I first want to say that I have mostly been a day hiker and only a few times a year at that. My wife, Yana, and I would take a day every so often to hike up Blood Mountain in North Georgia as a way to get away from the everyday distractions. We always seem to take the same trail but always had a blast, because of the amazing view at the top which is our reward for a great hike.
Three weeks ago, Chad, who is a friend of mine, asked if I wanted to join a group of people who were doing a 3 day, 23 mile, hiking trip up the Appalachian Trail in North Carolina. This would be the next section of what they have already accomplished in the previous trips. I have never been on a hiking trip more than a day so I accepted the invite. One issue came up, which was that I didn’t have any of the equipment needed for the 3 day hiking trip. After giving my money to REI and BassPro and borrowing a few things from Chad, I was all set to go… I’ll get to that in a minute.
Unfortunately, Chad wasn’t able to join us, because he had to attend a wedding the same weekend. At first I thought this would cause a problem for me, because he invited me and the group invite him. I didn’t know the other guys at the time who invited him so I thought if he didn’t go then I wouldn’t be able to as well. After a few phone conversations with Ryan, who planned the whole trip, he said that I should still come. I’m glad Ryan said that it was still cool to come along, because I just bought all the hiking gear and it would have sucked to have spend so much for nothing.
I have to say I am kind of a info junkie when it comes to something new. I read tons of online blogs, watched YouTube videos, if there are any. I wanted to know more about long distance hiking and camping and how to pack light for both. I even went as far as to create my own soda can stove burner, which actually worked. It was a great mini project my father and I worked on together.
Watch my soda can burner work.
I learned how to make a soda can burner by watching this video… [http://youtu.be/VKxfGBHbH_Y]
After watching the videos and reading the blogs, I started to pick out what I wanted to buy. I felt I had a better than basic understanding on packing light, if you can call 40 lbs light and was off to purchase what I needed.
Stuff I Bought & Where
REI:
- Backpack
- Head lamp
- Dried Pack food
- Small cooking bowl
- Deodorant for chaffing
- Shorts
- First aide
BassPro:
- Merrell Hiking Shoes
Borrowed:
- Tent
- Sorted Bags
- Water filtration system
- Sleeping pad
- Hiking sticks
Made:
- Soda can stove
After packing everything in and weighing myself, I added an extra 45 pounds to my body. Boy, I’m glad this wasn’t added, fat but just my hiking / camping gear. It really make me appreciate that I finished the P90X system recently so I felt more fit to handle this trip.
The Trip:
Day 1: Rock Gap to Wayah Gap – 9.6 miles
The hike was mostly shaded within the tree lines. Near the end of the hike that day we walked up to the top of Siler Bald which was about a mile before camp ground. It was a beautiful view at the top but we didn’t stay long, because of the overwhelming swarm of gnats flying around.
Day 2: Wayah Gap to Telliso Gap – 10 miles
The hike started the same, but felt more of the sun’s heat. We hiked to the fire station at the top of Wayah Bald, which had an amazing view. We took some great pictures and I even took a few shots of my new product for wildernessbands… Something I’m starting.
As we started our hike down we decided to fill our water bottles with the natural spring near by. This was the first time I’ve ever tried filtered water from a stream using the filtration system. Surprisingly, it tasted great. Ryan and Brad was nice enough to explain why it’s so important to have a filtration system. I guess they learned the hard way. : )
That evening we got back to the 2nd car where our packs were left. We geared up and headed up a steep 1.2 mile hike up the mountain towards the next camp site. This was the first real test with caring the 45 lbs. I took it like it champ. We set camp at the top of the mountain where we set out on a rock and watched the sunset and viewed the stars. Beautiful. It would have been great to have Yana there with me.
Day 3: Telliso Gap to truck – 3 miles
We woke up and packed the gear. Then we took a moment to enjoy the view one last time before we headed off to complete the trip. Again this was going to be another test to see how I would handle caring a 45 lbs pack, this time 3.5 miles to the truck. Even though we had more miles to hike, I felt I was able to handle the pack better than the day before. We did the last section of the trip under 2 hours.
Overall my experience of this trip was amazing. I had some great conversations with Ryan throughout the trip. I didn’t spend as much time with Bret or Shawn, but for the time I did spend I felt they were a great group of people. Ryan even brought his dog, which made the trip even more pleasant. As I look back on the trip, this one will be a great memory to keep. I can’t wait to go again.
Until next time…
I loved reading about your hike! My mom and I are looking into doing a few day hike on that trail in March but don’t know which section of it we should focus on. Do you have any suggestions?
Thanks Tricia. I spot with the group leader who put the trip together and he gave me the trials we walked.
Day 1
Begin at Rock Gap Shelter, slack pack about 10 miles to Wayah Gap
Day 2
Begin at Wayah Gap, slack pack about 6.5 miles to Licklog Gap, full packs for about 3.5 miles to Cold Spring Shelter (just past it to the scenic ridge)
Day 3
Full packs for about 3.5 miles to Tellicoo Gap
Hope that helps. If you get a chance to go, I’m sure you’ll have a great time. Make sure to take bug spray!