Date: 2006-03-08
From: Plumorchard Gap Shelter

To: Rock Gap Shelter
Miles today: 14.5
Weather: clear sky

A Mile Saved Is A Mile Earnedretro blaze: the AT has been rerouted many times since it was first created. a retro blaze is taking any old section of the AT instead of the new one. retro blazes almost always save you miles. blue blaze: circumventing a section of trail (white blazes) via another trail. a blue blaze can save you miles or just take you a more scenic way.Today we continued walking up and up and up, and i have begun thinking that i am climbing out of Georgia, quite literally. Like i am stuck in purgatory and my eternity consists of forever climbing up. up being synonomous with north. it was my first tough morning. and leaving georgia behind at bly gap did not stop the climb. the beginning of north carolina has been the most difficult part of the trail so far. as someone wrote in a trail register, "welcome to north carolina, you've bitten off more than you can chew." after about 4 miles, we got to muskrat creek shelter, where we had lunch and met coconut monkey, another thru-hiker. The nantahala hiking club was also there doing a bit of trail maintainance. They showed us a nice retro blaze that cut off 1.5 miles of the new AT. apparently more than 20 years ago, they moved the trail from one side of a mountain to the other to make way for some logging. the new trail goes around the mountain the long way. At Water Oak Gap, take a right down a still very clear trail to Deep Gap. You'll be happy.Also at Muskrat Creek Shelter is a map of alternative trails in the area. We chose to take the Kimsey Trail out of Deep Gap, which follows a wonderful creek all the way to Standing Indian Campgrounds. It is not very often that the AT will take you anywhere near a delightful creek. From Standing Indian, take the paved forest service road up about 1.5 miles to a trail (or water drainage, depending on how you look at it) leading up to Rock Gap Shelter. You can see the privy from the road. Can't miss it. So we bipassed 21 miles, 4 gaps, 3 shelters, and 2 mountains. (Section Hiking Has Its Perks)we popped out at the shelter and 5 or 6 people were there: Jolly Green Giant, Ceder Mo, Pogue, Big Un', and their friend Adam. Nugget was already sleeping in his tent near the shelter.I'd like to describe the georgia forests: the trail is rocky with compacted dirt, or on new trail, soft hummus. there are many rocks and rock slides big enough to see from other mountains. the forests are mostly oak with some small pine trees. some poplar as well. the trees are very small and must be very young. they provide little coverage without their leaves. lots of clear cuts. the floor is filled with leaves and this thorny vine thing. it is blood red, no thinker than 2 cm, has alternating branches, and small buds you can barely see; mostly because there are more prickers that really bare into you and sting. and there are many of these altogether on the side of the trail. they get tangled up in the small trees and are pretty ugly. those are the georgia woods. breathtaking views on both sides of shark tooth mountains, or saw blade ranges. clear blue skies, sunsets so magnifiscent you can't look away, and dull winter woods.Ate: Bear claw, kudos, fig newton bar, pita bread, cheddar cheese, summer sausage, another kudos, and 1/2 of: lipton and ramen with pink salmon, onion and garlic. a swig of rye whiskey (the liquor store in helen is named "helen's cellar"), pieces of chocolate.