[AngryMetalsmith]

Started my thru hike by driving down to Dawsonville, Ga and getting shuttled over to Amicalola Falls State Park. Registered and picked up my thru hiker tag. No. 3005. It’s a very uneasy feeling getting dropped off by a stranger then watching them leave you hundreds of miles from home.

Started up the 9 mile Approach Trail which is not actually part of the AT, but leads to the Southern Terminus on Springer Mountain. The stairs were no joke. Quite taxing at several hundred of them.

Made it up to the sign and plaque after several hours. Was able to get a few pics before inch worms started raining down on the trail. First it was a few, then hundreds, all repelling on silk threads. And they would sting my neck as I swung my trekking poles like a maniac to knock them down all while hopping across rocks. Never seen anything like that before. Went on for a mile or so.

Made it to Stover Creek shelter for the first night on trail for a total of 12 miles. Met some other hikers and talked gear while having dinner. While I was having fun it still wouldn’t hit me for a few days that I was actually Thru Hiking the AT.

 

[canadmos]

 

[jonKranked]

 

[Pesqueeb]

 

[SkaredShtles]

Sweet! I only have like 3 pictures from my CT thru-hike and a very poor journal.

Looking forward to following your progress, man!

 

[kidwoo]

keep us posted on what plagues jeesus sends your way after the silkworms!

Poop with a view, always.

 

[eric strt6]

Woot feets be moving on down the trail.

 

[Jozz]

Enjoy the pain!!

 

[slyfink]

so awesome. hope you enjoy every minute of it!

 

[Adventurous]

You get a trail name bestowed upon you yet?

 

[jonKranked]

You get a trail name bestowed upon you yet?

how about Angry Metal Smith?

 

[SkaredShtles]

You get a trail name bestowed upon you yet?

 

[stevew]

Sweet! I only have like 3 pictures from my CT thru-hike and a very poor journal.

Looking forward to following your progress, man!

watching some peoples hikes on youtube.....the lack of cursing is unsettling....unbelievable....and the coming/going/distance shots add unnecessary miles....and packing a fucking french press....get kicked in the dick...

 

[SkaredShtles]

<snip> and packing a fucking french press

 

[eric strt6]

AM. Better watch out for those crazy thru hike groupies

https://news.yahoo.com/tennessee-woman-accused-hiring-hitman-232524583.html

 

[SkaredShtles]

AM. Better watch out for those crazy thru hike groupies

https://news.yahoo.com/tennessee-woman-accused-hiring-hitman-232524583.html

FAFO.

 

[Adventurous]

AM. Better watch out for those crazy thru hike groupies

https://news.yahoo.com/tennessee-woman-accused-hiring-hitman-232524583.html

She seems nice.

 

[Pesqueeb]

“I hope you both fall off a cliff and die"

If hoping people you don't like would fall off a cliff and die is a crime, then I may be in some trouble.

 

[AngryMetalsmith]

how about Angry Metal Smith?

That’s it.

 

[jstuhlman]

That’s it.

i thought maybe since you'd finally made it the anger would have abated a bit and you'd just be "mildly disgruntled metalsmith"

 

[jimmydean]

"mildly disgruntled grillsmith"

ftfy.

Happy trails my man. Don't die, I still need an anniversary present when you are back from walkabout!

 

[AngryMetalsmith]

Currently holed up in a hotel in W NC taking a zero tomorrow after 15 days of continuous hiking. I’m beat.

This has been everything I’d hoped it would be and then some. Moar updates coming…

 

[jstuhlman]

Currently holed up in a hotel in W NC taking a zero tomorrow after 15 days of continuous hiking. I’m beat.

This has been an everything I’d hoped it would be and then some. Moar updates coming…

hot springs?

 

[AngryMetalsmith]

hot springs?

Fontana.

 

[AngryMetalsmith]

Day 2

Hiked 13 miles to Gooch Mountain Shelter.

Later in the morning met another thru hiker at a road crossing who invited me along to hike and talk. We talked about gear, training, tactics, trail life and hiking speed while powering up rocky hills. His name is JackRabbit and he’s attempting to do the entire trail in 71 days, exactly half of my window. It was really cool getting to talk shop with another serious hiker who has a lot more experience. He also helped alleviate any concerns that I had about getting my pace up to and past 2 mph.

 

[jdcamb]

Day 2

Hiked 13 miles to Gooch Mountain Shelter.

Later in the morning met another thru hiker at a road crossing who invited me along to hike and talk. We talked about gear, training, tactics, trail life and hiking speed while powering up rocky hills. His name is JackRabbit and he’s attempting to do the entire trail in 71 days, exactly half of my window. It was really cool getting to talk shop with another serious hiker who has a lot more experience. He also helped alleviate any concerns that I had about getting my pace up to and past 2 mph.

View attachment 194983

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View attachment 194985

Copious amounts of Rocks. This is working out well for me. Cool pic.

 

[AngryMetalsmith]

Day 3

From Gooch Mountain Shelter hiked 12 miles to Woods Hole Shelter.

By now I had already smashed one of my toenails so hard into the end of my shoe it immediately turned black and has stayed that way. Developed hot spots on both the balls of my feet, one of which may have been some kind of under the skin blister. But I covered it with Leukotape and it has just now started to feel less like walking on 120 grit sandpaper. My right knee started to hurt on the outside as it did a couple years ago. Still having problems with it but picked up a neoprene brace later down the trail.

 

[AngryMetalsmith]

Day 4

Only 4 miles to Neels Gap.

This is the first resupply stop for AT thru hikers, a major milestone and right of passage. The outfitter, Mountain Crossings, is an over the top store for hikers with everything they could possibly need. Not just the average big box store brands, but many smaller companies were well represented. Not only could you replace gear and resupply your food but there was laundry service, showers, hot food, and a place outside on the deck to recharge electronics, and organize. It was here that hikers would gather, meet and do their respective tasks.

I spent five hours there with some people I had camped with the night before. A mother and her son from Florida doing a short section hike. The son was in his mid twenties and totally proud of being Florida Man. Told us stories about jumping on the back of alligators. His mom was pretty cool as well.

After seeing countless YouTube vids, read articles and heard stories about the place made the whole experience that much moar fun. It was probably around this time that it had finally hit me, that am actually thru hiking the AT.

A group of us all headed back out on the trail to camp one mile past Neels Gap. There was a spigot outside the store but for some reason I thought I’d just get water at camp. Bad move. The water source was a puddle with tiny worms swimming around in it. Yuck. I of course filtered it. Cooked with and drank some of it. So far no issues. A camp fire was started by a group of high schoolers who were doing a section hike. Pretty great day.

Edit: first two pics are from the top of Blood Mountain, a rather difficult climb before Neels Gap. Quite similar to UCI World Cup DH tracks before bobsled runs, gnar, gnar-chunk-a-gnar.

 

[AngryMetalsmith]

Day 5

Hiked from Bull Gap (1mile past Neels Gap) to an unnamed tent site 17 miles away.

At a road intersection I met up with a guy who had camped with us the night before. He was having some knee problems and taking a break. We started hiking together and hit it off pretty easily. He had been given the trail name Homer from one of the high school kids after Homer Simpson since he’s a Nuclear Engineer who works in the control room. We would continue hiking together for the next week. Around this time is when we started talking to another, much younger hiker who had been around since day one. He had only heard of the AT two weeks prior to starting, but had an infectious sense of enthusiasm coupled with unbelievable raw power. A small tight group was starting to form.

 

[AngryMetalsmith]

Day 6

14 miles from unnamed tent site to Sassafras Gap.

Homer and I began to push the pace quite a bit. It was JackRabbit that assured me that I could get the pace up to 2 mph and 3 mph in some places. But it was Homer who really helped get there. We started doing bigger miles. 12 was now a slow day. Having another hiker there to take your mind off the pain is priceless. And holy shit is there a lot of pain to push through.

 

[AngryMetalsmith]

Day 7

Hiked 6 miles with Homer from Sassafras Gap to Dick’s Creek Gap to get shuttled into Hiawassee, GA for a night in a hotel and resupply number two. Everything was within walking distance including a Mexican place we hit twice in one day. The town itself is centered around a lake walled in by steep N Georgia mountains. Very picturesque, too bad I didn’t take any, oops.

We ran into another hiker whom we had camped with a couple nights back. He was an ex marine on some strange version of a thru hike which involved an 80 pound pack. He claimed it was the heaviest one on trail. Didn’t see the pack myself but have heard stories from other hikers including our young friend who said it shook the ground when he dropped it.

 

[jstuhlman]

haha-shit-those georgia mountains are awesome aren't they? so similar to nc pisgah. we hiked up to this old shelter last summer and ate lunch on the rocky overlook behind it!
pretty sure this was a pic from an offshoot of the trail we took on the way up.

 

[AngryMetalsmith]

Day 8

12 miles from Dick’s Creek Gap to Muskrat Creek Shelter.

We got a shuttle back to the trail from Hiawassee. And I must say that everyone there was very friendly and some businesses catered to hikers.

Homer, who is also from NC, and I crossed over the NC/GA border. This is another milestone for thru hikers, first state down. I let out the loudest, longest ear piercing “ Yee Hah !!” I could conjure. Nor Cackalack represent. About 3 minutes later we climbed up a switchback to find our friend chilling in his hammock.

This would become a regular occurrence. He would leave camp about an hour before the rest of us. He’s in college and contracted to the Army with the goal of becoming an officer and Special Forces. Keep in mind that he had only learned of the Appalachian Trail two weeks prior to starting. He hikes incredibly fast for a few hours then finds a campsite to study, eat and workout. Dude does a full upper body workout while hiking seriously difficult terrain with a heavy pack. More enthusiasm than anyone I’ve met in a long time. His trail name is Rambo.

 

[AngryMetalsmith]

Day 9

Hiked 16 miles from Muskrat Creek to Betty Creek Gap. No pics.

 

[AngryMetalsmith]

Day 10

12 miles from Betty Creek to Winding Stair Gap where we would get picked up and shuttled into Franklin for a town stay and resupply.

The climb up to the fire tower was brutally steep with log and stone steps that just wouldn’t quit. No pics in sections like this as I was chasing Homer up it. While it’s not hot in the mountains, you still sweat profusely and your clothes get soaked. The peaks are still in the mid 60s so I get cold. Especially since I’m dropping a lot of weight.

We crossed the 100 mile mark just shortly after the fire tower. We wouldn’t have known since we were flying down the backside unless another hiker marked it. So cool, one hundred miles on the AT !

 

[AngryMetalsmith]

Day 11

11 miles from Winding Stair Gap to Wayah Shelter.

 

[AngryMetalsmith]

Day 12

Hiked 17 miles from Wayah Shelter into the NOC (Nantahala Outdoor Center). We stayed in a bunk room with a couple other hikers. It was hot, humid and you had to walk down hill to get to anything including the bathroom. But we were able to resupply, shower and do laundry. Food was over the top expensive. A tiny chicken sandwich cost $18. And coming right off the trail hungry I could have easily eaten three.

The previous day Rambo paid the price for pushing a little too hard on blistered feet and tweaked his ankle. Fell way behind so we all slow walked to the next road crossing where he was able to get a shuttle to the NOC. Our fourth friend had been with us for a couple days and we all enjoyed the evening along the river.

 

[AngryMetalsmith]

Day 13

Short 7 mile hike from the NOC to Sassafras Gap.

This was a hard day for me. Our little group was splitting up. Homer said his goodbyes early in the morning. He had been hinting at wanting to take off since he was on limited time and only had a few days left before having to go back to work. Wanted to make it 200 miles on the AT. Rambo stayed at the NOC and would have to go back to where he got off then catch up. It was just me and our other friend left. We hiked for a while together but I fell off pace from being tired. We stayed at the same camp that night. But we too split, leaving me to hike solo.

Thru hiking is by far one of the most difficult things I have ever done. You can train for years, watch countless videos, read articles and books and talk to those who have thru hiked, but nothing can prepare you for how it feels both physically and emotionally. In 15 days I have pushed through pain, sore legs, smashed toenails and drug lead filled legs up and down mountains. And there are three other dudes right there with me embracing the suck. Almost an identical situation occurred when I went to Penland School for back to back two week sessions and the intense concentration. In those situations bonds form quickly.

Although I’m currently hiking alone, Rambo is somewhere close but will pass me soon enough, and Homer is heading home, I am both deeply saddened and grateful for the experience. Back in the real world most of my friends have either died or moved on. I have not been able to really connect with anyone in person for a couple years it seems. In a way I have already gotten what I needed from this hike. If it were to end tomorrow I would still be grateful. It’s been one Hell of an adventure.

 

[canadmos]

Man time flies, how have you been at this for two weeks already?

I would have sworn you left on Thursday. My memory sucks.

Glad you're out there and doing it and embracing the ups and downs.

 

[eric strt6]

way to go AM