Appalachian Trail Journal 2025

  • “Pure Magic”

    “Day 1”

    Miles: 33.26

    Total Miles: 33.26

    (Blood Mountain, GA)

    I’m so tired now that it’s hard to write. But I’m here. In my tent. In the forest. Alongside the Appalachian Trail. At the end of my first day on trail.

    And it was even more magical than I dreamed it could be.

    I like putting on big miles in the first day of a long trail, but wasn’t sure it would be possible since I would be getting a late start, and didn’t get to start until 9am at the approach trail in Amacolola Falls State Park.

    I slept soundly, got a shower and breakfast. The shuttle to trailhead from Above the Clouds was upsetting in that the driver was trying to get us either pulled over or killed before I could start trail, but we somehow made it to trailhead around 830. Seriously–don’t take the shuttle from Above the Clouds!

    I registered with the ATC, got a picture at the arch, and started the day at 9.

    The approach trial climb is aggressive. People had warned me as much, but after 400+ steps up that damn waterfall, I finally reached a point where things leveled off.

    I’ve been told to expect that this trail will be aggressive, and so I took the start of the day to be a promise for what was ahead. It was not though. Most of the day after that initial climb was actually quite tame.

    It started out chilly this morning, but at Springer mountain it was raining and hailing. I was so excited though that I literally howled. I was so excited that I also missed signing the trail registration and had to back track a half mile when I eventually realized my mistake. It was worth going back for though.

    I was told to expect that this would be a crowded trail. So far it has not been. I’ve seen maybe a dozen thru hikers, and most of them were at camp or at the shelters far enough off trail that we never even interacted. Of those that I’ve met, I’m led to believe that AT hikers are very different than the thru hikers I’ve met on other trails. Many of them seem very trepidatious. Few of them seem willing to fully embrace that they’re going for the whole trail.

    One hiker I met today told me he was going to “play it by ear” when I asked how far he was going to hike. It made me double take; it’s the same thing that the girl I was dating before the trail said about continuing to see one another after I come home from the AT. It was code for “probably not” when she said it; I took his use of the term to mean the same.

    It rained off and on for around half the day. Otherwise temps were good. It made hiking later into the night easier, as I’d rather hike in the cold than the heat, and the humid heat is one thing I’m actually nervous about out here.

    I will say that the umbrella was amazing today! Someone told me before trail that he didn’t think I’d use it much out here, and I’d just like that person to know that they can kiss my ass! The umbrella saved the day today, over and over and over.

    On the topic of gear; it seems I made one big mistake. Not sure how this happened, but I seem to have mixed my tent rainfly up with my buddy’s, and don’t doesn’t quite fit the tent I’m carrying. It’ll keep me dry tonight, but I’m thinking I’ll need to order a new one soon and ship this one home. Shelter is too important to have compromised.

    About 3 times as many hikers I’ve met out here have been day hikers or weekend hikers. That is one thing quite different on this trail. So far the AT is just so close to bigger cities and development than the PCT or CDT that it seems to bring a lot more people out for short trips. I’ve rather enjoyed seeing them and getting to chat, though I’ve tried to keep things brief.

    The vegetation is just starting to bud in many places. It truly feels like spring. I’m excited for what’s to come.

    Tomorrow I’ll reach Neal Gap by late morning. I don’t know exactly what is there, but I expect that I’ll be able to find a replacement tent, as well as a new buff (which I somehow left back in AZ).

    Final note: my plan to hold upper body mass on this trail is to try and do 10 pushups for every hiked mile. I’m pleased to report that I’ve at least kept up with it for this first day in trial. But maybe just say–300+ pushups might just be what it takes to get me to hike fewer miles out here. We’ll see.

    With abounding excitement, shivers, cold fingers, and a full belly–

    Wormwood.

  • “Unspeakable Excitement”

    -12 hours to trail.

    (Suches, GA)

    I haven’t felt excitement like this in so long that I barely even remembered that such a feeling existed! For the last month it’s all been so busy preparing for the trail that I haven’t been able to let myself become excited for the trail.

    That’s different now though. I’m so excited that I can’t even contain myself.

    —

    I arrived in Atlanta late last night, got my checked bag, caught my ride out of town, and it was two hours to Above the Clouds, the hostel I’m staying at tonight.

    My ride was a guy named Ron, who had been running an AT shuttle for the last 19 years. He was a character. Almost twenty years of stories from shuttling hikers along with stories from his own hikes on the AT and elsewhere. He was a wealth of knowledge, and I can imagine that he’d be even more useful to someone new to thru hiking. Most of my curiosity along our drive was specific to the AT, and less about thru hiking.

    The hostel was closed well before we arrived, but they’d arranged for me to stay in a cabin on the property and left the porch light on.

    It already feels different out here than anything I’ve felt before, and it’s not only the excitement. Something feels like it exists in this part of the world than I’ve found before this. Like the air is thicker. No not the humidity. Something you feel more in your chest. I find it hard to explain.

    It was hard to sleep through the excitement, but woke this morning around sunrise.

    The owner of the hostel made breakfast and showed me around after pointing out the full coffee pot. It brings me right back to trail, being here. There were only a few people here when I arrived, but by now, in the evening, there are nearly a dozen of us. I’m the only one who has yet to start the hike. Everyone else here has done 20-30 miles to get here. I’ll start tomorrow.

    The owner of the hostel, a guy named Lucky, mentioned that he had a home gym around back, and I asked if he’d let me use it. He said he’s always trying to get people to use the weight equipment in there, but evidently nobody ever does. Go figure–hikers are tired, even after just 20-30 miles. They don’t want to lift weights after coming off trail.

    So I was able to get in one more workout before going to trail tomorrow. Much of the equipment was dusty and ruddy, but it still felt good.

    The hikers here are mostly new to thru hiking, and it’s been fun going through their gear and helping to reduce weight. It reminds me of being on my first long trails, and how much different hiking is to me now.

    On my first thru hike my base weight (the weight of all my gear, minus my worn weight, food weight, and water weight) was around 24lbs. That was way too heavy. That was 10 years ago. My base weight this time is 17.49lbs. I weighted it all out this morning, and I’m really pleased with this.

    The fun goes up when the weight goes down. I’ve met people who have had “sub-10” base weights, but to me that just sacrifices too much gear. I like my comforts, but I’m also pleased to have dropped my base weight this much.

    My worn weight is 5lbs, and food will be around 2lbs per day. I could start out with just a day of food for as much resupply opportunity as there is on this trail. But I’m stocked for 4 days, and plan to carry that full weight from the trailhead.

    Tomorrow I’ll start at the approach trail at around 8 or 9am. I want to start earlier, but I need to get a ride to trail, and that’s about an hour south of here. I also will register with the Appalachian Trail Association before starting the approach trail. That’s 9 miles, to the start of the official AT, and from there it’s north.

    I don’t need to make big miles tomorrow, but I like to on my first day of a thru trail. If there weren’t the limitation of starting late in the morning, I’d like to get 30 miles tomorrow, but we’ll see.

    The forecast is calling for a bit of rain tomorrow, then pretty good weather for the foreseeable future past there.

    —

    After working out I mostly hung out with the other hikers for the rest of the day. Did a couple of pack shake downs, shipped my “normal” clothes and shoes back that I wore on the plane yesterday.

    My food resupply box was here when I arrived for breakfast this morning. So I packed food, weighed all my gear, and a few of us ordered food from a near by grocery store. Made a dinner of pasta and beef. Had a salad. Frank another beer.

    —

    Wow… that was cool. Between the last paragraph and this one some of the hikers were asking me about injuries and what not. We started going over stretches and preventative exercise, and it led to my getting to do about an hour of bodywork. That’s something that I’ve really wanted to do on trail, but I know that I’m not able to practice like I would at my office, because I don’t have a table or lotions or anything like that. But I can practice this massage, and that’s basically what I did for the hour in a couple different hikers. Their feedback was really validating. One guy said after the session that he’s going to start getting massage monthly when he gets back home.

    —

    Tomorrow I’ll have breakfast and coffee with the other hikers and take a ride to the approach trail.

    I’m so excited that I can barely even see straight. No idea how I’m going to get sleep tonight. Shit… I might be able to even make a little income or pay my stay at hostels in trail if I’m able to do bodywork like I did today.

    Life is good.

    I haven’t felt that way in a long long time. I forgot it was possible to feel good again.

    Wormwood.

  • “Waiting”

    -2 days to trail

    (Palm Springs, CA)

    I arrived in Palm Springs 5 days ago. It was my grandmother’s 84th birthday, and I wanted to see her before I leave for the Appalachian Trail. My mom flew down from WA for the week as well, so it was an opportunity to see both of them before starting the hike.

    I was pleased to see that grandmother is doing a lot better than the last time I saw her, in the fall of last year. She was diagnosed with cancer several years back, and the whole family worries about her sometimes. But again, it was good to see her well and to have the opportunity to fatten up on big dinners before the trail.

    The three weeks leading up to this trip to CA were overwhelming. Of course I was trying to train for the trail, but I was also moving out of my apartment, putting things in storage, renting out my work office, putting in notice in my other jobs, parking my car for the summer, saying goodbyes… there was a lot.

    So landing here was a needed break. I was mostly able to rest and be with family over the last 4 days. I needed it more than I realized. Granted, my Garmin thinks I’m dead, based on my recent lack of exercise. But I know that will be resolved soon, once I’m on trail.

    I’m in the airport at Palm Springs now–flying to Atlanta in about 20 minutes.

    I won’t start the hike until Friday (two days from today), but I’ll land in Georgia tonight after a four-hour flight. I had planned to sleep in the airport in Atlanta, but changed plans yesterday. Now I’ll be getting picked up tonight at 9pm, then it’s a 2-hour drive to the Above the Clouds Hostel in Suches, Georgia. I’ll stay at the hostel tonight and tomorrow, then I’ll start the hike on Friday morning, or whenever I can get a ride to the approach trail.

    The hike itself doesn’t actually start at the AT trailhead; rather, it’s 9 miles into a state park, if I’m not mistaken. But I’m planning that approach trail and to start the official AT on Friday, April 11.

    I was going to start on April 1st, but 8 months ago I had a psychedelic vision that it was important to start just a bit later–on the 11th. So here we are.

    I board my flight in just a few minutes. I’ll likely journal again tomorrow while I’m at the hostel and waiting for Friday.

    Wormwood.