Amicalola

It has been a long night! I couldn't really sleep on the bus, so I'm very tired (24 hour travel time)! I don't think I'll ever take the bus again if I can help it. There are some...er, interesting people that ride the bus! I can't wait to be in the woods.
6PM - Wes picked me up with his wife, Dixie and we chatted about other hikers this season that have already headed out while they brought me to Amicalola. They told me about one guy that brought along a ridiculous amount of gear and how they tried to dissuade him. He called a few days after they dropped him off ready to go home. They told me a few other stories about people being laid up with blisters, etc. Bryson mentioned that Wes can tell if someone is going to make it or not. I didn't ask, but wondered what his thoughts were on me.

I thought I might be alone here tonight at the shelter, but I'm happy to be sharing with Batch and Bilco (sp?), two section hikers that are both hiking this weekend. I have a slamming headache from either no caffeine, lack of sleep, or not smoking. My stove worked well after I knocked the fuss out of it for a bit. :) It feels like I'm camping right now. It hasn't settled in yet that this is longer than the weekend. Bilco took Batch and I around Amicalola in his car. That was nice to see the view from different areas and the lodge, which I probably wouldn't have stopped to see if I'd been on foot. It's too late to get going tonight, so I'll be out first thing in the morning. The approach trail is 8.8 miles (to Springer Mountain) - so tomorrow should be...fun?! :)