Good Morning!

The trail has been treating us well.  I have seen how well cared for this Appalachian Trail has been in Georgia!  My career with water has been primarily in operations and maintenance and understanding the care needed to keep things in good repair.  The well placed rocks, logs, and swales to take the rain water off the trail, the marked restoration areas, and the start of prep for areas needing some tlc all show how well this trail is appreciated in Georgia!  Giving a nod of appreciation to your great work.

Spring blooms

Each day in these first 70 miles are showing more signs of green and spring.  At home I watch for the early crocus blooming through the snow.  Along the trail I am watching for new flowers and learning their names.  For you in the area, dont laugh too hard if I am sharing pictures of weeds like dandelions rather than true wild flowers.  I would love comments with the right names if I miss something.  I have seen so many Rhododendren buds and remain hopeful I may be able to see some flowering before leaving Georgia.  I have seen a large grouping of Periwinkle and a Quaker Lady.  All of the have been fairly scarce right now, but I expect in the next week will be very colorful.

Lessons from these 70 miles

Most things are really working out well with more time on the trail.  I did need to pick up some ankle sleeve supports to help my feet continue climbing over so many varied surfaces.  My daughter has now pick up a knee sleeve also for some support.  We dont think we will need them long term, just to give us support as we are building muscles and putting in the miles.

We have been really been fortunate with the right gear and insulation levels on our sleeping bag pads for the cooler temps.  We only had one morning of drizzle so far.  In the next few days we will have a couple of days of rain.  So likely a few more lessons to learn.  So far we have just been able to figure out one or two things at a time which has been good.  

We both ran out of fuel for our stoves this week.  We had been fully turning them up before lighting, now we will adjust to igniting them with a lower volume of release of fuel.  I had also screwed on my stove to the fuel canister without keeping the canister fully below the stove.  So I had fuel leaking out.  More lessons learned.

Thanks for reading.  I hope you will find your next adventure.  It is so good to think about something new each day and have some peace.  The trail has been good to me.

Take care,

Mic

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