Day 0 - Staging at Springer Mountain

Two calls from Bob from room 118 of the Days Inn in Dahlonega, GA near Springer Mountain on the day before ... (Ed. note - he does not lack any details ... )

CALL 1 -- 10:26AM "Took off this morning at 6:08 from Reagan National and quickly broke out of the clouds and rain. Skies cleared over North Carolina, but then started to cloud up again as we approached Atlanta. Landed in low overcast and breezy conditions at 7:37 (and we were on a 737, an interesting coincidence) at Hartsfield. Lots of military at the airport, probably from Fort Benning. Took the train to the main terminal and collected my pack. The yellow dry cleaner bag was mostly shredded - the subject of some rough handling but the pack was intact. The airport is huge. Felt like it took as long to go from the D concourse to the main terminal as it did to fly from DC. Found the MARTA easily and it took about 45 minutes to get to the northern terminus of the system. Met up with Survivor Dave, my shuttle guy, right on time (thank goodness, 'cause he was in a hurry!) and we headed for Dahlonega, about an hour's drive. It was a nice drive and I was the only guy on the shuttle, so we talked as he drove. You remember the Washington Post article's comment about 10 percent dropping out by Neel's Gap? Dave said it was probably more like 20 percent, maybe 25 percent who drop out there.

I've got a nice view of the mountains to the north (picture above is from Bob's new cell phone)here from my motel room. The weather is similar to DC - 45 degrees and cloudy with a breeze. The town is small but nice. I am going to go get some breakfast/lunch here in a few minutes, but I have a few random musings for you.

It took us one hour twenty-nine (1:29) to fly here from DC. It will take me about two and a half months to cover that distance going back. It sort of puts the whole 18th/19th century thing in perspective. They had to walk everywhere!

Someone commented to me upon seeing my pack that what I was about to embark on was primitive living. I laughed and suggested to him that it was very sophisticated living. He seemed nonplussed until I explained. I told him I had a digital recorder that would record 300 hours of my thoughts about the journey. I had a digital camera that I could take and save over a thousand pictures. I have a cell phone to contact people if I need to and to report in with updates. All of my equipment is nearly state-of-the-art. This is not exactly Daniel Boone or Jeremiah Johnson. It was simple living, but not primitive. He agreed with my analysis.

Spring has sprung in Georgia, but it is approximately the same as Arlington - a few buds here and there and some green. Time for some lunch!"

CALL 2 -- 8:26PM "Dusk here and I wanted to get one more free call in today (Ed. note - He has a pay as you go Verizon phone with a daily rate). Went to the McDonald's across the street not so much to eat but also to learn how to use my digital recorder, which I did figure out. I will use that on days that I don't have cell coverage to record my thoughts and then maybe play it into the phone on my weekly calls (Ed - that's gonna be fun to try to transcribe ...).

I came back to the room and decided to tear my pack apart yet again. I told you before that I was appalled at how much my pack weighed. I think I dumped about 5 pounds worth of stuff, including the extra food. Talking to Survivor Dave (who has done the AT) on the way up convinced me that I only needed to carry about 5 - 6 pounds of food, not the 10 pounds I had packed. Mark Wray is carrying much more food than that, but I think that I'm gonna go with the guy who's done this before and his recommendation. I think, all told, with food and water I will be starting out with about a 40 - 42 pound load. I wanted to be at 35 pounds but 42 it isn't too bad considering I am carrying a little extra food and some extra clothes because I'm leery about the weather situation here. The weather is supposed to be nice on Saturday, our first day - about 75 and sunny. Sunday is supposed to start out ok but cloud up in the afternoon and rain. Then Monday has a chance of snow! I hope it doesn't snow a lot, but I am going to carry a few extra clothes. You know that ratty jacket I wore down that I was going to throw away? I'm keeping it for a few days until I get by the Monday weather, and then I'll make the decision to keep it or dump it. The rest of my extra stuff will go back to Virginia with Brenda Wray.

I am continuing to learn the camera. I've got to watch it and not become too seduced by all the technology I am carrying - the camera, the recorder, the phone. I don't need to become a techno-geek all of a sudden - it's not exactly what I had in mind. But it sure is convenient!

The Wrays arrived at around 5:30pm and they were pretty wrung out from the long twelve hour drive. They had come the whole way, and the first half was in rain. I gave them an hour to get settled and then I treated the four of them to dinner at the Wagon Wheel, Dahlonega's finest southern style cuisine! We had a great meal and it only cost about $60 for the five of us. The last supper, if you will. I was good - I had shrimp. No meat for me, baby! It's Friday during Lent.

Mark and I got together afterwords and he showed me what food he was carrying. It sure was a lot, but Mark is willing to carry the extra food. He said it will probably slow him down. I'm not trying to be a minimalist here, but I am trying to balance between what I was told I need to carry and worrying about having enough food to handle being snowed in somewhere. Our first resupply point is 30 miles up the line at Neel's Gap, about three days, so I should be good.

Now it's time to bag out and get some sleep. I've been burning the midnight oil for many days, and I think I need a good night's sleep before I get started. You may not hear from me for some time, perhaps a week or two. Don't forget to mail my taxes for me! I don't need to have the IRS hunting me down in the North Carolina mountains for back taxes or whatever other sins I have committed that I don't even know about yet! See ya!"

(Ed. - I don't think the IRS would stand a chance of finding him if he didn't want to be found ...)