Days Zero minus one and Zero

Well, the journey begins. I can hardly believe that the time has finally come to make this dream a reality. We start with travel to Atlanta on a flight from San Francisco.

Travel is Fun Isn’t It?

All good journeys seem to begin with an early wake up. This trip was no exception. The alarm was set for 5am but I didn’t need it. I slept on and off all night and was awake and out of bed at 4:45 am. I couldn’t wait to get going. Quick Uber ride to the airport and flight to Atlanta. Easy 4 hour flight.

As the plane started moving, the music started in my headphones. FreeBird of course. After a few minutes, I could see the SF skyline as Ronnie Van Zant started singing “If I leave here tomorrow, would you still remember me?”

Atlanta to Amicalola

We stayed at an airport hotel and the next morning picked up the rental car and drove to Amicalola. Quick stop at REi for fuel canister that I couldn’t fly with and a Publix grocery store and we were in our way.

Amicalola Falls State Park

We had a room booked for one night at the lodge. This is a very interesting building with sweeping views to the east.

We hiked the falls which give the park its same. It is the tallest cascading waterfall in the Southeast, plunging 729 feet down Amicalola Creek. The name comes from a Cherokee term meaning “tumbling waters”. There are steps going from the bottom to the top. Nice workout.

Time to make it official

The Park has the official AT registration and information center. I watched a short presentation signed in and got my hang tag. I’m Official! Hiker number 647. Hang tags are year specific and given out with a sequential number to the hikers registering their hike with the Appalachian Trail Conservancy, the official agency in charge of the AT.

The Arch

One of the most common pictures taken as hikers start the AT is at the stone arch. It isn’t the official start point of the AT which is on Springer Mountain 8.8 miles away. It is however the start of the approach trail to Springer Mountain. Some people choose to hike it. I didn’t. I did take the iconic picture.

After returning from the hike up the falls we had a nice dinner at the lodge restaurant and a restless night sleep.

Tomorrow it starts.