The hike out yesterday when almost perfectly. The weather was great - not too hot, not too cold. I got to try on different layers. I got to try out all of the food options. Everything was going really well.
The hike out to Springer Mtn was pretty desolate. It pretty much just followed a ridge line where there was very little green. Quite a few ups and down, and not a whole lot of good views. Before leaving, I didn't really study the topography of the approach trail, so I kinda assumed that it was just one long gradual uphill until Springer Mtn - but I was very wrong. The approach trail is ~8 miles, and I couldn't believe the number of mtns they managed to fit into those 8 miles. There were a number of times when I was climbing up a steep incline and thought to myself that surely this was Springer Mtn, but many times, I was disappointed.
When I finally got to Springer Mtn, I was a little disappointed because the view was facing either North or West. I was kinda hoping that it was face South, so I might be able to catch a glimpse of ATL - but no. Also, there was a boy scout troop on top - horsing around and making noise.
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| From AT 2010 |
By the time I got to Springer it was maybe 3PM, so I figured I'd hike for another hr or two before finding shelter. I ended up staying at a place a few miles beyond Springer Mtn (Stover Creek shelter). When I got there, there were maybe six or seven hikers there chatting it up. I started setting up my hammock not too far away from the fire pit, and I felt like they were watching me the entire time. I was pretty nervous, b/c this was the first time I was going to seriously use my hammock, and I didn't really know what I was doing - so, having an audience didn't help. Anyway, I finally got the hammock set up and got in and everything seemed right, so I then proceeded to make dinner. Just after I had finished eating dinner and then cleaning up, people were starting to make their way to their tents and call it a night. But then off in the distance, we could hear a chorus of kids - the boy scouts were on their way.
I ended up sleeping about a total of half hour that night. I'm not sure what it was. The boy scouts were pretty noisy - running around, yelling at each other - but I don't think that was it. They were pretty bad, but around 9 or so, they more or less went silent - so, I can't blame them. It was my first time sleeping in a hammock, so I think that was a big part of the problem. I found the hammock more comfortable than a tent b/c I didn't have to deal with a hard bottom. Whenever sleeping on the ground or on the floor, I'm more or less stuck sleeping on my back - which is not natural for me. But, in the hammock, I was able to get into a pretty comfortable fetal position - it was pretty nice. One of the (well-known) issues with sleeping in a hammock, though, is that you end up losing heat on the bottom. To deal with this, I tried sleeping on a sleeping pad, which offered some insulation against the bottom of the hammock. The problem, though, was that every once in a while, I would end up slipping off the pad, and parts of my body would be exposed to cold spots.
Sometime in the middle of the night, it began raining. When I left, the weather forecast was saying that it would rain on Sun - so, the rain wasn't really a surprise. What was a surprise, though, was just how much it would effect me. Today was absolutely miserable. I got up in the morning feeling really cold - to find that my shoes were soaked (which I had hung underneath my tarp - thinking that they would stay dry), and that everything in my backpack was equally soaked. I had tied my backpack to a tree and covered it with a pack cover, which I thought would keep my stuff dry. Boy, was I wrong - that cover is NOT water proof, or even (it would appear) water resistant. So, ALL of my stuff was soaked - not a good way to start the day.
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| From AT 2010 |
As soon as I could summon the motivation, I packed up my stuff and headed out. I didn't even bother with eating breakfast before leaving. I just wanted to leave. The sooner I got back the Amicalola, the sooner I would be back home and dry and warm. I had some snacks on the way back (including a 600 cal muffin - awesome) to keep me going, but it was almost non-stop. By the time I got back to my car, I was pretty thoroughly unhappy with the way things had gone. My stuff was soaked, I was soaked, all of my clothes were soaked - and I was not looking forward to taking off my shoes, fearing that my feet had disintegrated.
I learned a few things on this hike (#1: the importance of keeping you stuff dry, #2 having multiple pairs of good socks), so I'm going to call this weekend a success. All of my hikes over the past couple months have been on days with really good weather, so I was starting to fall into the trap of thinking that that was how things would always be. Having these flawless day hikes, and then going home to a shower and warm bed, I was very much in danger of romanticizing my upcoming hike. But after a day like today, I don't that's much of a problem any more. Hiking is hard. Hiking then camping, hiking then camping - day after day - that takes a toll. If I can make it to VA (like I plan to), I will be VERY happy with myself.
