Inception!

Today I hauled some butt. Made it to 49.8 today. Just for perspective, neel's gap is at 31.7. Furthest day yet! Camped out in a beautiful spot close to blue mountain shelter. Tomorrow is looking toughish due to several mountains, BUT there have been sightings of trail magic at Indian grave gap. Beer, wine, and sausages... yes, please... all three.

Last night, as Ali pointed out, I stayed in neel's gap mountain crossing hostel. Dirty, dingy, but passable. Super lucky for two reasons - a wonderful church group brought lasagna, salad, and brownies and I remembered my ear plugs. Food was outrageously delicious.

On to inception... apparently you can  get blisters within blisters. I'm trademarking the name inception blister. I only have tiny blisters on the toes closest to my pinkies. Apparently they don't like close company.

Also, I have a trail name now. It's one-speed. Apparently, I only have a 2 speed transmission on my legs. One for park and the other haul tail. Likely fitting.

Night, all. Have a good night.

Blood mountain

Sitting on top of blood mountain. Tallest peak in Georgia done. It's true what they say about Alleve - all day strong, all day long. Feels like someone hit my backside with a baseball bat. Taking it slow a little past neels gap today.

Woody Gap

Tomorrow, Matt will hike my favorite mountain along the AT. Ok, so it's one of the few mountains that I've actually hiked on the Trail... Blood Mountain! It's beautiful. The highest peak of the A.T. in Georgia. Matt's Facebook profile picture is of Matt and I at Blood Mountain shelter in February 2012.

Tonight, he's at Woody Gap, 20 miles into his journey. I've received a few texts from him, his service is spotty at best. I'm sure he's thrilled about the trek and wishes everyone love!

Matt's Journey Map: http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF&msa=0&msid=210470167990584003716.0004bcd00a167305d06e5

Additional useful Interactive AT map:

http://www.appalachiantrail.org/hiking/find-a-hike/interactive-map

Click "Shelters" to get a better idea of where his stops are! Don't forget to navigate the rest of the site!

Also, if you are interested in another account of walking the AT to get a sense of what he's experiencing (or if you want to live vicariously!) check out David Miller's "AWOL on the Appalachian Trail". He's a fellow Floridian and actually gave me some advice this morning about the best airlines to use in order to visit Matt from Orlando! Great read.

On another note... Walk, Matt, Walk! :)

-Alissa

Greetings from woody gap! Nobo 21.2

Hey again,
Today I hiked from hawk mountain shelter to woody gap. Great day of hiking today. Last night, I rolled into the shelter around 3 pm amidst a thunderstorm. If you've ever seen the sad, bedraggled pictures from the great depression, a better forgery could not be found. Until the rain stopped, there were about 20 people in a shelter for 12. I learned a lot that night... mainly that women can and do snore. There was a battle to see who snores the loudest... she won... she also took the last spot in the shelter. Lol. Right next to me. Won't make that mistake again.

Some pro tips:
Hiking poles actually help a lot.
You can get sunburned on one arm only if hiking all day in the same direction.
Waving socks and yelling at insects is an effective way to tell them they aren't welcome.
You can run through a sheet of moleskin a day, easily.
Some people can't tie a rope and a rock together for a bear bag if their lives depended on it (stand close and risk grave injury).

Hoping to get to neels gap tomorrow. Apparently, someone's been feeding bears between here and there; so, hide your gear, hide your light. They eating everyone around here.

Night, all.

I think I can be tech-saavy!

I've started to track Matt's progress on Google Maps. Day one and he's made it to Hawk Mountain! I haven't yet received my "Guide to the A.T." by David Miller in the mail yet, but as soon as I do, I'll be able to post exact locations, elevations, miles trekked, even coordinates!

We're watching you, love. Big brother can never be rid of. ;)

We love you, Matt! Safe travels!

Here's a link to my Tracker Map:

http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF&msa=0&msid=210470167990584003716.0004bcd00a167305d06e5

- Alissa

Day 1 - morning

What fresh Hell is this? I haven't seen this ungodly hour for some time. Ze German decided to get up at 0545 to start getting ready. This action had several unfortunate consequences that have worked, no conspired, to wake me up so early. First it was the bright lights, then several unsuccessful door closing attempts. The final act in this unfortunate play was someone passing wind in a galeforce fashion.

Now that I'm up, best to start getting ready for breakfast. It feels a but like pre-season, but maybe Caringee will skip the 2 mile thus year.

Night 0

Staying at the Hiker Hostel in Dhalonega GA. Breakfast is at 730. The group starting out tomorrow is an eclectic  representation of humanity; we already started talking about global warming, fossil fuels, biodiesels... hope I leave some of that talk behind. Tomorrow, I'm trying to go from springer mountain to hawk shelter.