Kevin's AT Thru Hike

Day 1, Thursday, 3/17 – I started the day with mom, dad, and Taylor. We drove back to Springer Mountain, to pick up hiking where we left off yesterday. We all hiked to Long Creek Falls and had lunch together. Long Creek Falls was a bit off of the Appalachian Trail, but well worth the extra steps. Dad and I helped another thru hiker who was having pack problems along the way. I don’t remember his name, but he was 79 years old, and was carrying a 40lb+ pack.

Mom and dad headed back to the car after lunch. We hugged and said our goodbyes. I will see them on Saturday, but it was sad to see them go. They are my biggest supporters. I love you guys

Taylor and I kept hiking forwards to Hawk Mountain. Taylor was done hiking for the day, and decided to set up camp. I ran into three hikers that I had met yesterday that were continuing on to Gooch Mountain shelter. It was about 2pm and I wasn’t done hiking yet, so I tagged along with Grizzly, Brian, and Kyra.

We experienced some trail magic along the way. Robert was at one of the gaps with supplies and treats. He was an odd guy. He took a liking to Kyra, who is the only girl in the group. It was boarder line creepy, but his intentions were probably good.

The hike to Gooch Mountain shelter was rough.. total distance for the day ended up being 15 miles. In hindsight, I pushed myself too hard. My left knee started to hurt 10 miles in, especially on the downhill sections. I need to relax, let my body acclimate, hike my own hike, and not injure myself.

I was hungry when I rolled into camp. It was almost dark so I threw up my tent. Nancy was camping next to me and told me she had leftover pad Thai. I graciously accepted.. it was luke warm but tasted delicious. All food tastes delicious when you’re extremely hungry.

Kyra taught us the board game Capitalism. Toby, Kyra, Reid, Grizzly, and I all played. It was a fun game, not too difficult which is good because I was wiped out

The photos won’t upload, the cell service must not be adequate, I’ll upload when I get back to town