And it begins… We got picked up today at 04:30. We managed to stuff all of our gear and ourselves into a minivan. It was a tight squeeze…

We made it to Amicalola Falls State Park around 08:00. There we signed the Appalachian Trail Register and I assigned our Trail names.

Me: Trail Preacher “TP”

Viki: Trail Preacher’s Wife “Tipawa”

Lil’ John: God is Gracious “GIG”

Crystal: Tinkerbell

Katie: Repunzel

Andrew: Old Faithful “Off”

After registering we headed to the beginning of the Appalachian Trail Approach Trail.

Approach Trail Sign

We started hiking. We didn’t know that Amicalola Falls had a staircase with over 600 steps.

Amicalola Falls

It was not easy, but we made it to the top of the falls and this was our reward.

Top of the Falls

We hiked as far as we could and stopped to set up camp as soon as we were allowed to light a campfire.

First Fire

We set up tents, ate, and went to bed.