Weekend in the woods

Being outside has always been a major player in my overall happiness. I love the outdoors, the beautiful simplicity of not having cell reception or having to hear the highways has always made me feel better. As a kid, my parents did an amazing job at filling my summers with outdoor camps, and although we lived in metropolitan Tokyo, they managed to get my into the outdoors. Hiking, rock climbing, white water rafting, you name it and I did it. Thanks to them and the amazing MWR program we had access to, my love for the outdoors was chiseled into the stone that forms who I am today. Fast forward quite a few years and now I live in North Georgia where the outdoors is easily found. Georgia is home to the Southern Terminus to the Appalachian Trail, a fact that sadly I was not privy to until about 2 years ago when I found people on YouTube hiking from one end to the other. Georgia to Maine. Roughly 2,200 miles. People hike this. In one 4-6 month stint. The idea of this fascinated me and I couldn't stop thinking about it. Until one day in April when I said enough thinking. I had previously made a hammock out of a table cloth which I enjoyed hanging in out in my yard. So I bought a tarp in case in rained, borrowed a camp stove from my dad, and I threw what I thought I would need to survive the weekend on the trail into my backpack.

Saturday came and I packed my car and drove the hour north to Amicalola Falls state park, the starting and finishing point of my trek. Mind you, I had done no real hiking prior, and surely not with a 30lb pack on my back. The plan was simple. Hike from Amicalola falls to Springer mountain on Saturday and come back on Sunday. The trip would be a little less than 10 miles each day. I am a fairly healthy fellow and this didn't frighten me. That was, until I saw the steps at the falls. The first quarter mile of my journey was nearly straight up hill, followed by almost 600 steps to the top of Georgia's tallest waterfall. I don't know if it was my lack of physicality or the fact that I hit it too hard, but by about step 200 I was ready to quit. Less than an hour into my two day adventure I was questioning if I had bit off more than I could chew.

Needless to say, I harnessed my warrior spirit and pushed on. Making it to the top of the falls was just one of many minor victories the weekend would provide. Nearly quitting quickly left my mind as I crossed out of Amicalola State Park and into the Chattahoochee National Forest. Now I was alone. The majority of the people I had met at this point where there for the falls, however, my journey was just starting.