This goal will take me years to plan and accomplish. That doesn’t mean I can’t begin to prepare. Living in Texas some 900 miles west and south of the AT doesn’t help my planning either. However, knowing we were visiting relatives in central Georgia, I decided to make a visit to where it will all begin. There is an 8 1/2 mile threshold through which one must pass to get to the starting point of the 2,100 + mile AT. That begins in Amicalola Falls State park. They happen to be the tallest waterfalls East of the Mississippi. Yes, that includes our dear old Niagra. The view from Springer on a cloudy, coolish, December day was magnificent, and made me feel loathesome toward my urban North Texas views of highways, concrete buildings, and way way to many people making noise and fouling the air. Anyway, this trip has inspired me to spend more time finding places in Texas and other states closer to me to enjoy hiking and the wonderful outdoors. I have done a few hikes in Arkansas, Oklahoma, and Texas and will look for more hiking adventures to escape my big city blues… The photo shows the very first “white blaze”, the Springer Mountain plaque, and an overjoyed and exuberant me wishing to be no where else but right there, what a great day!!! Peace.
