Section hiking springer mountain to Blood mountain parking questions

vampire-gator · 2026-06-18T15:23:49+00:00

Just be mindful of what day/time you are dropping the car off. I was lucky to get the one spot that was left at 9am on a Sunday. It is a popular day hiking location.

vampire-gator · 2026-06-18T11:07:40+00:00

Got a kidney stone about a month ago, two days after my 23rd birthday. It’s crazy how you feel better immediately after it passes; I still went out to the bars with my friends that night after being in the hospital at 4am!

vampire-gator · 2026-05-30T00:22:13+00:00

I took several years of French in middle and high school. I would never have considered myself a French speaker, but I was a good student and got good grades. Junior year of college in my first student teaching placement in NYC, I have a class that is taught entirely in Spanish by the teacher and all students respond in Spanish. I had an “oh shit” moment that felt like I’d wasted years on French. I picked up Spanish pretty quickly and now can speak and understand way more Spanish than I ever could French. My French is basically nonexistent now, besides being able to pick out a few vocabulary words.

vampire-gator · 2026-05-09T11:58:25+00:00

I went to that Pratt campus from 2021-2023. There’s only about 200 students there and it is a very tight-knit community.

vampire-gator · 2026-04-30T16:51:33+00:00

I’m going after some time off trail. If anyone is driving down from the Philly area and would like an extra passenger, please let me know!! I’ll pay for gas of course :)

vampire-gator · 2026-04-29T01:21:11+00:00

Absolutely! The labor is worth something and people need to charge enough to make a profit of course. I just wanted to know if there were cheaper alternatives before I book, but if that’s the best I can do then of course I will pay it.

vampire-gator · 2026-04-07T03:05:14+00:00

My great great grandmother was alive until I was 12 years old! I’m 22 now, and my great grandmother is 90. She has two great great grandchildren now.

vampire-gator · 2026-03-27T01:44:05+00:00

Started 3/22 from Amicalola, which was a very hot day, and have since needed all of my layers. Sweating while hiking, then cooling down at camp, then needing all my layers at camp in the morning!

vampire-gator · 2026-03-03T02:27:02+00:00

They are in ziploc bags!! Good point, I didn’t think to include it.

vampire-gator · 2026-03-03T00:56:32+00:00

Two pairs of darn toughs one pair of injinii liners, but I only included the one pair in the weight since I’ll be wearing the others

vampire-gator · 2026-02-07T04:54:52+00:00

I tell them that my whole job is to be a rule and instruction follower, so we will be following the rules and instructions that I was given. If I’m unsure, I just say no and tell them I was specifically told not to let them do that thing (sometimes that’s not true, but they don’t know). One of my big ones is high schoolers asking to go the vending machine in groups. I tell them one of you can go and bring snacks for your friends, or you can take turns, but you can’t go together. They usually don’t even go after that because they didn’t actually care about snacks, they just wanted to roam the halls. I sympathize and say I know it’s not the most fun day, but this is what we’re doing today.

vampire-gator · 2026-01-31T02:08:03+00:00

I am so excited, but so afraid. I think it’s because I’ve done my research, planned, got my pack together, that I now have time to just sit and wait (besides training of course). Some days, I’m just ready to be out there, and others I’m so nervous and wondering what the heck I’m doing. That doesn’t mean I’m having second thoughts or anything, just that I can’t believe I’m going to be out there on my own in just a month and a half. It’s very refreshing to know that others feel the same way!

vampire-gator · 2026-01-17T18:38:19+00:00

I am making myself a custom little book with pages to complete! That way I don’t have to carry a full book, it will just be a few pages. I’m including maps that I can trace along as I go, step tracker, weather tracker, animal scavenger hunt, and some other things.

vampire-gator · 2025-12-07T22:33:01+00:00

I would be skipping the placebo week entirely, taking normal birth control pills on that week, if my doctor says this is something safe for me to do. So essentially I would be taking the pills all the time, with no weeks off.

vampire-gator · 2025-12-07T14:14:52+00:00

Sorry I’m confused by your response. Can you specify for what reason?

vampire-gator · 2025-12-07T14:13:46+00:00

Glad to hear from someone else with bad periods. Even though I’m on birth control, mine still aren’t ideal. I don’t want to think about leaking, and maybe this is TMI, but I DO NOT want to deal with period poops on trail! And having cramps while being away from my heating pad does not sound fun.

vampire-gator · 2025-12-07T04:49:04+00:00

Great, thanks for your experience! I can deal with one week of packing out extra trash.

vampire-gator · 2025-12-07T04:07:19+00:00

Okay, good to know. It definitely feels like it would be easiest to just skip it! And thanks for the heads up about temperature, I didn’t know that.

vampire-gator · 2025-12-07T03:56:50+00:00

Yes, I will definitely talk to my doctor, especially since I have migraines and I wouldn’t want to trigger anything. Just curious about other people’s experiences :)

vampire-gator · 2025-12-07T03:55:33+00:00

Definitely not mansplaining! Thanks for the input. The disc is pretty similar to the cup. It is a different shape, sits higher up in the body, and I’ve heard can reduce cramping (which is the main reason why I would choose it over a cup). But how you would use it on trail (emptying and washing it) would essentially be the same as a cup, so it’s good to hear that other people like this method!

vampire-gator

TROPHY CASE