Date: 2014-05-04
From: Snowbird Mountain 

To: Catpen Gap
Miles today: 17.0

It was was windy last night so much so that my get flap blew off the stakes and was stuck to my door. It woke me up which was a good thing as it had to go pee and after much tossing and turning I went for it. I forgot that we camped on the top of a bald and as I left my tent, I looked up and saw the stars and stared at them for a while combined with the lights of the towns around the mountains, You couldn't ask for better scenery while peeing in the middle of the night.   The plan for today was a bit of a murky one as usually he might before we come up with some sort of plan but that didn't happen in this case. We all left at different times and I started out with Yogi, the big thing of the day was Max Patch, a huge bald with spectacular views, it was a nine mile hike so we would be well on our way and could decide where we would want to camp. The morning was a nice one, Yogi and I were pretty quiet while hiking, it was just one of those mornings. Right before we got to the road we had to cross to get to Max Patch, we saw a truck at the base of the trail with a table set up. We were all thinking the same thing but didn't think it could actually happen- two days of trail magic, is it possible? All if sudden a older couple yell up to us 'Do you guys want grilled ham and cheese sandwiches?' It was magic to our ears and all smiles as we hiked down the trail to the sandwiches. Granny and Old Goat were the trail angels whose daughter and fianc© are thru hiking and instead of doing antiquing, they were going to meet them at certain spots up the trail while providing thru hikers with trail magic, they were hooked. I talked to them for a bit and saw I was from New York and they told about their experience working with the Red Cross and working in Breezy Point and the Rockaways after Hurricane Sandy, they are amazing people. Along with the sandwiches, there was soda, water, beer (I've never drank so much beer before lunchtime in my life until hitting the trail), they made little to go cups of peanut butter, baggies of flavored powder for the water, it was so thoughtful that they were catering to thru hikers needs. We hung around for about an hour before heading off to Max Patch, Granny had us sign her book so she could pray for us for the next six months,I guess everything has a time limit these days. The hike up to Max Patch was short but when we got up there, it was spectacular, the wind was blowing hard but with the sun in the sky and no clouds it was the perfect combination. We ended up laying on too of the bald for awhile digesting all he food we just ate while Gadget played some tunes on his guitar, life couldn't haven't been better. We decided we would camp at a campground eight miles down the trail, this would leave us with an eleven mile hike into Hot Springs, NC which the Appalachian Trail actually goes through, it's the first trail town we'll be going through. A few of us have mail drops there and dependent on what time we get there, I might just stay overnight or spend my first zero day of the trip there.    The rest of the hike was great, the flowers are blooming and really add character to the trail, along with the river running beside it, it gave me a glimpse of what the trail is going to be like as the first comes to life. We got to camp around six. The whole group is here and Tim and James showed up as we, they do their own thing but we see them on a daily basis and usually chill with them at camp. Since it only took us two days to get to Hot Springs instead of the three, we indulged a little bit and stuffed ourselves. I hope there's a scale at Hot Springs, I'm curios to see of I lost or gained weight so far.   I've posted pictures as much as I can and will start uploading videos soon. I just wanted to thank everyone who follows along on this crazy journey and posts stuff in the guest book. I love reading them when I get an internet connection. Thanks everyone.