Appalachian Trail

Yes, it is Sunday night and I said we were camping out until Monday. Well, I guess sometimes plans change....

Saturday morning we left the house made a brief stop at REI (a camping store) for some last minute items and then on to Dahlonega (or near there). This is the part

of the Appalachian trail where we would begin our trip. We had to park at a parking lot about 1/2 mile from the trail. Then we stopped in this store at the beginning of this part of the trail to take a potty break before our time in the wilderness (or something like this). Our whole trip to the trail and our brief walk from the car it was raining. There were lots of hikers sitting out near the restrooms trying to get their clothes dry in the laundry area. I ran in to the bathroom and heard this one guy ask the kids to get together for a picture. This was so weird to be almost "celebrities". I think what it was is that we were the craziest and only people venturing out in the rain, fog and cold on this particular day. We left the car at 12:30 and arrived at the campsite about 3:30 that afternoon and a majority of this time was spent hiking. Ryan wanted to stop at a closer site but I felt that we could do a little better (we had only gone about an hour from where we started). Now granted, we had two huge packs (Ryan's about 3o pounds or more plus baby girl and mine 20 pounds). The kids each had a pack too (yes, even Sydney Katya). Now their packs were not as heavy but they did great! By the time we made it to our site it was still drizzling rain, so we hurried to set up the tents. Yes, we had two but they were really small. Thanks to Luke for letting us borrow his tent and a sleeping bag (sorry you missed out on the hike). After this we put all the stuff into the tents and the kids too. Ryan and I started dinner. Ryan being the cook he is made homemade spaghetti with red sauce (tomatoes, onions etc.). It was so yummy but raining the whole time we were cooking. We all piled into Luke's tent (it was a little bigger) and ate the food. It was YUMMY!!!! After this we were still in the tent until bedtime due to the rain. I am not sure how many of you have enjoyed a tent for that long with your young kids but it is interesting. We had some fights, snacks and finally called Grandmommy on the cellphone for a story. This was a lot of time. Seven o'clock finally arrived and we went to "bed" but Sydney Katya was up until about 9:30 or 10. This was her first time in a tent and she had to check everything out. It was so cool outside and rainy the whole night so I just listened to the rain most of time. I was glad when morning arrived. I got up and outside the tent was the most beautiful sight the SUN was just coming up over the horizon. It was so gorgeous. The pictures don't do it justice. We made some coffee and hot chocolate with granola bars for breakfast took about 2 hours to break camp and then headed out. It was such a nice day and we passed lots of hikers. Everyone was very polite and many said, "I think it is great you have all those kids out, that's just great!!" Lots just wanted to talk and tell us where they were headed. One lady was going all the way to Virginia. WOW!!! Another man was going 10 miles a day and was 71 years old. Papa, I think this could be YOU!!! We could tell lots of other stories but we made it back to the beginning point and didn't get to make it to Blood Mountain but the kids hiked about 10 or 12 miles not sure exactly how much. They were serving hotdogs and hamburgers for hikers at this little store so we got a few of those. The boys piled up on the candy bars and homemade cookies. We had a wonderful time and will try it again sometime, I'm sure. Hopefully, next time it will be as beautiful as it was today. I asked Ryan to write about the trip for my blog from his view so here it is>>>>>>>

Sara, the kids and I went on our first backpacking trip this weekend. Sara and the kids did a great job on some very tough trails. I planned the trip down to the last detail. We would park at the Neel’s Gap parking lot and then hike a very short distance to the first camp site going north on the Appalachian Trail, spend the night and then wake up “well rested” and do some day hiking around Blood Mountain. We parked the van and began our journey into the wilderness and everything was going as planned. We came to the first campsite after a very difficult hike and I started to throw of my pack in relief. Just then my “plan” was shattered by the sound of my beloved wife explaining to me in her gentle voice that I was being a pansy and we would be continuing on for at least another two hours. After the complete power shift, dinner in the tent, and a rainy night we hiked back to Neel’s Gap. I am so proud of Sara and the kids. They all were the talk of the trail and made several new friends. I am so blessed that I have a wife and children that are willing to do things that I enjoy doing.

*** I will post more pictures detailing the rest of our trip, tomorrow.