Date: 2004-03-14
From: Deep Gap Shelter

To: Blueberry Patch Hostel
Miles today: 3.5

For the past couple days, I've hiked with my eyes firmly on Hiawassee, Georgia as a place for a break. I had been thinking I would spend the night in a hotel, but after learning that a bunch of people were headed to a hostel called the Blueberry Patch, I decided to head there.And what luck! Upon coming out of the woods, the hostel owner (named Gary) was there with a shuttle, having just dropped off several hikers at the trailhead. So I joined three other hikers and rode back to the hostel with him.I feel, looking back on what I've written, that I've only written about twenty percent of what I could write about what goes on out here- the people, the views, the hike itself... but there just isn't time in the day or space in the journal.I've probably met about two dozen thru-hikers, and had opportunities to form friendships with seven or eight of them. There's Missouri (her real name, not her trail name), Bramble (the firefighter and ex-Army Ranger from Connecticut), Matthew (a young man from England who's hiking for charity, and even got a 1,000-pound donation from Bill Bryson), and I'm sitting here in the hostel with Mike, Ben, and Harmony, as well as Paul and Laura who I've already mentioned.Other things I've forgotten: yesterday I had my first encounter with trail magic- someone left a cooler with orange juices in it by a trailhead, and I was lucky enough to get one before they ran out.Also got my first blister yesterday- but ironically, it was not on my foot. I accidentally touched my stove with my hand, and now I have a small blister at the base of my thumb. Other than that, I have pretty much escaped injury, and for that I am grateful.I have not yet gotten a trail name, though two have been suggested for me: "Eagle" (because I'm an Eagle scout), and "Einstein" (because I have let on more than once that I am a nerd). I haven't accepted either, but we shall see.The Blueberry Patch has a beautiful creek running behind it, along with a small dock. We spent a couple hours sitting on the dock, and the rocks beside it-- Ben and Mike drew, Laura and Harmony stretched out and relaxed, and I wrote. It is here, for the first time, that I feel like the yin and yang of my thru-hike are in balanace. The creek encourages a sort of quiet introspection, and occasionally someone will make a comment or a joke and we'll laugh. A day like today is just what I needed. I still feel a nervous anticipation, though- one of the traits of the more social thru-hike is that I worry about what comes next. The yang is competing with the yin.I wonder if everyone has an element (fire, air, water, or earth) that they feel more comfortable around, or that soothes them, or just makes them feel at home. For me, it's definitely water- sitting by creeks or rivers or the ocean has always made me feel peaceful and at home.At 5:30 we rode into town with Gary and his wife Lennie, and they dropped us off at Daniel's Steakhouse, with is an All You Can Eat buffet. I don't think I've really gotten the famed thru-hiker appetite yet, because I was only able to finish off two and a half plates-- which is about usual for me in such places. Then we walked to a nearby grocery store to re-supply, and at 8:30 Gary and Lennie picked us up again and we went back to the hostel (8 of us squeezed into his 5-person Jeep Cherokee.)A good day.