Kevin's AT Thru Hike

Day 4, Sunday, 3/20 – I said early on that I would share the good and the bad. I didn’t get much sleep for the past two nights. I was very nervous about my knee. I hated the thought that my hike was at risk of ending in the first few days due to injury. After leaving a job and letting all my friends and family know that I’m doing this hike, it would have been really unfortunate to only make it a few miles…. Fortunately, a day off seems to be all I needed, the knee pain is gone! Such a relief.

I hiked up Blood Mountain this morning. I met Shane along the way. He’s a thru hiker from Las Vegas, who was taking it slow, so I followed his lead. Blood Mountain is the highest peak on the Georgia section of the Appalachian Trail, with an elevation of 4,458 feet. Beautiful views from the top, and I could see Atlanta in the distance. After descending, I grabbed a pizza from Mountain Crossings, which is just off Blood Mountain to celebrate.

I ran into a very friendly group of day hikers at Wolf Laurel Top. I met Tori, Natalie, Kurt, and their two dogs, Daisy and Milly. I was resting and checking out the view when Milly came running up to me.

Shortly after, I ran into Bridget and Mark, who were trail angels. They had all the provisions a hiker could want. Candy, chicken wraps, Gatorade, ibuprofen, etc. Bridget had done a 20 mile section hike a year ago and ran into trail Angels at that exact spot, so she’s paying it forward. They were only set up for 2 hours, so I timed it perfect!

There are such nice people along the Appalachian Trail. It’s a breath of fresh air, you can strike up a conversation with just about everyone you meet. I’ve been missing this for the past couple years.

I ended up hiking 12 miles today which puts me at mile 38. I ended my day at Whitley Gap. Here’s my tent setup in a nice shady spot. Im going to try to go to sleep early, I have some catching up to do.