Date: 2006-04-26
From: Slaughter Gap

To: Neels Gap / Goose Creek Lodge
Miles today: 3.3
Weather: overcast clouds

I woke about 5:30 am and the rain was gone. I dozed until 6:30 and packed up. I¢m proud of the tarptent ¢ It kept me dry and stood up to the wind. I made my last pack of Ramen and got going by 7:30 am. Man ¢ what a view from Blood Mountain. There is an ocean of clouds below me and the mountains are floating in mist. I just realized that I am the first up here this morning. I walked to the shelter and looked through the door ¢ nobody. I thought I¢d need to wait for somebody to take my picture. I said to nobody, ¢I¢m here!¢ From inside the shelter came a quiet voice, ¢So are we.¢ I nearly jumped out of my skin. I looked back into the shelter and realized that there was a second room in the back. There I met Brother X and Brother Y. They are actually a brother and sister thru-hiking team. I don¢t remember my highschool biology, but I know that this won¢t do justice to these 2. He was in Tikrit just a few miles from me and returned last year (small world, no?). She is small and carries a big pack. They are both very nice people. A few minutes after I arrived, Uphill showed up in the shelter. He was surprised I¢d made it this early and I told him it was an accident. We all got started and paused at the peak marker for the mountain ¢ 4,450 feet. The highest peak in Georgia. It was 8:45 am and I was on top of the world! What a view! What a feeling! Happy Happy Happy!Enter stage left ¢ Murphy¢s Law. ¢Mr Bill, I¢m Murphy. You can call me ¢Murph¢. See that cloud up there?¢ We had a nice cold wet, hard driving rain storm while we went down the mountain. I had on my frogtogs top and pack cover, but the rain ran down my legs and right into my boots. I stopped and changed socks twice but both times it rained again and the trail puddle quite a bit in places so I was stuck with wet feet. I slipped and wrenched my knee while trying to go around some big rocks. So I started favoring my left leg and the result was a blister in the front middle of my left foot and a blister on the right heel. On the Bottoms! I already had blisters on the bottoms of my big toes so this made 4 that were nickel to quarter-sized (I¢m still on the side of this mountain by the way). After a 2 ¢ 3 hour descent I limped into Walisi-Yi Center. The guys all patted me on the back and shook my hand like I¢d won something. I think that they knew I was in worse shape than I did. The folks at the outfitter sat me down and made me remove my shoes and socks (I was limping badly). When I pulled off my socks in front of 4 thru-hikers and 2 outfitters, there was a collective GASP. Yes, a 6-person gasp!I looked at Boo. He was a medic in the Army. His mouth was open and his eyes were wide. (Internal dialogue ¢ ¢Uh-Oh¢). I looke at my feet and my heart began to sink. I knew they hurt but this was ridiculous. I looked like a limping eyesore. I cold have been a trenchfoot model for Army manuals. (Internal dialogue ¢ ¢Not good¢¦¢¦. no,¢¦¢¦. Definitely not good¢). Oh yes. Now my trail name is ¢Blister Bill¢.   The outfitter got me some waldies to putter around in and soon we all were picked up by Keith from Goose Creek Lodge. I like Goose Creek Lodge. They¢ve got cabins for rent and a trout pond. Lots of ducks and geese. Cats that like to sit on backpacks and nice people. We all had a good dinner at a restaurant in Blairsville and crashed that evening.