We arrived at Springer Mountain at about 6 p.m. on April 11th. We hiked .9 miles to the starting point of the trail, Elliott, Karen and Dan wrote in the log book and we took photos. That night we stayed in Dahlonega, GA. The morning of the 12th we went back out to Springer and after gearing up at about 10:00 they set out on the trail in a cold and foggy drizzle.
They got to Neels Gap on Thursday and received their first food drop sent by Nyoka.
On Friday several storms passed threw the area. They were in a valley between two mountains. The sky opened up and poured on them. Karen said it was the first time she had ever heard a lightening strike before seeing the flash.
On Saturday there were strong wind advisories out. They were going to go the shelter on Blue Mountain but decided to stay in Helen because of the wind.
Today (Monday) they are in Hiawassee. Elliott's foot is swollen and needs to be checked by a doctor. So they will take a zero day tomorrow, get rested up, and make sure Elliott does not have a stress fracture.
So far they have hiked 67.5 miles, averaging about 10-11 miles a day on very rough terrain.
Dan has earned the trail name of "Uphill Jackrabbit" and Karen was known as "downhill Karen" but has been changed to "Avalanche". It sounds like they are very much enjoying their adventure of a lifetime.
They should be entering North Carolina on Wednesday.
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