Date: 2008-03-23
From: Low Gap Shelter, GA

To: Blue Mt. Shelter, GA
Miles today: 7.2

I just made myself some chicken with stuffing and gravy for Easter dinner. Not bad. I called my folks to check in and say Happy Easter. Everyone seems to be doing fine, but my mom's too worried about me.When I went to bed last night I was pretty warm. Around 2:00 a.m., it got really cold in the shelter. I kept falling in and out of sleep, but it was tough to stay asleep with the chill. I wasn't freezing, just chilled enough to have trouble sleeping. Tonight I'm sleeping in my tent, which can be a bit warmer because sometimes it holds some body heat and blocks the wind better than a shelter. Last night I shared the shelter with Radar, Big Dipper, and someone else whose name I forget. Radar thru-hiked last year, so it was good to talk to him and hear his stories and advice. We didn't hear or see any mice during the night...maybe that has something to do with all of the owls that were written about in the shelter register.There's a couple hiking with two dogs. One is a Burmese Mountain Dog and the other looks like a mini Cocker Spaniel. The owner came down from his campsite this morning to get some water from the stream that's just in front of the shelter. He tied the little dog to a tree that was 6 feet from the stream and started getting water. The dog whined and barked for a solid 5 minutes until the guy was done getting water. It was awesome. I stopped around noon for lunch and after settling down in a nice comfortable spot in the shade, I heard the whining and barking again. They were stopped for lunch ~100 yards from me but I hadn't seen them. And now I'm camped ~20 feet from them, so hopefully the dog will stay quiet through the night.Since I mentioned lunch, check this out. When I was in Neels Gap I bought peanut butter and jelly...in the same jar! This stuff's awesome! I spread some on a tortilla and voila! Instant pb+j sandwich! It's not the best jelly in the world, and it's definitely not the best peanut butter, but even choosy moms can't deny its convenience. This is gonna be my new favorite lunch item...until I get sick of it.Today was a pretty good day. The first 5 of the 7.2 miles were pretty easy and relaxing. The rest was very rocky and rough and I had to really watch my step. I ended up getting to the shelter by 2:30. I was able to take a short nap to make up for some lost sleep. I had thought it was hailing early in this morning's hike, but it turned out to be chunks of frost (more like ice) being shaken from the trees by the wind. It was strange...the sun was out and it was raining icicles.I've been pretty happy with my gear and the way I've been doing things so far. I get a huge amount of satisfaction when I see people furiously pumping away at their water filters while I take my boots off and rest my feet as my gravity filter setup does its magic by itself. My water bag (the one I use for collecting water from streams before filtering it) sprung a tiny leak today. I've already patched it, though, and hopefully all is well. The next time you talk to whatever god(s) you worship, do me a favor and thank him/her/it/them for my trekking poles (or just tell Celia I said thanks, since I paid for part of them with a gift card she gave me). I can't imagine doing a hike like this without them. They help you push yourself uphill and stabilize you on the way down.There's 19+ miles between here and Dick's Creek Gap, where I plan to get a ride into Hiawassee to resupply. I might plan to stay at shelters (~7.5 miles apart) for the next 2 days and leave 3 or 4 miles for a third day, allowing me to spend the rest of that day cleaning up and resupplying. Tomorrow's hike includes what's supposed to be a pretty tough climb out of Unicoi Gap and over Rocky Mt. That part should be early in the day for me, so hopefully it won't be too bad. Gonna go brush my teeth, hang my bear bag, and read my book for a while before dark.