Date: 2008-03-19
From: Justus Creek, GA

To: Liss Gap, GA
Miles today: 4.0

It rained all day today. Scratch that...it poured all day today. I had planned to go 9.5 miles to a stream with campsites. Lukasz and Karen left before me and since my map and guide book showed it to be an easier day than the previous two, I took my time breaking camp. I was able to rearrange my pack enough for my Packa (rain jacket and pack cover in one) to fit over it. Good thing, too, because it started pouring as soon as I got out of my tent and started taking the tent apart.After wrestling with my pack and the Packa, I was ready to go but I was already pretty wet. The problem with the Packa ¢ and I knew this when I bought it ¢ is that it can only be in one place at a time, so when you aren't wearing your pack, either you or your pack is getting wet. I started anyway and after 1.3 miles I came to the Gooch Mt. shelter, which we had originally planned to reach last night. I took my pack off there and enjoyed being out of the rain for about a half hour. It was a nice shelter, but a woman who had slept there the night before said it was infested with mice (I'm pretty sure they all are) and they had chewed her clothes (not the ones she was wearing).I went back and forth trying to decide whether to keep going or stay there and be happy with my measly 1.3 miles. I was thinking, "Well, this is what it's all about right?...being out in the elements." Since I didn't have a book to read or anything else to do for the rest of the day if I quit then, I decided to keep going. I quickly regretted it. I found another flaw with the Packa...there are large pit zips (ventilation zippers in the armpits) that, even when closed, let so much water into the arms of the jacket that I was able to pour water out of the sleeve when I took the Packa off. That will have to be fixed with some Tyvek and duct tape. I still really like the concept of the Packa (the biggest advantage being that you don't have to take your pack off to take the jacket off), but I think it just needs to be fine-tuned.It turns out the Tyvek rain chaps I made are worth nothing. It was a great idea (I got the idea from Mountain Laurel Designs), but I put the Tyvek through the washer (to soften it) too many times and now the material isn't waterproof anymore. My bad. So after hiking in a downpour for about 20 minutes today, my legs began getting soaked. Next came my feet. Boots are only waterproof to a point, and I found that point today. My feet got completely saturated. After passing Gooch Gap, I decided to just camp at the next decent spot I could find. I guess I should have stayed at Gooch Mt. shelter, but I guess I was being stubborn. Big lesson learned.Now I'm at a campsite somewhere between Gooch Gap and Liss Gap. It's probably about 4:00 or 5:00 and I'm staying put for today. I had to make due and camp sort of sideways (because of strong winds) on an incline, so it should be fun sleeping tonight. I keep sliding sideways downhill in my tent as I write this. It's stopped raining now, so hopefully things will dry up tomorrow. My plan for tomorrow is to hike 9 miles to Woods Hole Shelter. That will put me 3.7 miles from Neels Gap, where I can resupply, clean up, and maybe sleep in a bed on Friday. I'm not going anywhere if it starts pouring again, though. Not until I find a better way to stay dry.Missing Tara a lot, especially when I see her picture, which is pretty much every time I pull out my guidebook.Wildlife sightings: I saw a 14" nightcrawler (worm) today. They make 'em big down here in Georgia.