Notes from the Trail - April 27th

I received my first letter from Matt from the Trail this afternoon. His note reads as follows:

Trail Journal, 4/27/2012

From Helen, GA

James and I arrived in Helen, GA yesterday after we made it off Blue Mountain.

We've spent the past two days re-supplying our food and cutting our pack weight. Pack weight is an interesting topic for conversation on the Trail. You typically want to carry less than 1/4 of your body weight. As we have learned from our experience on the Trail so far, minimizing pack weight is essential to making the miles and keeping morale up.

We have heard of a thru-hiker before us who started with a 97 pound pack! And we have seen everything on the Trail from 60+ pound packs to "slack packers" who only carry their food and water for a day. James and I are carrying roughly the same weight - between 35-45 pound packs.

We will be carrying roughly 3-5 days worth of food. The closer we get to towns to re-supply, the lighter our packs become and the going gets easier. To carry minimal weight in our packs, James and I have condensed and re-packaged everything. Food has been removed from boxes, de-labeled and repackaged in zip lock bags.

Something I have been thinking about a lot as we have condensed our packs is just how little you really need to survive, how little you need in life. Food, warmth, shelter and water are all you truly need to survive on a mountain trail. If an item we carry does not serve the purpose of these four most basic elements in life, it has probably been cut. The only luxury we carry is paper, pens and a deck of playing cards.

As we plan our departure from Helen, we carry 1 tent, 1 1st aid kit, and 1 cooking kit between the two of us. We will send more news from Franklin, NC, our next stop!

1st Major Contact

This post comes a few days later than I'd hoped due to a busy past four days. Indeed, it's been a bit of a challenge trying to keep up with Matt and James on their AT for CZC adventure while juggling an overnight camping trip of my own (a school trip with four adults and 50 5th graders, so a bit different than Matt's adventure but equally challenging) and traveling home to Virginia to help my father recover from surgery this past weekend.

Matt and James have continued to chew up about twelve miles a day since my last post, culminating with a weekend stay in the small town of Helen, Georgia, a town of 300 year-rounders known for its large Oktoberfest celebration and often referred to as Georgia's "Gatlinburg." More on their stay in Helen momentarily...

This past Thursday morning (April 26th), Matt checked in via his Spot device, reporting that all was well on the Trail from this location.

Later that evening, I received the following text message from him, my first "extensive" contact with him since Saturday afternoon:

"In Helen, GA, for the night. 50 miles or so in. Feels like a lot more. Call me tonight. Staying in town to rest the knees."

With limited cell service of my own, I was able to do little more than congratulate him on making it to Helen. He left me a voice message on Friday morning as follows:

"Hey, Mike. Just wanted to let you know I'm doing alright... We're in Helen, Georgia, about 50 miles into the Trail. We already made it over Blood Mountain, which is the highest mountain in Georgia at 4,450 feet... We saw some hail on top but are staying dry by tenting every night... It's been beautiful so far with purple flowers on either side of the Trail for the past 35 miles... We've decided to stop in Helen to mail drop and restock on food... Let Mom know that everything is alright... Our next stop will be in another 50 miles which will put us in Franklin, NC... I'll call you again once we make our way up the road."

After finishing with my commitments at work on Friday, I gave Matt a call, afraid that he'd already headed back to the Trail. I was thrilled to find out that he and James had elected to stay in Helen a second evening to restock and brace themselves for Week #2. Many a thru-hiker have noted the importance of these breaks and, in talking with Matt on Friday night and Saturday morning, it became immediately clear that his morale, energy and enthusiasm had been lifted by this brief respite from the Trail.

A few of Matt's additional thoughts from Week #1:

• Food is a constant thought on the Trail. You're hungry all day, everyday.

• He and James have met some amazing people already on their adventure and are eager to come up with "Trail Names" in the next week.

• He will need to need to restock on Gold Bond often.

• The Trail is unbelievably massive.

With full bellies, restocked packs, a new deck of playing cards and clean clothes, James and Matt set out from Helen, GA at approximately 10am on Saturday, April 28th. They kicked off the boots and set up camp at 6:10pm that evening, their most recent correspondence.

April 24th Check-In

I've just received what I'm going to affectionately name the "I'm OK" message from Matt via his Spot GPS device. Click here to see where Matt and James were located as of 11am this morning.

AT for CZC continues to make slow but steady progress as the two hikers begin to find their pace on day 4 of their adventure. Despite some windy conditions over the past couple of days, Matt and James seem to be making decent progress in the very early stages of their trip.

Check back in again soon to see how they progress through Georgia in the weeks ahead.

First Contact From the Trail

Earlier this afternoon, I received word from Matt that all is well for him and James on the Trail. Click here to see his location at 2:50pm this afternoon.

He'll be communicating with me throughout the next couple of months using his Spot GPS device, a GPS locator capable of pinpointing his exact latitude and longitude on the Trail.

There are four messages that have been programmed in to the device:

• "AT for CZC is headed north from Springer Mountain, GA. Please let everyone know that I'm ok."
• "Kicking off the boots after a long day of hiking and setting up camp."
• "Need supplies. Will call from the next town."
• "SOS"

Matt pressed the first button a few hours ago, letting us know that all is well and that he's on the move.

Keeping my fingers crossed that we only receive the first two messages over and over again in the months ahead, not the latter half...

Arrived at Springer Mountain

Matt arrived at Springer Mountain, Georgia, at approximately 1:30pm this afternoon to begin his thru-hike of the Appalachian Trail. AT for CZC has officially begun!

He plans to check in at some point over the next week but will embark on a 75 mile introduction to the Trail through northern Georgia. Click here for a link to the Trail leading from Springer Mountain into North Carolina.

He informed me at about 1pm that he is in good spirits. A bit stiff after a long bus ride south but excited to get started under mostly clear skies! Check back soon for more updates regarding his progress.

-Mike

The Adventure Begins... a Few Days Later Than Scheduled

Slight change of plans for Matt as he began his AT for CZC adventure. During his visit with me on Tuesday night, he learned that good friend James Fuqua was planning a partial thru-hike of his own. After hashing out the details together, Matt elected to postpone his start by a few days and meet James this morning for an official start date of April 21st.

That being said, Matt has stayed with Steph and I for the past couple of days. It was great to catch up with him, hear about his plans for the next several months, and get a chance to see how much time, energy and thought has gone into this hike. While I had spoken with him on the phone at length about his plans, seeing him in person and learning about the various pieces of equipment that he's taking set my mind at ease and instilled in me a greater level of confidence that he'll be able to pull this off. I also was able to convince him to take oatmeal on the trip, rather than a totally gross bag of kous kous. And I gave him a hack job of a hair cut last night, breaking my clippers in the process...

So why am I posting on his Trail Log? After talking things through with him, I've decided to do my best to keep up with his progress in the coming months. Through contact via his GPS device, the occasional letter or phone call, and a possible photo dump at some point in the next month or so, I'll do what I can to update how he and James are progressing, what challenges they face, and capture their thoughts on the Trail.

I've just gotten back from dropping him off at the Charlotte Greyhound Station. While we were both still half asleep driving there this morning, our conversation was filled with the same humor, optimism, and quiet excitement that Matt has possessed throughout the entire planning process. He was considerably more at peace this morning than when he arrived a few days ago, no doubt a product of a few days extra planning as well as the knowledge that he'll have a hiking partner for the adventure.

Now, as Matt said a few days ago, the next post will indeed be from the Trail!

-Mike Primiani

www.firstgiving.com/fundraiser/ATforCZC/hikingtheatforczc

From Charlotte, NC

The time has come to start this great adventure! I am staying with my brother for the night and will be leaving on a bus from Charlotte in the morning. In the past few hours, some new information has come to light. A good friend of mine from college, James Fuqua, was planning on hiking a section of the trail from Springer Mountain, GA to Damascus, VA. We are currently trying to figure out the logistics of meeting up at Springer Mtn. and are looking at a possible start date on Saturday.

As the time has come for leaving, I have had so many different thoughts and feelings toward this hike. It has been a little overwhelming at times, but as I am sitting here now, I am incredibly excited and ready to start this journey! Thank you to everyone that has made this hike possible. I am very grateful for the opportunity to be able to do something that I love for an organization that means the world to me, and I am very humbled by all the support this hike has received thus far. The next post will be from the Trail!

-Matt Primiani