Date: 2015-03-26
From: Jarrard Gap

To: Neels Gap
Miles today: 5.0

Today we had to hike over Blood Mountain . It is the largest peak in Georgia on the AT. Today was going to be relatively short day, because we knew the Blood Mountain climb was reputed to be difficult.Bonbon and I had hiked for street three straight days together, so we thought a short day made a lot of sense. The client of blood mountain wasn't really all that difficult. It's certainly kept going up and up and up and all I could think of was the song she'll be coming around the mountains when she comes, because it seemed like we were coming around the mountain for a long time. The shelter at the top was really, really neat. It was built all of stone and perched up at the top of the mountain. I'm sure it could get good and cold up there at night. It is on a part of the AT where there is a lot of bear activity, so the shelter is not usable for sleeping, unless a proper beer canister is carried with us. His most hikers don't have them, the shelter really has become more a place to take a nice break and have lunch.The hike down Blood mountain was grueling. It was rocky, it was steep, it was wet and muddy, and in some places you needed to hold onto trees to help you get down. In many ways it reminded me of Maine, except that the rock was more granite than slate and slightly less slippery!   I covered about one mile-per-hour on the hike down. It seem to take me for ever. My knees were hurting, but I felt better when so many of the younger hikers also were saying how much their knees hurt. We ran into some of the same through hikers we've been seeing periodically including the three men from Connecticut who we are calling theNutmeggers, plus their sidekick from Erie, Pennsylvania. We also wait for a little bit very briefly with the three women who are from Australia who were really strong hikers.At the end of our hike we came to mountain crossings, the only building that is actually on the AT It is an outfitters of great repute within the hiking community and built of beautiful bstone. It is really an amazing historic structure. When I came out of the woods, who was sitting out there but Baltimore Jack wearing a Red Sox cap! Of course, this endeared me to him to right away. He also wanted to be sure that I was okay since it took me so much longer to get down the mountain and it took Bonbon.The good news is that the blisters really are very very much under control. Much of this is due to huge thanks to Patrick Smith who was on my team at Oracle and who provided me with some great zinc oxide to use as sunblock. Zinc oxide is also great for drying out the skin and I was able to use it on blisters to protect and help them to heal fast even when they were taped during the day.I will try using Vaseline again once they are healed up. Many of you have recommended it and thank you for those recommendations. Right now in order to prevent rubbing I am using the zinc oxide first and then some tape and then lambswool to provide a little bit of extra padding and then some more tape. Before I left work, my team had given me some special blister Band-Aids, which I thought I had brought with me and unfortunately are at home in Florida. C'est la vie!I also have to say, that Bonbon is truly the best hiking partner ever. It is been great being able to hike with her. Bonbon brought my laundry up to be done because she knew my knees were hurting from that steep climb down the hill today and I think she's also gonna buy some ice cream at the store. I couldn't ask for a better partner to start off this adventure with. I am so loving it out here. I miss my family, but living the adventure. "No matter how short or long the journey to your accomplishment is, if you don't begin you can't get there. Beginning is difficult, but unavoidable!" Israelmore Aviyor