Date: 2004-02-10
From: Wood's Hole Shelter (2**)

To: Walasiyi Inn Hostel 
Miles today: 4.1

We had another compfire last night and the section hiker in the group gave us lots of advice. Mice have not been a problem thus far, but one hiker spotted one. The section hiker taught us what a caveman axe is. It's where you take a long log and break it over the tree. We got a kick out of watching him do this.Peanut and I were the first to go to bed and the night was warm so we slept well. We woke up early and laid there for a while so we didn't wake the others, but I got tired of waiting and we left by 7:30.I want to start leaving early more often, but most mornings are very cold and it takes determination to get our of the sleeping baf. This morning was 36 degrees, our warmest morning yet. It felt good getting an early start.We hiked up Blood Mountain in no time. The views could have been spectacular except we saw nothing but clouds. Peanut and I climbed up a rock, ate a bagel covered with peanut butter, and pretended that we were looking at the view.Then we hiked on to Slaughter Gap. What's next . . . Homicide Mountain? I think I'll pass through these areas with names like that.It started to sprinkle a little on the way to Neel's Gap so, we quickly got out our pack covers and realized Peanut's was not going to fit over her pack. Lucky timing because there's an outfitter store at Neel's Gap.We got there and booked up for the Hostel at the Walaysiyi Inn Center. We shopped around the ourfitter store a little and ate a Snicker's ice cream bar.                                                                                                                                                         We bought a few things and started planning for a shuttle to town because food prices at the ourfitter store was outrageous. We have the money, but I just hate getting ripped off. $2.09 for Minute Rice . . . no way!The shuttle was $15 for a one-way trip, so we looked for other options. We talked to a trail angel (I'll explain this in a minute) who cheerfully drove us to Blairsville, GA.There's no doubt we're in the Bible Belt because there's a church in the middle of the town square. You have to circle around the church to make a left turn. The grocery store called Food Land had the right prices. Bob Barker would be proud.We got our supplies and headed to Country Kitchen. Doesn't that sound good, especially after days of noodle soup and mac n' cheese. I had sweet tea, mashed potatoes, squash casserole, country fried steak, cornbread, and fruit cocktail for $4.50.Then we hitched-hiked back up to the trail. Let me just tell you, the guy that picked us up was very Southern, and I talked to him a bunch about hunting. (I don't hunt, but I have relatives who do.) He was going to drop us off about 1/2 way up when I kept the conversation going well enough that he drove us the whole way.I was glad that I was riding in the cab with the guy instead of another thru-hiker with us from NY. We wouldn't have made it far with his accent.We got back to the hostel. I had a hot shower while Peanut gathered things to send home. She's realizing that she's going to have to carry the luxury items she wanted to bring. We plan to share more items such as dental floss and our headlamp.We got a lot of little errands done that needed to happen, and I'm glad we decided to stay here. The people here are very friendly as well. Three other thru-hikers are staying here too.OK, so I told you I'll explain what trail angels are. We encountered our first today. Trail angels are people who do little things for thru-hikers such as leave cokes, give rides, or anything that will help thru-hikers along the way.It is amazing how one little deed can help us out so much. We are always very appreciative of these people and many people do things yearly because hikers are so thankful. That's it for now . . .