Date: 2010-01-31
From: Woody gap

To: Neels Gap
Miles today: 10.5
Weather: clear sky

As a well-spent day brings happy sleep, so a life well spent brings happy death.                               - Leonardo da VinciJosh dropped me off at Woody Gap so I could continue my journey north. The fog was thick as I climbed up Big Cedar Mountain.   The woods were very quiet. Other than the crunch of the ice underfoot, I only heard occasional drips of water.   While the weather on the previous two day had been bright and glorious, this day was solemn and peaceful - a good day for contemplation. I thought about my father who passed away 31 years ago today, not much older than I am now.   I only wish that he'd had more of a chance to follow his dreams after fulfilling his responsibilities.In the afternoon the fog lifted some, but the weather turned chill and the wind began to pick up. As long as I kept moving quickly I could stay warm enough. By continually adjusting my earwarmer, hat, mittens and sleeves, I tried to stay in that sweet zone and not the sweat zone or chill zone.   The gaps were so windy that I hurried through them, as I chilled quickly if I did pause. I thought about a plan for the day. I was hoping to make it over Blood Mountain and down to the hostel at Neel Gap. But it would be a long day for me at this point. I remembered a tilted rocky part that I was worried would be icy. I was hoping to be up and over while the temperature was still above freezing, since otherwise I would be facing it in the morning when it would be even colder. I could stay the night in the campsite below the summit or in the shelter at the summit, but neither of those options was very attractive.The fog closed back in as I pushed up the mountain. I made the summit and continued on down the other side. The trail down didn't seem as easy as the trail going up. It required a little clambering over rocks. Most hikers wouldn't have even noticed, but I'm a little uncertain stepping down from rock to rock or traversing downward tilting slabs. Since I was already tired my legs were a little shaky, so I made an extra effort to slow down and concentrate. I could always put my headlamp on and just arrive after dark. That would be much better than hurrying on only to twist an ankle or worse. The trail got smoother as I got further down the mountain, and I was able to make better time, but it seemed to go on forever. Finally I began to hear traffic noise, but the fog was so thick I couldn't see any headlights. It was almost dark when I finally reached the road. I listened carefully for cars about to crest the hill and hoped that I would be able to hobble across without becoming a hood ornament.I was concentrating only on making it to the hostel so that it wasn't until I crossed the road that I noticed that the only lights I could see were the outdoor lights. There were only a couple of vehicles in the parking lot, and it looked like no one was home. I hadn't expect the outfiter to be open this late, but wasn't there *anyone*? Had the place been shut down and I had missed the buzz this would have caused?Then I noticed someone coming from the building, hunched against the cold wind. It was Alpine, who led me to the hostel. He opened the door to reveal a group of people having dinner. I was greeted with a cheer and an invitation to share the food. I was informed that Pirate had made groundhog stew in honor of the fact that it was Groundhog Day.Really? I'd never had groundhog before. I'd love to try it. I speculated on what it would be like.I was handed a big bowl of a rice, meat and cheese concoction that smelled wonderful. I wondered if this as the traditional southern way to serve groundhog, and I took a bite. Mmmmm. I hadn't eaten enough during the day (again) so I was very hungry. I took a few more bites. Then I spooned up one of the larger chunks to to isolate the groundhog meat so I could get a better taste of just the meat. I was expecting a texture more like chicken, but this was firmer - more like pork.   A little spicy, and what was that? Fennel? That's interesting, Pirate seasoned it like Italian sausage. Just then someone asked how I liked the groundhog stew. I noticed that other people were just a little too intent on my reaction. "It's wonderful, but I have the feeling that my leg is being pulled," I said. There was general laughter, and I was told that maybe I should think off it as "ground-up hog stew". I'd been had. A movie and good conversation followed. Long after most folks had gone to bed, I stayed up getting good advice from Dartman on hiking equipment. Finally, after my well-spent day, I crawled into my bunk and passed into happy sleep.