MILESTONES

I’m now done with my first state, Georgia, and into North Carolina! I’ve also hit the first 100mi, so now I just have to do that 21 more times.

TRAIL FRIENDS

(Because we hate the word “tramily”) Right after my last post, a few guys going my pace and I decided to group up and hike together, which we’ve been doing now for the past 80 or so miles. None of us knew each other beforehand and we kinda all just felt like we wanted to hang together! We’ve got Mike, a mechanical engineer from Kentucky who goes by NatGeo due to the number of pictures he takes of wildlife; Ben, who goes by Ranger as he works for the National Parks Service in the Cascades currently; and Grayson, the youngest of us at 24 who is from Minnesota and is dubbed Aloe Vera (which should be self-evident). Our self-proclaimed name is the Merry Band and our mantra/slogan is “it’s just walkin’”. We’re hoping to go far together but you gotta “hike your own hike” so that will depend on our various paces aligning. Now you know also why I’ll be saying “we” a lot in subsequent writing.

TOWN DAYS

We also had our first town days at Hiawassee, GA and Franklin, NC. For 5 bucks, we shuttled into Hiawassee with Gracie, who said this time of year she does about 2000+ miles / week purely from shuttling hikers around. For Franklin we got a free ride with Pat, a retired Forest Service worker (our first official hitch). In typical hiker fashion we split a room between four people (hiker hostels have been sold out!) and had our stuff scattered everywhere to clean, dry, or organize. Completing a town day also includes shower and laundry, a stop at the local outfitter and grocery store to resupply, and of course having some burgers and beers (or other town delicacies).

We feel a bit like celebrities as our giant packs, hiking poles, and smell give us away to locals who ask excitedly if we’re doing the whole trail with plenty of follow up questions. Since the towns are used to hikers there are also little treats aplenty like hiker lounges, free gear or food, and banners to sign. We also recognize each other immediately, sometimes clear from the “loaner clothes” places give when you’re doing laundry (usually ill-fitting pajama pants or a cheesy t-shirt). In one town stop a hiker we knew ran out of the burger joint to say hi and I returned back “ice cream??” to which he ran he over and joined us. Just as I am writing this, I was gifted a pre-stamped post card at the local brewery (Lazy Hiker Brewing) — which has hiker shoes hanging from the rafters — and invited to do some drawing for a local art project!

MISHAPS

I luckily haven’t experienced anything too crazy myself but some stories have made it through the thru-hiker grapevine. We were in camp one night when someone’s hanging food bag got swiped down by a claw and gobbled up by a hungry bear (the rest of the shelter’s hikers all chipped in food so he could make it to the next resupply). Another hiker has a mystery hole in his blow up sleeping bad and has to reinflate it every two hours in the night. One hiker we keep coming across accidentally took the wrong boots leaving the last hostel so has been hiking in a size and a half too big (worse for the other guy whoops). But the crown might go to a man we met in our shuttle back to trail from Hiawassee whose trail name is… Faceplant. Because he did such on Day 1 and went to the ER (he is fine now).

UP NEXT

The Smokies, less than a week away, are looming large — notorious for bears, inclines, and the last of the cold weather (it’s gotten down to 37 the past two nights!). Plus we are required to sleep inside the shelter (as opposed to tenting nearby) which I’ve been avoiding — I almost did one night with Grayson but we immediately saw a mouse and noped out. I am still excited to see them as I’ve never been and it’ll be another great milestone to hopefully add to the books!

THE KICKOFF

My parents dropped me (after a harrowing drive down a dirt road) at the Springer Lot at 10:30am for the send off. Since I started from there unfortunately I had to hike 1 mile backwards to get to the actual official start, and then hike back to the parking lot to start heading north. But hyped on adrenaline of “wow I’m actually doing this,” I breezed through that bit and was off for about a 9.5 mile day.

THE HIKING

The hiking has been quite pleasant in Georgia so far, generally with rolling ups and downs. I don’t listen to anything, too focused mostly on where I’m stepping and thinking about what’s next (when should I stop for water or a snack, how far should I go, etc.). I mostly hike by myself but run into familiar faces often, and had one stretch accompanied by a hiker named Side Quest (a reason he didn’t finish the trail last time around), who my mom and dad had met the day before the trail. He also helped me adjust my pack to put more weight on my hips and less on my shoulders which was incredible.

THE SHELTERS

Have been awesome! There have been 10-20 people at each, since we’re still bunched up which makes for a more social time and makes me feel safer sleeping outside. Most folks (myself included) camp around the shelter at tent sites but congregate by it for dinnertime (but no fires as sadly there’s a ban right now in GA).

THE PEOPLE

Everyone’s been super friendly, helpful, and chatty, and I run into people multiple times. So far I’ve met Rob and Eric (trail name Side Quest), Ben (turned his ankle day one), Michael (from Kentucky), Kris (and her dog Nova), Ronnie (did half the trail last year), Wendy (trail name Trooper), Goody, Brandon, Ramblin’ Man, Aloe (already covered in sunburn), Rock Dancer (named for the terrain in PA), Scurvy (wanted to know how my chicken pot pie was), Mudskipper (asked why I was carrying so much food), and many more. The age skew is older than I expected, with a lot of hikers over 50. The youngest hiker we’ve all run into is Green Bean at just 19. I’ve had folks help with my pack, my stove, my tent, and offer me things tons of times. It’s a great community, with lots of common ground to keep conversation flowing.

FINISHING UP

My last day was the biggest stretch at 16 miles (after two days of 8 miles each) because I really wanted to get to Neels Gap for the Mountain Crossings hostel. It was tough because of the length and I had to summit Blood Mountain at the end. At the peak with 2.4 miles to go, two men let me know that we could make it for pizza if we hustled (I had an hour and twenty to make it and I did and I ate the whole pie).

Taking a shower and doing laundry never felt so good!

Neels Gap is also famous for the tree where hikers hang their shoes as about a quarter quit at this spot. Not me though, onto the next stretch!

My gear list is linked on the top of this page (https://lighterpack.com/r/zwauba).

Of course, getting a bunch of new gear at once means also learning how to use it before hitting the trail on day one, which can result in some fun stories.

My Tent

A testament to how long I’ve been thinking about this, I originally planned to bring a 1-person backpacking tent that I bought 8 years ago, which I picked up from my parents’ house. As I walked by my dad he looked up from his newspaper, looked at the tent in my hand, and immediately said “no.”

I knew he was right —1 I was already worried about how the fabric might have weakened over time. But it meant a lot to me that I had experience using this tent — at least I’d have one thing that wasn’t new. But I caved and got a much fancier tent, the Durston X-Mid 2, which is built to handle rough weather.

A random aside about Durston

This brand is essentially just a guy (Dan Durston) who is super passionate and makes incredible quality products as a result. The hiking community loves Dan, largely impressed by his incredible customer service. He is so well-known for his responsiveness on Reddit that these were the top comments on a post titled “An improved Durston Xmid pitch method”, which made me chuckle.

So we haven’t even gotten to the practice. Phil and I went to Prospect Park to set it up. I know how to set up tents, so we went at it and for maybe 45 minutes just struggled. Somehow we were putting things upside down, the tent was falling over, we didn’t have enough stakes, etc etc. Until we finally watched several videos and realized the tent needs the rain fly (the waterproof covering that goes on top of the tent, effectively like a shell) needed to be set up first and the tent gets clipped to the inside.

Now that we know how to do it, it’s a simple set up (just not intuitive), but that was a comedy of errors which of course was also on an incredibly windy day.

My Stove

The thing I was (and am) most worried about is using my backpacking stove, just because I am always nervous about anything relating to gas. A backpacking stove is a very tiny device that can hold up a pot on top and funnel through + ignite gas for a small fire. They are actually incredibly efficient, able to boil 1L of water in about 3 minutes. Here’s a typical setup — the stove is in the middle, the pot is on top, and below is your fuel which is a gas canister.

The first time I tried my stove did not go well. (I tested this out back of my apartment building in a spacious stone courtyard for maximum safety.) I put the stove on, I turned on the gas, ignited a fire, put on my pot, boiled water, took the pot off — huzzah all good! And then suddenly the entirety of the stove set on fire (pictured below).

As you can see, the method for turning the stove off was also unfortunately on fire. So I just kind of sat there stunned for a few seconds and started to try and blow the fire in a different direction, which ultimately I was able to do (assisted by some wind) to quickly turn the dial and turn the gas off. I then took my backpacking meal (mac and cheese) upstairs with everything to my apartment and, shaken, promptly spilled it all over myself.

This is extremely uncommon2 and was user error — I didn’t screw the stove on to the gas canister nearly tight enough so there was a leak. I also took off the pot before turning the stove off, and doing that in the opposite order is a better practice to minimize exposed flame. Because my igniter button melted, I got a new stove and can say that the next practice session went A-OK. I’m still a bit scared of it, but I think being extra cautious is probably a good thing.

Off We Go

And that’s why we practice! So that I don’t accidentally set things on fire in the woods. I’ve now used everything in my pack at least once, so I feel much better but I will still probably be a bit self-conscious around all the other experts for the first few days.

Where does it start and how long is it?

The trail goes from Georgia to Maine, stretching 2100+ miles. Thru-hiking the whole things takes about 5-6 months. And yes, I am trying to do the whole thing, although the completion rate is only around 25%.

Are you going alone?

Yes, it’s surprisingly difficult to find someone willing to do this crazy thing with you. However, many other thru-hikers all take off around the same time. I am aiming for March-end, as are at least 30 other people! In total, 2000+ hikers have registered this year. So while I am going solo, I will not likely be alone much.

Where do you sleep?

The Appalachian Trail has shelters approximately every 8-10 miles. While bare bones, they often have outhouses, water spigots, picnic tables, and more so many hikers plan to end each day there. Some stay inside or at a campsite nearby, for which I have a tent. Every few days you are able to hit up a town and can stay in a hiker hostel or a hotel if you so choose.

What do you eat?

Mostly the foods you would associate with hiking, like jerky, trail mix, bars, peanut butter — things that don’t spoil easily and have a high calorie density. But outfitters also make freeze-dried meals of all different kinds that only require a bit of boiling water to cook (which I have a very small backpacking stove, pot, and gas canister to manage). Plus, you can splurge and eat real meals in town every few days.

What do you have to carry?

You have to carry pretty much everything! Your shelter, sleep system, “kitchen”, clothes, food, toiletries… my list can be found here. Food, water, and fuel (for your stove) count as consumables as you replace them every few days. Everything else is called your “base weight.” My base weight is roughly 22 lbs, which should get up to around 32 lbs with all my consumables. And no, I don’t hunt anything, which some people have wondered.

How do you know where you’re going?

This is a fun question I’ve gotten very often — the Appalachian Trail is very well-marked, with white blazes marking the way, spaced out every ~100 feet. But fear not, I also have an app called FarOut with the trail downloaded, a physical guidebook, and the map downloaded to my Garmin devices in case I get lost.

What’s the deal with bears?

There are black bears, which are relatively docile and just interested in your food. So I have a canister to keep my food in for nights and if I see them during the day a big scary yell and hand wave generally makes them turn around and walk the other way.

How does Phil feel about it?

(Fun fact, this is apparently the question my parents have been getting the most) As the best boyfriend ever, Phil has been extremely supportive although of course sad that I’m abandoning him for several months. He’ll be visiting me many times along the way and holding down the fort at our apartment.

Can I come visit or send you something?

Yes! But all forms of support are going through my very capable hired coordinator, Daren, so text him (or get his number from myself or my mom) if you’re interested.

Why are you doing this?

The best answer I can give is that I’ve always wanted to. I’ve devoured numerous books over the years: Cheryl Strayed’s Wild, Bill Bryson’s A Walk in the Woods, Jennifer Pharr Davis’s Becoming Odyssa, David Miller’s Awol on the Appalachian Trail, Sally Chaffin’s Going to Maine, and Scott Jurek’s North. I’ve always been fascinated by the challenge and decided late last year that this was the perfect time to step away and actually give it a go. I was ready for a job change after almost 10 years and anyways wanted to take some time to think about what is next. So I’m looking forward to somewhat disconnecting and having a lot of time to think.

We’ll see how transformative of an experience we can have! And how far I can make it. My posts from the trail are not likely to be as long and fancy as this one, but hope it was helpful to get a sense of what I am about to undertake.