Date: 2014-05-02
From: Allen Gap

To: Flint Mountain Shelter
Miles today: 17.0
Weather: light rain

AT day 27 FridayThis morning everyone got up pretty early. It was a little cold, but Kent got the fire started back up which was nice to have while we packed up. The YWAM van was still there and they were nice enough to share their coffee with Kent and power to charge my phone! When I went back to grab my phone a truck pulled up next to the van. The man who got out asked if we were hiking north because his group from Greenville TN was doing trail magic seven miles ahead and he wanted to invite us!!! Finally! We weren't going to miss it! I was so excited! The seven miles happened to be mostly uphill but knowing food awaited us, made the climb seem worth it!I went to tell Jon but the man beat me there. Kent had already left, so he didn't hear about it. We decided we wouldn't tell him, so it'd be a surprise. The uphill wasn't too bad to start, but quickly got worse. My legs, still tired from yesterday, couldn't keep Jon's quick pace. I told him to go ahead and I threw my headphones in. Music helps distract from the hard parts! Plus, we were going to get trail magic!!!I had no idea how long I had been walking, but was starting to get pretty tired, when Sue from YWAM caught up to me. We had a nice chat and time flew by. Before I knew it, I saw a shelter ahead. I knew that was five miles from camp! Great, only two more miles to food! Jon and Kent were taking a quick break, so I sat for a bit too. Unfortunately, the people at the shelter had already heard about the trail magic and shared the info with Kent. So much for the surprise. Kent was feeling good, so he quickly took off again. Jon and instated a tad longer then got excited for food and left. The two miles up was brutal. I never stop going uphill, but I even had to take a breather a couple times going up. It seemed like every turn led to a longer steeper climb. But there was food waiting for me in two miles!!!I finally made it past the top and headed downhill, a welcome change. Soon I saw a sign for trail magic ahead! I practically ran to it! It was better than I ever could have imagined! They had a big tent set up with a long table of food! There were hamburgers, hot dogs, salad, fruit, chips, homemade baked goods, soda, hot chocolate, and more! It was a hikers dream come true! The folks running it were insanely friendly. We couldn't thank them enough. We all sat in the sun stuffing ourselves! And got a couple things to take with! It was magical! Kent had gotten there before Jon and I, so he left before us again. He was still feeling good and energized with hot food! We finally peeled ourselves away, after talking with Aquaman and Tricks, who had made it in just after us. We were happy to see them as well as Sheepdog and Butterfly! It was nice to have our little group together again!As we were walking up a rocky incline, we heard people above us. As we got higher, we saw why. There was a cliff overlook just off trail and our friends Gunpowder and Flint were out in it. We joined to them see the view and even got a picture with them. It was pretty beautiful. We hiked with them for the rest of the day, which was awesome since we really love talking with them. It was also nice because we got to walk the ridge line of the mountain together. It was filled with huge rocks, steep ups and downs (the kind I spoke of yesterday where you have to use your hands), and amazing views! We stopped to take lots of pictures. It was such an incredible feeling to be up so high and see all the mountains we had walked in the last few weeks We caught back up with Kent about four miles ahead at a shelter. He was taking a nice little cat nap in the sun! Sadly, we must have been loud because he woke up quickly. We decided to go another six miles to camp near the next shelter. Again, we got to walk with our friends! When we got to the shelter about 17 miles into our day, it was packed as well as most of the space outside of it. We weren't discouraged though, we walked up trail a bit and found a flatish place where we could fit three tents not far from the spring! We pitched our tents and visited with Bamboo as we ate our small dinners, still full from a big lunch. We all shared food with Bamboo, as he has lost a good amount of weight and can't seem to gain any of it back. His hips have gotten so small, he can't get his backpack to stay on them which is in turn hurting his shoulders. Plus, we like him so it's not hard to share! It was another great day! I can't wait to see what tomorrow has in store!