We rolled out of the tent around 9 am thinking it was closer to 7. Neither of us had our phones on, down in the gap the sun had only just climbed into view, and it was still really cold. The overnight low was in the 30s and the oatmeal packets were both delicious and delightfully warm. It wasn’t until we were mostly finished with breakfast that we discovered that it was nearly 10 and by the time we broke down camp and got on the trail it was 11 and we were nearly the last ones out of camp. Even that late it was still cold enough that we set out in fleece, hat, and gloves.
Springer Mountain is the official start of the Appalachian Trail and was about a mile and a half up the trail from where we had camped. The climb to the summit was tough but not nearly as bad as what we’d done the day before. There was a crowd on top in which we found Lux and Katy wrapped up in coats taking lots of photos. We had warmed up enough on the ascent to drop some layers, but once we got to the summit the wind was so frigid that we snapped the obligatory picture and kept right on moving to a more sheltered portion of the trail.
On the way down Springer Mountain Kacy picked up a bright green lighter, after a little warming it worked just fine so we pocketed it as a spare.
While yesterday was the day of “ups” today was the day of water crossings, there were so many that we lost count but somewhere between 11 and 13. A conveniently located shelter became the lunch spot where we could sit down and relax out of the wind. Lux and Katy caught us up and it wasn’t long before Lux was lamenting about having lost his green lighter and wasn’t be able to boil water for his lunch. Lucky for him we’d grabbed that lighter and were able to return it to him.
A ways after lunch we met Frenchman, a thru-hiker class of ’97 that has been providing trail magic (free gifts of food and drink to AT thru-hikers) in the area whenever he can. His cooler of chilled gatorade was a kind gesture and a welcome break.
The rest of the day was one long uphill to get up Hawk Mountain. Halfway up we went half a mile along a side trail to see Long Creek Falls and top off our water supply.
Once we peaked Hawk Mountain it was another 3/4 of a mile downhill into camp. The campsites were laid out in one long along a trail wrapping down around the side of the hill. The hiker in the first campsite had a fire going and invited us to hang out, but once we found an open site (the 10th one) and set up camp we were too tired to walk back up to the top. Dinner was Apricot Couscous and it was delicious, much better than last night since it didn’t have carrots.
Lux and Katy caught us up yet again and set up in the adjacent campsite. Chatting with them after dinner Lux brought up the idea of splitting a cabin in a couple days after we crossed Blood Mountain. The cabin would have laundry, heat, and a hot shower which after only two days on the trail sounded like a welcome respite.
The campsite wasn’t particularly protected from the wind and it was likely to drop into the 30s again. Standing around in my shorts and leggings talking to Lux I decided that hiking pants were going to be required for the rest of the trip. The leggings just aren’t warm enough and do very little to protect against the wind. I should be able to buy pants at the resupply after crossing Blood Mountain, till then I’ll deal with it and hide under the quilt when it gets cold.
Day 2 Mileage: 9.1 mi [Black Gap Shelter -> Hawk Mountain Campsite]
Total Mileage: 15.9 mi