Springer Mountain to Neels Gap

Yes! We are here! I’ll get right into it.

Wednesday, April 1

The morning came quick of course. We made our way to the Springer Mountain parking lot with a couple of extra new friends. Slim and Kim rode on grey hound to Atlanta and caught a ride. They were able to take part in our traditional Chik fil A biscuits before hitting the trail.

Hiking the first day was beautiful. Perfect weather. We had a nice short hike to long creek falls and then decided to take off on the BMT to camp the first night on The Bald. It was just as good as we were hoping for. A perfect view off the stars and a nice quiet camp outside of the bubble. Rice, beans, and broccoli for dinner. It was delicious! We all slept well and stayed warm.

Thursday, April 2

Woke up to some light rain. All day hiking was in fog. A lot different than the nice weather the first day. Most of the time the trees were dripping on us from all of the moisture in the air so we ended up wearing our rain jackets for most of the hike. We had lunch at Hawk mountain shelter and got to have some good talks with other hikers. We made our way to Justus Creek to camp which was choice for many other hikers but we went pretty far down the creek to a nice flat area and set up a sweet private camp. Just as we finished dinner the rain came. Hard. Awesome bolts of lighting and heavy thunder. It’s awesome how comfortable we have become in the wilderness over the years.

Friday, April 3

Probably my favorite morning of backpacking ever. We didn’t get started hiking until three pm if that explains anything. We hung out all afternoon, listening to music, bathed in the creek, dried out EVERYTHING from the night before. After we started hiking only three miles in we reached Gooch Gap. It looked so nice we decided to call that our home dirt that night. We met plenty of hikers and enjoyed ourselves. Played frisbee, listened to music, mingled around the campsites. Pretty much just enjoyed living the thru hiker life. Things are getting better and better each day!

Saturday, April 4

We had another nice short hike today. Also received our first trail magic before leaving camp. Speed Bump and Albatross hooked us up with candy for a little energy boost on the uphills. Hiking this day was just as good as the others. We are doing great as a team and have been keeping a good pace together. We leaned along the way that the campsite we were heading for would be crowded and out most definitely was. We had to camp pretty far out but in doing so we managed to have some privacy which we prefer. I personally love the areas where tons of folks camp so we can go talk but still have some privacy away from the large groups. The night we knew was coming was supposed do be very cold but we pushed through and even caught a blood moon rise. So fitting before our summit of Blood Mountain.

Sunday, April 5

Resupply day! We met so many people today! Really getting a taste of the AT experience. Blood Mountain was really easy compared too what o have heard. Looking forward to getting out of Georgia. Neels Gap is great and the folks are super cool. Jordan and friends brought us pizza also! We have stuffed our faces and are ready to hit the trail again.

 

Recap..

Pure awesome. Health is good. Body feels good. Legs are stronger than ever. Protein and green supplements we have all really enjoyed. Can’t wait to see what more there is to come!