Date: 2007-03-17
From: Neels Gap

To: Neels Gap
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: clear sky

March 17, ZeroAh, the wonder of heat, rest, and running water! It's amazing how fast your standards are lowered and you're able to appreciate just having dishes (however dirty), hot water (however little water pressure), and heat. I am in Neels Gap today taking a zero. It feels great.Michele and I went into town to book the cabin for another night and resupply and now we're back in the warmth of this place. It's a pretty neat little place and the folks running it seem really laid back so we're soaking it up. In fact, they seem so laid back that we're pretty much renting a space that is acutally for sale. At one point today, Michele and I were sitting in the living room (amid the gear explosion) and the realtor came right through the front door with a couple that was interested. I think the minute they saw us, they knew this wasn't the place for them. They looked at the upstairs for all of 45 seconds before coming down and heading straight outt the front door - very interesting. Anyways, the trail has been a blast so far. It seems like just when one adventure ends, another one begins. Our first day seems like it was a month ago and turning in our rental car seems even more remote. I have already met some great people and I know I haven't said enough about them. Kay and Gadget are from PA and are a really nice couple that seem to be keeping a similar pace as Michele and I. We met them as we were hiking up Springer and we've been leapfrogging ever since.Sailor, I think I mentioned, is a 63 year-old guy who retired from the Navy 31 years ago. He was pretty quiet at first but is totally funny and even sang us some morning tunes yesterday. Patriot is a guy that we stayed with our first night out back at Long Creek Falls. He has Lupus but is dedicating his hike to cancer. He's out here in jeans and a t-shirt which concerns us all (because, of course, cotton makes you go POOF!). He's hiking with a hatchet which was a little unsettling the first time we met him but he's become really well known on the trail as quite a talker!Packrat and Lucky - two male hikers. Packrat is so named because he is carrying everthing you might ever need. These two seems really nice although I haven't spent a lot of time with them. They remind me of the movie "City Slickers" for some reason..it might be the hat that one of them is wearing.HikerChic and Blue Meanie are a couple from SC. They seem great! We spent one night with them but I think by now we're eating their dust. They are, I'm guessing, in thir 40s and just seem to be having a great time together - even doing some big miles. In fact, when we got to the cabin, there was a box that had been sent to Blue Meanie with some goodies he must have left. We met Boatdrinks here last night which was cool since I had read a lot of his prep entries on TrailJournals. He seems really laid back and fired up to be out here. Real nice guy.And, Butch, the honorary shuttle guy. He's actually a hiker that was with Sailor before we met him. Older and quiet - good at plumbing and diagnosing tree diseases. All kinds of people out here! Before we even started we met Wes and his dad, Paul. They are doing a thru together - how cool! Wes is totally patient with his dad even though it seems like he could be in Maine three months faster!So, I am appreciating it all. We've had some great views and beautiful weather. We've also seen lots of fog and rain with zero visibility. I won't lie, I am DREADING sleeping out there in these cold temperatures. I guess I can handle it as long a the wind minds its manners. Burrr...My body is holding up nicely too. I've been trying to stop and cover hot spots as they come up and make sure they are covered again in the morning before setting out each day. In fact, I am pretty sure that I will have the art of duct tape down well before I make it to Maine. I have only one teeny blister on the bottom of my right pinky toe. My feet are usually the first thing to tire out each day but every day, there's usually one other part of me that's ready to stop too. The day before yesterday, my achilles was "tweaky" and yesterday it was my left collarbone. Usually I feel okay in the morning though. Today, my big toe on my right foot is completely numb and has been all day. Yippee!So, now that we've reached Neels Gap, the new goal is to get to Hiawassee. The cool part in my head is this: before beginning this hike, the Appalachian Trail was 2,175 miles long. At this moment, it's only 2,145 miles! I'm trying not to focus on Maine but that thought fires me up every time!So, Michele and I are sitting in the living room at the cabin right now typing away on our PocketMails, sipping water and Gatorade through our hydration tubes, and just enjoying this quiet time. This really is a nice day to catch up on all things. My tent is hanging outside to dry and the rest of stuff is inside drying out too. Wahoo!Happy St. Patrick's Day!-Sound of the refridgerator running, the faucet dripping in the kitchen, and the wind blowing outside.More added later:This place is so funny. If more than one faucet is on at the same time, neither will work. When they do work, there is very little water pressure and the water often just gives out. I had a two minute intermission during my shower.We had a nice sit-down dinner together of chicken pot pie, chicken Lipton noodles, macaroni and cheese and Oreos. Mmm. Then we played a fun card game that I had never seen before - Fluxx. Very cool. That's all for tonight. Happy zeros.- Sound of the bathrom fan, Michele combing her hair, and water running in the kitchen.Post Trail Thoughts:I loved counting down the miles at the end of the day - like when I said the AT was only 2,145 miles at that point. For me, it was a great way to look at it.