Hiking Matt

At 2 mins ‘til 5pm, I finally summit Springer Mountain, the southern terminus of the Appalachian Trail. Making it to this point has proved to be an interesting twist of learning, accepting and understanding.

The day started innocently enough, I had been working in my spice shop trying to get the last bits of food prepped.  My friend Sara stayed until almost 2am, helping make meals that I will be eating for the next 2-3 weeks (you rock Sara).

After cleaning and packing up my car with all my food, including 2 drop boxes, as well as a number of packages to be mailed to people all over the country.

Raced home at 4-4:30am, showered and started packing.  Fortunately, I had all my gear in one place, but had yet to pack any of it.  As odd as it may sound, it took quite some time, a lot more than I would have ever thought to put all those contents in one pack.  Regrettably, sometime in the past week, one of my hammocks turned up missing.  Great..ready to head out for a 5 month adventure and I don’t have my ‘winter’ or thicker shelter.  Finally, after many minutes wasted looking for it, I acquiesced and started work on covering everything in my room with plastic drop cloths..everything.

Race out of the house, as I know my friend is waiting at her house to take me to the airport.  When I get there, she is not-too-happy (and rightfully so) about having gotten up two hours earlier than she had to, waiting for me.

Finally get to the airport and say our goodbyes.  This was something I’d dreaded for awhile.  Should I make it to Maine, I knew that I’d miss her and her family very much…

Got checked in, no worries, then.. then my hiking poles became an issue.  For the past eight years, anything that isn’t made by the Nerf Corporation could be  considered a weapon, so, my Lekis were going to have to be checked baggage.

“No problem, you’ve got those boxes used for odd items I’ve seen through the years?” I inquired.

“No, sorry.”  Ticket Agent replied

“Great.” I thought.  “Not only is my pack, well, packed.  There is not much room for anything else.”

So I decide to use all the extra straps to tie copious amounts of knots everywhere.  While sitting on the floor of the ticket counter space, imagine, a guy who, come on… looks a disheveled mess, trying to pack ‘ski poles’ to a big backpack.  HEY, at least I was still clean!!

Uncertain what to do, the Gate Agent came up with some packing tape and said that I should secure it around the middle and that doing so should work.  Since she couldn’t guarantee them making it to Atlanta, no thanks.  Knots were everywhere on this pack.

Go through security and briskly walk to my gate.. as I am moving up the escalator to catch my flight, I could hear the Gate Agent announce the “Final Boarding Flight blah-blah-blah and my name.”  I step off, walk over and say, hey no worries, I’m your guy.  But something was wrong… something was missing……

CRAP!  I’d left my Therm-a-Rest Z-Lite at the security checkpoint!  C’MON!!!  WTF??  I quickly ask the Gate Agent if I can race back to the checkpoint and pick up my item.  She said that she had to close the gate in 40 seconds.. I asked for 60 seconds.. 60.. to race in and out of security.  She then said well, you can just catch the next flight.  I told her that it was impossible because I had someone picking me up in Atlanta.  She shook her head in a ‘whadda gonna do’ kinda way.. I told her that I was hiking the Appalachian Trail and that I wasn’t going to be able to pick up a new “bed.”  She finally made a comment along the lines of, if you had just left and weren’t still standing here, you would have been back by now and you’d be on the plane.  I looked at her and said, “I’ll be right back.”

A greyhound could not have picked me off.  I was gone.

Raced into the TSA Screening Area and saw my Z-Lite sitting at the end of the scanner station, picked it up and zipped back over to the gate.  Nothing like a madman running through an airport at 8am on a Wednesday morning to perk up staff and fellow flyers.  The looks.. ha, too good.

Get back to the gate where the Agent was just about to close the door.. and voila, I’m in.  Sweet!

I don’t know if you’ve ever had to run/dash/race to catch a flight or possibly a  connecting flight somewhere.. not only does it suck but it’s annoyingly frustrating because it’s guaranteed you’re going to be panting for the better part of 20-30 minutes afterward.  So, now I am a weird hiker looking dude with zip-off pants wearing a black hat, panting heavily, carrying a bright yellow foam thingy and a bring orange/yellow stuff sack with personal belongings in it.  I might as well had a shirt that said, “I am going to be this flight’s freak show, please stare.”

Land in Atlanta.  Backpack takes forever.. it’s Atlanta.  Lucky me, my poles are still secured in the web of straps.  Score one for Matt vs Airline.

Make my way to the MARTA Station, where I see other people with over-sized packs looking at the ticket/fare machine.   Living in DC with the METRO made this a snap..I actually was able to help a couple other hikers.

Rode the train to the northern most depot called, North Springs.  Chatted all the while with other attempting thru’s.

Met Survivor Dave, my ride, in the ‘Kiss and Ride’ section of the parking garage.  Very nice guy, likes to joke a lot..  While we waited for another hiker he gave me the lo-down on the weather coming up, terrain, expectations, etc.  Finally we were off.

About an hour and a half later we found ourselves at Amicalola Falls State Park.  Walked in and registered as a thru hiker.  I was number 473* with a pack weight of 36 pounds.  Nice.

Dropped off the other hiker at his cabin and drove up the dirt road to the almost top of Springer Mountain.  It was kinda weird to go from a  green and growing world in Dayton and Atlanta up to a very brown and gray world up 3350 feet.  Survivor Dave dropped me off at Big Stamp Gap/USFS 42 where MtSquid and Buttercup were welcoming and recording hiker data.  I’d always seen his entries online (Whiteblaze.net) so it was very cool to actually meet him.  Since it was still a mile up to the top of Springer Mountain from the Forest Road, MtSquid said I could leave my pack with them and pick it up on my way back down.  Cool.

About 20 minutes later, after doing my best to avoid all the mud and water as best as I could (wanted to keep my shoes nice and white for the photos on top) I made it to the top of Springer Mountain, finally.  Lucky me, it was also the  favorite spot of thousands of black flies too.  That was fun.

For a couple years now, since 2007, I’ve day-dreamed of the moment I would call my AT hiker friends Figgy and Stitch at the top of Springer letting them know that I’d finally started my trip on the Appalachian Trail.  I rang up Stitch, no answer.. d’oh!  No need to try to leave a message as the reception up there was bad and who knows what that voicemail would sound like.  So I rang up Figgy.. and guess what?  Voicemail!  DAMNIT.  Some things I guess aren’t meant to be.

Made all matter of phone calls to friends and family, thanking them profusely for all the help that they have given, facilitating this over-sized, potentially silly dream of mine.  MtSquid said that I’d probably be back to him in about 45 minutes from the time I left.  I was up there for about and hour and a half.. best get moving north.

Picked up my pack, chatted about weather, gear and finally said goodbyes and headed out.

What a great feeling.  Finally.  Walking.  On the AT.  Now I am just waiting to wake up, to go to work and dream another dream.  But since I am still in this one, I guess I’ll keep hiking north.

Light starts to wane and I haven’t set up this new, summer-style hammock… ever.  Even though it was a whopping 1.8 miles to Stover Creek Shelter (the second one from the top of Springer) I thought I would have hit it by now, and hadn’t.. time to stealth.  I came upon a stand of trees that looked absolutely perfect for my hammock, so I climbed up the little hill to them.  Just as I dropped my pack, I looked to my left.. there, about 50 yards was a shelter looking building, highly likely Stover Creek as I saw some bags suspended in the air (bear cables).

Set up my camp and was about to hop in and do whatever when I heard a voice.

“Do you know where the shelter is?”
“Yes” I replied, “over there.”

He started walking through the woods to the shelter.  I said it would probably be easier if he just took the AT around to the shelter entrance…and he wouldn’t have to come back later this way to ensure he covered each mile.

After finishing up at my hammock I decided that I should go and introduce myself to the voices coming from Stover.  Because it was so late, only silhouettes could be made out.  I walked up to the side of the shelter and said, “I’m going to be your local hanger tonight and just wanted to say ‘Hi’.”

There were only two people there, one was a girl named Phoenix Rising and the other was the guy who had just walked up there, he was going by Canada Wet or Fucking Egit, he had not decided.

We talked about all matter of things, trail, city life, where we were from, everything.  It was probably close to 11pm when those conversations of ‘needing to get to bed’ came up, but it was really around 11:30, quarter till when we actually did.

Off to bed, let’s see if I really do wake up.

*Just a quick thought, there are quite a few people who do not register at the desk in the park office, so that number is not the actual number of hikers, it’s just the number of people who registered.   A more accurate number is maintained by the ATC (Appalachian Trail Conservancy) in Harper’s Ferry, WV.  The only problem with that, however, is that you have to hike there, as a “thru-hiker” to be in that statistic.

mattbob