Here are some of Mike’s favorites from early in the hike. As with any photos on the Home page also, you may click on these to enlarge them to full size (then you can use left and right arrows at the bottom to go through them).
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- We were dropped off here; 0.9 miles up to the official start!
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- Mike and Mel at the summit of Springer – ready to go!
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- Tim passes through the rhododendrons
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- Mel and Tim filtering water near our first campsite
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- Our MSR Whisperlite stove, ~ 20 oz. fuel bottle and our only cookpot (which holds about 1.5 L)
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- Oaks hanging onto last year’s leaves in the mountains of Georgia
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- The trail is marked with white blazes about 50 m to 100 m apart. A single blaze means continue straight on!
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- Two blazes mark a turn coming up, toward the direction of the upper blaze (in this case, look for a left turn)
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- Rick & Griff tried out the trail with a weeklong section hike – if all went well, they’d consider planning a thru-hike
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- One of the many signs along the trail – distances are given in miles
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- Located atop the highest peak on the A.T. in Georgia (4,461 feet), this historic two-room stone structure was last refurbished in 1981. It leaks, it smells bad, and no one stays here unless they must!
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- Our first dropbox; we picked it up on our third day – this one held a three-day supply of food and other necessities.
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- An early evening view near our campsite
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- ‘Twas raining at the gap – the rainsuit and pack cover did their jobs, but my gloves were soaked and cold!
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- One of the many cascading rivulets along the way
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- Tim enjoyed the kindheartedness of his buddy Bob Spooner, another Dodge Power Wagon guy, who helped Tim dry out and get a new tent after torrential rains, then returned him to the trail the next day.
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- View from atop Tray Mountain – well worth the killer climb!
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- The chic look (?) for those cooler days, shorts with tights (I personally don’t dress this way – would you?) This also gives a great view of “Click’s” custom made camera straps – the one at her waist is elastic and keeps the camera from flopping around.
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- On our 7th day of hiking, at 76.4 miles from Springer, we crossed the line from Georgia into North Carolina