Date: 2011-03-14
From: Blue Mountain

To: Swag of the Blue Ridge
Miles today: 12.0

I¢m camped about 100 feet off the trail. It¢s up on a bit of a ridge, but the west side is shielded from the wind by some pretty thick brush. I¢m getting a bit of wind from the east, but not bad. The sunset was very nice and hopefully the sunrise will be, too, although it¢s supposed to rain. They¢re only calling for half an inch tonight/tomorrow, so nothing like last week¢s craziness (I hope). I decided not to go to Helen today. As usual, I left the shelter last, although not by much. I thought I was waking and getting up early, but it was just cloudy. I got on trail at 10:00, a bit behind Ron and Currahee, who left as I got my food bag down. The trail went way down to Unicoi, where there was some more trail magic. Two big bins of food and sodas left by a Mello Yello and Turtle. I grabbed a bag of Fritos and pack of Oreos, but saved them. I passed Jake and Timmy, the section hikers, on my way up Rocky Mountain. I caught Currahee a little after and we met Ron at one of the gaps. I left them behind, but we all met up again at the ¢cheese factory¢ for lunch along with a guy named Tater who started the second. I had a hot lunch and borrowed a screwdriver from Ron to switch my knife sheath clip. My knife fits much more snugly against my pack now. They left while I ate my Oreos. While I was getting up, a very fit hiker came by. He was a young thru-hiker, Luke, who¢s from Massachusetts and started Thursday. We hiked together for a bit talking, but I was dying, so I said, ¢Well, I¢m going to slow down now.¢I caught Tater at the road and Ron and Currahee on the way up Tray, then saw Luke at the top. Currahee and Ron caught up soon after and we all talked for a bit. Currahee tried to point out Currahee Mountain, right near his house, but it was a bit too misty. Luke was going to Tray Mountain Shelter, but the rest of us still weren¢t sure. My plan was to go there for water and see who was in and check the journal. When I got to the side trail, I took a wrong turn and stayed on the AT. I didn¢t realize until I saw a white blaze after about a half mile downhill. There was no water on the map for ages and I was dry. While I was sitting down trying to figure out what to do, Currahee and Ron caught up and said there was good water at Steeltrap Gap, which was where they were camping.I went ahead the two miles and then way down for the stream. When I got back, they were at the fire ring setting up tents. They said I was welcome to join them, but I decided to push on one more hour. I¢m going into my first town tomorrow, Hiawassee. I don¢t want the hike there to be too long. And I figured if it rains, better a tired hour today than a wet one tomorrow.This is the first time I¢ve camped alone since the first night and only my third night and only my third night not at a shelter. I never sleep in them, but it¢s nice to eat with everyone. Today is my second 12-mile day. I was really feeling it by the end, but not dying. I did have a whole pack of cous cous and could have put down more, though.Hiawassee tomorrow and I¢ll almost certainly stay the night. If I¢m lucky, I¢ll see Ron and Currahee at the road and get a ride from Mrs. Currahee. More likely, I¢ll have to hitch. That puts me out of Georgia probably Thursday. I was looking at the overview map in the book, and it¢s hilarious how small that little Georgia bit is. [The devil went down to Georgia, Georgia on my mind, etc.]