Week Two Journal: Thru-Hiking the Appalachian Trail |

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Last updated on December 20th, 2024 at 03:50 pm

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Cindy Scott is a freelance editor and writer with a background in media, film, and television. She has full-time RVed and thru-hiked the Appalachian Trail. When she's not kayaking or hiking, you can find her blogging about outdoor adventure at Cinders Travels.

Day 8

April 12, 2022

It was a shorter hike today, coming in at 7.5 miles.

We packed up at 8:30 am; almost everyone else had already left and gone hiking. This morning, while packing up, we saw spring flowers near the shelter area. Around 9:30 am, we were finally hiking.

The first half was relatively flat and easy. The second half, however, got a bit more intense.

We spent most of the trek tucked into the side of the mountains. Along the way, we spotted tons of tiny streams of water that came trundling down into mini-waterfalls. We also saw a fair amount of spring flowers, went through some Rhododendron tunnels, and experienced many roots and rocks on the trail.

The last mile or two was almost entirely uphill, consisting of jagged rocks covered with ample lush green moss.

We got to camp pretty early(ish) and are now enjoying resting our feet and bodies for the rest of the day while meeting more new friends over dinner, including people from many different states, Ireland, and Scotland.

By 4:30 pm, our tent was already up. I was eating potatoes, and Barrett was enjoying fajita chicken and Mexican rice.

For tonight’s bonus evening excitement, Barrett accidentally captured a tiny newt in our water filter system. The little guy was adorable & and has now been released back into the nearby stream.

Also, once again, many people and a few good doggos are at camp. Jupiter, Shaggy, and his son were already there when we arrived.

We ended at mile 50.1.

Length: 7 mi

Total Ascent: 1622′

Total Descent: 705′

Total Grade: ‘/mi

Completed: 50.1 of the AT’s 2194.3 Miles

2 %

Day 9

April 13, 2022

This morning, I woke up to a Folger’s coffee packet that was sealed but empty. A fate I wish on no thru-hiker ever! 😆

We were starting our hike today around 8:00 am.

It was another day of dramatic ups and downs, coming in at 8.2 miles.

Barrett asked me to convey that the day was utterly exhausting and that he’s mainly happy to be one step closer to the burgers we should enjoy tomorrow if all goes well. He said it was the most challenging day so far and ended it with some foot pain.

We entered the Chattahoochee National Forest today. We also ran into some trail magic along the way, being given away by Smokey Bear. I got banana chips and decided they’re a delicious trail snack. He was giving snacks from packs of hikers who had quit. In the past three or four days, we’ve run into someone who needs to get off trail daily and then have heard of a few more every day for reasons spanning from foot problems to family problems.

We ended our hike early on and had lots of rest, hoping that all would feel better tomorrow. (I’m sure our zero coming up will help as well.) Otherwise, the trail earned its name as the “Green Tunnel” on this day. We hiked through lots of tunnels of rhododendrons and mountain laurels. It was the most “alive” the trail has felt up to this point, with moments of it even feeling lush, tropical, and rainforest. We also saw some spring flowers.

By 2:15 pm, our tent was up, and I was filtering water with a bag by the tent with the mountain in the background. By 3:00 pm, I was eating dinner.

There are storms coming tonight around 8:30 pm and midnight. Overall, I am just trying to keep things light and spirits as high as possible! We’re looking forward to heading into Helen, GA, soon.

Length: 8 mi

Total Ascent: 2606′

Total Descent: 2274′

Total Grade: 598’/mi

Completed: 58.1 of the AT’s 2194.3 Miles

3 %

Day 10

April 14, 2022

Apparently, it poured last night (which we knew was coming), but for the second time, I mostly slept through it.

Around 5:40 am, I looked at the radar, and the rain appeared to be gone. So we got up and at it.

I woke up feeling beyond impressed with our tent. But then I felt like I had jinxed it. As we proceeded to pack up, we found some wetness in there. We have obtained our first two tears. But these things are to be expected, and despite spending the morning attempting to dry out a few things, I’m still very impressed with how much a 3.8-lb tent manages to stay dry!

Beyond that, it’s also pretty incredible how well our sleeping pads and sleeping bags are designed to work around getting wet. Most of the water was trapped under our pads and never escaped to touch anything else. Every day, I’m increasingly in awe of the technology that makes this trek possible.

Okay, so today’s hike. We were hiking by 7:45 am. After drying things off as much as possible and packing up, it was a bit of a weird day. The trail was wet and foggy in the morning. We walked through lots of dead, foggy Tim Burton-y-looking forests for most of the morning.

A great quote I heard from another hiker as he cruised past us in the early morning was, “We’re really in the ping-pong ball now, aren’t we?” It was very accurate and funny. So, if there were mountain views around us, we didn’t see them.

But by afternoon, it was much sunnier.

Since the weather was utterly erratic, I believe I stopped to change my clothes at least three or four times.

Another thing of note: Yesterday and today, Barrett and I really began “feeling” like thru-hikers. I guess all I mean by that is our bodies are beginning to get stronger already. And lately, we haven’t just been stepping off the trail for everyone to pass us; we’ve actually started passing some hikers! (Also, Barrett felt much better in body and spirit today.)

We tackled 11.6 miles in total, with the goal of getting to a shuttle at Dicks Creek Gap by 3:30 pm that would take us into Helen, GA, for a zero day and a meal at a much-coveted favorite burger place of ours. Barrett had big plans. He would arrive, clean a set of clothes, clean himself, wait for his clothes to dry somewhat, and enjoy a burger at Bigg Daddys.

Well, around mile 7 or 8, we realized we did our math a bit wrong. We proceeded to run for the next two miles until we felt comfortable about reaching the shuttle in time and then switched back to a normal hiking pace. Around this time, it started clearing up, warming up, and turning into a beautiful day. We walked through some more green tunnels on and off and made it to the shuttle early. While waiting for that shuttle, we see a Corgi, which makes us both homesick.

Our shuttle driver, Grace, took us to Helen. We sped along in her truck with the windows down and 70s tunes blaring through the radio as she told us all about her thru-hike. It felt good to be going FAST! Haha. But going backward in trail miles was also a little weird. We were at the Alpine Village Inn by 4:15 pm.

We arrived at our hotel only to discover that part of the city’s water had been turned off for the evening. The tiny zone affected included our hotel and the burger joint. Barrett was crushed since this literally affected every plan he had made for the rest of his day.

After a great deal of disappointment, I convinced Barrett it would be okay and reminded him we still had four walls and a bed for the evening. He headed out and hit up Dollar General, and then we went on to take the most aggressive baby wipe showers of our lives and made the most of it by getting German food and heading to the beer hall (that part of town had water). It is, after all, a German town!

Also, I finally had a microwave and got to wax my legs. I include this because it’s comical. I brought leg wax to the lodge the first night before starting our hike, assuming there would be a microwave. There was not. I then proceeded to hike for nine days with leg wax and strips. I can finally throw away that weight AND have smooth legs for the next two months. That luxury may seem silly to some, but to me, not having to think about shaving my legs again for two months is such a wonderful feeling!

That evening ended up being great. Jupiter and Barrett had delicious Bavarian food at Bodensee (I got salmon and veggies), and I got to know Barrett’s buddy better as we closed the night out with drinks at the King Ludwig Biergarten. Overall, sitting around and enjoying the Bavarian atmosphere was lovely.

By the time we got back to the room, the water was back, showers were had, and all was well in the world again. I even got to watch a bit of TV before falling asleep.

Length: 11.3 mi

Total Ascent: 2409.8′

Total Descent: 3970.1′

Total Grade: 565.5’/mi

Completed: 69.4 of the AT’s 2194.3 Miles

3 %

Day 11

April 15, 2022

Today, we enjoyed Helen. We woke up with an elaborate clothing line strung all throughout the room, drying out our wet stuff.

Our first stop on this zero day was the post office in town to pick up our bump box and a box from my mom. We opened Mom’s box to find she had sent us Easter gifts of chocolate and peeps, among other things! 🐰 We opened our bump box, took out what we needed, and then passed it along to the Bryson City, NC, post office.

Then, we finally got our Big Daddys burgers! 🤤

After that, we did laundry and resupplied.

Barrett returned to the motel after our errands, but I couldn’t leave town without getting in a ride on the Mountain Coaster. I flew down the mountain, got us some ice cream, and then turned in for the night. Tomorrow, we’ll be back at it!

Length: 0 mi

Completed: 69.4 of the AT’s 2194.3 Miles

3 %

Day 12

April 16, 2022

This morning, we woke up ready to get back at it.

There was a bike race on the road we had to travel to get back to the trail from Helen, so it took quite a while for our shuttle driver to get us back to Dicks Creek Gap, and we ended up getting a bit of a late start.

This also was a challenging day. I’m not sure if it was hard because we were coming off a zero day spent in a familiar town (Helen), the late start, a full resupply of food on my back, the 90% humidity, the gloominess in the sky, or, most likely, a combination of all those things, but it felt like the hardest day so far mentally.

I spent much of the hike hoping it would be over soon.

The trail seems to know when we’re in these moments, though. In the last .2 miles of the day, we crossed into North Carolina! So, feeling a bit of accomplishment over being finished with Georgia was exciting.

Once entering the state, we came around the bend to where we were going to camp for the night, and trail angels who had hiked 3+ miles up with a 12-pack of beer for hikers were waiting. These little things are so kind and appreciated when on the trail.

We saw a lot more chunks of greenery on the trail today. Barrett often noted that spring looked close for us up in the mountains.

When we were in Helen, at a lower elevation, spring was definitely in full bloom in Georgia. But when higher up on the trail, it’s still a work in progress that we notice daily.

I went on to have dinner at our very windy campsite, which chilled me to the bone.

Barrett and I also enjoyed the Peeps my mom sent us for Easter; thanks, Mom! (We tried to share them with other hikers, but no one else at this spot was feeling the Peeps love. )

After dinner, I headed into the tent to get out of the wind, put on almost every article of clothing I had, and fell asleep.

Happy Easter, everyone!

Length: 9.1 mi

Total Ascent: 2954′

Total Descent: 1785′

Total Grade: 523’/mi

Completed: 78.2 of the AT’s 2194.3 Miles

4 %

Day 13

April 17, 2022

I slept for 11 hours last night! I woke up hoping that all that sleep was the rejuvenation I needed and that I would feel a bit lighter today.

This day was another challenging hike in the books. It was a slow-going hike. It took us 5 1/2 hours to make it 8.2 miles.

I find it strange that I feel both like I’m getting stronger every day and completely exhausted simultaneously.

Spring arrives more and more every day. It’s definitely getting prettier overall, with lots of birdies, flowers, and greenery all around lately!

We ran into a couple who will move to Asheville once they complete their hike, and we had lunch with them.

Also, there was a lot of fun energy at the shelter spot we tented that night. We enjoyed so many laughs with new people.

Despite sending two (or maybe even three?) boxes of things out of our packs to my mom to lose pack weight, we still managed to get over-excited at the grocery store in Helen (Bettys), and both overpacked our packs with food and toiletries.

I’m hoping that tomorrow, two days later, we will have eaten enough of the food that our packs will feel okay again.

Length: 7.7 mi

Total Ascent: 2277′

Total Descent: 1365′

Total Grade: 475’/mi

Completed: 85.9 of the AT’s 2194.3 Miles

4 %

Day 14

April 18, 2022

It stormed all night, but the tent held up pretty well. We are dry 🙂 —and I THINK most of our stuff is, too.

But the rain did not stop in the morning, so we had to wake up and pack up in the pouring rain.

At the end of today, I asked Barrett to describe the day; he said, “It started off as what could only be considered terrible. But then it got better.”

We started our hike around 9:40 am, and it continued to rain until about noon. We trudged through a trail that turned into a tiny stream at various points throughout the day and a mud pit at other points.

But part of what improved the day was the scenery. It was beautiful! This was by far the prettiest day we’ve had on the trail. There was so much greenery! Also, the terrain wasn’t terribly challenging.

It was probably the most leisurely day on our feet and joints we’ve had so far.

It also wasn’t freezing or super hot, making for good weather for pushing to 11.3 miles.

Around 3:00 pm, the fog lifted, and the sun finally showed itself for the rest of the evening. We were able to get to our camp spot and lay everything out to dry, including clothes and the tent.

Also, a fellow hiker at our camping spot had tent repair tape so I could make the necessary repairs to the tent floor before getting to the next town.

This is possibly the prettiest camping spot we’ve had so far. Less of being near a shelter, more of being in the rhododendron and trees.

It’s supposed to get fairly cold tonight. I am currently submerged in my sleeping bag with a HotHands Hand Warmer jammed between my beanie and my forehead, and it is life-giving!

Length: 11.3 mi

Total Ascent: 1784 ft

Total Descent: 2239 ft

Total Grade: 355 ft/mi

Completed: 97.2 of the AT’s 2194.3 Miles

4 %