Date: 2014-03-22
From: Lance Creek Campgroung

To: Neel Gap
Miles today: 7.4
Weather: moderate rain

We woke with our watch alarm at 4:00 am and packed up our tent as quietly as possible. The moonlight lighted the path pretty well as we hiked up Blood Mountain, our highest peak yet at 4461 ft. It got fully light right before we reached the summit. The climb up wasn't as difficult as other hikers made it seem like it would be. The top wad very rocky and we really enjoyed some tremendous views. Christine kept pointing out spots she wants to build a house someday. On our way off the mountain we somehow missed our well marked path and walked down a very steep rock slab. Once we discovered our mistake we had to crawl back up and I slipped on a wet section of the rock. I wanted to see how far I could get without falling. Not even four days! Once on the correct path we walked down to Neel Gap and across US 19 road to Mountain Crossings which is quite the magical place. The first thing you see is a great big tree with branches spread out. Dangling from these branches are the shoes and boots from hikers past who have cast them off in favor of lighter and better foitwear. The tree is covered. This place is not just a stop for thruhikers, but is a popular spot for motorcyclists and tourists. Weekend hikers and boy scout troops start here for a few days of adventure. The outfitter itself is an old building from the 20s made from stone. We waved goodbye to several of the young hikers from the previous two shelters who had stayed here the night before and were moving on. Inside, the outfitter was filled with anything and everything a long distance hiker could ever need. It is here that they help thruhikers lighten their load of any unnecessary gear. The top portion of the walls are covered with more forsaken shoes and an array of thruhikers packs from the decades past fully decked out with gear. We bought two bunks in the hostel two staircases down the side of the hill. We bought a frozen pizza which they cooked for us and we devoured it in minutes, still hungry. We bought a few food items for the next section of our hike, but got most of our food from the hiker's box. A hiker's box is a place for thruhikers to leave anything they don't want to carry anymore that other hikers could find useful. In this one there was a lot of food, books, clothes, and other small trinkets. There was even a pack and a sleeping pad. Thankfully, a father and boy hiking team had a large maildrop sent to them and had a lot of good food left over for us to scavenge. We bought a box of mac & cheese and a sandwhich and shared those for supper. I spent the day writing this and resting. Christine sewed up a shoulder strap on her Walmart pack that was tearing loose. We think it will hold even if she has to repair it in spots every now and again. After supper I was stil hungry. Luckily for me, we were about to experience our first trail magic! A large van pulled up and several adults and children poured out carrying boxes and pans. They brought us hot Mexican lasagna and soup, cookies, lemonade, and tea. They also brought good socks the kids had funraised to give to hikers. We each took a pair to use as a backup when another pair bites the dust. It was a good.day to rest and we are going to ramp up the miles a little.