Date: 2005-03-18
From: Walasi-Yi Inn

To: Low Gap Shelter
Miles today: 10.6
Weather: overcast clouds

Miles hiked today : 10.6It's amazing what a night of rest off of the trail can do for you. Taking 24 hours off to wait for Holly was a good idea for multiple reasons. It allowed my body to recover from nearly 40 miles of hiking, it gave me time to relax, and I was able to update my journal.Speaking of Holly, she did show up this morning around 11 a.m. I had been awake for a few hours, as I had thought that check-out time was 9:00 a.m. It turns out that they don't kick anybody out of the bunkhouse, but it is when they begin renting out the bunks for the coming evening.I was right about Holly and MJ staying at Cooper Gap when I was at Justus Creek. The next night, they stayed in Blood Mountain Shelter, bundled up with their fellow hikers. Holly had made it to Blood Mountain Shelter early enough to make it to Walasi-Yi before dark, but she didn't know that it was only 2.1 miles away. That's too bad, as it would have been nice to see her. I wasn't worried about her, because she has the same type of survival gear as I.Prior to their arrival to Walasi-Yi, I learned that Holly and MJ had taken the trailnames of 'Freedom' and 'Serenity', respectively. Upon their arrival, I asked Holly whether she planned to stay the night or to continue on. She wanted to continue on, but only after taking a shower and doing laundry. She also mentioned trying to catch a ride into town to get a salad because none of the food in her pack was very appetizing. I told her that I was chomping at the bit to get back on the trail and she said that I didn't have to wait for her. She, MJ, and I made tentative plans to meet 8 miles later at Sapling Gap and I set out.When I mentioned before that I was able to rest my body, it may have been an understatement. Getting back on the trail, I felt very strong. My pack felt very comfortable and I enertained the thought of doing more than 8 miles. My pack, according to the Walasi-Yi scale, now weighs either 51 lbs. or 55 lbs., depending on where you read the measurement. For the record, I believe their scale needs to be calibrated, as I was able to easily put on my pack, whereas I was unable to easily do so a few days earlier. In addition, I'd eaten quite a bit of food out of my pack and the only item I really added was 2.4 liters of water in my platypus drinking bag.Back at Walasi-Yi, several hikers had talked about camping at Low Gap Shelter, which was 10.6 miles down the trail. As I hiked today, I thought it might be a better idea to camp there instead of at Sapling Gap, due to the bear cables present at shelters. When I hiked 5.5 miles to Tesnatee Gap in just under three hours and realized that I still had three hours of light to make another 5.1 miles to the shelter, I pushed on. Thoughts of a warm dinner and a spot in the shelter spurred me on.When I arrived at 6:20 p.m., I didn't like the way the pack hangers in the shelter were set-up, so I made dinner, filtered water, and pitched my tent. My dislike of the pack hangers was primarily because they would easily allow shelter mice to get into my pack, which I'd rather avoid.Today was a very good day. The weather was in the mid 50s, the sun was out the entire day, and I covered a good distance, even though I started out at 12:20 p.m.After a couple of cloudy, viewless days, the views from Tesnatee Mountain and Wildcat Mountain were greatly appreciated. The ascent up Wildcat Mountain was very steep, which was compounded by the heat of the sun.Holly and MJ didn't make it to Low Gap Shelter tonight and I doubt I'll see them tomorrow night, as I'm planning a 14.9 mile day tomorrow. Perhaps I'll see them at the Blueberry Patch Hostel in Hiawassee on Sunday or Monday.Today, I passed through the Raven Cliffs Wilderness and into the Mark Trail Wilderness. Bedtime at 9:00 p.m.