Date: 2005-03-07
From: Tray Mountain Shelter

To: Dick's Creek Gap
Miles today: 10.6
Weather: scattered clouds

Sleeping last night had its thrills. Around 10:30 or so I heard a commotion from Steady Step. Apparently a raccoon was crawling on his sleeping bag and woke him up. He jerked his legs into the air and threw the raccoon onto the shelter floor. All we heard was the pitter patter of little feet running away across the shelter floor. Later last night Old Yeller, who was tenting, heard a rustle outside his tent and then he heard something in his tent. Apparently a raccoon had gotten is his tent. He yelled and scared the raccoon and the raccoon ran out of the tent. Other than that the night went pretty well. It didn't get too cold last night. It only got down to around 37 degrees, but as usual it was very windy. We left the shelter arount 6:50 a.m. and started to hike. We had a fairly easy hike until we climbed Kelly Knob. We climbed from 3310 feet to 4275 feet in 1.1 miles. It was a pretty tough climb. After that we didn't have anymore hard climbs. But the long down hills after that into Dick's Creek Gap were very painful. Down hills are definite knee killers. By the time we reached Dick's Creek Gap at around 12:30 p.m. it was lightly raining. We were lucky to get a ride to the Blueberry Patch Hostel to pick up our drop boxes. We then caught a shuttle to the Hiawasee Inn for the next 2 nights. We're taking our 1st. zero day tomorrow. We all three, Old Yeller, Steady Step and myself, feel we need the rest for our bodies' sake. It felt great getting a mail drop. It's the only direct connection to my wife that I have. I absolutely loved the card she included. We went to Shoneys for dinner tonight. There were 12 of us hikers there eating the all you can eat buffet. We were there about 2 hours and I imagine Shoneys was glad when we left. What I have heard is true, thru hikers can be loud and crude, but we had a great time. We have met some very interesting people on our hike. We haven't met a single hiker yet that was unpleasant. It sure feels good being in a real bed tonight. Quick StepP.S. I would like to talk a little bit about some of the people I have met so far. First, there is Rich or "Old Yeller". He is a very pleasant person to be with. There are two things I hope happen with our friendship. Number 1. I hope our friendship continues to grow. Number 2. I hope as I continue to know him that some of his genuine compassion for people and nature rub off on me.Miles McDuf. This is his trail name, he is from Alabama and is a retired postal worker. He is in his late 50's, but has the energy of someone much younger. He truly enjoys people and seems to get as much enjoyment from everyone he meets as he can.Pine and Pixie. This is the young couples trail names although pine has another part to his name, but I can't remember it. This young couple have been married 7 years and truly seem to enjoy each other. They remind me of my wifes' and my relationship. I guess that is why I enjoy seeing them every so often.There is a couple from Utah that I have seen frequently. They too seem to really enjoy each others company. He has had such an interesting career. He has been a Wilderness Survival Instructor, worked with problem children, an Alaskan Forest Ranger and a Hard Hat Underwater Diver repairing nuclear power plants. Next year they plan on hiking around Europe.There is another young couple named Tim & Erika. They aren't married. Erika is Canadian and presently lives in Montreal, Quebec. She is very outgoing and enjoyable to be around. I think Tim is from New York City. He has traveled and been many places in his young life. He has hiked the Himilayan Mountains, the Andes Mountains and also the deserts around Pakistan. He also is very friendly and fun to talk to.There is a young man named Billy that I just met last night at Tray Mountain Shelter. He is from Phoenix, Arizona and has lived there his entire life. I would guess he is about 19 years old. He seems to have taken a liking to us and wants to be around us. I hope we continue to see him, but I know we won't be able to keep up with his pace. Billy does alot of mountain biking and in that respect reminds me of my oldest son's love for that sport.I met a man with the trail name of Dynamite a week or so ago. I haven't seen him since Neels Gap, but I do hope to see him again. He is from Columbus, Ohio and we enjoy talking about O.S.U.Football. He has a great knowledge of the Civil War and that also is of great interest to me.I met a young man named Chris at the top of Springer Mountain. He was from Florida and was taking time off from college to hike the A.T. He has traveled some and is fun to talk to. While in school, he works at Disney World dressed as a Disncy Character in the Theme Park. The last time I saw him was at Neels Gap. His feet were in pretty bad shape and he was staying there to try to nurse them back. He seemed to be in very low spirits when we left there and I wish him the best. I do hope I see him again.This in only the ninth day of this journey and I have already met so many people. Everyone comes from different back grounds, but we all have the trail as a common interest. Age seems to be of very little importance. We are all going through the same experiences with the same challenges.