Day 1

•Day One was both tougher and easier than I had imagined. Tougher: 8.8 miles is a long way to walk. And that's all there is to it. Add on a roughly 40 lb pack, then add on the fact that its basically from close to sea level to the top of Springer Mountain (which isn't actually that big, as mountains go), and its gonna be rough. However, we sorta dawdled on our way...we had to go see the actual Amicalola Falls, and a few other spots along the way. There are a lot of horror stories about the Approach trail, one of which can be found in “A Walk in the Woods”, by Bill Bryson, whom I’ll have more to say about later. For now, I'll say I dislike him.

US! We've walked a little at this point, I'm not sure how far, but we're doing well.
Dad, Josh, Caleb, and I











The actual factual Amicalola Falls that the State Park was built around. Lots of stairs down to the base, and then back up...lots. But worth it. Very much so.
















Caleb, noshing some GORP. Gorp is glorious. More on that later.

















Dad journaling. He pulled that out every time we stopped. Good times.












Caleb grabbed this during a breather.













And there it is...













The plaque says: A Footpath for those who seek Fellowship with the Wilderness. And the first blaze of the AT. 2 x 6 white stripe.











We had to get a picture here. It was a requirement. Once again: Dad, Caleb, I, and Josh.