Date: 2005-03-21
From: Hiawassee

To: Hiawassee
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: overcast clouds

.21.05Day 88am Up at 5:30 this morning. Once your biological clock getscalibrated to hiker time, there's no going back; up w/ the sun, out w/the sun. I was hoping to jump on the computer. I mean, who elsewould be crazy enough to be up at that hour, before the breakfast baropened? Well, another hiker, that's who. Skylark beat me to theinternet by about 30 seconds. Pretty soon, Jake strolled in; thenLonghaul. And so the train of hikers rolled in to the lobby. By now,I think basically everybody has surfaced, trickling in one at a time. Here's the list (that I'm aware of): me, Amanda, Jake, Wyatt, James,Longhaul, Butterfly Moon, Vision Quest, Skylark, Newbie, Turtle,Weatherman, Red. I suspect that I've forgotten a few -- it's been ahighway intersection throught the continental breakfast buffet. Andwhat a spread it is -- cereal, fruit, bagels, donuts, cinnamon buns,instant oatmeal (don't think that one is a particularly big hit),coffee and juice (although the beverages leave something to be desired-- my palate is still slightly discriminatory. Give me another weekor two, and fake sweetened juice will be the most tasty nectarimaginable, ambrosia of the gods.) I have noticed that my appetitehas returned. As is the norm, whenever I embark on a backpacking trip(of any duration), my appetite takes a vacation for the first handfulof days, and I quite literally have to force myself to eat. Lastspring, it took several weeks before it finally came back. This year,conscious of that, I've tried to deliberately stick to a consistenteating schedule, even tho' I don't feel hungry, just to get mybody physiologically conditioned to the pattern. And, it seems tohave worked. I've definitely been hovering over the coffee pot thismorning. You would think a night spent in a nice, cushy, comfy hotelbed would be extremely restful and salutory. Not so for lil' ol' me. The bed was just too dang comfortable. Tonight, I'm sleepingon the floor.The general consensus seems to be that zeroing is the order of theday. Longhaul and Butterfly Moon, brave intrepid souls that they are,have departed for the trail, but I believe they are the only two sofar. Me, I'm perfectly content to stick around another day, soak upsome 'civilization', try are get my journal updated. (Why do Iwrite so dang much?) Yeah, I have enough chores to keep me occupiedtoday. Speaking of which...3:45pm All's quiet on the Georgia frontier. Just glanced at Wingfoot-- less than 10 miles, and we're in North Carolina! I've noticed thatI'm not utilizing Wingfoot nearly as much as I did last year. Then, Iwas constantly checking the upcoming elevation gains; the guidebookoccupied a handy, convenient pocket in my shorts. This year, Wingfoothas been relegated to a ziploc bag, tucked in my pack, and I crack itopen once, maybe twice a day. Really, there's no need to know aboutthat giant, monstrous, thousand-foot climb up ahead. Really. Ignorance is bliss, and all that. I'll know soon enough anyway. Mylegs certainly will. And, the mountains ain't goin' nowhere.9:15pm Back from another delectable dinner at Shoney's. Sitting inthe Holiday Inn once again, w/ Weatherman, Cuppa Joe, Break,Freeze-Dried (the hiker formerly known as Mike Shine), and Trail AngelLori. Lori surfaced again today, shuttling hikers hither and yon. Weatherman, who we all dearly missed on the trail the past few days,regaled us w/ tales from his life. And oh, what tales they be. Side-splitting, gut-busting. Literally. I had tears streaming downmy face; Break nearly choked on her water; Cuppa Joe turned an amazingshade of red from laughing. I couldn't possibly do them justice here;I wish I had a tape recorder, that's really the only way to recountthem properly. But, I'll end w/ this one gem: "One time, in Panama,I got a black eye from a friggin' monkey."