New shoes

Well, since last post some things have happened.  Don’t worry, no game enders, just a mild set back.  Isn’t that what this trip is all about?  Dealing with the setbacks and unforeseen or unavoidable….or the poor choices that lead to a setback….that we learn from??  ;-)

The night of the last post, I was woken up by tornado sirens and a push to the basement of the hostel.  All ended well for us.  The next morning we were dropped off at Neel Gap in a heavy fog, cold temps and lots of wind.  We got a very late start due to some shake downs by the guys at Mountain Crossing outfitters.  Azalon needed it; I couldn’t believe what that guy was carrying.  We left around 11:30 for Low gap.  We tented on the ridge by Poor Mountain, just above low gap.  Woke up to temps in the low 20’s, and strong winds.  We proceeded to Blue Mountain shelter.  Occasional snow flurries and lots of wind once again, I can deal with the cold, but the wind was something else.  It woke me up that night, thought I was gonna be swept away in the shelter. Azalon got up in the middle of the night and left, maybe due to the cold weather and some serious snoring that was going on.  The following weather was beautiful, cold and clear skies!  We moved on to Tray mountain shelter for the next night.  Tuesday we made the 11 mile walk to Dicks Creek Gap…..LONGEST downhill EVER!

Now, you may notice the short trips.  Well, my left knee started hurting right out of Neel gap.  Apparently, while I was slack packing down Blood mountain (I was literally jogging down it) I injured the infamous IT Band.  A dull ache on flat ground, no pain on ascents, but when on the descents…..oh man, acute sharp pains.  My trek poles got me through those 3 days and just taking my time.  The way down to Dicks Creek was painful.  

Birdman had plans to be picked up and driven to Asheville for a zero day.  He offered to drop me off in Franklin on the way.  I knew the knee was gonna require a couple days rest and some icing in order to continue so I took the ride home.  There are other variables to taking these days off as well.  I need to drop pack weight by discarding items (easily done at home with no shipping cost) and I NEED NEW SHOES!  The guys at mountain crossing reaffirmed my belief that blisters were forming due to my shoes being too small.  My feet have swollen and I require a larger size shoe.  So, today I’ll be going to REI to trade in my spare set of Asolo boost for a size 11.  I’ll also be switching out my current Vasques for trail shoes.  Many people were doing this in trail shoes.  I’ve never had blister problems with low shoes and think it’s the best bet for now.  Less heat to make my feet sweat and MUCH lighter!  I’ll save the Asolo’s for the rocky stuff up north when I’ll need them.

So, I’m hoping to be back on the trail by Friday or Saturday…Sunday at the latest if the knee needs the time.  IT band is a common injury and with some stretching and R.I.C.E. I should be good to go.  If anyone reading this has any experience with this and advice, please feel free comment away.  Any and all advice to quick recovery is welcome.

I’ve covered 78.4 miles in 7 days.  Once I get dropped off again later this week, I’ll break 100 miles and go from GA into NC, completing my first state and entering my second.

So here’s to new SHOES, a better knee and getting back on the trail ASAP! 

Awesome day!

10.5 miles up and down between 3100 and 4300 elevation.  Super foggy, which I love, kind of adds a mystique to the forest.  Ir was also a nice turn from the blaring sun yesterday.  We killed it in like 5 hours slack packing (not cheating rick).  Hung out at Neel gap and ran into many others staying at the hostel there.  Back at the hostel with asalon and birdman and the dude that wrote the guide im using and the book Awol on the Appalachian trail was here.  Pretty cool,  got him to sign my guide book.  Nasty storms and tornadoes in the forecast tonight.  Getting out early tomorrow for a 12 miler.  Shouldn't be too bad as the elevation profile shows minor ups and downs.  All for now, time for a cold one and some food.

Stoked

Bad weather today and a grueling climb over Blood mountain.  Solution???  Slack packing to neels gap.  Fyi, this means carrying minimal necessities while having heavy gear shuttled ahead.  This will make today soooo much better!

21.2 miles

Plus the 9 it took to get to the top of Springer mtn.  So far so good.  Yesterdays hike was tough for me, I was very sore and slow.  We did about 9 miles yesterday and 13 today.  I felt great today, planned on 8 and pushed the extra 5 to Woody gap.  A hiker hostel picked us and others up at he gap.  Im here, very well feed and a couple hienekens in :-)  tomorrow we set out for heels gap, an up and down 10 miles.  However, weather looks to be bad tomorrow so we'll see.  My heels are a bit punished from the past couple days and soggy shoes are not gonna help that situation.  Been hiking with two guys I met the first night.  Birdman and Asalon, cool guys and good company.
Im tired, that'd all for now.

It all starts today

Today is the day, after about a year of planning and 10 of dreaming.  A 2 ½ hour drive to Amicalola Falls state park.  Followed by an 8 mile approach trail to the top of Springer mountain and the southern terminus of the A.T..  Depending on how my body adjusts, I’ll walk back to Franklin (107 trail miles) in 10 to 14 days.  Then I’ll only have about 2077 miles left to go ;-)

This is all for now as I ready to depart, next post from on top of Springer.

Almost there.....

Well, as it stands now, I am back to the original plan of doing the entire trip solo.  Both of my friends have bowed out for various reasons.  That's alright though, now there is just me to worry about and my own pace to keep.  I’m also moving the departure date up by one day.  I’ll be starting out at Amicalola Falls State park.  This entails walking up an approach trail of roughly 8 miles, to the starting point of the A.T. at the top of Springer Mountain.  The weather is calling for thunderstorms (70%) on the 29^th and clouds (30%) on the 28^th.  I’d rather do the 8 miles and my first day in a light rain than torrential downpour.  Also, I’ll be on the A.T. ready to go on the morning of the 29^th, Leap year day.  To move it forward gets me into March and many more people departing between the 1^st and 4^th.  I prefer to stay ahead of some of the crowds.  I’m looking forward to the social aspect that transpires along the A.T., but not the vying for spaces in shelters right from the get go.  

So in other departments of life, I took the GRE on Tuesday.  It wasn’t so bad, I walked away feeling confident.  However, you’d think I’d come home from that feeling relieved and ready to relax….????  Not so much, I got so riddled with anxiety that evening I couldn’t sleep, and paced the house till 3am and some Tylenol pm.  I was anxious about the finality of finishing the test.  It’s all out my hands now; all I can do is wait to hear back from the prospective universities.  That didn’t settle well with me that evening, a flood of worries and coulda/shoulda’s went through my head.  That stress, along with the sudden realization that this vast trek is just around the corner and about to happen.  Have I prepped enough, what else do I need, and what can I do????  

It was all a bit to take in, and it all wanted in at the same time.  The past couple days have been an emotional rollercoaster I wasn’t expecting.  Excitement and random bouts of butterflies in my stomach egged on by fleeting thoughts of anything hike related.  Wondering if I have what it takes, will my problematic hip flexor cause me too much grief?  Will my knee’s last the entire trip or will just getting past all the initial pain lead to these issues working themselves out with proper stretches (I have a routine) and use?  Oh yeah, and since it’s been such a warm winter, will I get slammed in a later winter push while traversing the higher elevations of this area??  That is the question really annoying me, because if I could just get a NO, then I could shed some clothing and gear.  However, I probably won’t receive that no and will just have to be prepped for it till the end of March.

Let’s see, what else to cover?  Aaaahh, yes….the weight issue, lol,  No, not my pack, just my gut.  The sedentary lifestyle of sequestering one’s self to study has left me with about 16lbs extra.  It’s quite sad really, I’m usually 180lbs and now (through a lack in cardio and poor dining choices) I’ve moved up to the mid 190’s……I even hit 200 at one point.  Though it’s a bit weird and annoying to find all this on me prior to such a hike, I take solace in knowing it will be gone bout two weeks into it all.  I actually read on two long distance hiker blogs, that it’s good to pack on 10-15lbs prior to taking on such a journey.  Just gotta hope my hiking pants don’t “muffin top” me too bad??  LOL.  I’ll be only 10lbs over by the time I leave, eating healthy and stepping up my workout to include more cardio over the next couple days will help.  I’m looking forward to the level of fitness one achieves after hiking 2,000+ miles.  

So as of April 1^st my phone will be suspended for 90 days.  No point in paying a bill for something I do not plan to use much, or at all.  So basically, during March, my blogs will be from wherever I receive signal and shall be more often.  After April 1^st, there will only be updating when I get into towns and can receive a wifi signal or use of a computer. 

If you’re interested, I have a journal account on trailjournals.com.  Some posts, like this one, will be written on one and pasted into the other.  While I’ll save certain reflections for one and others on the other to mix it up.  You can find those entries here: http://www.trailjournals.com/ErikNOBO2012/

Well, I believe this will be it until Tuesday when I blog about my approach trail walk.

Till then, here’s to running water, bathrooms, hot showers and not being stinky ;-)

Let the Countdown Begin!

February is upon us and the final 28 day countdown for me.  I must say, it took a while to get here...but boy am I Excited!  As it stands, all universities are applied to and I'll be taking the GRE in the next week or two.  The studying is paying off and I'm quite confident now that I've re-familiarized myself with all the old math stuff.

I have finally comprised a full gear list with everything that I shall be using/bringing along the way.  Some things, like the sleeping bags and shoes, will be mailed to me to be swapped out as conditions change.  Everything is listed below....pretty sure I haven't left any items out.

Now, as long as I stay on track with running, walking and hiking I should be ready to go at the end of the month.  The first two weeks will Rock with Nick and Kelly, should make for some fun times!  After that, who knows what I'll encounter,,,,,,,good, bad and Amazing!

My pack total weight now sits at just barely over 31lbs with two days food and 1 can of gas.  Sooooo, basically with varying food choices and amount of days I'll be no more than maybe 35lbs for the first leg. It will only get lighter as I shed things and swap out my heavy down winter bag for the MUCH lighter synthetic summer bag.  My goal was to be under 40 lbs, pretty happy to have met and exceeded that for the start.

Gear list

Gregory Baltoro 75 Pack

Big Agnes Fly Creek UL1 Tent & Footprint

Marmot Sawtooth 15° Sleeping Bag (First Leg)

REI Lumen 40° Sleeping bag (Last Leg)

Therm-A-Rest Neoair Sleeping Pad

Tyvek ground Cloth

Black Diamond Trailback Trekking poles w/ rubber tips

JetBoil Flash Cooking System

Steripen Journey (water purification)

Gerber Paraframe knife

Leatherman Style cs

1 Liter Nalgene btl

3L Camelbak bladder

Petzel Tikka Plus headlamp

Z-Pack Cuben Fiber custom pack liner

Z-Pack Cuben Fiber Roll Top Blast Food Bag
Anti-gravity gear Ultra-light Spectra Rope/pouch 50ft
Compass
The A.T. Guide 2012 Northbound edition

Electronics

Garmin GPSmap 60CSx (Garmin Trailhead Series A.T. Topo map)

Olympus Stylus Tough 10MP camera w/ mini tripod

Droid X (for wifi blogging, music and email only)

Ipod

Spare batteries (2 AA, 3AAA, 1 droid, 2 Camera)

1 wall charger for Olympus batteries

1 USB Wall charger 2 cords (Droid and Ipod)

Clothes

Vasque Wasatch Boots (1^st pair)

Asolo FSN 95 GTX Boots (2^nd pair)

Teva Terra Fi3 Sandals

REI Gaiters

Marmot PreCip Full Zip Rain Pants

Columbia Peak 2 Peak Rain shell

Darn Tough Socks 2 pair

Smart wool Socks 1 pair

Injinji sock liners 2 pair

Columbia Silver Ridge cargo shorts

REI Sahara Convertible pants

REI Sarah T-shirt short sleeve

Columbia Omni-dry long sleeve shirt

Smart Wool Midweight top and bottom base layers

Patagonia Nano puff mid layer jacket

Miscellaneous

Sea to Summit EVAC dry bags 13L (Sleeping bag) 8L (Clothes)

3 outdoor ditty dry sacs, 1 med-kit, 1 socks, 1 electronics

Trowel

Ear plugs

Med Kit, various bandages, alcohol wipes, new skin, duct tape, blister donuts, Ibuprofen, Benadryl, antibiotic ointment, tweezers, Gauze, tape, anti-itch antiseptic, body glide and travel toothbrush/paste

Sleeping pad repair kit

Sea to Summit Wilderness Wash Biodegradable multipurpose