Date: Tue, 13 Jun 2000
Subject: AT Update 6/13

Greetings from Gol-Dang-Hot Georgia,

Well, I finally made it to the summit of Springer Mountain yesterday and the Southernmost white blaze of the Appalachian Trail.  I had covered about 1000 miles in 82 days.  Hard to describe how I felt.  Elated, relieved, a bit proud, trying to savor the moment and to marshall my strength to face the second, Northern half.

The South end of the Trail had grown more challenging and the weather, while pleasingly sunny, had turned uncomfortably warm.  I needed a shower the way a drowning man needs oxygen.  I had been pulling some long days of late (23.6 miles - the record so far), my impatience to reach Springer urging me on.

Impressions of Gerogia:  This may not be a very astute observation, but still, I think it needs to be said, "Boy, one thing Georgia sure does have a lot of is poison ivy!".  I was seeing it everywhere I looked.  Crawling up the trees and growing along the side of the trail.  I must not be reactive to it at the moment, because I escaped getting any rashes although it's almost imposssible that I avoided brushing up against some.  Another unexpected menance in Georgia was bears.  I had the foolish notion that once I left the Smokies, the bears would be scarce and timid.  I saw three in one day!  A mother and cub down below the trail while I was hiking.  And that night, a rather large male had to be chased away from the shelter, twice.  While Georgia doesn't have too many bare peaks, there were some towers and ledges along the way that had splendid views.  And since Northbound hikers were few, I enjoyed having a few shelters to myself.  Mountain Laurel and Flame Azalea were still in bloom, and the forest in general displayed a lushness in contrast to the drought that is parching much of the rest of the State.

I have been enjoying the hospitality at the Atlanta headquarters of Trudge 2000, the best but least known hiker hostel on the AT.  The proprieter, Rick Dement, and his lovely wife Connie, provide meals, showers, laundry facilities and shuttle services.  (Rick has been feeling a bit under the weather as of late, so please send him a "Get Well Soon" message when you have the time.)  In consideration of our long friendship, I have decided to forgo the usual practice of stealing the toilet paper.

Tonight I will board a Greyhound bus to Washington, D.C., and then take a train from there tomorrow back to Harper's Ferry, W.VA, where I began this hike in March.  This time I will head Northbound towards Mount Katahdin in Maine, and home.  The terrain will perhaps be easier in the mid-Atlantic States, but I will have to face the rigors of summer heat and humidity.  Pennsylvania is infamous for it's rocky sections of trail, and if it hasn't been raining of late, the springs can dry up.  But I will simply have to find ways to surmount these difficulties, the same as my fellow Northbounders.  Now that I'll be hiking the same direction as everybody else, I'll have more of a chance to enjoy the social aspects of thru-hiking.  I have met many kind and wonderful people along the way, and look forward to getting to know some of them better.

Physically, I'm in pretty good shape.  I expect I have lost perhaps 30 or more pounds of flab.  My legs have strengthened to the point that now heat and dehydration seem to be the limiting factors.  My knees now pop and snap like a bowl of Rice Krispies, but the pain has abated.

Mentally, I'm as crazy as ever because I still want to continue with this hike.  But I've still got my priorities straight because I've just been informed that dinner is ready, so this letter is over.