There’s a funny scene in the first or second episode of Orange is the New Black, when one of the other inmates laughs at Piper for thinking she knows what to expect from life in prison because she’s read books about jail. I’ve been thinking about that this week because, no matter how much I researched and planned, nothing could totally prepare me for this experience. All at once, it has been so much more difficult, beautiful, painful and enjoyable than I expected.
A very small part of that difficulty is trying to figure out the best way to update you and tell you what this week has been like. For now, I think I’ll just post my daily totals. Tomorrow, my first full day off (“zero day” in trail jargon), I’ll share another post or two with pictures and some more complete thoughts. Here’s a teaser: beautiful, stupid mountains, tons of awesome people, lots and lots of rocks, and chafing.
Day 1: Amicalola Falls to Black Gap Shelter, 7.3 miles
Day 2: Black Gap Shelter to Hawk Mountain Shelter, 9.6 miles
Day 3: Hawk Mountain Shelter to Gooch Mountain Shelter, 7.7 miles
Day 4: Gooch Mountain Shelter to campsite at Dockery Lake Trail, 8 miles
Day 5: Dockery Lake Trail to Neel Gap, 7.9 miles
Day 6: Neel Gap to Low Gap Shelter, 11.5 miles
Day 7: Low Gap Shelter to Unicoi Gap, 9.7 miles
Day 8: Zero day in Hiawassee
Goodnight!
Water Tower Graffiti 
Go
beau go!