Date: 2006-02-18
From: Low Gap shelter

To: Best Western - Unicoi
Miles today: 7.6

WOW! What a day. So first off our master plan of waking up in the middle of the night to go hiking never worked...too cold and too tired. Batman and Katie were up at 7:30am and gone shortly there after. They go so fast so we won't be seeing them for sure for a long, long time. Today's hike was ab out 7.6 miles. The first part was pretty even and straight with the second part being a slight uphill but extremely rocky. The weather was terrible. It seems that every day I live on the trail is the worst day of my life - I love it. The fog was sooooo thick! Rain started the leg of hiking soaking us. But then out of nowhere the temperature dropped 10 degrees and everything on us froze. Even the elastic netting on my bag froze in the shape of the Nalgene it was holding. When we stopped for lunch we thought we were going to die we were so cold! The wind kept blowing on our soaking wet bodies. Many terrible words along with random screams could be heard for miles...we repented. So we grew some and packed up and started hiking the rest of the way to the road where we would hitch-hike into town. We were so miserable.   I just kept praying that God would provide shelter for us. We got to the road, got picked up and off we went to Helen to the post office to get our packages.We pull into the post office - closed - and they wouldn't be opened till Tuesday because Monday is President's Day. The guy that drove us felt bad that we would have to spend three nights in Helen so he offered to pay for our hotel room - AMEN! Bauman said, "No thanks, we couldn't take that." - idiot. He later said he just felt bad for taking hand outs which I can understand but we worked something out to where if anyone offers us anything I would be in charge of accepting it. So next our challenge was to find a cheap hotel room for three nights. We were so beat up we decided to call Keri and Summer to see if they would hang out with us - they loved the idea and headed down. Meantime, Bauman started going hotel to hotel seeing if we could work for our stay - no dice. I had the idea of making a sign that said, "AT hiker - Need $ 4 Room". I was able to get $49.00. The whole time I was praying that God would provide and I kept getting reminded of Matthew 6 when it talks about how God dresses the lillies of the field - definitely answered prayer. Next Bauman was able to get a room at the Best Western for $45.00 a night - Perfect! But even better, when we showed up Mandy, the desk clerk, gave us the room for $40.00! Amen! I kept thinking that God clothed us like the lillies, what about feeding us like the birds? Mandy next pointed out that breakfast was served every moring and there would always be food out in the lobby! - Amen!So the girls were coming and all of our crap was soaked. So I took a shower and then went to do our laundry. I didn't know how to get to the laundry mat so I asked Mandy and so she got her sister Tiffany to take me over...sweet. She dropped me off and I said thanks. After she left I realized I forgot my shell jacket. So I left our laundry there and ran one block back to our room. Bauman was in the shower. I get the jacket and start heading out the door when the phone rings, it's Mandy. She says, "My sister just dropped your friend off at the laundry mat, but we were wondering if you guys wanted to go to church with us tomorrow?" She thought I was Bauman so instead of explaining how it was me, laundry mat boy, I impersonated Bauman and said it was great idea but "I have to ask him about it." She said ok and we hung up and I raced back to the laundry mat with my jacket hoping no one stole our crap. Two minutes after I got there, Tiffany, Mandy's sister, showed up and asked me if Bauman and I wanted to go to church with them in the morning. I said that's cool but I'd have to ask Bauman about it when I get back. She said, "Cool, funny that's exactly what he said." I laughed and said, "No way" while laughing inside about the events that occured in front of me. So the quarter machine didn't work so Tiffany took me across the street to the gas station and gave me $20.00 - Amen! Very nice girl.I finished the laundry and went back to the room just in time for Keri and Summer to show up - in short, it was wonderful to see them. Tomorrow we are going to the sister's church and we're going to meet some people in charge of an A.T. ministry.1.5 PBJ on bagel---2x pepperoni and cheese quasadillaPBJ on bagel---bananas and yogurt