Adventures on the Appalachian Trail (4/30/09)

[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.]

30 April 2009 - Day 16, Mile 163.7 - Solo stealth camp above Stecoah Gap -> Fontana Dam Shelter
Was able to call dad today and wish him happy birthday. We had a good visit, but it was tough because he sounded emotional when we said goodbye. He's soft-hearted, but doesn't often let it show. Tenting tonight at the "Fontana Hilton" because there are some partiers at the shelter and I don't want Gracie to bite any drunken revelers or have my sleep disturbed! I'm not particularly happy about it but after a shower, hearty meal, and lots of chocolate and advil, I'm ok. I'm beginning to think I can get up and do this all over again, but I'm also glad to be taking a zero tomorrow. My food back will actually be empty after breakfast.

This is truly a nice shelter, with flush toilets, sinks, and showers just up the hill. Perhaps I'll sleep in the shelter tomorrow night. Actually having to wear the earplugs in the tent because of all the tent talkers nearby, plus the noise from bugs.

B - rice cereal + almonds & raisins
L - hummus, asian soup, snickers
D - lentils, veggies & rice, snickers (which I got in exchange for some fuel), + some "fun size" candy bars other hikers who were leaving the trail were giving away

[Retrospective] The guidebook mentioned a spring not far from the road crossing at Stecoah Gap. I stopped in there to make breakfast, and planned to get more water, but couldn't find the spring. A group of birders arrived while I was having breakfast, and several of them offered me water and some other snacks. People are so nice and generous when they find out you're thru-hiking. It's pretty amazing. Stopped in at Brown Fork Gap shelter for lunch and to get water again. Later that day, I discovered the water filter drain tube had come unseated from the filter cartridge. This explained why the filter was working much faster than usual, and why Gracie & I would start experiencing the symptoms of Giardia a few weeks later as we neared Damascus. Some people will drink water straight from a spring. I know Gracie & I are both susceptible to Giardia because we'd both had it at least once before the hike, so I always filtered water for both of us. Being a dog, Gracie sometimes drank from streams, but I tried to limit her from doing so, and would offer her water every hour or so when I would drink.