This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Goodbye Georgia!

One state and 110 miles down, 13 states and 2080 miles left to go!

Day 6 ended with an awesome hiker bash in Hiawassee, GA hosted by some local trail angels and the local Budget Inn. Hot food, cold beer, live folk music, and a bonfire with most of the hikers in my “bubble” starting from Springer. For those who couldn’t get a room in the inn a $10 donation earned you a spot on the lawn to pitch your tent for the night.  Marbles, back from his trip to Helen, now flush with food and gear mailed from home got the chance to weigh his pack and came in at a whopping 70 lbs! In an attempt to lighten his load he was able to donate most of his extra food to other greatful hikers like Funky Stuff who were trying to hike on a budget. It was awesome to meet a bunch of the hikers that were a little ahead of us coming from Dicks Creek Gap (mile 69.3), as well as those who had been close by without us knowing.  Around 10:30, tired from our lazy day of eating and drinking, we passed out in our tents to the sounds of a hiker talent show and storytelling around the bonfire.

Day 7 we woke up and packed our gear to get ready to hop on a shuttle back to the trail head at Unicoi Gap (mile 52.6). After missing all three shuttles before 11 am we decided to just hitch our way back. Marbles decided to take a Zero day to rest his knees in town and told Funky Stuff and I he’d meet us at Dicks Creek Gap (mile 69.3) the next day around noon. He split a room with another hiker at the Budget Inn and waved his goodbyes as we headed off to bum a ride. Funky Stuff and I were lucky and managed to get a ride within 5 minutes. We also learned about 5 minutes into the ride that we should check our map before pointing someone in a direction. After a quick U-turn the kind driver drove us back through town and bid us farewell as we started looking for another ride in the other direction. Miraculously, another 5 minutes later a truck pulled over and told us to hop in the back! Personally, this was one of my favorite moments so far.  After hiking for days up and down mountains it was cool to cruise past them effortlessly from a different perspective in the back of a truck with the warm sun and fresh air blowing past us, it was truly a moment to live for.  At the trail head we met some hiking friends who were a day behind us trying to get to town and talked about our trail names and the stories behind them. I haven’t had a name stick just yet, but a few have been tossed around: Chugs (since I walk the same pace on all terrain and keep on chuggin’), Pain Train (for making Marbles keep up with that pace), and Dad (for my backpacking wisdom and dad jokes/puns). Apparently there’s already a “Dad” thru hiker, so I couldnt take that one. After some debate another hiker named Junior threw out “Chug Daddy” to which everybody immediately bust out laughing and agreed it had to be the one. All I know is the trail chooses your name, but after introducing myself super awkwardly to another hiker 3 miles later I decided we would have to keep working on that one. Funky Stuff insists it has to be the one and often interchanges it with “Swag Daddy” since I apparently mac on all the trail ladies.  I do what I do. That night we set up camp a half mile off the trail at Addis Gap (mile 63.9) and hunkered down to prepare for another rain storm.

Day 8 we woke up late to the sound of rain pelting our tents. Normally we wake up with the crowd because of the noise, but today the rain drowned out the noise and we managed to be the last ones at camp with one other tarp tent hiker who decided to hang back.  He was cool guy who was super into the survival aspect of hiking, but after 20 minutes of conversation it was easy to tell you couldn’t take him too seriously. My favorite tip was to eat the head of a cockroach for its “potent antibiotics” which could cure MRSA if we were in dire need.  After panic packing in the down pour we finally grabbed our terribly packed packs and ventured off into our first day of rain. So far we’ve been lucky and only had storms at night when we’re comortably in our tents, but today was a special 7 hour day of wind and rain from around 8 am to 3ish.  Dicks Creek Gap is known for not having service, and with our late start to the day we had to hurry to the top of the next mountain to coordinate with Marbles. When we finally got service we learned to our dismay Marbles had gotten a ride back to his car at Amicalola State Park so he could start prepping for a training course as a white water rafting guide. Thus ends the story of Marbles. For now. Let it be known, Funky and I lost our Marbles on April 2nd, 2017. To make it worse, on the other side of Dicks Creek Gap Funky Stuff decided he hadn’t bought enough food and turned around to hitch back to town, leaving me all alone for the first time on the trail. Cold and soggy, I picked up the pace to warm up and chugged my way to Plumorchard Gap Shelter (mile 73.8) where I set up camp and met up with several hikers I had met and had a dinner circle with back in the Blue Mountain Shelter (mile 50.2). Being alone now, they accepted me into their tribe, including “Ten”, “Hubba Hubba” (pronounced as a very French Hooba Hooba), “Clairaoke” (Karaoke Claire), “Good Job Rob”, and “Gourmet”. After an awesome yoga session led by “Mom”, a section hiker seeing her thru hiker daughter through NC, we had our dinner pow wow and swapped stories as boots dried by the fire someone magically got going.

Day 9 we kissed Georgia Goodbye! With all my stuff dry from the day before I woke up slowly and took as much time as I wanted to eat my oatmeal, drink my coffee, and pack my bag. It’s kinda nice hiking alone! Around 10 am I left camp and began my hike to the GA/NC border (mile 78.2). Shortly into my hike I met some hikers, “Slade” and “Pearl”, from the bash who told me they had camped with Funky Stuff last night. Shocked I asked how he had passed me and they told me how he decided 10 minutes after leaving me that he’d be fine and kept hiking to catch up with me. I thanked them and hurried off to meet up with Funky again. According to Slade, Marbles, Funky, and I had picked up the group name of The Boy Scouts. He told me he was glad I was no longer the last of my kind, and said Funky had left around 8 am to catch me not knowing he’d already passed me by (he missed the sign for the shelter I was in). Hiking alone while on a mission to meet Funky was pretty great, I met and hiked with several people since I had no other agenda but what I felt like doing at that moment. At the border a small pipe and plank of wood nailed to a tree indicated the state line. A few pictures and giddy celebrations later, I excitedly hiked on knowing I’ve finally finished the first major accomplishment of this dream of mine. A mile later a hiker named “Bambi Face” (for her consistent use of the Bambi snapchat filter in every photo or video she takes) who I’d met at the bash mentioned she had coffee with Funky Stuff and said he was only an hour ahead. I pushed on, stopping for a quick snack at a beautiful overlook, then charging down the mountain where I found Funky Stuff Filtering water by Muskrat Creek Shelter (mile 81.1). We regrouped, traded stories, and joked at how he’d abandonded me in an attempt to juke me out and lose me, then marched on to Standing Indian Shelter (mile 86.0). Upon our arrival, Funky decided to keep chugging on to Beech Creek Gap (mile 90.4) while I checked out the shelter and waited for my tribe. The shelter was small and had mostly sloped tent pads with a wind that carried the privy smell around the shelter and attracted bugs. With that, I kept chugging on to Beech Gap to meet up with Funky for the night. I hiked up and over Standing Indian Mountain (mile 87.5), stopping at the peak for some pictures. The peak was incredible, after all the rocks trees and mud, I was greeted by a small grassy field with a fire pit and an amazing cliff overlooking rolling mountains as far as the eye can see. It was a solid choice pushing on, Beech Gap had fewer bugs and people and had significantly better tent sites. The tribe ended up pushing through as well and we had yet another awesome dinner before hanging bear bags, prepping for another rainy day, and crashing for the night.

Day 10. Today was a learning day. Over the last few days Funky and I had heard rumors of a big cold rain storm followed by freezing temperatures, snow, and high winds. This sums up all the things I greatly dislike while being outside. With that in mind, Funky and I debated and finally decided, despite the 17 mile day we just had, we’d push the 19-20 miles straight through to Franklin, NC where we’d hunker down in a hotel. This was both the best and worst decision.  Ignoring the fact that it was 50 degrees and dropping, we broke camp at 7:30 am before the rain started (we do learn sometimes). I trimmed down to shorts and a T shirt to reduce how much stuff got wet, then we hit the trail. It started raining around 8:30, and was pouring by 9. Did I mention it was 50 degrees and dropping? Or that every 1000 ft gain in elevation the temperature drops by an additional 3.5 degrees? Or that I was in a now soggy pair of shorts and a T shirt in the wind and cold rain? I was cold, is where this is going. Very cold. I put on my rain jacket, but the damage was done and I was soaked under the jacket. We trudged on over 3 mountains, carefully climbing up and over rocks and puddles, small cliffs and streams. For miles all I could think about was making it to a shelter and making as much hot chocolate as I could drink while in warm dry clothing. One foot in front of the other, just keep going is all I could tell myself. At the top of our third and largest mountain, Albert Mountain, we found ourselves at the base of a fire tower surrounded by fog and clouds. Bummed at the lack of views, tired and cold from hiking, we lacked all around good judgment and climbed to the top of the fire tower in hopes of finding shelter inside. As we made it to the top, we found the tower locked. We also found what I consider to be the most spectacular view I’ve ever seen in all my travel and backpacking experience. We had a complete 360 degree view of an ocean of clouds all flowing and coursing through the mountains. The mountains were still distinct like rocks breaking the flow of a rushing river, but the clouds moved like water through every valley and gap. My one regret was not taking my phone out to take a picture, but in all fairness we were 3 stories up on a  wet metal tower in a lightning storm on a mountain cliff.. so taking my phone out wasn’t the best idea, let alone standing 3 stories up on a wet metal tower in a lightning storm on a mountain cliff. A lightning strike about a mile away broke us from our stupefaction and started us scrambling down the tower to continue on to lower ground. The tower was also the 100 mile mark, so it was memorable moment and easy to remember mile mark to come back to one day. A satisfying end to our first 100 miles! From there we froze our way, stiff legged and sore footed to the Long Branch Shelter (mile 102.3) cursing the cold and mumbling obscenities at the 2.3 miles that never seemed to end. When we made it to the shelter we found our tribe changing into dry clothes and making hot chocolate. We quickly joined them, wringing out our soggy clothes and putting on the most divine and wonderfully warm and dry fleece mid layer and cold weather jacket. I spread some love and shared some hot chocolate, but made sure to enjoy 3 cups of my own. It was a dream come true. After some lunch and hot chocolate we had to kiss our dry clothes goodbye and re-suited up in our soggy clothes. I put on long pants and we painfully continued on towards town another 7 miles. The pants alone made me significantly warmer, and while my lower legs were dry for a while, a resurgence of rain quickly ended that happiness. About 4 miles into our final stretch I had the pleasure of experiencing chafing for the first time in my life. The result of 8 hours of marching in soggy underwear, I suppose.  After a quick trip behind a cliff, I went full commando and solved my chafing issue as I no longer hobbled like a cowboy down the remaining 3 miles of trail. Despite the rain, cold, wind, and chafing we managed pump each other up enough over those 7 miles to make it to Winding Stair Gap, US 64 (mile 109.5) where we lucked out and managed to hitch with a very kind John Robinson and his super heated king cab truck. Hats off to you, Mr. Robinson! Once in town we bought $40 in snacks and rotisserie chicken, then got and hitched to our hotel room and ate till we fell asleep.

Day 11 and 12 ended up both being Zero days. I didn’t expect to have and Zero till at least mile 200, but after the cold and rain food and rest were very welcome. Funky got a few blisters and possibly bruised his heel, so we took a second day, but we’ve made good use of our time by restocking our food, carb loading, doing our laundry, and showering as much as possible. I’ve hiked for many years and read several stories of synthetic material clothing absorbing smells, but I’ve never experienced it in all my time outdoors. Well. Let me tell you, now, after 8 days of no shower with only one hiking shirt, this smell will likely never come out. I keep wondering if the smell is me, and without deodorant it usually is, but my shirt is definitely infused with Grant. It smells like hard work though, and I like my brand, so I only offend everyone else which I can handle. I’m staying with Funky, Tyler, and Emily (now “Huggables” and “Yeti”, respectively) tonight (April 7th, 2017) and will be setting off tomorrow with or without Funky depending on the state of his feet. Huggables and Yeti came into town last night after hiking in the snow and sleet, and after a quick regroup we went off to  Fat Buddies Ribs and BBQ and gorged on beer and meat of all delicious varieties. Zero Day number two has largely been spent eating food, watching TV and writing this 2800 word blog post. We should be at the NOC (Nantahala Outdoor Center) US 19 & 74 (mile 137) in two or three days, then the next town is Fontana Dam, NC  (mile 165.6). Till next time!

Summary:

Still feeling good! The mud and cold made for pretty sore ankles after our two longest days being back to back, but not being out in the snow was a safe call for my knee despite having my brace. No blisters and no more hotspots even though my feet have been soaked for hours on end two days his week.  My knee is holding up well! Still doing better than most other hikers, so I’m feeling good about it and its been a strong confidence booster even if I know I have a super kick ass sports brace to help me out. I’ve done some hiking without the brace when it’s super soaked so I don’t start chafing like my underwear did on the last day before town, and it’s still been fine; I’m happy to be working up to an independent knee with all the little muscles working without the knee brace to keep my knee supported. Maybe I’m overly cautious, but it’s worth it to keep on living the dream! So far, rain, cold and all, I couldn’t be happier with my experience. I’ll let you know how I feel in 800 miles.