| Springer Mountain Elevation 3820 Southern Terminus of the Appalachian Trail. A Mountain Footpath Extending 2000 Miles To Mt. Katahdin In Maine. |
June 30, 1990
| Day One |
| Copyright 2008 by Lewis Harris. All rights reserved. |
This is how the sign reads at the start of the Appalachian Trail. I'm
all alone at the top of Springer Mountain. It's about 8 p.m.. The
sun is going down, although it is still quite light out. My handwriting
is awful!!! My hands are shaking I'm so nervous, and scared, and
happy! My friends have just driven me here from Tampa, Fl.. We
barely made it to the trailhead before dark. I hurriedly assembled
my tent and then we snapped photographs of each other next to
the trail signs and of me in my backpack.
I'm sitting next to the plaque that designates the start of the trail.
My friends have gone home and from this point onward I'm on my
own (completely!!) for perhaps the first time in my 26 years. I've
been planning this trip (at least mentally) for almost a year,
although the idea of such a thing entered my head long before. I'm
starting this hike later than I should due to a knee injury. I don't
know if I'll be able to walk the entire trail. That would be nice, but
it's not the important thing.
all alone at the top of Springer Mountain. It's about 8 p.m.. The
sun is going down, although it is still quite light out. My handwriting
is awful!!! My hands are shaking I'm so nervous, and scared, and
happy! My friends have just driven me here from Tampa, Fl.. We
barely made it to the trailhead before dark. I hurriedly assembled
my tent and then we snapped photographs of each other next to
the trail signs and of me in my backpack.
I'm sitting next to the plaque that designates the start of the trail.
My friends have gone home and from this point onward I'm on my
own (completely!!) for perhaps the first time in my 26 years. I've
been planning this trip (at least mentally) for almost a year,
although the idea of such a thing entered my head long before. I'm
starting this hike later than I should due to a knee injury. I don't
know if I'll be able to walk the entire trail. That would be nice, but
it's not the important thing.
 | |  | |  | |  | |  | |  | |  | |  |
I'm here to do something I find meaningful. I'm here to have fun
and to do something more than that. I want to do something that
will change me or make me realize I don't need to change. That
something will be within me or within my grasp, the trail will be a
catalyst.
I'll have good times, boring times, great times, and the most
horrible times of my life on this trail (this I predict) --when the worst
of the worst is upon me, I hope I will refer back to this first entry
and not despair and remember that I'm here for good times and
bad. I'm planning on walking a great distance from this place I sit
now. I'm glad I'm not stocking groceries...
...I hope I can swallow what I've bitten off. It's a lot, but it will be
very nutritious, I think.
I'm on top of Springer looking down on the most beautiful view I
have ever seen!
and to do something more than that. I want to do something that
will change me or make me realize I don't need to change. That
something will be within me or within my grasp, the trail will be a
catalyst.
I'll have good times, boring times, great times, and the most
horrible times of my life on this trail (this I predict) --when the worst
of the worst is upon me, I hope I will refer back to this first entry
and not despair and remember that I'm here for good times and
bad. I'm planning on walking a great distance from this place I sit
now. I'm glad I'm not stocking groceries...
...I hope I can swallow what I've bitten off. It's a lot, but it will be
very nutritious, I think.
I'm on top of Springer looking down on the most beautiful view I
have ever seen!
