I made it through the first few days! Now I’m holed up in a hostel outside Hiawassee, GA trying to decide what to do about the heavy rain and thunderstorms forecasted for the next few days.

Day 1: We woke up in our Sandy Springs hotel and spent the morning repacking and organizing our groceries from last night. At 9:30, the shuttle driver arrived to take us up to Amicalola Falls. I decided to do the approach trail, because what do an extra 9 miles mean in comparison to the rest of a thru-hike? We only spent a minutes at the visitor center and then headed outside to take some pictures beside the stone arch. With little fanfare on a beautiful sunny day, I started hiking the Appalachian Trail at 11:15 am on May 6, 2025. It’s true what they say about the Amicalola steps, they’re a rude awakening with a full pack. But after that, we transitioned onto regular trail for the ascent up Springer Mountain. We got to the official terminus in the mid afternoon and spent a few minutes taking pictures and signing the logbook.