Day 1 - 3/02

Daily mileage: 9.0
Total trail mileage: 0.2
Starting location: Amicalola
Ending location: Springer Mountain Shelter
Weather: snowing most of the day...at least 8 inches of snowfall, mid
30s during the day

I am at
http://maps.google.com/maps?q=34.629768,+-84.192689

I ran into Compass on the train before arriving at Gainesville. He
isn't thruhiking but is going to Damascus, VA. After getting shuttled
over to Amicalola, he was also there along with NateDog. Despite the
heavy snow, Compass and I headed out on the approach trail and NateDog
was following shortly behind. Before too long I ran into Stiltz and
his dad (his dad is only doing a short section). We ran into a few
more thruhikers and section hikers and there is a group of us staying
near the Springer Mountain Shelter.

Regarding weather: yes it snowed, yes I was getting wet, but it was
fairly warm so I was able to just hike in my Tshirt and rain jacket.
The temperature has dropped now though as the sun is going down and I
have been able to get everything dry.

Regarding the trail: The stairs on the approach trail are, um, fun.
They reminded me of highschool track practice when we ran stairs.
Except instead of running it was carrying a pack. If the trail is
icy, I wouldn't know as the new snow provided enough traction. There
are some blowdowns but it hasn't caused any delays.

Some of you may wonder how the daily mileage is 9 mi and yet the trail
mileage is only .2 miles. Well, there is no road access to the
southern terminus of the AT so I took the approach trail to it. The
approach trail (8.8 miles) isn't part of the AT.

Equipment: the woodstove continues to be a hassle. There is a lot of
downed wood, but it must have come down recently as it is still
green. I might have to switch back to the pocket rocket but I'll
continue to experiment. Everything else is working out. The gaitors
are fantastic: they are keeping all the wetness out of the shoe.