Have I ever told you about when OWL and I first went on the trail, way back in 2004? We had been on a couple backpacking trips, and had decided to give the AT a try. We decided that the first week of November would be an awesome time for a hike...no bugs...no snakes...no bears...no snow. So the morning after a friend's wedding, AWE & A. (no nickname yet) dropped us off at the forest service road by Springer. The plan was to pick us up in a week, "somewhere down the trail". I brought along a disposable camera to take some pictures (it was way before the age of the iPhone). We snapped a few photos and took off.
We made it 2.8 miles the first night, to the Stover Creek Shelter. I don't even want to think about how heavy our packs were. We both knew enough to pack extra clothes, and extra food. I brought along an entire quart bag full of dried milk (I actually can't STAND the taste of dried milk, but I thought it might be ... useful or something). There was an "incident" at the privy (use your imagination; the real story is much worse). That was pretty much the beginning of the end. The second day, we hiked the 5 miles to Hawk Mountain in the pouring rain. We got way off-trail and ended up in a field, 500 yards away from the trail. I had a red thick (heavy) poncho that didn't really work very well, except to make me sweaty and miserable. It was super foggy, so I could only see a few feet in front of me. (Most of the photos I took on this trip were of trees in fog). We were hiking up the mountain and down the mountain, up the mountain and down the mountain, with zero visibility. The third day, we hiked to Gooch Shelter, same conditions. Everything was sopping wet and I was pretty miserable. On top of everything else, I checked my voicemail on a ridgetop and found out that George W. Bush had just won his second term in office.
That was the last straw. After a very short conference on top of the mountain, OWL and I decided to see if we could catch a ride home.
OWL called A, who despite being a very lovely individual in all other circumstances, basically told us we were out of luck. So I called AWE, and she said she'd come get us after work. I really don't remember exactly how it worked out, but somehow we kept walking until we reached Woody Gap. We ate a "last backpacking meal" of lentils & tomatoes, and I scraped the army of ticks off my leg with a knife blade.
We set off down the highway for Suches, with ever-increasing amounts of fog. Our expectation was to get to a general store that was in the ancient (probably hardback) guidebook we had. Found the general store...it had been boarded up for years. Kept walking and found the Two Wheels Only Motorcycle Resort*, hallelujah. The office was in a big red barn. Only problem: it was very much closed as the owners were on vacation.
Upon further inspection we found a note on the door inviting any weary travelers to stay the night in the campground, and use the shower facilities as needed. Boy did we ever need shower facilities. (In all seriousness - that was one of the best showers of my life). My cell phone didn't get very good reception, so I called AWE from the pay phone on the barn porch. She got the address of the place we were, printed out MapQuest directions, and started on her way. We unpacked our sleeping bags and took a nap on the covered porch. It was so luxurious!
About six hours later, OWL heard something on the road. The fog was too thick to see the barn from the road, and so AWE had rolled down her window and was shouting through the fog, hoping we would hear her. We did, and with that we left the little mountain town of Suches, unincorporated, but the Trail left its hooks in us. Inexplicably, we have been talking about going back to finish ever since.
I think this time we are a little more prepared for what lies ahead.
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*Sadly, the motorcycle resort closed in 2011.
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*Sadly, the motorcycle resort closed in 2011.
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