Spring Break: Appalachian Trail - North Georgia (Pt. 1)

"I started the trip not knowing anyone, but by the end we were all really close."
-Dan Heacock (Friend of mine)

This is my first backpacking trip in United States after 2+ years of not doing it. Although I have been to the Red, KY couple of times which tent needed to be pitched, this trip is considered as the REAL backpacking and camping trip. It was going to be 6 days of backpacking on 54.2 miles (approx 80+ km) trailS, 1 day of touring and 1 day of partying!! There are 9 of us in this trip:

Laurie Duncan (Backpacking Consultant)
Mark Endo (5.11+ Climber)
Dan Heacock (inactive member)
Rebbecca Lindberg (Aussie backpacker)
Erin Goheen (acquaintance of Mark)
Brian Hunter (inactive member)
Ryan Trevithick (Backpacker + Caver)
Zach Seaton (best friend of Ryan)
Myself

As quoted from Dan (Tripod), we started this trip by not knowing anyone except that I know a lil bit about Laurie and Mark before the trip. We gathered behind COREC around 9am in freaking freezing f**king cold Indiana's usual unusual weather and it was claimed by Laurie that I had the biggest backpack, but biggest doesn't mean heaviest. (Somebody's backpack was heavier than mine. I'll prove it later!). We left West Lala-land approximately 1030am in 1 truck with 5 peeps (Dan, Ryan, Zach, Beck and Brian - hula hoop team) and 1 car with 4 peeps(Me, Mark, Laurie and Erin - dee de gedee team).

It was 9+ hrs driving to Helen, GA, which passed trough Kentucky, Tennessee and North Carolina. Highlights for the driving trip:

• I had my 1st waffle at Waffle House, which according to Laurie, is the best waffle in South and it is everywhere in South.
• We had an accident somewhere passed Louisville. Laurie was driving the car after Mark said he needed a nap. When, we were talking about one of my metal sickness, there was a trailer passed by, and muddled up the snow straight to our car's front window. Snow covered the whole window and Laurie panicked and started cursing. She lost her control because the wiper couldn't get rid the snow as quick as it should to make it clear for Laurie to see the road. The car slid all the way to the left of the road and hit the divider hard! We got out of the car, tried to push the car, but it didn't work. Because all the tires were covered by snow and we didn't have good grips. About 5 mins later, there's a couple of moms stopped and gave us a shovel to clear up the snow a bit. Finally, we got out from the snow. After like 3 miles of silence, in the car, Laurie goes "I think they are lesbians". We were laughing out loud!
• The last night before our trip on the trail, we had our dinner at Ribs in South Carolina. I had the most amazing grilled salmon ever with country gravy and baked potatoes. Surprisingly, that full plate of salmon only costs me 5 bucks. We had a wonderful feast before, nights of Asian food in the woods. Here's our 1st group pic in front of the restaurant.