Appalachian Trail   May 13, 2006 (22 hours 11 minutes)
Day 1	Bly Gap to Springer Mountain	Daily mileage: 75.4	Trip mileage: 75.4
Day 1
I've been kicking around the idea of seeing how quickly I could hike the Georgia section of the Appalachian Trail for a few months. I'd done dozens of overnight and multi-day hikes on this section leading up to this hike. So I finally decided it was time to give it a try. I packed up my normal overnight gear into my backpack and prepared for the challenge. I was carrying roughly 22 pounds of gear, food and water. Sherpa agreed to slackpack me from Deep Gap to Bly Gap - something like 6.x miles. He'd then head to the Amicalola Falls Visitor Center and hike the Approach Trail to Springer Mountain shelter, where I planned on meeting him at the end of my hike. We arrived at Bly Gap shortly before 6:00pm. I was ready to get this challenge started and wasted no time. I started my stopwatch and off I went! I was moving a lot faster than I anticipated in the early stages of this hike and was able to reach Unicoi Gap shortly after midnight. I was hiking roughly 4 MPH over the first 1/3 of the hike. This was my first break of the night. I took several minutes to eat a Powerbar and drink some Gatorade. It was time to get back to the task at hand and I started the climb up Blue Mountain. I wasn't 100 yards from Unicoi Gap when I rounded a bend and there was a large black bear walking towards me on the trail. We both stopped and just stared at each other for several seconds. I banged my trekking poles together and he scampered for higher ground - cutting a swatch straight up the side of the hill. Needless to say, my heart was racing and I wondered if I'd have to contend with any additional bear(s) during the night. It wasn't long before I passed the Low Gap Shelter. I could still hear some people down at the shelter as I passed by and there were several tents set up near the trail and it appears I scared the heck out of some young kids who were in the tents. As I passed by, I heard them wake up and started calling for their parents. They must have thought I was an animal or something lurking around their tents. I continued up the next incline and saw what I thought was a small log in the middle of the trail. As I approached this "log", I quickly realized it wasn't a log at all but two young bear cubs sitting in the middle of the trail. While I was delighted to see two cubs up close, I was very concerned about the whereabouts of Mama bear. The cubs headed up the hill to my right and once they started moving, I soon realized the sow was to my left, which put me 'tween her and her cubs. Not a good situation to be in to say the least. I slowly started backing up the trail and the sow started letting me 'have it' - growling and several mock charges in my direction. I continued to back up and bang my trekking poles together. I eventually got to what I believed was a safe distance and just sat down in the middle of the trail. My adrenaline was pumping and I needed to let things calm down. I waited approximately 30 minutes, hoping this would be long enough for the sow to reunite with her cubs and continue on their journey. I decided it was time to check things out and slowly approached this area with caution. I was banging my trekking poles and keeping an eye our for the sow. I never saw them when I passed through but I could hear them in the distance up the hill to my right. I was anxious to make up the time I'd lost sitting on the trail. Shortly after the latest bear incident, it started to rain. Not just a pleasant spring shower. No, that would have been welcomed. The skies opened up and the rain starting falling in buckets. I quickly donned my rain jacket and pants and continued in the rain. I quickly realized my "waterproof" shoes were no long waterproof! I had several small tears in the foot box and my feet were quickly getting soaked. While I don't mind hiking in wet feet, blisters were a concern for me. After an hour or so in the pouring rain, the thunder and lightning started. This was shaping up to be the worst storm I'd ever experienced on the trail. Lightning was striking all around my location. It was lighting up the night and scaring the $#@& out of me. I will hike in just about any conditions but lightning is a concern of mine. I had no place to really seek shelter, so I continued hiking in the storm. My pace slowed during the storms. Just when I figured it couldn't get any worse, I started getting pelted with marble-size hail. I yanked off my pack, held it over my head and got under some low branches. It continued to hail for close to 15 minutes, covering the entire ground. Although I was in an uncomfortable situation, I really enjoyed watching the hail fall and bounce all around me. I was on pace (prior to the storm) to complete this section in roughly 19 hours but I could tell I'd never complete it in that time frame. I couldn't maintain 4 MPH in these conditions. I was starting to feel hot spots on my feet and I had no moleskin or anything else to cover them with. I eventually reached Neels Gap and I took another break to eat some snacks and rest for a bit. I could feel the hot spots were quickly becoming blisters but I really couldn't be concerned with it. There was simply nothing I could do about it. The lightning was finally letting up and I was able to leave Neels Gap and head over Blood Mountain. There was no way I was going to hike over Blood Mountain in a lightning storm. So while it was rough hiking in the conditions, I'm thankful it abated in time for this section. It continued to rain but the storms had blown through the area. I knew the section from Blood Mountain to Justus Creek is a relatively easy section, so I knew I could make up some time. It seems like only an hour or so passed (tho it was really several hours) when I reached Justus Creek. Here is where I took my third and final break of the trip. After quickly eating a couple of Powerbars and drinking Gatorade, I loaded up on water and moved on. I only had roughly 14 miles to go but I know these last miles would seem like they stretched on forever. The hike from Justus Creek to Hawk Mountain seemed like it took as long as all the miles leading up to this point. As I headed down the final stretch (Hawk Mountain to Springer Mountain), I started getting my 'second wind'. My legs felt great, energy level was high and I was in great spirits. The blisters were screaming at me at this point but I simply 'tuned' them out and tried not to think about them. I could tell at this point that I would finish in under 24 hours but wasn't sure by how much. Before I knew it I was crossing the parking area 0.9 north of Springer Mountain. One final climb and I was done. I completed the final climb in just over 13 minutes. I was approaching the Springer Mountain shelter than I saw my two dogs, Suzi & Maggie, running up to trail to greet me. It was just what I needed after a long night and day of hiking. Sherpa was cooking at the shelter and had a hot meal waiting for me. I finished the Georgia section in 22 hours and 11 minutes. After eating my hot meal, I decided to take a look at my feet. Whew, they were a mess. I had two blisters on each foot about the size of silver dollars. I drained them and covered them with moleskin that Sherpa had with him. They hurt like hell but I figured it was only 8.8 miles to the car and I could knock that out fairly quickly. I decided to prop up my feet and take a rest for a couple of hours. We completed the Approach Trail in roughly three hours and I was ready to crash and catch some ZZZs on the way back to Atlanta..