch and took a short nap while lying on the rocks. The sun felt amazing and I was just so proud of myself that a nap felt justified lol. After my short nap, I made my way towards the next camp site which was about 4 miles away.
Chattahoochee-Oconee National Forest
Well, I made my way into my first National Forest, the Chattahoochee-Oconee National Forest! There were rangers standing near the sign when I got there so I didn’t take any pictures of the sign. Oh well. I made my way to my campsite and within minutes of setting up my tent, it began raining. I sat in my tent, with the door open, and cooked my dinner. Sleeping through the rain was so relaxing.
When I woke the next morning, the rain was gone but it was definitely muddy. I continued my trek, simply aiming for the next camp site which was 5 miles away. That was how I kept focused, I just thought about my goal for the day. I made it to the next campsite by early afternoon. I probably could’ve kept going and tried to make it to a further one, but I was afraid that I would be pushing myself too far. I set up my camp and enjoyed talking with some fellow thru-hikers. This was where I made my first friend, Mark. Mark is such a great guy that I feel like we connected quickly. We sat at one of the picnic tables and talked about how our hike was going so far and how we felt about it. The next couple days went like this, making camp, talking to other thru-hikers and then leaving early in the morning to start all over again.
Above the Clouds Hostel
By day 4, I was ready to take a break at a hostel. Lucky picked me up and took me back. There I met more people that soon became friends and my trail family. Nimrod was the amazing cook who made us delicious dinners and breakfasts. It’s no surprise that this man gets proposed to constantly; he’s one of the best cooks I’ve met!!
This was my first experience in a hostel and had no idea what to expect. It was more of a bed and breakfast type thing in my opinion. While resting, the group of us bonded over how our first week was going out on the trail. A couple of people had been out there a little longer than me, but most were moving significantly faster than us. We also helped each other unload unnecessary items from our packs to send home. I actually managed to drop my weight from 41 pounds to 28!! The next morning was time to get back out on the trail.
The next few days were tough. I twisted my ankle climbing down Blood Mountain. I’m starting to think it got it’s name from all the people it’s injured. I didn’t think I would be able to make it and ended up staying at the hostel again for the night, just wanting to make sure that I was rested and hadn’t done anything more serious to my ankle. The next morning we set out again, ready to make some more progress! That night, I met another amazing man who changed my journey, and my outlook, forever. Find out more in Part 3!