Springer Mountain

I'm at Stover Creek shelter having lunch with Bluto, another thru hiker who stayed at Black Gap last night like I almost did, but I pushed on to Springer. As you can see, I was so tired last night I couldn't even cook dinner, let alone write anything. I was so tired! Yesterday was hard - VERY hard! The approach trail should be called, "Are you sure you wanna hike mountains with 35 lbs. on your back? Cuz your gonna get a whole lotta THIS!"

I'll be honest - I wanted to quit halfway through the day when I developed blisters and had to change into my crocs to hike the rest of the way. My boots aren't broken in as well as they should be and my feet are totally paying for it. It is hard to enjoy it when every step is painful. The stairs up the water fall (600 something of them) were ridiculous! I had to stop like every 2 flights and rest. It was beautiful right where the platform takes you across the waterfall. I wanted to stop before Springer but there were a ton of boyscouts at the previous shelter and I thought about how Bilco might worry if I never showed up. I did stop to water up and rest though. I chatted shortly with a very tatooed guy whose name I forget. He is thru hiking also and had a thickly muscled body. He told me he is an avid hiker and planning on going past Springer today. With about a mile left to summit Springer I thought I might die. I was there, contemplating throwing myself off the side of the mountain rather than climb the rest (actually with about 55 lbs after switching shoes and full water) when Bilco came by and saved the day! THANK YOU BILCO! He came and carried my pack for me the rest of the way as I hobbled on. What an amazing guy - who does that?! I registered with Minisleeps, and I'm the 655th thru-hiker this season. It was all I could do to eat something, hang my food bag, put my tent up and get into bed; I was so beat!

I got a late start this morning (second day) and thought I'd just hike the 2 miles to the next shelter. The first day was a lot harder than I expected and I didn't want to push too hard and hurt myself early on. I figured I'd see how I felt when I got there. I met Brian along the way and we chatted for a bit. He is from Florida and attempted a thru hike a few times before. He is trying again, although isn't sure he is going to make it because of some things that happened right before starting. He works for an outdoor adventure company and has done some mountaineering. We discuss the benefits of trekking poles after I embarrass myself and fall after tripping over a root, or maybe my own feet (I'm not sure)! We separated when I stopped at the next shelter. My feet were kind of burning at this point and I was looking forward to the break. I changed into my Crocs and checked the place out. I took a picture of a stump that was growing crazy green fungus along the sides and top. Little black biting flies attacked me anytime I stopped moving or walked slowly. I tried to hid from them in the loft of the shelter. I met Bluto, who had slept with the boy scouts the night before and he was stopping for some lunch. We chatted a bit and hit it off pretty well. Moonlight and Recom (along with the nephew who was out for the day) stopped here too. Recom was having some blister issues as well and was employing the duct tape method. After resting my feet a bit, Bluto convinced me to push on. I'm so glad I did; it was a gorgeous day and along the way, we (Bluto and I) stopped at a waterfall and soaked our feet and sort of rinsed off. So refreshing - just what I needed! It was great to talk with someone too for a good part of the day. Bluto, from Texas, is hiking after being laid off. He installs swimming pools, and with the poor economy business is slowing.

The hike was much easier than yesterday, but my feet are still hurting and I changed into the crocs the last 2 miles. The shelter (Hawk Mountain) was packed but I met many great and interesting people; Queen Becky, AT72, Waterboy, Backyard Boogie, Flying Turtle, Shenanigans, Whoosh, The Dude, and many others. Queen Becky gave me my trail name, Voodoo (on account of my wearing all black, no hair, and piercings). Brian was also there, not having pushed on. I was happy to see him again, especially because he said he would go to the shelter after this one, so I thought I'd never see him again! I named Brian, now Karma, on account of the stories of mishaps and good things that occur and dictate other things around him.

Queen Becky, also from Texas does art cars and is a quirky very social lady. Shenanigans explains his name has nothing to do with Super Troopers, but instead for his tendency to give and receive practical jokes. Backyard Boogie is a veteran AT hiker and knows a ton about the area. He gives us all advice on what to expect and tells stories all night. He is a charismatic guy with southern charm I could listen to talk for hours. Some high school kids out for the weekend arrive late at night and being a little loud. This doesn't bother me, equipped with my earplugs, but it takes me forever to fall asleep. In fact, I feel like I barely slept, more like dozed in and out. I've heard that this will sometimes happen. I know I'm really tired...I can feel it. I just can't fall asleep totally.