Date: 2006-05-20
From: Day Three on the Trail-Gooch Mtn to Jarrard Gap

To: Day Three on the Trail-Gooch Mtn to Jarrard Gap
Miles today: 10.6

May 20, 2006 DAY THREE ON THE TRAIL-Gooch Mountain to Jarrard Gap Day 3. Gooch Mtn Shelter to Jarrard Gap (10.6 miles)We all awoke around 6:30 and everybody started moving around. We left around 8:00 and it was about 60 degrees. I gave Bill a note for Ris«.   I asked him to call her in case I couldn¢t get through.We made excellent time until we took our first break. We need more water, but it was a taxing walk down a steep slope. Bill passed us while we were stopped.Just like Bill had told us, there are flowers everywhere. There are three or four types of Trillium, Jack-in-the-Pulpits, Daisies and others.We had a fairly decent climb up Ramrock Mtn. and then into Woody Gap, near Suches, GA. There is GA highway 60 and a large parking lot. In the parking lot was a youth group hiking toward Springer. Bill had left a message with one of their leaders that he had reached Ris«. While we were eating, the hiker in Croc shoes stopped by to see us. He still looks in bad shape, but I think we have learned that looks can be deceiving.After an extended lunch break, we headed on. Just after Woody Gap there is a 600-foot climb up Big Cedar Mtn. This was a really tough climb for Dennie. My hips and back are hurting but we continued on. The view from the top of Big Cedar was absolutely unbelievable. As we continued on, the sky began to get cloudy. We stopped and got out our rain gear. I had forgotten to take my pain/anti-inflammatory medicine and the pain has really worn me down. I have literally ¢hit-the-wall¢, totally exhausted. Dennie and I shared a power bar and the result was like magic. We need to watch our calorie intake a little better. Like many other hikers, sometimes we are tired and just don¢t feel hungry. This is complicated by the fact we are going an extra day before re-supplying.It is beginning to rain on us. Rain is a double-edged sword. We are too hot and the cool rain feels good, but we don¢t want to chill. We don¢t want our gear to get wet, but if we put on our rain-gear, we will be hot and sweaty.We made it to Jarrard Gap and then all our problems started. While Dennie walked for water, I pitched the tent. I am not at all happy with way the tent looks. The bathtub design sidewalls are not standing up like they should. I mistakenly set the tent on a slight angle side-to-side.It sounds and looks like more rain is on its way. We were too tired to cook so we settled for a couple of dried sausage sticks and some crackers. The tent is big enough for two of us, but not for our equipment. We were too tired to hang our packs and protect them from the rain, so we moved them into the tent further comprising the bathtub sidewall design. We went to sleep around 9:20. Well, I did. Dennie had eaten some chocolate coated coffee beans and he was wide awake. It was very windy and then it started to REALLY rain.Can you see a series of small mistakes that are building toward a disaster? Well, it happened. When it started raining the sidewalls of the tent that were bent down by are gear did not keep the water out. My side was low so the water began to pool on my side. My sleeping bag got wet and I woke up wet to my waist. Then as the temperature starting dropping, I began to get cold. Now the lack of food and body calories began to take its toll. I was chilling and starting to shiver. This is not a good situation. I was worried about hypothermia. Dennie was awake and we talked about our options. We just didn¢t have the energy to hike to the next shelter in the middle of the night and in the middle of another rain storm. We were close to the Winfield Scott Recreational Area, but it was at least two miles and we didn¢t know what facilities were there.So we decided to see if our cell phone had a signal. I called Ris« and gave her our location and asked her to call for assistance. Since we were on a private road, I hoped they would have easy access to us. Both our cell phones were out of power, so I knew if I reached Ris«, she would be able to take over and get help regardless of what it took. By this point, a really bad storm had settled in and we were getting severely beat around. I suggested to Dennie that if he could find his Jetboil stove and heat some water, I might be able to warm up a bit. So now we were starting to think despite the cold. When we opened the Jetboil, we found his emergency space blanket. I then remembered my emergency space blanket bag. So I found it and crawled in. The combination of space bag and drinking hot water was helping me warm up a bit.Before we knew it, Ernie, a local volunteer, arrived in his Jeep. Ris« had gotten through! We loaded our gear in the back of his truck and headed down the mountain. Ernie told us that the area was experiencing some of the worst storms of the season. A local deputy provided transportation back to Blairsville where Ris« picked us up. We went to the local Huddle House for breakfast (it was then about 4:30 a.m.) and then headed back to the motor home in a dry, warm car! We were all exhausted, so after much-needed showers, we all went to sleep for a few hours.Needless to say, it was a tough day. But we have learned lots of lessons that will be vital on the remainder of my hike. The most important lesson is DON¢T overextend my capabilities.