Date: 2008-04-09
From: Gooch Mountain Shelter

To: Neels Gap, GA
Miles today: 15.6
Weather: clear sky

I know I said yesterday I wasn't going to go all the way into Neels Gap... Bonnie had offered to pick me up again when I got to Neels and the more I thought about it in the morning, the more I wanted to challenge myself. I was feeling good, plus if I got in today I would technically be ahead of schedule and that certainly deserves a zero day, right? I decided to see how the day went, but my goal was to get to Neels Gap. I got ready pretty fast this morning and took off before Mr. J and Free Wil. I leap frogged with Jason, Yak, and a really nice guy whose name I can't remember (he thru hiked in '02 with the trail name Faux Pa, knew someone I met on the PCT, and was just out for a section this time with his dog, Fargo). The hiking was relatively mild today, but it was downright hot, so I was having flashbacks to the PCT! One of the highlights of my day was being able to throw away my trash when we crossed a big road with bathrooms and a parking lot! And, I had my first fall today; I was looking up, tripped, and landed on my hands and knees. Nothing seemed to hurt, but if you're reading this Mountain Squid, my trail name can't be "No Falls" now! At close to mile 12, I thought I was done for the day. But it was only another 3 miles to Neels, Fargo and her owner decided to push on, and I decided that I could too if I ate a quick dinner. Free Wil and Mr. J pulled up as I was eating. They decided to camp tonight and go into Neels tomorrow. I felt like I crawled up Blood Mountain, but I made it in pretty good time and enjoyed the view as I caught my breath. I called Bonnie to let her know what time I would be down and got told yet again by some other hikers that I "make good time". Hey, at that point, I was smelling the barn! The hike down Blood was rough - deep rock steps and some rock scrambling. Pretty fun, but hard at the end of a long day! My left knee (the one I almost dislocated in college) was yelling a little by the time I got down. Neels Gap has a hostel and outfitters right on the trail. I got down about 45 minutes before I had told Bonnie to expect me (I didn't want her to have to wait and worry) so I mosied on over to the hostel. Sitting outside was Red, Terry, and Chris! It was great to see them one last time; Red is hiking faster than me and Chris and Terry are done with their section, although they were talking about trying to meet up with us once we get to Maine. There were a lot of hikers at the hostel, most of whom I had never met. Pirate, the guy running the hostel (although I think the outfitter owns it) was doing a drawing tonight with over 40 prizes. He talked me into taking a ticket even though I wasn't staying. Some of the prizes were good (steak and eggs breakfast, gear, food) and some were just funny (bow tie, fake spaghetti). He kept drawing the tickets, so everyone was a winner several times over. In the ten minutes I was there I won goofy teeth and a dozen golf balls, both of which will come in handy on the trail! When Bonnie arrived, I gave my ticket to Red (and heard later that she won the steak and eggs breakfast with it!) It was great to see Bonnie again, although she was feeling a bit under the weather. We stopped at Wendy's for dinner (mmmmm...frosty!) and I was soon tucked into a comfortable bed for the night. Tomorrow is a zero!