As you’ll recall I left Unicoi Gap, Ga., on the 21st and intended to check in two days later from the Cloud9 hostel. I decided not to, after I got there, because there were a few people staying there that I didn’t quite trust with the knowledge that I was carrying around a laptop.

From Unicoi Gap on the 21st I climbed Rocky Mountain (yes, that’s its name) at 4,017 feet, and later in the day, Tray Mountain at 4,430 feet. I called it a short day at 5.6 miles.

The next day I took another short day, only going 8 miles to Deep Gap shelter, where someone, presumably long ago, left a funny comic.

On the 23rd I hiked 3.8 miles very fast to Dicks Creek Gap and caught a ride to Cloud 9 the same morning, which is on the site of a trout farm. For dinner we had fresh caught smoked trout. It was delicious, and you missed it.

The next day I left there and went 11.7 miles, passing the North Carolina state line and Bly Gap that afternoon. I took a picture of the famous gnarled oak tree, and then had two steep, rocky climbs before I wound up at Muskrat Creek shelter. That night the temperature got down to 21 degrees and there was a dusting of snow on the ground in the morning.

Then on Tuesday my feet were hurting so it took me almost all day to make the 4.9 miles to Standing Indian Shelter at the base of Standing Indian Mountain. I took a rest there.

And Wednesday I was feeling better so I climbed right up the 5,498 foot Standing Indian Mountain. Unfortunately I somehow missed the side trail which leads to the summit. I kind of regret missing it, since I hear the view is spectacular. That day I made 11.3 miles and camped out at Betty Creek Gap. If you wind up here and want some privacy, there are additional campsites down the side trail. I slept like a rock that night, much better than I ever do in a shelter.

Yesterday I climbed to the top of 5,250 foot Albert Mountain. The ascent was extremely steep and rocky and was easily the toughest climb anywhere on the Trail so far. There were a few times I wasn’t entirely sure how to get up the rocks, and later I heard one person actually fell backward off the rocks but managed to save himself by grabbing onto a tree branch. I was too tired after that climb to go up the fire tower.

Late yesterday afternoon at Glassmine Gap I saw an odd rock formation right in the Trail. It took me a minute to recognize that it was man-made.

I stayed last night at Rock Gap Shelter, having done 8.4 miles, and in good position to get into Franklin. This morning I hiked 0.7 miles to Wallace Gap where I caught a shuttle into town. So far I’ve made 104.5 miles up the Trail, and I feel pretty good.

Several days this last week I only hiked a few miles so I could arrive here in Franklin on this day. The reason is that this weekend is the Hiker Fool Bash, where hikers from all over, and especially thru-hikers, stop in and have an excuse to eat and party. As if I need an excuse to eat. I’m almost constantly hungry anymore and I’m still losing weight.

I may or may not have pictures and/or video of the party; I haven’t decided yet. Either way, I’m staying here through Sunday morning and hitting the Trail again then.

If I don’t post something about the party, the next update to this journal will be 8 or 9 days later when I get to Gatlinburg, Tenn., another 100 miles up the Trail and halfway through the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. I am sure to have some interesting video by then.

The ground has been much more rocky than it was at the start of the Trail and going up and down those rocks is rather tricky, at least for me. I’m sure I’ll get used to them soon enough, but for now they’re a real pain, literally.

When we last left off I was leaving Woody Gap on March 16 after taking a day off to wait out some severe weather which had brought hail to the mountains and a tornado through downtown Atlanta. Some pictures of Woody Gap follow.

First stop of note was Big Cedar Mountain, which has some nice views into the valleys below.

That day I hiked some 10.6 miles from Woody Gap to Neels Gap, over Blood Mountain at 4461 feet.

Coming off Blood Mountain, I arrived at Neels Gap.

I shot video of the day’s hike:

The next day my left foot started hurting and I only made about four miles to Baggs Creek Gap, where I tented to try to relax and see if it got any better. It did only after taking some Aleve.

On the 18th I pushed hard and tried to get as far as Blue Mountain, hiking the last part after dark, but wound up taking a wrong turn at the five-way intersection at Chattahoochee Gap and following a side trail for over a mile to I don’t even know where. I was too tired to backtrack all the way so I camped on the side trail that night. It’s probably just as well, since the 2.2 miles from Chattahoochee Gap to Blue Mountain Shelter was extremely rocky and would have been dangerous at night.

And yesterday I woke up to a light rain, packed up my wet tent, and hiked through the rain back to Chattahoochee Gap and then to Blue Mountain Shelter, where I spent the day waiting out what turned into a serious rainstorm.

The storm broke last night, but too late to do any serious hiking, so eight of us crammed into a shelter rated for seven, with half a dozen more people tenting outside.

Finally this morning I ascended Blue Mountain at 4025 feet and then descended into Unicoi Gap, where I hitchhiked into town and am taking a day off to rest my foot. I think I pulled a muscle in it somehow, but nothing seems to be broken.

I’ll hit the Trail again tomorrow and try to make Dicks Creek Gap (16.6 trail miles from Unicoi Gap) and the Cloud 9 hostel by Saturday afternoon. Then on Sunday it’s a nine-mile hike to Bly Gap and the North Carolina state line.

I don’t have a lot of time so this will be fairly brief.

The first day was fairly easy. I went up Springer to the terminus and took some nice pictures (which I’ll upload later) and some video (which I’ll also upload later). Then 2.5 miles back down the trail to Stover Creek shelter where I spent the first night.

The first day was fairly easy, all things considered.

The second day was much more difficult, with a couple of steep climbs, and I only made 5.2 miles or so to Hawk Mountain Shelter, where I spent Wednesday night. Then Thursday a good 7.6 mile haul to Gooch Mountain Shelter with yet more steep climbs. I was exhausted after that one.

I’m getting used to all the ups and downs but it’s still quite tiring. I’m not making as much progress as I planned for, but I’m holding up okay. Though I’m told after about two weeks you get used to it and start making more mileage. The Trail is easier than I expected, but harder than I thought. Especially when it rains, as it did today.

I still made 5 miles today despite the rain to Woody Gap where I caught a shuttle to the Hiker Hostel and plan to wait out the storm here. It’s just rain today, but tomorrow is supposed to bring severe thunderstorms. Hiking in the rain, by itself, isn’t a serious problem, but the next few miles will bring Blood Mountain, with steep, rocky descents and even worse weather on top which you don’t want to get caught in.

The hostel is quite full, though, (they stuck me on a couch!) and I don’t know if I’ll be able to stay two nights. If not, I’ll take the Freeman Trail around the Blood Mountain summit (it’s the official bad weather detour) and take my chances.

I’ve already met three people who attempted a thru-hike and have decided to quit. They all quit not because they couldn’t physically handle it; almost anyone can hike the Trail given enough time and patience. It was because they weren’t mentally prepared for the demands of the Trail. I’m as prepared as I can be and have no plans to drop out.

Next update maybe tomorrow, or in a week. I probably won’t make it to Cloud 9 for several more days.

Joy says she is going to take some pictures of me leaving and post them online, though I have no idea where online she’s going to post them. I’ll find out in a week or so when I next have Internet access. Or, if you’re lucky, I’ll find out where they’re hiding the Wi-Fi that the park says it has, and post an update and photos later today right from within the park.

I am starting out with the trail name “Red Porcupine.” Maybe I’ll get another one along the way. If so, I’ll post it.

The pack is a lot heavier with all this food in it. I think the food weighs more than the big four. I guess I’m just going to have to eat it. I haven’t weighed the pack, for all you gram weenies, but I’ll do that around Neels Gap or so.

Next update around March 17 or 18, when I expect to be at Cloud9 / Upper Hightower Trout Farm.

I walked 3.2 miles to Kroger and the post office and back this morning, and then another 3 miles or so, first to the train station and then around Perimeter Mall. Going there was a total waste. Most everything there is pointless consumer crap that nobody really needs. Maybe the Apple Store is useful; they have Macs. And the restaurants. Gotta eat, you know. But the rest of it can just go to hell.

But I finally did get to ride MARTA and now I have this Breeze Card that still has value on it but I’ll probably never use again. It has an RFID chip in it, so maybe I’ll mess with it when I’m finished with this little adventure. Or I’ll take it to a nice group of hackers I know and let them play with it.

I got lost trying to find REI and the sun was going down so I finally gave up. Hopefully Joy won’t mind stopping there on the way out of town tomorrow. I still need fuel for the Jetboil. Fortunately it’s right on the way. I think. I got lost, remember?

Otherwise the day was pretty uneventful. I should be in bed, but I’m not sure I can sleep, as excited as I am to finally be doing this. I’m pretty sure I’ll sleep like a rock tomorrow night, though.

Matthew and Joy met me for lunch, or brunch, or whatever it is when you eat an omelet with the local hefeweizen at a brew pub in Midtown Atlanta. While there we saw a car drive by with a Ron Paul sign firmly attached to the car door. That was heartening to see and I hope to see more of that in the future. Then, much to my surprise, they took time out of their day to run me to Wal-Mart and REI so I could pick up some last minute things I didn’t have a chance to pick up before I left.

And of course I managed to forget the one thing that I needed and didn’t write on my shopping list because it was so obvious. Fuel for my stove. Doh! Fortunately there’s another REI store 3.8 miles from here. I also have to go to the post office and mail something out, and to Kroger for, uh, groceries. They’re next to each other, 1.6 miles away. I’ll walk there and back tomorrow, but probably catch the bus to REI. Fortunately the bus that goes there passes right by this hotel. I hear that MARTA is anything but rapid.

And this means I’ll be hitting the Trail on Tuesday instead of tomorrow.

I walked up and down the hills of this northeast Atlanta suburb for about 4.1 miles this afternoon and I feel pretty good.

I have to meet up with Matt and Joy for brunch tomorrow, then go out to REI to pick up a few last minute things, and to Publix or Kroger or something for provisions. If I can manage to find a grocery store.

After that, it’s all downhill (and uphill, about 1000 times).

I wore my trail runners on the trip down, and they fit pretty well. That might change, though.

Now, I need sleep.

I know I’m in the right crowd when almost no one, when they heard this news, asked me why. Most everyone already understood.

But some people will not get this at first. This is an expedition that few people attempt, and only a small percentage of those few complete. That, to me, is part of the appeal: At the end, I will have proven myself a rare individual, one in a million who can see an extremely difficult task to completion. Even so, I have nothing to prove to anyone else; I am who and what I am. (Today, anyway.) It is to myself that I must prove something.

I have wanted to do this for many years, and in fact I would have done it in 2007 had not the Ron Paul campaign intervened. So instead I moved to New Hampshire and did what I could to advance the cause of freedom here and to contribute to the campaign. Now that the campaign has moved on from here, it is time for me to do what I must.

Yet I feel compelled to answer the unasked question: Why?

Take a look around you. Take a long hard honest look at yourself. Most people can hardly be said to be living life. They spend their days at a job they hate and their nights parked on their couches in front of the idiot box watching exciting fictional people lead exciting fictional lives. Their own lives contain no excitement, no adventure, no fulfillment. It’s only by living vicariously through the people inside the television — most of whose stories aren’t even real — that most people manage to get through a week without realizing the pointlessness of their lives and killing themselves.

Most people, by this measure, barely exist, and do not live their lives to the fullest. And while they could lead full lives, they choose not to, not merely because they are afraid to do so, but even if they wanted to, they don’t even know how to begin. This is the sad state of the world today. People are addicted to TV not because the medium is inherently addictive, but because they have never learned how to live.

So it is that, when the word got out about my upcoming high adventure, that I expected to be asked why. Yet most did not ask and did not need to ask. I have found, among this crowd of freedom lovers, people who already live life to the fullest and understand instinctively the need to accomplish something great.

But one person asked why. Some of you reading this may also ask why. Here is your answer:

Most people live empty, pointless lives of, as Pink Floyd put it, quiet desperation. The television, showing its fake stories of fake people, gives them something to live for. Most people will accomplish nothing noteworthy with their lives. I refuse. I have spent my time in quiet desperation and I refuse it. I will have no more. I will accomplish something with my short life.

To be fair to myself, I have done much so far. I have started a web site to expose the reality of the system under which we all suffer. I have moved myself to New Hampshire to fight for our freedom. I have helped to bring people together and to unite them despite their differences. Yet this is not enough, for I have done none of this for myself.

I have spent much time alive, but for too little of it can I say I truly lived life to its fullest. I have hurt people and I have been hurt. I have put my all into my work and burned myself out. I have shown so many people their own paths to happiness, and have not found my own path. And never have I been truly at peace with myself. This expedition, this thru-hike of the Appalachian Trail, I do for myself. I expect that the person who returns will not be the person who leaves.

Why? Because I must. I have nothing to prove to anyone — except myself. I must know myself, accept who I am, and change what I can. I must do what most could not even dream of doing themselves. Most importantly, I must be a better person than I am today. I do not expect you to understand how walking up and down 2,100 miles of mountains for six months will do this. I only invite you to observe the result.

Along the way, roughly every week or so, I will post journals, photos and possibly video, at this site, to keep all of you up to date on my progress. Stay tuned. My next posting will be sometime this weekend from somewhere in Georgia.