I left the Black Gap shelter early this morning and hiked the remaining 1.7 miles to the summit of Springer Mountain, the official start of the Appalachian Trail. There is a long, storied debate about whether the AT should start at the peak of Springer Mountain, or should start 8.8 miles earlier at the arch in Amicalola. I’m going to consider those first 8.8 miles as a warm-up exercise. After all, once you have packed away several hundred miles, what difference do those first few miles make?
At the summit of Springer Mountain, there is a large rock outcropping on which a stately marker is mounted that indicates the beginning of the AT. After I took a few photos of the marker, I headed north. Simultaneously, it started to rain. And rain. And rain. I walked until I was exhausted, which happened to place me at the Gooch Mountain shelter, 15.8 miles past Springer. Remember, I already hiked 1.7 miles uphill just to get to the AT marker. The rain has stopped just long enough to set up camp, cook dinner, and talk with the other hikers staying at Gooch Mountain Shelter. Into the hammock…