Date: 2015-03-06
From: Tray Mountain Shelter

To: Top of Georgia Hostel
Miles today: 11.0

Woke up to someone howling at the top of their lungs as they came out of the shelter and I was pissed, there's no need to scream outside of someones tent or tarp that's just rude. I jumped out to yell at the person but they were gone, however I did get to catch my first sunrise while out on the trail so that instantly calmed me down and i just stopped to take in the sight. Everything got covered in a sheet of ice overnight which made it a beautiful sight to see. There was a sheet of ice along the inside of my tarp because the condensation from all the rain last night had frozen with the wind gusts. Woke up cold a couple times but the temp dropped to below twenty on my little thermometer and god only knows what the windchill brought it down to. When I first taped my tarp it literally snowed on me as the ice crystals broke away from the silnil. Really cold night but I think I should be able to make it through the Smokies no problem this was a pretty good test. Decided it was too cold to stay on top of the mountain so I broke everything down and put on my cold weather gear which I was extremely thankful for. Was the last one off the mountain but talked to Mowgli as he went by and we decided to shoot for top of Georgia Hostel for a resupply. As I came down the Mountain I was in awe of the frost covered mountains but it was incredible because only the cold sinks got filled with ice which made for a stunning effect visually from that high up. Hiked through he ice and fog pretty much all morning but that's my favorite time to hike I can get so lost in thought I absolutely love it. Hiked alone almost all day till I ran int Mowgli near Deep gap shelter and we walked the last few miles together to highway 76 where we ran across a little cooler of trail magic, unfortunately everything really good had been eaten out of it luckily there was a couple of oranges left that we devoured. After the orange break we worked our way down about a half mile to the hostel which looks great from both the outside and inside. The only thing we didn't appreciate were the prices they charged for shuttles, they wanted 15 a piece to get to town or we could stay for 22.40 and get the shuttle for free. Price was the highest so far but the facility is hands down the nice we've been to no shoes inside keeps everything clean and it's nice to walk around comfortably in socks for a bit honestly. We made a run to the local Ingles to resupply and Mowgli bought a rotisserie chicken to split and we sat out front of the store like some hobos eating chicken in the sun as we waited for the shuttle to pick us back up. The evening time is when I began to notice the flaws of Top of Georgia though. It started with the Wifi which they told us was spotty in the evening, well that's because they shut it off at 7 when they kick us out of the main house and send us to the bunk room which has no form of entertainment and only a table with 4 chairs. I don't know how 20 people are supposed to kick back and have fun in a building that small, their main house needs to be open way longer. The biggest thing of all though was the 30 dollar charge to take hikers back to Unicoi gap, there was a group of about 8 or 9 guys who had come in from there and had no idea they would be charged to return. The group had to fork over 50 bucks to get back, you shouldn't pick people up like that without warning them it was a total bait and switch which was totally uncool everyone there was in shock they would do that. Lesson learned there to say the least, fr those of you taking off here soon please take note and let anyone you run into what they're in for if they pull in at Unicoi.Post Note Edit in Reference to Flamingos Comment on my guest book;I would completely agree that you should prearrange the cost of return but when it's listed in the guide books "Free shuttles March-May to nearby town of Hiawassee, Dicks Creek Gap and Unicoi Gap for all overnight guests." there is no reason for a group of hikers to then be asked an absurd fee for return to the trail head. While I understand there are some places that do charge for shuttles there are just as many that don't, but what Top of Georgia did was a total bait and switch and would be considered false advertising in anyone's book. They have some issues they need to work out yet and I know it's only their first year so they're still learning, but thanks for your comment though!