Date: 2015-03-27
From: Neel Gap

To: Unicoi Gap
Miles today: 21.2
Weather: broken clouds

It was hard leaving the cozy, warm, dry cabins. I stopped at Mountain Crossing to send a few things home and a bounce box to Hiawassee to AGAIN try to reduce the weight of the "Blue Beast." Then I continued North.Several thru hikers took a zero day after Blood Mountain, but they hiked it with full packs. I am Sooooo glad I slack packed it. The weather was very nice, but it was tough getting used to hiking with a full pack again. This was compounded by the steady climb out of Neel Gap.I like using torn out pages from the AWOL trail guide. It seems to give more detailed information about the trail and water availability. I am very glade I picked it up at Mountain Crossing.There were a few spots with beautiful views. Although camping at shelters is strongly encouraged, I saw many lovely campsites along the trail. Once I climbed out of Neel Gap, the trail stayed between 3000 and 4000 feet. I am still struggling going up hill, stopping frequently to catch my breath. I hope this situation improves. I stopped at a stream for water, which sometimes can be a bit of a challenge. The streams tend not to be very deep. So trying to fill a bottle can be really hard. Fortunately some ingenious kind soul left a cut off bottle as a scoop, so I scooped the water into my "dirty water" bottle, which is a one liter Smart water bottle. I then attached my handy dandy Squeeze water filter, and squeezed the water into my "clean water" bottles, which are nothing more than 20 oz Gatorade bottles. Not rocket science, but it can be frustrating and time consuming. The closest shelter was Whitley. Gap, but it required an extra 1.2 mile hike each way. So I decided not to stay at a shelter this time and instead would use one of those lovely campsites mentioned above. Another thru hiker, "Ikela", and I agreed to camp together for safety.Late in the day I reached Tesnatee Gap. The hike down was bad enough, but the hike back out of the gap nearly killed me. It was late in the day and I was VERY tired. The mountain was so steep that there were many, many switchbacks. Just when I thought I was at the top, I realized it was just another switchback and LOTS of mountain left to climb. I was getting hungry and it was getting late. I decided I would stop at 7 p.m. where ever I was so I had enough daylight to set up camp. But first I had to get off the rocky narrow trail zigzagging up the face of the mountain!!I FINALLY made it to the top and passed the turn off for Whitley. Gap Shelter. The trail got easier, and I still had time before 7, so I kept going. Hogpen. Gap was only .2 miles further. Because it is a road crossing, it is recommended that hikers not camp there for safety reasons, but there were several hikers camped there, up on the hillside. "Ikela" was already there looking for a tentsite.We went a little further up the hill and camped at a trail side campsite with several other campers. I got my tent set up quickly, then went back down the hill to the parking area for some wonderful trail magic. Some great old hiker dudes treated us to hotdogs, wine, and beer. I had seen them before on the trail, and frankly they intimidated me a bit with their long beards and hillbilly appearance. But they were absolutely the kindest gentlemen I have met in a long time. And they were all facinating to talk with. All of them have hiked the AT more than once, long before we had all the fancy high tech light weight gear we have now. I have since learned that all of them are Vets. "Lone Wolf", "Pirate", and "Willie", if you happen to be reading this, thank you so much for your generosity and kindness, but most especially for your service for our Country. The guys even brought firewood and offered to carry it up the hill so we could have a fire, but the weather changed and we had to call it a night. It was so strange. Suddenly we were surrounded by a wet cloud, and then it began to rain and blow like crazy. We all made it into our tents just in time. We even had cloud vapor inside our tents!! I began to wonder how smart it is to sleep outside on top of a mountain with only a thin fabric tent for protection.The next morning almost everyone had water inside their tents. I actually had a puddle at my feet. The rain let up, and one by one we packed up all our wet gear (and the extra water weight) and headed up the trail. The old hiker dudes left before most of us got up.This was going to be a VERY long day. Hogpen Gap to Blue Mountain Shelter, about 12 miles with full pack plus the extra water weight. There were a few minor climbs and drops initially, then it seemed to almost level out for a while. I stopped for a long break at the turn off for Low Gap Shelter for water, a bite to eat, and to dry out my tent. The sun had finally come out and the weather was beautiful for hiking.There were very few landmarks along the trail, and my speed varies greatly depending on altitude and tread conditions, so I cannot even guestimate my location. Finally, at 5 p.m. I saw a sign for Chattahoochee Gap, and I knew I had 2.3 miles left to Blue Mountain Shelter. But it was really rough trail. Almost all uphill, carved into the mountainside, and extremely rocky. And again I was tired and running out of daylight.At almost 7 p.m. I finally made it to the shelter. Flat spots for tents were limited, so everyone was camping close together. I got my tent up, then made a bag dinner. There were 2 separate fire rings with lovely fires going. This was the first time I had seen campfires. I saw some familiar faces, such as "Didgeridoo", who is actually carrying a didgeridoo and plays it occassionally. And there were some new faces that I enjoyed getting to know. I ate my dinner at one fire, and stopped by the second fire briefly to visit with everyone there before heading to bed. I had a great time talking with one guy about the Amish and another guy about the Everglades. Two guys are section hiking south and had recently passed through the Smokies. They confirmed what I feared, there is still snow there. Several people also mentioned that the weather forecast for the next few days included temps below freezing, which obviously seriously concerned me.I got up early and started to pack up. Again it had rained during the night and the rain fly was soaked, but this time the inside of the tent stayed dry. I quickly realized the cold weather was already setting in. My fingers were freezing as I packed as quickly as I could. It was cold, damp, and windy, and it was time to seek shelter off the trail.I had planned to take a zero day when I reached Dick's Gap, but with the weather forecast I decided to take the zero early. I had 2.4 miles to hike to Unicoi Gap, where I could catch a shuttle to Hiawassee and a warm, safe hotel room to wait out the weather.When I finally had phone service, I called the Budget Motel to see if they had any rooms and to confirm they had shuttles from Unicoi Gap at 9 and 11. They were already booked for the night, but they still had the shuttle. I figured if I could get to Hiawassee I would probably find a room somewhere.When I reached Unicoi a church group was just starting to set up a tent and tables for trail magic. I am not a religious person, but I greatly appreciated their kindness and generosity. They had boxes of candy bars, chips, and other things hikers love, along with burgers and hot beverages. They refused to take any money in return for their kindness. They were all hikers and were truly just trying to help thru hikers on their journey. I was cold, wet, tired, thursty, and hungry, so I REALLY appreciated their trail magic as I waited for the shuttle and tried to find a place to stay.The shuttle was late but eventually showed up. For $5 I got a lift to the Holiday Inn Express, where I will stay warm and dry while the cold front passes. Once again, my room looks like an REI garage sale with clothing and gear spread out everywhere to dry. I felt really bad about the bath tub. I draped a tarp and tent footprint over the shower curtain rod. As they dried, all the dirt and leaves previously stuck to them fell onto the floor and into the tub. It looked like rats were building nests. I cleaned it all up, but it made quite the mess.The AT is calling, and I have miles to hike .... but not until the low temps are well above freezing.