Getting to Springer Mountain

Mary and I plan to start hiking the Appalachian Trail in March. But, how do we get to the southern terminus?  With  hundreds of souls doing this every spring, the way is pretty well marked.  The Thru-Hiker's Companion offers lots of guidance.  Here's what we've found so far:

There are several options and decisions to consider.Will a friend or family member get us there? Or will we fly into Atlanta? Take a bus, or train?  When will we get to the area, and where will we spend the first night? Will we hike the approach trail from Amicalola State Park, or get someone to get us up the forest roads to a spot close to the top of Springer Mountain?

A Backpacking Camera

No, this ain't it ...

You see, I've been a photographer most of my life.  I had a Brownie Hawkeye in grade school. In high school, I was the yearbook/ school newspaper geek, and spent all my spare time in the darkroom. I was an Art/Photo/Film major in college where I developed a street photographer's style and ethic. I dropped out to join the Navy and went to the Navy School of Photography. I served as a combat cameraman, and 23 years later retired from the Navy as a Photo Officer. So you might understand why I ain't inclined to hike the trail with just the camera in my Droid.

Now, to be fair, that's not a bad camera, I use it a lot, and it would be a rational choice not to add the weight of another camera on a long hike. But, to try and capture the essence of the trail and the people hiking it, I want a camera that allows more creative control, and that is capable of producing high quality imagery. Heck, I may try and get a coffee table book outta it ...

When to Start an AT Thru Hike

Having decided to tackle the Appalachian Trail, we needed to decide when we wanted to start. We found that decision was affected by the time of year and seasons we wanted to hike, and our tolerance for cold, crowds, and black flies.

Posting Waypoints Along the Way

I thought it would be cool if I could put a map on here that showed my progress as I hiked the Appalachian Trail. I started looking to find a way to create a map that could be embedded in the blog, and update it by placing a waypoint at my current position each day, using my Android smart phone.