Well it's been a journey getting to my first night on the trail. I'm laying here in my hammock feeling so grateful for amazing friends who plan an entire trip just to take you to the trail head (Allie, Alexis, and Justin). We drove overnight to Georgia to a cute little cabin they rented for the weekend.

On the way, we stopped in the cute town of Helen, GA and ate at a fried cheese restaurant. Later for dinner, they made pasta and garlic bread and an incredible charcuterie board. We ate, lounged in the hot tub, and played cards. Riley and I slept on the pull out couch with our hiking sleep gear.

We started the approach trail today around 12:30. We made it about 5 miles and stopped at one of the camp sites before springer mountain for the night. We climbed 608 stairs and then way up a mountain for the first day. Hard but worthwhile. It was beautiful weather. We struggled with our first bear hang, but we got it done to the best of our abilities before the sun fully went down. What a great first day!

Well we learned from the first night not to post up with hammocks on top of a mountain with fewer trees to block the wind. It was a very chilly night and our rain fly didn't stay staked down, so it was not protecting us and whipping back and forth in the wind above us. From now on, we'll pin in closer to the ground and try to avoid sleeping on high ground.

The hike started off nicely with a gradual decline. Of course there are always inclines too, but I felt my body already strengthening today and managing better. When we got to the top of Springer Mountain, we reached the official start of the AT. The approach trail was about 8 miles between yesterday and today. At the southern terminus, two day hikers greeted us with our first trail magic surprise- some Gatorade! We lounged and enjoyed the warm sun and met some other thru hikers as they reached the terminus as well!

We continued on for another 3 miles downhill through the most beautiful greenery we've seen so far. We also got to cross an adorable babbling brook with stepping stones. We set up camp at Stover Shelter and were very happy to find a bear box there to store our food for the night. I think we did a better job setting up our hammocks and tarp tonight, so fingers crossed!