REALITY CHECK

Checking In On Your Dreams!

Every once in awhile it is important to stop and review your goals, dreams, bucket list or whatever you prefer to call it.

Are the items on the list still what you really want to do? Are you really able to do them? That is what we sat out to find out in relation to one of the items on our list.

Hike the AT!

So we have met a major age milestone and we are not in the best of shape so we was curious if we really should keep this on our list. We was in the area of the AT in Georgia so we decided to see where we stood with it.

We planned a day hike that seemed feasible to accomplish. We would access the AT from spur trail at a nearby trailhead.

It felt good. We were giddy! Our first white trail blaze had us excited for what the rest of the day would bring.

We have listened to several audiobooks together over the years regarding the AT and heard other hiker’s perspectives. There is no substitute though for being out there on it. We hiked down to Neels Gap where we seen the various pairs of shoes hanging in the trees from hikers. Something we recalled hearing about in at least one book.

Lucky for us, we had good hiking boots, wool socks and had figured out how important it is to care for our feet while hiking already. We could see firsthand though, how many people had a less fortunate experience getting to this point.

We met several hikers along the trail that were thru-hiking. They were all friendly and inspiring. The trail provided different challenges for us. For the Mrs. uphill was challenging while the downhill portions are what slightly challenged Mr. Flatwooders. We both were surprised by the amount of rocks on the trail.

What kept us in awe though, was the scenery and vistas. We could see for miles in some spots. It was just breathtaking.

We hiked 8.5 miles ending our hike at the Tesnatee Gap Trailhead. We had a friend pick us up there and drive back to our vehicle parked at the Reece Trailhead.

We was worn out. We was sore. We was full of passion for our next hike along the AT.

We plan to do long weekend hike as our next reality check. We struggle with if we could stay in a shelter along the AT. We think we would prefer our tent in the shelter area.

Anyone care to comment with their trail shelter experience?