Today I hiked another section of the Appalachian Trail.  Since I spent 11 years in the Army, I’ve had my share of “roughing it”.  I’ve therefore decided to hike the Appalachian Trail glamping style: one day-hike at a time.

My husband and I started at the Springer Mountain Trailhead again, but this time headed North. We did a simple 3.2 miles out to the 3 Forks Trailhead then turned around and came back for a total of 6.4 miles. 

The weather forecast varied, initially predicting rain, then changing to overcast and cloudy.  We drove to the Springer Mountain Trailhead and as we exited our car, there was a heavy drizzle.  There was a park ranger asking if we were sure we wanted to hike today.  “No problem,” I said, and put on my nifty poncho.  My husband wasn’t as enthusiastic.  I encouraged him to hike for a little while and we could turn around if we became uncomfortable.

While it was rainy with poor visibility, with my poncho, I wasn’t uncomfortable.  The beginning of this hike was woodsy and downhill.  We soon adapted to the wet trail, though it was a little slippery.  The rain persisted for most of the hike.  It was enough to be annoying but not terrible.  We came to a pretty bridge crossing a stream.  My instinct told me to go to the right of the bridge.  My husband noted the well-maintained trail after the bridge and felt going left was the proper way to go.  I’ve mentioned that I can be directionally challenged.  I’ve learned over the years that if my instinct tells me to go one way, I should probably go the other.  We proceeded to the left and soon noticed the white blazes; we were still on the Appalachian Trail.  It’s a good thing we didn’t follow my instincts.

I was surprised at the number of hikers we encountered.  Several were out for a day-hike, like us.  We were almost at the halfway point when we encountered 2 families who had started at the 3 Forks Trailhead.  They asked if we found anything interesting.  Yes!  We noticed a small waterfall along the way.  There was a stream and several bridges.  My favorite part of the hike involved crossing a balance beam.  Yes!  Obstacles!  My husband didn’t like that part as much, but he made it.  The most notable hiker was a 79-year-old man who was on the first day of his adventure.  He wanted to complete the entire trail.  He told us he was in pretty good shape, but the trail was challenging him so far.  He had fallen twice in the slippery conditions but was not discouraged.  His goal was to make it to the Stover Creek Shelter that day.  We assured him he was almost there and wished him well. 

Today we completed another 3.2 miles of the Appalachian Trail with a 6.4 mile out and back hike.  I realize that if we continue this approach, we’ll have to hike over 4,000 miles to complete the trail.  Soon we’ll research ways to hike longer sections using 2 vehicles or hiring a shuttle. 

It will be several months before we can get back to our cabin and explore more of the Appalachian Trail.  Meanwhile, we’ll have fun exploring trails near our home in Florida.

I’m finally ready to begin the adventure of hiking the Appalachian Trail. I’ve read many books written by others who’ve accomplished this feat. Frankly, their experiences sounded rather uncomfortable. I don’t want to be dirty, have to poop in a hole, or sleep on the ground. I want to hike the Appalachian trail glamping style. That is, I will day-hike the trail.

Once I had this idea, I wasn’t sure where to start. I read books on day hiking and finally found a plan.

I decided that my first hike should be easy. I picked a 2-mile hike to metaphorically get my feet wet. My husband decided to join me, and we drove to the trailhead on Route 42. Let me tell you, navigating that narrow and windy road was the start of our adventure. My husband had a death grip on the ceiling handle. I teased that if we went off the side of the mountain, that handle wouldn’t do much for him.

At the trailhead, we located signs pointing to the Appalachian trail and the Southern Terminus. I checked and rechecked my detailed directions and the trail seemed easy to navigate. This was a pleasant spring day following some snowstorms. The snow had melted, and the trail was rather muddy, but not too slippery. There were still some icicles on the edge of the rocks. My book made note of the Springer Mountain Shelter. When I saw the sign for the shelter, I thought we should go that way. A nice hiker noticed us heading off the main trail and made sure we intended to do this. He pointed behind him. The platform is that way. If I haven’t mentioned, I can be a bit directionally challenged. Even on a simple path, with directions, I am prone to getting lost.

Despite my geographical disorientation, we made it to the platform marking the southern terminus of the Appalachian Trail. There were a bunch of experienced-looking hikers at that spot. They were resting and eating. I surmised that they started at Amicalola Falls about 8 miles away. I searched for the next section of the trail, entered the clearing, and went in circles. I couldn’t find the trail. I felt a little intimidated among the experienced hikers but knew we had to get directions. One of the hikers pointed back the way we had come. “Follow the white blazes”, he said. I then realized that we had been on the trail the whole time.
We turned around and went back the way we came. This time, noticing the white blazes. We actually did divert to look at the Springer Mountain Shelter on the way back. We saw a sign with an arrow toward the Privy. “What’s a privy?”, we asked each other. We saw a structure with 3 sides and an opening. This must be the shelter, providing partial protection from the elements. I wanted to look inside and take a picture. Then I saw the toilet overflowing. Oh, a privy. Like an outhouse? No pictures taken thank you. We returned to the original trailhead and located the next part of the trail leading to 3 forks about 3 miles away. We decided to leave that section for our next adventure.

Today, I hiked about 1 mile of the Appalachian Trail. I would love to complete the trail with a series of day hikes. I realize this could take years to forever, but we made a great start.