A few minutes away
Thrilled that this moment is here. Been imagining it for so long. Definitely feel a bit on edge, but I’m sure I’ll settle down soon.
Some noteworthy occurrences and photos from the buildup:
- Storms threw a wrench in travel plans, and 2 canceled flights later, the start of hiking has only been pushed back about 20 hours. Could be worse.
- Fully packed up. I feel good about the setup, except I almost certainly have too much food for the first stretch, and I refused to throw any of it away. I shall not starve. Lesson learned. Thanks to Mom for pretending to need travel snacks to save me from the embarrassment of throwing away food I just got.
- Made a soft plan to keep myself from overdoing it: about 40 miles over the first 3 days, a short day to get to a hostel (Mountain Crossings at Neel Gap), and a late start from the hostel on day 5.
- Weather looks really nice, which I appreciate. Cool evenings, borderline warm afternoons, and not much precipitation.
- Mom flew down to drop me off, and we stayed at the lodge in Amicalola Falls State Park (the start of the approach trail to the start of the hike; the hike starts and ends at the tops of mountains, not at the bases). It’s really nice here, and the lodge is wonderful. Would recommend it.
