March 17, 2020 3:22 pm St. Patty’s Day 9.6 mi
Approach Trail 7.3 Black Gap Shelter → Approach 8.8 Springer Mtn
AT 0.0 Springer Mtn → AT 8.1 Hawk Mtn Shelter
Weather: Overnight tons of rain, AM steady moderate rain, PM sunny
Trail Conditions: Nothing but mud
My Condition: Rough night, day got better as time went along
Rough first night on trail. Something with my tent setup wasn’t quite right – placement, pitch, something – and I woke to small pools of water in the corner and drips splashing onto my face and (gasp) my bag from the saturated screens. Very muddy trail all day. Early start – hit the trail by 8:45 am – in comparison to others from last night, who were still sleeping or eating breakfast, tents still pitched. Had to pee a lot last night, which was annoying – put on rain jacket and shoes, get out/in without letting any more water in, try to fall back asleep. Listened to the Hobbit, which helped the miles fly by. Took my picture with the famous plaque and blaze at Springer Mtn and signed the register wishing everyone a happy St. Patrick’s Day and the luck o’ the Irish. Almost missed the green plaque and blaze – the other one was obvious, had to search for the other which is slightly below. Sunny afternoon with areas at shelter roped off for revegetation – perfect clotheslines! Letting my tent and gear dry out for a bit. Great first official day on the Appalachian Trail!
Post Hike Analysis
I had made a few mistakes with my tent setup – it was bunched up where the trekking pole is meant to sit in the peak cup, so the flaps didn’t properly overlap the way they ought to, I didn’t properly orient it with the way the wind was blowing in, and I didn’t tighten down the guylines nearly as much as I learned to. Even the most perfect, most expensive tent is never perfect – no matter how ideal a spot you find, how perfect your orientation, you’re never fully protected from the elements. You’re going to get condensation. You’re going to get splash up. You also learn to deal with discomfort, however. Early on when I was surrounded by people, nighttime bathroom trips were annoying – later on, you can just pee right out of the tent pretty much, but I was too bashful at this point to try that. I never caved and got camp shoes, and I never really regretted it. Sure, crocs are comfy. It just turned out to be a comfort I didn’t deem necessary enough to carry on my back. Soggy, wet shoes worked just fine for me as nighttime slippers! Springer Mountain kind of surprised me – all of a sudden I was there, no real view to speak of, just felt like a random point in the middle of nowhere. Again, not my place to tell anyone how to hike their hike, but I can’t imagine finishing anywhere but Katahdin. NOBO life for me! In my memory, this is the most crowded evening I spent on trail. I didn’t do much interacting, and kept my distance. I remember being quite restless getting in to camp so early, being all set up, and still having daylight to burn. I remember being thankful for the “clotheslines” – those are the types of things you quickly learn to appreciate on trail. All my wet gear was able to fully dry out, which is a real blessing!
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