Date: 2016-03-01
From: Hiawassee, GA

To: Deep Gap Shelter
Miles today: 13.1
Weather: broken clouds

Day 10 & 11 - Hiawassee, GA to Tray Mountain ShelterDidn't write last night bc I was cold and bc Ria and I decided to sleep in her tent to get the body heat working. Anyway, we woke up in the Holiday Inn around 7am and got going. Obviously, we had a great nights sleep, clean laundry, warm showers, etc. I ate the rest of my sub sandwich for breakfast along with dr. pepper, yogurt, and a cinnamon roll...so tasty...I'm dreaming of all those things right now. Ria, Paul, and I were ready around 9:30am but the others weren't so I used the time to transfer my journal over to my phone to later upload. We went down to the front desk around 10:30am and Spaceman went ahead and called a shuttle for us bc we found 4 other ppl to hop in with us. $8 a person and we all split between two cars. Both Subaru outbacks woot woot represent! The shuttle service was run by Joyce and Sally. They came down to Hiawassee, GA about 15 or 20 yrs ago, bought 2 acres of land and started running shuttles. She said they also do organic gardening.Sally was fun to talk to. She dropped us off at Unicoi Gap. Rusty Bridges was there finishing a cigarette. He said he had been dropped off at the gap at 8 or 9am but had forgotten his trekking poles in his shuttler's car. The driver said he couldn't get back til 11am so Rusty jumped in another shuttle to go hang at a hotel til his poles could be dropped off. Unfortunately, his original shuttle has been able to come by the gap earlier than he thought. But by that time Rusty was on his way back to a hotel in Hiawassee. Needless to say he wasn't too happy about starting at noon. Although it didn't seem to bother him for long. He's a really genuine, chill and happy guy to be around. He told us that his trail name is Rusty Bridges bc he and another guy friend had created Rusty as an alter-ego when out on the town. Apparently, Rusty Bridges is a drop out minor league baseball player who played at Oklahoma City State...love it.It was a big uphill out of Unicoi Gap and one of our fellow hikers decided to make a really rude remark toward me right when we had started so I was pretty heated. Overall everyone on the trail has been so fun and kind but he is obviously not one of them. It takes all kinds I guess. Oh, also, Rusty Bridges wrote an amazing poem which included hilarious references to both Cheetah and Jelly Ankles. I wish I could remember it to write it down. Anyway, it was a good day, we went slow and steady with all miles leading to Tray Mountain. My knee still hurt on the downhills but I was flying on the uphills. My legs felt good and fresh...until Tray Mtn. I must have pushed too hard bc my knee began hurting on the climbs. No wildlife so far except for the random bird (still rare to hear or see) or the dreaded mice. I DO NOT like mice. Ron Brown (our Springer Mtn shuttle driver) told us that the Army Rangers train in this area and they have scared off a lot of the wildlife with their gunfire. There are leafless, dead poplar trees everywhere and dead brown leaves carpet the trail. It is still beautiful in its own way. Every once in a while we will come upon Mountain Laurel or Rhododendron...I can't wait for these to bloom. Climbing to the top of Tray Mtn was a 1.5 mile batter, but so pretty. Probably around 4,500 feet elevation so it was cold but very clear views. There was a surprising amount of greenery near the top of the mountain. The trail was lined in bright green moss and there were literal flakes of the purest white snow mixed in with the green. We had the Mtn all to ourselves and once we hit the summit we knew the long uphil was worth it. All the mountains in the distance were layered on top of one another like an infinite ocean of blue waves. From there we descended to Tray Mtn Shelter. Beautiful location but lots of wind and it got cold fast. Ria and I put up our tents and made dinner. My dinner consisted of ramen, cheese and pita, cosmic brownie, and a clementine. We try not to drink water in the evening, or night (although we should) bc we don't want to have to get up in the middle of the freezing night and pee. Ria suggested that I sleep with her in her 2 person tent to keep warm. It worked! Also, Rusty Bridges told us to put our clothes on top of our sleeping bags instead of wearing them. That way, the hear has space to move around and actually hear up more. He had a better explanation of it but whatever. Slept ok but woke up whenever I moved around. Woke up this morning, windy and pretty cold. My knee was very stiff. It was fun waking up with Ria next to me bc we immediately started laughing and talking about how we never want to move out of our sleeping bags. Took a while to get going but we left around 9:30am. Immediate downhill so my knee was killing me at first. Once it warmed up and I started taking small steps the knee felt much better. The weather forecast said 40 degrees and then snow around 2pm. 7.7 mile day. Our big climb today was Kelly Knob and it was definitely the hardest yet. 1 mile straight up but the kicker is that it started snowing sideways. A man named Pampaw passed us and then we finally made it to the summit, put on our rain pants and pack covers. Another 60 something year old man named Ghost passed us and said he was headed to Deep Gap Shelter too. The shelter was about 8 tenths of a mile downhill and we could barely see Ghost's footprints it was snowing so much. Knee was in pain during this part. I think my knee knows when it's about quitting time. Deep Gal shelter (built in 1991) is by far the coolest shelter we've stayed in. Walls on all 4 sides and 2 lofts. When we got here Ria and I were greeted by Paul (yay!), Spaceman, Rusty Bridges, Turtle, Ghost, and a new face named Super Nova. Spaceman, Rusty Bridges, and Turtle headed out to Dicks Creek to sleep in a hostel but Paul stayed here. Ria, Paul and I are in one of the lofts. It's a tight squeeze but extra warm. After those guys left Irish Exit showed up and she is the spitting image of Ria. I mean, everyone in the shelter was freaked out. Then GP arrived and B-Rad. GP is an ex pro hockey player who actually played for the Cincinnati Cyclones. There are currently 6 inches and counting of snow on the ground. We are happy to be alive! Slow and steady and happy!