One crazy week ago today…
04.01.18 • Day 314! 💚🎉
It is finally the day we’re going to summit Springer Mountain. Last night, we had probably the worst campsite in our history of camping together, but it didn’t matter one bit because by the end of the day we’ll have traveled from end to end of the Appalachian Trail! Georgia has been a wild ride, and we have truly loved every minute of finishing it up in this beautiful weather. However, being able to say we were under 10 miles to Springer by lunch time was completely bittersweet. Like the last three days, we were making damn good time, so we decided to take the side trail to Hawk Mountain Shelter for lunch. There, we met Blueberry and her dog, Sadie, who are just beginning their thru-hike. They soon left, and Buffalo and I enjoyed our last lunch all to ourselves. I read and signed the shelter log, Buffalo relaxed a little while I hula hooped, we even played Ninja, and threw the hula hoop back and forth, and no other hikers showed up the entire time we were there. The trail gave us our last little afternoon at a shelter together, and it was just what we needed. The entire way to Springer (all the way from Maine really) was beautiful, and we even got to see one last waterfall along the way. We laughed at the insane difference between our last 5 miles on each end of the trail, but both have been built up for years and mean the entire world to us now. As soon as we reached the Big Stamp Gap parking lot, Sunshine, the very first member of our trail family, arrived ready to climb to the top with us! Our 14 mile day leading up to the southern terminus was undoubtedly a wide array of emotions, but so was the entire trail. There’s a million reasons why I instantaneously ugly cried the second we saw that plaque on Springer, but it is truly difficult to put the entire experience into words. In January of 2015 when Buffalo wasn’t even Buffalo yet, our friends wanted to go on an adventure and he unknowingly suggested the AT, changing our lives forever. Together, we tackled every rocky step, muddy step, and sketchy, bog board step along the 14 state, 2,189 mile Appalachian Trail, and I wouldn’t have had it any other way. (at Springer Mountain)