Hiker Log 1: Making a Tramily and Freezing on Blood Mountain

The current trend of my AT hike has been teamwork.  From night one it’s been cooperative planning and shared positivity, even during these freezing rains.  I never thought I would refer to “we” so often; what “we” are doing tomorrow, where “we” want to eat, the breaks and summits that “we” complete together.  I’ve been blessed with incredible company.

I met a gentleman who refers to himself as Rocksteady out of support for a Parkinson’s boxing-therapy program we both have connections to.  We spent most of day two together, and have been constantly feeding positive energy to one another.

We named ourselves the Gooch Group in reference to our shelter from night two, and have been leaving messages at all the rosters for those in our tramily who were farther behind.  Members of our group saw the note we left them, informing them that we had pressed on into Mountain Crossings, and they expressed cheerful sentiments about realizing we were still with them even if we didn’t all climb the freezing Blood Mountain at the same time.

The whole tramily has been sitting down every night for planning sessions regarding our mileage and intentions for the days to come, and even if not everyone is on board for the mileage, our bond has grown stronger as the hours together go by.

We found ourselves at the Blood Mountain Cabins.  Hot food, a shower, and all the other usual luxuries thru-hikers crave so badly (except alcohol, to our surprise) were waiting for us here, and even though today was cold, tonight our beds are warm.