Backpacking the AT - Intro and Day One

 The Appalachian Trail, lovingly known at the AT, is a hiking trail of 2,200 miles, extending from Georgia to Maine, passing through a total of 14 states.  I can't remember when my obsession with the AT began, but by 2018, I knew I wanted to thru-hike the trail.  A thru-hike is when you hike a trail, end-to-end, in one go.  I made this decision, never having backpacked a day in my life, and began collecting gear.  After years of research, I can tell you that the gear people carry during a thru-hike, does not vary all that much.  The main goal is to carry only the essentials, and the lightest, most durable essentials you can find at that.  So, for the last handful of years, most of my birthday and Christmas gifts have been heavily laden with these hiking essentials.  Last fall, after feeling like I had acquired what I needed to complete a successful backpacking trip, I headed up to Pictured Rocks for a three day, two night hike on the trail along the coast of Lake Superior.  What if I had collected all of this gear but actually hated backpacking?  The trip went off without a hitch, I learned a lot, and couldn't wait until my next opportunity to get back out there.  

Now, as a mom of five, with kids in various stages of life, I can't quite figure out how to make a thru-hike happen right now.  But section hiking?  Definitely.  Some people only section hike, and complete their favorite trails over the course of many years.  All I knew was that I needed to get myself onto the AT as soon as possible-it was calling me.  Remember when you were a teenager and a poster of your favorite actor or singer was hung on your bedroom wall?  Well, I have a map of the AT on my bedroom wall that is constantly staring me down.  

This year, I have two 50 mile trail races, along with a 100k trail race, and several more sections of the North Country Trail already planned with friends.  When would I find the time to get to the AT?  Owen was able to get away from Camp Lejeune for a 96 over Presidents' Weekend, and Jason said, half-jokingly, "Owen should just drop you off on the AT for a couple weeks on his way back to the base!"  Ummmmm, are you serious?  After confirming that he was, in fact, open to the idea, my head started to SPIN.  I had a month to plan a backpacking trip on the AT!  Where would I start? How many miles should I do?  Could I convince any friends to join me?  The easiest place for Owen to drop me would be Bland, Virginia.  Bland is located right along I-77, on Owen's route, and it is also directly on the AT.  Should I go northbound (NOBO) or southbound (SOBO)? I drew up plans for both directions, averaging 10-17 miles today.  Would this be too many miles? Would I be finishing my days really early? I had no idea what to expect.  Next, I casually threw out my plans to a few friends I thought might be interested.  A few couldn't swing it with work, and a couple gave me maybes.  I was prepared to go alone, but I knew it would be nice to have a friend or two along with me.  Pretty quickly, my friend, Misty, a fellow ultrarunner, said she'd be in for the first week.  Yes!  She didn't want to commit to the full 11 days because she had never done any backpacking what if she didn't like it? And then, my hiking friend, Jeff, said he'd be in for the final five days.  Nice!  I'd have a friend with me my entire trip!  We all agreed that NOBO would be the way to go, and we started preparations.  I loaned Misty a few items, and she borrowed and purchased other things she'd need.  I picked up some rain gear and a few smaller items, and planned out meals for the trip. We also all purchased bear canisters.  The AT is recommending bear canisters this year, in lieu of hanging food bags in trees.  Apparently those bears are getting pretty smart and have acquired more than a few hikers' food stashes while they slept.  We weren't too excited about the added weight of the canisters, but at least our food would be safe!  As we got closer to mid-February I kept mentioning to Misty that she should just stay for the whole trip.  Finally, she agreed!  Some of the best landmarks would be in the final few days, and she didn't want to miss out.  Plus, I knew she was going to love it and would be sad to leave early.  Jeff planned to leave his car where we'd be finishing, and then shuttle to a meeting point on Day 6.  

And just like that, it was time to go!  Owen and I met Misty early in the morning on Tuesday, February 20th, and we headed to Virginia!  Just before getting to the trail, we picked up Subway, which would be dinner the first night at camp.  Our bear canisters were full to the brim, holding four and a half days of food.  Both of our packs were full, too, weighing in at around 35 pounds each.  

Day 1: VA ROUTE 612 mile 592.9 north to Helvey’s Mill Shelter mile 594.3

After exiting the freeway, we made our way to the drop off point.  Misty and I were so anxious and excited and nervous!  What would the next 11 days hold?  We found the small parking lot near the end of a sketchy road.  We had arrived! There at the trailhead, there was even trail magic!  Someone had left two bottles of Mountain Dew for hikers!  (Trail magic can be found all along the AT, ranging from water to pop to beer to snacks and even full meals.  These Trail Angels who provide these treats are treasured human beings!) We left the Mountain Dew there, as we were just getting started.  I gave my boy, Owen, a big squeeze and sent him on his way.

Misty and I were officially on our own, on the AT! After a little deliberation as to which way was north, we headed out.  The trail was lined with the green leaves of rhododendrons.  The AT is often referred to as the "Green Tunnel" and this was our first experience seeing it!

Today would just be a short one, as we didn't reach the trailhead until nearly 4pm.  The hike in was mostly a hike UP! After only 1/2 mile with our heavy packs, Misty and I were slightly questioning our life decisions. After what seemed like the longest two miles ever, we saw the sign for our shelter.

We made it to camp and checked out Helveys Mill Shelter and surrounding area. 

We decided to set up our tents a bit away from the shelter, as someone had sprinkled pretzels everywhere on the ground and we were leery of nighttime animals coming in for a snack.  

After we set up our tents, we gathered sticks and logs for a fire. I was able to get one started with one of my wax-dipped cotton balls and some twigs! I had learned this trick from a video I had watched, and decided to try it out on our trip.  Soon we had a nice blaze going and dined on the Subway sandwiches we had carried in. 

Misty was quite happy there was a privy here at this shelter and she took the blue blazes to go check it out!

After dinner, we stashed our bear canisters and played “Would You Rather” as the last of the daylight faded, and the big, nearly full moon came out, casting long shafts of light between the trees.

 Temperatures dropped into the 20’s and we stayed warm by the fire until 8pm when we were finally ready to snuggle into our sleeping bags for the night. I pulled my hat down low, and my buff up high, and cinched my sleeping bag closed, so that just a hole big enough for my nose was open.  Brr!  I was thinking I probably had a very long night ahead of me...