Soup Stats: Georgia

That Sweet Sweet Data

I keep a daily journal on my phone where I document many things pertaining to my thru-hike. I love organizing and sharing data so I thought I’d give y’all a glimpse into how I made it through Georgia. Let’s get to it!

HIKING

Total AT Miles Hiked: 86.3 miles (includes 8.3 miles of approach trail)

Bonus Miles Hiked:  2.1 miles of spur trails

Full Days of Hiking: 8 days

Number of Days I Zero’d*: 2 days

*A zero is a day where you hike zero miles.

Number of Days I Nero’d*: 1 day

*A Nero is “nearly a zero”, typically occurring when one hikes a few miles to get to a resupply and/or a night indoors.

(Not to be confused with Nero the fifth and final Roman emperor of the Julio-Claudian dynasty of the Roman empire, who has nothing to do with my thru-hike.)

AT Miles Hiked/Total Days Hiked: 10.8 miles per day

AT Miles Hiked/Total Days Since Start Date: 7.9 miles per day

Most AT Miles Hiked in a Day: 19.0 miles

You can read about that day in my most recent post.

Least AT Miles Hiked in a Day: 1.7 miles, when I nero’d into Hiawassee to dry off.

Most AT Miles Hiked in a Three Day Period: 32.0 miles (19+13+0)

Days Hiked with Others: 5 days

Days Hiked Alone: 3 days

Nights I Slept in the Rain: 3 (consecutive) nights

Nights I Slept in a Shelter: 0 nights

Times I Couldn’t Find My Bear Can in the Morning: 1 time

It was 5:00am. I had to poop. My poop kit was in the bear can. It took me 30 minutes of crashing through brambles to find the correct fallen tree I had tucked it in.

Number of Thru-hikers I’ve Met: 44 hikers

This includes anyone I interacted long enough to learn they were thru-hiking and then remembered to document that I met them. I have seen more hikers than I’ve met.

Instances of Trail Magic: 5 instances

All of them food-based. This ranges from section hikers giving me a ziploc of cookies to a dad and his daughter setting up a grill for hotdogs in Wayah Gap.

Photos Taken: 147 photos

Bears Seen: 0 bears

Bears Imagined: All of them

 

GEAR

Number of Items Sent Home: 4 items

  1. Bidet attachment I never used.
  2. One person tent that I swapped for a two person tent.
  3. My 4th pair of socks that seemed excessive.
  4. A pair of toe socks that I popped a hole in with my big toe. These socks were replaced.

Number of Times I Thought I Lost Something Only to Find it Later: 3 times

  1. My tent stake bag. Found in bottom of my tent stuff sack three days later.
  2. My ziploc of toilet paper. Found in my raincoat pocket two days later.
  3. My tent stuff sack. Found in the sling pocket of my backpack one day later.

Number of Toe Socks I Popped My Big Toe Through: 2 socks

The pair I started with and the pair that replaced the first pair. Currently wearing the second pair without complaint.

FOOD

Clif Bars Consumed: 21 bars

  • Favorite Flavors: Peanut Butter and Peanut Butter Banana
  • Least Favorite Flavor: Chocolate Brownie

Bags of Pepperoni Consumed: 4 bags

Restaurant Meals: 3 meals

  1. Mexican Restaurant in Hiawassee
  2. Sandwich Restaurant in Hiawassee
  3. Pizza in Hiawassee

Times I Cooked A Hot Meal on Trail: 6 times

Hot Meals Consumed on Trail:

  • Instant potatoes (3 times)
  • Knorr Pasta/Rice Side (2 times)
  • Oatmeal (1 time)

Despite what this stat indicates, I actually do not care for instant potatoes. I ate them the first 3 days and then gave them up. Knorr sides are my current go to dinner.

Items I Left at a Hiker Box*:

  • Unsalted, unshelled pumpkin seeds
  • Half a dozen packs of instant oatmeal
  • Two packs of instant potatoes

*A hiker box is a community box used to leave behind food or gear that you no longer want, but another hiker may find useful. They are most commonly found at hostels and outfitters.

Liters of Water Consumed: 34 Liters

Most Water Consumed in a Day: 7 Liters

It was the 19 mile day.

A BLT Benedict from Tilted Cafe in Hiawassee, GA.

TOWN

Number of Showers Taken: 4 showers

Number of Times I Laundered My Clothes: 2 times

Shuttles Utilized: 4 shuttles

Two independent shuttle drivers in and out of Tesnatee Gap. Around the Bend’s shuttle in and out of Dick’s Creek Gap

Nights in a Hotel or Hostel: 4 nights

Two at the Hiawassee Holiday Inn. Two at Around the Bend hostel.

 

COMMUNICATION

Blog Posts Created on Trail: 3 posts

Instagram Posts Created on Trail: 2 posts

Phone Calls to Family: 9 calls

 

MENTAL

Number of Times I Cried on Trail: 2 times

Both at night in the first week when I was missing my partner and wishing she was with me.

Times I Thought About Quitting My Hike: 3 times

Mostly when checking in with myself and making sure I wanted to be out here. Said differently, I was reminding myself that it’s OK to be done at anytime.

Times I Thought Seriously About Quitting: 0 times

This trail is where I need to be right now. Plus, I’m enjoying myself too much to want to be done this early.

That’s all for now!

Feel free to leave a comment if you have any questions about this data or if there is something you felt was missing that you’d like to see on future editions of Soup Stats. I plan on doing these for significant border crossings or mileage milestones. As always, thank you for reading!

Take a hike!

David/Good Soup

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Comments 15

  • Paul Rhoades : Mar 18th

    Thanks for the update, I’m amazed at all of your data you have recorded ?I plan on hiking the AT next year so some of your data will be helpful!! Looking forward to your next post.

    Reply
    • David Firari : Mar 18th

      Hey, Paul! Glad you found the article helpful. Best of luck on your AT prep. It’s worth it. Hike on!

      Reply
    • Kristine Snow : Apr 12th

      I am really enjoying your posts David. One data point I am interested in: How many snakes have you seen?

      Reply
  • Pinball : Mar 18th

    my fav blogger this season. I’ve always wished someone would do a data based, straight up, matter of fact post with plenty** of various things tracked. List/bullet/efficient form for the win! And I remember that exact hollow tree. I think it’s impossible not to take a pic of it.

    Reply
    • David Firari : Mar 18th

      Pinball! Always nice to see your comment. I’m happy to see you liked the format of this post. Consider myself inspired to keep doing this for future states. Happy trails!

      Reply
  • Nick : Mar 19th

    Dude!! I love the way you share the trip. You’ve had me laughing and crying…

    I wish you luck and miles✌️

    Keep on keeping on Soup…I look forward to the next entry.

    Reply
    • David Firari : Mar 19th

      Thanks, Nick! I appreciate the positivity and am happy to hear you’re enjoying the posts. Happy trails!

      Reply
  • Marissa Lehman : Mar 22nd

    Hi David, we went to school together! It’s so inspiring to see you do something so exotic while most of us are at home and doing the daily norm.
    I love all the data and feedback from your experiences! I’m excited to follow you on your adventure! I am curious, what inspired you to embark on a journey like this?

    Reply
    • David Firari : Mar 27th

      Hi Marissa! I thought I recognized that name. Hope you’ve been well! As for your question: I found that my reason to hike this year was due to many compounding variables. The biggest of which were being wanting to use my body while it was healthy and having the time and funds to attempt this now instead of retirement. If you go to my author page on this site, I wrote an article last year list some of my other reasons.

      Thanks for commenting! Happy trails!

      Reply
  • Kris and Todd England : Apr 2nd

    We are just so impressed with your stamina and interest in this trail! I love reading your details and think that one day it could be put into a book and be published! How nice that your mom and Aunt Barb could join you for a bit! Your determination is impressive! Looking forward to another entry! Best wishes and happy trails!

    Reply
    • David Firari : Apr 3rd

      Hello Englands!! So nice of you to leave a comment. I hope things are well with you and I’m touched that you enjoy my posts so much. Here’s hoping the future posts continue to delight.

      Reply
  • Wanda Hale : Apr 2nd

    Enjoying your articles and your trek. Just not sure I’d want to keep my poop kit in with my food. Is that what most folks do? I can’t think it would have a smell to attract bears. Happy hiking.

    Reply
    • David Firari : Apr 3rd

      Hi Wanda! Great question.

      So my poop kit (spade, wet wipes, hand sanitizer) all live in my fanny pack with other items. Some of the other items are scented (lip balm, hand soap, sunscreen) so I used to put my entire fanny pack (poop kit included) into my bear can out of an abundance of caution and laziness.

      Since the incident I described in this article, I now put the scented items in my bear can and leave the poop kit in my fanny pack inside my tent vestibule.

      Despite the fact that my poop kit is used to help me poop in the woods, none of the items touch feces so it’s of little worry to have in my bin. The used wipes get put in a small ziplock which then gets put in a giant odor proof ziplock I use as a trash bag.

      Hope this clears things up!

      Reply
  • Alex Castillo : Apr 6th

    Awesome job man. Keep it up!

    I stay on the 16th. Hopefully I see you out there

    Reply

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