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4/5 ~ HAWK MOUNTAIN SHELTER (Milepoint 7.7) 
It's happening at last - the moment I've been dreaming about and planning for the last year. My wife dropped me off at the USFS 42 trailhead and I set off on the short hike to the top of Springer Mountain. I signed the register at the top and by noon I was on my way. I am now an official thru-hiker! If we are the "class of 99" you might say this is my first day at school. It had that same kind of feeling about it too. That same heady mixture of excitement and dread!
It was a glorious day, sun shining and temperature in the 70's. I hiked easily and gently along wooded hills, through fragrant beds of pine needles, along a long green tunnel of rhododendrons, over babbling streams. If this is typical of the AT, I am in for the time of my life - give me more of it. I set up my Nomad tent just behind the shelter and cooked up my meal sitting on a log, chatting to Brent, a budding entrepreneur from Virginia. I didn't feel much like socializing with the group at the shelter and retired to my bed to write up my journal and rest up for the morning.
4/6 ~ CAMPSITE NEAR GOOCH GAP SHELTER (Milepoint 16.1)
A strong wind blew in the night and gave me a bit of trouble with the tent until I got everything anchored down better. In the morning it started raining and I had my first practice packing my backpack inside the tent. This worked reasonably well and I had just finished when it stopped raining. I was away about 9:00am - later than I had planned. It was a cool, drizzly day - nice hiking weather though and I took it slowly, meeting on and off with several other thru-hikers.
We set up our tents near the trail rather than hike 0.2 mile up a steep slope to the shelter, which was described in the handbook as cold and windy. The water source was in any case near the trail and although none of us could find any level ground it was nevertheless a very pleasant sheltered spot in a dell next to a mountain stream. Here I got to meet properly all the people I'd been hiking on and off with all day. There was Dr.Doolittle hiking with a very well behaved black Labrador called Narf. There was Walrus, Brent, Mark (another Trailplace journalist), a group of young people hiking home to Maine (The Great Pumpkin, Three Sox, Ducky, and Turtle). I also found out there was another Frodo at the shelter last night, but he's Chief Frodo and he hiked the trail last year. Having a Chief Frodo seems to imply there's an army of ordinary Frodo's out there on the trail. If it turns out there's too many of us, maybe I'll have to think of another one - Joe Blow Frodo perhaps. We saw our first bit of "trail magic" today when a past thru-hiker walked down the trail from a road crossing and offered anyone that wanted it a ride into Suches. However we were all enjoying ourselves and no one was tempted.
4/7 ~ JARRARD GAP (Milepoint 25.3)
I had an interesting night continuously sliding down into the side of the tent. I slept well though. We all lingered too long at breakfast and didn't get going until 9:40. It turned out a scorching hot day with the temperature up in the high 80's to 90's. With the hardwoods still bare of leaves there is precious little shelter from the sun too. I'd stopped to chat to a group of previous thru-hikers (Conjo, Tree Hugger, and Woog) when Chief Frodo came up. Then I heard the interesting story of how he acquired his trail name. He started off last year as plain Frodo but his name was changed when he mistakenly ate some poisonous plants thinking they were ramps (a sort of wild onion). According to the old Indian legend a person who survives this ends up as the chief. Anyway he told me to stick with the name - it was a lucky name. All the Frodo's finish their quest. As he set off confidently down the trail, I thought to myself I'll go with that - I'll just follow the Chief!
Reality set in today and I found it hard going. Having spent most of my life in Canada, I haven't learned to handle this Southern heat very well. I don't know how I'll manage when it gets up into the 100's. A group of us stopped at the road crossing at Woody's Gap to have our lunch when the same gentlemen from last night came along and once again offered us all a ride into Suches. This time several were tempted. I just thought I'd just rest a while and let the sun get over its zenith. This didn't seem to help, it just made me very late at my campsite and I was totally exhausted when I arrived at 7:00pm. Walrus was already there and he very kindly offered me half his supper. I guess he's having trouble eating all the food he planned on too. After chatting awhile, I flopped into bed and slept the sleep of the dead.
4/8 ~ NEELS GAP / GOOSE CREEK CABINS (Milepoint 30.7)
I slept well apart from a slight mishap in the night. I must have put something down on the bite valve of my platypus water bag and I woke up to find a liter of water floating around in the bottom of the tent. I was so tired I just dried it out went back to sleep as if nothing had happened. What a difference a good night's sleep can make - I woke up feeling refreshed and vigorous. I found the climb up Blood Mountain much easier than I expected - it's not very steep, it just goes on and on and on. Today was perfect hiking weather for me, slightly overcast, windy and a nice cool 60 degrees. I stopped and admired the view from the top of Blood Mountain (which at 4461ft is the highest point on the AT in Georgia). We were serenaded from the treetops by a rufous-sided towhee. It was steep and rocky coming down and at one point my pack brushed against a rock and pushed me off balance. I lost my footing and stumbled a bit - no harm done though, but an important lesson learned. A fall on rocks like these with a 40lb load on your back could stop you dead in your tracks. It pelted with rain as we came down but nobody cared, as we were off to get a hot shower and a pizza.
Here I am at the Goose Creek Cabins on my balcony overlooking a gentle stream watching a family of mallards. Pondering my hike so far, I've learned a few things I think. Everybody says, "hike your own hike" and I'm starting to see what this means. It doesn't mean the hike you planned on ahead of time - it means more be guided by the way you feel at the time. The weather, the water sources, the state of the trail, the campsites, the people you meet. Forget about schedules - you'll get there when you get there. Roll with the punches, don't worry, enjoy yourself!
4/9 ~ WHITE OAK GAP (Milepoint 37.7)
I wasn't thinking very clearly when I left Neels Gap. My appetite hasn't picked up yet and I'd had at least two days worth of food left over when I'd arrived. Then I picked up a mail drop with yet more food in it. I took it all down to Goose Creek Cabins intending to sort it out and mail some home. The next morning, alarmed at the way I had frittered most of the morning away, I just threw everything my pack and set off. I rationalized this stupidity as a test of being able to carry enough food to get through the Smokies. Anyway I hadn't gone 10 minutes before I was regretting it. On top of this, at the Walasi-Yi center I bought a hydration tube for my Dromedary water bag and lent my Platypus to another hiker. Since I carry the Dromedary anyway I thought if it worked out I could get rid of my Platypus and save weight. Well - it didn't work out! Suddenly, I felt dripping on the back of my legs. I checked the bottom of my pack and to my horror it was sopping wet. I opened it up and found that the Dromedary was nearly empty. What happened was, as I tightened down the top of the pack, it pulled on the tube and turned the elbow where the tube goes into the screw fitting. At the same time this loosened the screw fitting itself and allowed water to leak out. I tried it again and the same thing happened - not a very good design, I think. And I'd lent my Platypus to another hiker to try out, so now I had no hydration system, no water and a sopping wet super heavy pack - just great!
Apart from all this, I was treated to some superb vistas today and a spectacle of nature in the raw - a garter snake swallowing a salamander. The next water source was right next to a road crossing at Hogpen Gap so, with a group of other hikers who don't have trail names yet, I tanked up and camped a mile further down the trail.
4/10 ~ HENSON GAP (Milepoint 48.0)
I didn't get much sleep last night. The wind blew hard all night and, although my tent braved it well, the flapping and cracking kept me awake. I made a slow start and all the other hikers were gone before I got moving. It turned out to be another scorching hot day and when I got to the Low Gap Shelter at about noon I would have liked nothing so much as to spend all afternoon there in the shade. As it was I spent an hour or so just hanging around and chatting to Zaugau, who was suffering from knee problems. He told me that zaugau means "crap" in Chinese - which I thought shows the proper spirit. I highly recommended trying hiking sticks. A bit further on I had a pleasant encounter with Leaping Gnome who was eating his lunch beside a small spring. Seeing him soaking his bandana made me think of soaking my fleece shirt (yes fleece - believe it or not I came equipped for the cold). When I put it back on, completely drenched, the relief was immediate and lasted till the next spring.
For two miles I thought I'd lost my way and was back in Indiana - it was FLAT - the first (and maybe the last) flat section on the AT. By 4:00pm I was looking for a campsite but it was 6:00pm before I actually found one. I passed by the headwaters of the Chatahoochee River (Atlanta's water source) but it was too far down to go and get a drink there. I've already decided to take an unscheduled rest break in Helen. The fact is, I'm finding this hard going and, even though I'd like to press on, my poor old body is telling me loud and clear it needs a rest. No doubt I could show it who's boss and keep flogging it like a tired horse, but if I did, sooner or later it'd rebel. It's served me well up to now (no blisters, no knee problems) and I think we'd do better to work as a team. Besides, I resent the idea of being governed by schedules and targets - I left work to get away from all that. Plus this time I will get rid of this extra food.
4/11 ~ UNICOI GAP / HELEN (Milepoint 50.7)
I was camped at a slant again last night but found a way to stop sliding into the side of the tent - just pack your spare clothing along one side of your air mattress to tilt it the opposite way to the slant of the tent. It works - I slept like a log for 9 hours. First a nice easy two mile hike to Unicoi Gap; then I started hitching - first time I've hitched since my student days. To my surprise, after only 5 minutes a very pleasant businessman from Atlanta stopped, and not only gave me a ride to Helen in his air-conditioned Lexus, but also gave me a cold beer when we arrived. And because I was so immensely grateful, he gave me another one!
I'm now in a luxurious hotel room (any room with hot and cold running water is luxurious!) overlooking the Chattahoochee River and wondering how much stuff I can get rid of; and believe me - I'm going through it all with a fine tooth comb this time.
4/12 ~ UNICOI GAP / HELEN (Milepoint 50.7)
Today was a rest day in the attractive little tourist town of Helen. Everything here is on a Bavarian theme. I mailed home 7 lbs. of extra stuff (mostly food) and just had a pleasant lazy day doing nothing in particular.
4/13 ~ SASSAFRAS GAP (Milepoint 60.5)
I felt a great deal better today as a result of the rest and getting rid of all that weight. With a 1000ft climb up and over Rocky Mountain then a 1400ft climb up and over Tray Mountain, it was a big day. I set a nice easy slow pace going up Tray Mountain then went into a sort of daydream and was surprised when I reached the top. There was water half way up at Cheese Factory Gap (the site of an abandoned 19th century cheese factory) but since I knew there was water at the top I decided to get it there and let nature do the heavy lifting. There were awe inspiring panoramic views as far as the eye can see from the top of Tray Mountain - back to Blood Mountain in the west and Burton Lake to the northeast - and fold upon fold of mountains in every direction. I arrived at Sassafras Gap with plenty of time and energy to go further but instead I made camp early with a young group from Florida out for spring break with their parents. All in all a very enjoyable day.
4/14 ~ DICKS CREEK GAP / THE BLUEBERRY PATCH (Milepoint 66.8)
I made an early start this morning - my best yet (8:00am). I'd just got up and a light drizzle started and black clouds on the horizon boded much more to come, so I decided to hurry. It was a nice easy hike as I only had a few miles left to get to the Blueberry Patch where I'd left a mail drop. At McClure Gap I hiked up a side trail to admire a magnificent vista and take some pictures. The promised rain eventually arrived but by this time I was nearly at Dicks Creek Gap. After a short attempt at hitching, the group I was camping with last night caught me up. They gave me a ride to Blueberry Patch where I had a very warm welcome from the owner, Gary (a past thru-hiker). Some of the other hikers have hitched into town to go to an AYCE (all you can eat) buffet. I couldn't do justice to that yet so I stayed behind and cooked up all my left-over food - so I don't run into the same problem again of carrying too much.