Approach Trail to Neels Gap — Digital Dirtbagging

Well I made it 40.2 miles to neels gap and I will not be throwing my shoes into the tree! It has already then an amazing hike and amazingER experience. I jumped right into the shit on day one with sleet and snow while tackling the approach trail and the weather has been wonderful ever since. I'm really happy I got an ND filter for my camera which allows long exposure photos in daylight.

Springer Mountain was extra cold and foggy so we blew past it after a few quick photos with the AT terminus placard. Soon after a guy stopped in the middle of the trail, turned around, and asked me "is this snow?" he just traveled here from South Africa and has never seen it before.

Georgia had tornadoes on April 5th and Atlanta airport was completely shut down for hours which made my adventure get off to a fun start before even reaching the trail. April 6th saw sleet, snow, and freezing temperatures as I began the journey up the AT

Night 1 was spent at Stover Creek Shelter area. I was going to stay inside the shelter but this one crazy character named Quiver informed everybody that he snores loudly and will be sleeping there. Kind of a dick move in my opinion but at least he warned us so I set up my hammock on the side of a hill and then went back to hang out with the hikers. I took a quick nap on my thermarest in the loft and then cooked a mountain house for dinner before hanging out for a few hours. We all cheered when the sunshine finally poked through.

I slept terribly that night since it was cold and it was the 1st night back in a hammock. Day 2 also started off frigid but soon warmed up once the sun peeked over the ridge. Most of the trees have yet to embrace the weather and sprout new leaves but some plants on the forest floor decided to go for it.

I hit the ground running with the ways of Hiker Trash and rinsed off in a stream on day 2. Some southbound day hikers walked passed and were confused as to what the hell I was up to.

I ran into Kirk, who has my same pack and same camera, right before the Three Forks waterfalls and we took the short side trail to snap some photos. I caught up to a few buddies from the Hiker Hostel gang who were having lunch at an overlook so I joined them and after lunch I taught everyone the name game which we played for quite a few miles. Right before Gooch Mountain Shelter we crossed Blackwell Creek where I decided to go for a dip. I couldn't believe that 24 hours ago I was slogging through sleet and now I'm hopping in a stream to cool off.

My legs were really starting to ache halfway through day 3 and there is a bear can requirement around blood mountain where I planned to stay at night 4 so I stopped at Jerrard Gap. I ran in to Kirk again and we decided to hike up to the summit at 4am to catch the sunrise. Blood Mountain stands at 4457 feet and is the highest peak in Georgia. We saw a deer on the ascent and joked about yelling at the tents "bear can police! Show us your bear can now!" We arrived about an hour before sunset and took some astrophotography from the peak before setting up for sunrise on a huge rock slab. It was completely worth the chilly ascent on an empty stomach. Very vibrant oranges on the horizon that blended into a deep blue sky. I can't wait to see the time-lapse I took with the gopro.

Gopro on a trekking pole,  being held upright by my pack, time-lapsing the sunrise. — Gopro on a trekking pole, being held upright by my pack, time-lapsing the sunrise.

Light painting the cairns on Blood Moutain

Afterwards we descended the steep and painfully rocky 2 miles to Neels Gap and saw a woodpecker hammering away on a fallen tree.

Some people said bringing my 210mm lens would be useless dead weight...HA!

After arriving at Mountain Crossings Outfitters we met Will from Boston and decided to split a 3 bunk cabin right down the road. I only hiked 5 miles today, which is a near-zero day aka a Nero, but I devoured a whole pizza, tuna packet, 2 oatmeals mixed with protein powder, a mountain house, and a bag of riceroni. I can feel my body transforming into a furnace that requires constant caloric intake. I can't wait to tackle the next 39 miles to Dicks Creek Gap where I will catch a shuttle into Hiawassee and have my first trail town experience. And most likely a beer. Or 6.