(Stover Creek Shelter (mile 2.8) - Gooch Mountain Shelter (mile 15.7))

My first full day on the Appalachian Trail! I woke up this morning to a sleeping quilt with a damp footbox, which wasn't ideal. You see, I use a garbage bag as a waterproof liner inside my pack (it's cheap, lightweight, and easy to replace) and I thought it would be a good idea to repurpose the garbage bag at night as a waterproof sleeve to cover the foot of my quilt. The reasoning behind this was to protect my quilt against condensation collecting on the walls of my tent. Unfortunately, the garbage bag had the opposite effect, instead functioning as a poorly ventilated condensation sauna. To add insult to injury, my tent walls were completely dry! I'm sure these first weeks will be full of teachable moments like this😅

After drying off my quilt with my bandana, I packed my things and had a 15 minute stretching session before starting for the day. My goal was to make it to Gooch Mountain Shelter, which meant I was looking to do around 13 miles. That's a pretty long walk for day 2, but I was feeling good and planning a shorter day for tomorrow.

I left camp at about 9:00am with the goal of finding a nice scenic cat hole spot before breaking my fast. I accomplished my goal and ate my very hardy breakfast at three forks campsite next to the intersection of Chester Creek and Stover Creek (which becomes Long Creek). Much of the morning's hiking followed Long Creek, winding me through emerald tunnels of Mountain Laurel. A highlight of the morning was definitely Long Creek Falls, a multi-tiered cascade with a couple (very steep) spur trails for dramatic waterfall views.

One of the many cascades of Long Creek Falls

As I continued hiking, I saw many familiar faces. For much of the day, I played tag with Lauren (the accountant I met last night) and Tyler and Caroline (a couple I met yesterday on Springer Mountain). I hiked with Lauren for a little while and she was happy to share some personal finance tips for thru-hiking, including limiting time in towns, avoiding atm fees, and always entering the grocery store with a shopping list. I'm sure the last tip will be especially relevant when the hiker hunger really starts to kick in. I also met a new hiker who goes by the trail name "Amoeba." Amoeba is from Ohio and is currently in the Air Force Reserves and attending Bowling Green State University (where my father did his undergrad). He's planning to do a LASH (long ass section hike), from Springer to Damascus, Virginia.

The toughest part of the day was the climb out of Horse Gap to the top of Sassafras Mountain, which included about 650 feet of elevation change over a mile. It doesn't sound like a lot when I write it out, but trust me, it was a challenge. As I climbed the mountain, I was reminded of something Jimmy Chin says during the mountaineering documentary "Meru." High in the Himalayas while attempting a first ascent of a seamingly impossible climb, he jokingly says "we do it for the views." I would never dare to conflate myself with Jimmy Chin, but I kept repeating that quote to myself as I powered up the mountain. When I reached the top, I was indeed rewarded with excellent views and the ridge hiking was delightful.

A hardy lunch fueled me during the climb up Sassafras Mountain

I made it to Gooch Mountain Shelter at roughly 4:30pm and was greeted with a nearly full campsite. I was lucky enough to grab one of the last two tent pads. I started soaking my dinner and sat down by the fire pit to chat with some fellow hikers. I quickly noticed a lady wearing a name tag that said "Lilly". I asked Lilly about her nametag and she explained that she was the ridge runner for this section of the trail. As I understand it, ridge runners are seasonal AT Conservancy employees who work jointly with Amicalola Falls State Park. They work during peak hiking season patroling different sections of the trail to pick up trash, encourage proper backcountry etiquette, and survey for potential issues (underprepared hikers, overcrowding, bears lurking near shelters, etc.). Lilly told me that she is from New York where she's earned two masters degrees in the CUNY system. She's recently been working in super fancy Michelin Star restaurants as a server and is considering possibly pursuing a PhD exploring the social dynamics of restaurants. I really enjoyed talking to Lilly and it was great to have such a positive interaction with an AT Conservancy employee. I guess I shouldn't have expected otherwise.

Tomorrow I'm planning a short day. I'll be hiking about 10.5 miles to Jarrard Gap. This should be my first night not sleeping at a shelter, which will be nice to avoid crowding. I would have liked to spend the night on Blood Mountain, but hard-sided bear canisters are required for overnight camping in the Blood Mountain Wilderness Area and alas, I am not carrying one. As I understand it, this is the only portion of the trail that requires a bear canister and I'll have no problem hiking through it on day 4. Still no trail name✌

Last second cat hole
dig faster man, dig faster
oh no, here it comes!