[A year ago April 15th, I set out to hike the length of the Appalachian Trail, northbound from Georgia to Maine, with my 7 year old dog, Gracie. Almost nightly, I wrote journal entries about what I was experiencing. The demands of trail life with a dog precluded me from posting these entries during the hike. I've chosen to post excerpts to mark the anniversary of this life-altering experience. Enjoy the journey, I certainly did.]
19 April 2009 - Day 5, Mile 41.5 - Neels Gap -> Low Gap Shelter
Felt good starting this morning. Had a tension headache most of the day but it's gone now. Been sprinkling off & on & now a steady light rain. Hope it doesn't get heavier because the tent is leaking/I'm getting spatter through at the heavier drops. I wonder if it's because I pitched it a little low and have been touching the inside ceiling a lot getting us situated. Gotta figure out how to pitch for more headroom.
Pack weight coming out of Neels Gap with water, fuel and four days ample food was 26 lbs! Gracie's pack weight with four days food was 5lbs. She's pooped again tonight. She shivers a lot in the evening. It's supposed to rain all day tomorrow. Don't know far I'll get. Next shelter is 7.2 miles - short, but skipping to the next means 15 miles or camping at a campsite without bear cables or shelter. I like tenting, but appreciate the shelter for cooking and socializing. Just hope my sleeping bag stays dry tonight. Draped my rain jacket over it where the leaking seems worst. This jacket, that I almost forgot in Austin, has been indispensable so far. A great campsite shell for when night is coming on. Typically, when I get to camp, I change into my wool baselayer and (egad) shorts, then don the fleece and/or rain shell as necessary.
Gonna read for a bit instead of stressing about the weather. It'll rain tomorrow, then it's supposed to be clear for at least a week. Things will dry eventually. We'll find a way to manage. I can hear a beautiful songbird from the tent and it makes me smile. I figure 5 more days to Franklin, NC and laundry/bed/shower/internets.
Highlights: setting the picnic table on fire at dinner, hearing the wind roar through the gap during the overnight rainstorm, surviving a wet night under the tarp, hearing hoot owls at dusk and songbirds signaling the end of the rain, being eye to eye with a salamander seeking refuge from the rain under my tarp, Privy 101 from the ridgerunner.
Food:
B - millet, quinoa, & corn, cooked on the cabin stove + strong green ginger tea, half a 20 oz. Mr. Pibb (I needed the empty soda bottle to hold my olive oil, the Wheatsville bottle I started with has a messy pour and the cap doesn't close securely)
L - cookies & cream Clif Builder Bar smeared with peanut butter, Emily's banana chip trail mix
D - pasta, pesto, sundried tomatoes, olives & tuna (Excellent! tuna pouches never tasted so good) plus hot cocoa, a few bites of trail mix while dinner cooked, and 2 squares of a dark chocolate/raspberry Chocolove bar for dessert
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