Date: 2019-03-30
From: Low Gap Shelter

To: Unicoi Gap/Helen
Miles today: 9.7

Puffy face again!! My skin is really not happy with me! I woke up with a swollen face all over again. I am annoyed about it. It¢s definitely an insecurity. I already smell bad and don¢t look my best; it just sucks to have that in addition. But I also don¢t like having any health issues that persist like that without treating them. I am debating getting some Benadryl in town today, but maybe the rest in a hotel will do the trick and the swelling will go down! I¢m really living up to the name ¢Puffy¢ haha. Despite that, today I was racing. I wanted to make sure I got to Unicoi Gap in time to get a ride. I was planning on hitch-hiking, although I really would¢ve loved to avoid that. You can¢t really get an Uber from these ¢gaps¢ and the taxis and shuttles are very overpriced. $40 to drive me 5 miles? Come on lol. I am not just being frugal here; I will dump so much unnecessary money if I choose that option every time I go to town. That¢s $40 each way, so $80 every time I need to go to town! I know the dangers of hitch-hiking, but I was hoping I¢d meet some other hikers or people would be parked and I could talk to them before asking for a ride. In order to make it there in time while it was still daylight and to enjoy the town of Helen, I headed out at 9am and I was booking it. I made it to Unicoi by 2pm. Getting those trail legs! I must say it still feels long every time. 5 miles, 3 miles, it all feels like a lot. But even though I get discouraged when I¢ve only gone three miles or so, I have to remind myself that any mileage is an accomplishment and that I¢m pushing my body way past where it¢s gone before. When I had reached my highest point of frustration today, I realized I had hiked 7 miles already! That felt really good and it proved that even though I feel like I¢m going nowhere, I¢m making progress! I started to hear cars and was hoping that wasn¢t just the wind, but it was indeed cars and I walked down to Unicoi Gap! There was a parking lot with cars and a highway in between. The highway was a bit scary because it was at the top of a hill, so I was worried the cars coming 50 or more mph would not see me and there was no official crossing, just a green sign with walking people on it. I safely got across the road and saw Willow the Mountain Goat and a new man, who I¢ve already forgotten the name of. They were talking to this lovely woman named Kelly Johnson, who took a picture of me to show her friend¢s daughter, who has always wanted to hike the AT. Glad I could be an inspiration, since I was inspired too back in the day! Kelly offered us all a ride, even though she had a small car. It was perfect! I didn¢t need to hitch-hike and I had already had the conversation before the ride offer, so I felt like Kelly was trust-worthy. She was incredibly nice. She said she was on her own adventure for a few weeks. She was in her 60s and was getting bored of the same routine. She was headed to Helen for the night, so it was perfect! Kelly dropped Willow off first at his hotel, and then ¢no-name¢ and I walked to my hotel. I got into my room and went right for the shower. I stood under the hot water for a while and then took a bath to soak my muscles, especially my feet. I ate, because my desire to get to town was so great I didn¢t stop for food today at all and now I was starving. I took another shower to finally cleanse myself, and headed out to dinner. The town of Helen is so cool! I had actually read about it when planning my trip and a lot of people choose to go to Hiawassee, GA instead to resupply. Helen is a more touristy place because it¢s all German-style buildings and food! It¢s so cool! I love a good tourist place because I love to travel, so I wanted to see this unique place!! It¢s so weird; you are driving through Georgia and just arrive in this Bavarian-style town with a windmill and pretzels and stereotypical German things. I joked and said I was going to post a picture and say I had ditched the AT for a trip to Germany! It was definitely a nice atmosphere and a complete change from anything else I¢d seen. One kid saw me and exclaimed ¢you look like you¢re going for a hike!¢ No kidding, kid. Haha. Willow the Mountain Goat and I got beer and dinner. It was nice to have company. I must say, the thought of camping on my own or being on my own right now does scare me. I am here to experience this for myself, but at least while I adjust, it¢s nice to have the company. I ate so much! Sausage, egg noodles, French fries, potato pancakes, and a pretzel. Ahh it was so good! It definitely felt weird to be off the trail and in a town. Everyone was in shorts and T-shirt¢s and it looked like a typical summer BBQ, except with the German vibe. I am sad I¢m going to miss the whole summer back home. I¢m not really looking forward to hiking in the heat, even though I¢ve been cold! But I know this journey is worth it. Even talking to Willow and seeing how excited he is about this trail made me realize how special a thing it is. I think I¢m dealing with a lot of emotions right now. I¢m adjusting physically and mentally to the trail and it¢s not easy. I¢m going to try to go to sleep now to clear my head of all these thoughts. Thank you again to everyone back home; your support means everything! Song of the day: ¢Never Give Up¢ by Sia. It¢s a good one!Diana... puffy? Haha