I would like to say the day dawned sunny, clear and cool, but that would only be partly true. It was cool, but the previous night's rain lasted into the morning. We were nice and dry, but the tarp was soaked on the outside, and covered with grit from the sandy campground. By the time we extricated ourselves from our bags, the rain subsided temporarily, but there was still a lot of water dripping from trees. We packed up the soggy camp, retrieved our food from Beth's car, and started our hike up to the lodge for one last civilized breakfast before heading up the approach trail to Springer.

We hiked along the Amicalola Falls Overlook Trail, and on this rainy mountain morning, it painted a beautifully peaceful scene. Breakfast at the lodge was a Southerner's feast. Ronald had been salivating at the thought of grits and biscuits and gravy. None of us were disappointed, but once again, faced the problem was not stuffing ourselves so full we couldn't drag our grits-laden bodies up Springer. We managed to pace ourselves, and left feeling content, and ready for the challenge.

We stopped at the sign for the Springer Approach Trail to take the obligatory starting photos, then steeled ourselves for the 7+ mile climb. The rain started falling steadily again, but it was warm enough that hiking was pleasant. The trail was a wonderful surprise. We hadn't had a chance to hike down from Springer in 1977. We had been met at the top by Ronald's sister, Rebecca, and whisked off a side trail at Nimblewill Gap, so never got into the park before. We had heard many stories of how hard it was, but we kept a steady pace, and thoroughly enjoyed the entire trip.

Just before Nimblewill Gap, we caught up with Dream Chaser. She left about an hour before us, and she was pretty tired, but hanging in there. She planned on stopping at the shelter before the top, so we may not see her again. The sun was shining brightly as we arrived at the top of Springer around 1:00 pm. Soft pink mountain laurels were in full bloom around the two bronze plaques commemorating the official southern terminus of the Appalachian Trail. It was a perfect setting for our salmon celebration lunch. We drank in the atmosphere, signed into the trail register, and chatted with a number of day hikers who passed by. One group was from Atlanta, and consisted of blind hikers and their sighted guides. One woman's guide dog was a Black Lab. That made us miss our Twilight, who is also a Black Lab, but we know that with her infected paw, she would have been miserable. It was the best decision to leave her at home with friends.

Our home for the evening was Stover Creek Shelter, only about 2.5 miles further. We made it there by 3:30. The short side trail to the shelter took us through more of the lovely canopy of rhododendron and mountain laurel we had hiked through for much of the day. The shelter was empty when we arrived, but the area around the shelter was muddy and largely unappealing. Ronald and Brandon headed off for water and discovered a perfect campsite by the stream. We quickly moved everything down there and set up camp. We were glad we moved, because it was a perfect site, plus, a group of Boy Scouts from Nashville, and their leaders came in later, and were crammed into the shelter.

We're hoping it won't rain tonight, so the tarp will dry out and we can get rid of the Amicalola grit. It feels great to be out here again. There's something about the AT that just feels "right". Hope we can sustain the feeling and make this a great journey for the three of us. There are so many memories waiting to be made.

The alarm wet off at 6:30 and we awoke to the sound of falling rain. A light drizzle was falling as we retrieved our food and packed our gear. Except for the tarp, everything else stayed nice and dry. I guess tarps work pretty good after all. A quick check of the campsite and we were off to the lodge for an appropriate send off breakfast. I didn't want to leave without some more good old southern cooking. I did my best to limit myself to one plate of eggs, country sausage, grits and biscuits with gravy. After all I didn't have the hiker appetite yet and I didn't want to kill my self before we started.

Since Milt had dropped us at the Lodge yesterday, we missed the long steep climb up from the visitor center. This would make our hike easier today. The sign at the trailhead warned hikers about the strenuous trail ahead. Over the years I've heard comments about it ranging from very difficult to piece of cake. I guess it all depends upon the size of your pack and how conditioned you are. After a couple pictures, we started up the approach trail for Springer around 9:00.

A light drizzle continued to fall during our hike this morning. But it was warm and we were able to hike comfortably in shorts and tee shirts. We didn't mind the rain as it was refreshing and kept the temperature down. By the time we reached Nimblewill Gap the sun was beginning to emerge.

The approach trail to Springer was not nearly as difficult as I had imagined. Over all we found the climbs to be short but not too steep. The last section from Nimblewill to the summit was switchbacked. We arrived on top around 1:00. The sun was shining and we were able to get good views. It was far different from our experience in 77. Then the trail started in the trees on middle of the mountain top. We didn't even know there was a view. We just got to the termination sign, signed the register and our quest was over. The current start is a definite improvement.

Instead of following the crest of the ridge, the trail now cuts along the side of the mountain down to USFS 42. The AT crosses over this road a number of times as it progresses north. Since it is only a mile from the summit, it has become the standard way thru-hikers start and end their AT trek. In '77, USFS 42 did not exist, forcing everyone to use the Amicalola approach trail. This made Springer and the trail north more remote. After crossing 42 we made our way along a beautiful section of trail that travels through a tunnel of blooming Mountain Laural.

By the time we reached Stover Creek Shelter, we were ready to call it a day. The shelter was reasonably nice and even had a picnic table in front. Or attention was diverted to a beautiful campsite along the creek in a thicket of rhododendron. With the sound of running water, it made the perfect conclusion to our first day on the trail. Brandon wanted to setup camp immediately but I was a bit hesitant. It was still fairly sunny, but rain was a definite possibility. I also didn't look forward to setting up a wet tarp. Fortunately he was persuasive, for a half hour later a group of boy scouts appeared and filled up the shelter. The rain never showed and our site was definitely better.

Linda made one of our homemade Chili Mac dinners tonight. It was one who's preparation we had not perfected before leaving home. It turned out somewhat soupy but good. I guess we still have work to do on meal prep.

Today we hiked our first trail day. It was great. We left Amicalola after having a breakfast of grits, eggs, sausage, cereal, biscuits and honey. We hiked for about two hours and passed a sign saying we had hiked 5 miles (we were smoking). We hiked the other 2+ miles to the top of Springer, and stayed there for about an hour. While there, we ate some lunch and signed the trail register. We also took some pictures of the AT plaque and the view from the top. When we were about to leave, some people came, and a few of them were blind. They were nice. We finally left the top and headed down the last 2.8 miles of our hike. We hiked and hiked until we got to Stover Creek Shelter. We took off our packs and rested for about 10 minutes. Dad went down the 200 yards to the stream to get washed up, and we heard him yelling at us to come. We went down and saw the beautiful flat area by the stream. We decided to camp there, and set up camp after bringing down the packs. I carried Mom's and mine down at that same time. After about an hour, some Boy Scouts showed up at the shelter and camped there. There were a total of 7 scouts and adults. We finally went to bed, and I woke up a few times in the night to hear Dad snoring really loud. I finally got to sleep, and woke up the next morning.