Date: 2009-03-22
From: stealth site 0.3 miles past Gooch Gap

To: Neel's Gap
Miles today: 13.9
Weather: clear sky

Obie watched me break down my hammock and pack up from inside his own hammock. To make the morning chores go faster, I decided to eat on the go. We headed off at 8:38 am, with the goal of making it to Neel's Gap! Since Obie has been hiking for three months already, 14 miles is nothing for him. I, on the other hand, should not be putting in so many miles so early... I was hoping to get to Neel's by Monday morning at the earliest. Obie took the lead (the position that I greatly prefer) and we did not talk at all. Such a contrast to the day before! My stomach wasn't feeling well, and I felt slow, and not at all at peace. I felt like I was bothering him, somehow. I didn't know why we weren't chatting, and I didn't feel happy. When I stopped to take a picture at a vista, Obie continued on, and we hiked alone for a stretch. I caught up to him as he stopped to collect and filter water, and I moved on before he was ready to go. He didn't seem to want to hike with me today. Everything was suddenly so different! I made my way across the big road at Woody Gap, which somehow made me feel like a real thru-hiker. They actually had restrooms there, so I took advantage of them and felt much better. Obie and I met up again as I came out of the restroom, and we continued on together. His mood was 180 degrees opposite to what it had been yesterday. He was no longer at peace with his past, and was instead frustrated and pre-occupied with it. (So much for a long walk helping with that...!) We climbed Ramrock Mountain, which looked a lot different than I had imagined from the picture I had seen many times of Certain and Persistant sitting on the rock. It was much smaller than I had expected, but I think I saw the place where their picture was taken. The views all along had been expansive and gorgeous, and I enjoyed seeing houses here and there nestled in the valleys below. Obie doesn't like to stop and take in the summits like I do, so I felt a bit rushed. We climbed another mountain, which I thought deserved more of a reputation than Sassafrass, but I didn't know which mountain it was because I hadn't been looking at my guidebook. Later, I learned it was Big Cedar Mountain, and boy was the view gorgeous! There was a large rock ledge, and Obie and I decided to take a break there and eat since we were both hungry. He cooked a hot meal and I had a power bar and packaged cookies that I took from the first trail magic. It was a longer break than we had anticipated, but a pleasant one, and then we pressed on. When Obie took a bathroom break, I moved on and didn't see him again for hours until I stopped to collect water at Slaughter Creek and wait for him. Nick appeared next (he was also out of water), and then twenty minutes later, Obie and Richard, from England, came along. Once Obie was finished purifying his water, we headed up Blood Mountain. We reached the summit well before I expected to and I could not believe the sunshine and clear views that we had! Normally, this mountaintop is socked in with fog and dampness, but every direction I turned, I saw a beautiful view. I entered the famous stone shelter and looked out the open windows to what I felt was like a Mediterrainean view! Wow! Obie was not happy, though. I left him alone with his somber thoughts in the shelter and went outside to take pictures and soak in the views. He seemed uninterested and impatient to get going, and told me to find the path. I guessed correctly and then realized I left my poles behind! I quickly retrieved them and down we went. The descent (and also some of the ascent) reminded me a lot of the White Mountains. It was rocky, and the path was tunneled by rhododendrons instead of the evergreens in the Whites, but it had the same feeling, and equally beautiful views of layers and layers of mountains in the distance. I tried to cheer Obie up and get him into a more positive mindset, but he just wouldn't have any of it. So, I went on ahead. I thought we were nearly at Neel's Gap, but some people I passed by said it was still a mile ahead. Oh...   But not too long afterwards, I saw the hostel in the distance and felt so happy! I made it to my first destination and much sooner than I had expected. (I got there at 4:15pm). I checked my phone for service, and it said it had none, but when I was actually at the store, I had great reception! My first order of business was to get a place to stay. There was only one bunk left, so I reserved a room for us in the cabin. Obie came into the store, but still wasn't interested in talking.       I went outside to make some phone calls and check my guestbook entries and I felt so happy and supported! Dinner was to be served in an hour, so we hung out, and then made our way to Pirate's Den, where many thru-hikers were gathered with a glass of wine. Pirate had cooked up a pot of navy bean soup, stir-fried chicken and bell peppers, corn bread, and upside-down pineapple cake for dessert. He also had red wine for us, and coffee afterwards. When I looked at the wall and saw it plastered with close-ups of all the sleepy hikers waking up in their hostel bunks, I was glad we were staying at the cabin! I didn't know how we were supposed to get to our rooms, as we weren't told anything or given a key, but someone appeared with a vehicle to drive us the 3 or 4 miles there. While we waited for our ride, one of the employees brought out a jar of strawberry and blueberry moonshine from a trailer and passed it around to the hikers who happened to be standing there. I didn't try any because I didn't think it was the best idea to drink out of the same container as everyone else. Obie, me, Richard, and Karen, all got into a car and headed to our cabin rooms. Karen was staying at the same house as Obie and I. It was not at all what I had expected! The carpet was filthy, there were no sheets for the bed, and the only towels in the house were used ones... Time to get used to a different standard of living! We asked our driver for some laundry detergent (as Karen said he had given her some the night before), but it took hours to arrive. We were dying to take showers (there was no soap or shampoo, either), and finally, Obie decided to throw the towels in the washer with no soap, and then use the detergent for our own clothes. The dryer, however, took about 3 times longer than a normal one! Karen entertained us in the meantime with funny stories and antics, and showed us her newly purchased gear from Neel's, as well as the many packets of honey and something else she had stolen from KFC. Obie kept calling her his new best friend forever.    As I walked out into the hallway and glanced at the mirror along the wall above the stairs, I saw the reflection of a person downstairs and wondered who else was staying in this house! When I finally went down there to check the status of the laundry, this guy was sitting on the couch, staring straight ahead, and did not even acknowledge me as I passed by. Strange... Later, he asked if any of us had a coughdrop, as he was being treated for tuberculosis! I went up and told Karen and she flipped out! "Oh my God! That is so contagious! He could infect us all!" I told Obie after he got out of the shower, but he didn't seem concerned. I didn't feel safe going downstairs anymore. Oh boy.. the things that happen on this trail! We didn't get to bed until late, as we had to wait for our laundry to dry. We had told our driver to pick us up at 7:30 in order to get to breakfast before it was over, but Karen thought that was way too early and Obie also wanted to sleep in, so I put a note on the door, telling him we would not be ready until 9.   I thought I would be able to sleep better inside, but that was not the case. Again, I was uncomfortable. It had been a rough day and I wasn't feeling good about some things. I got up to go to the bathroom at 5:20, and Obie woke up, as well. I started talking to him about some things from the day before, and suddenly, all of our issues came out. He criticized me about a lot of my insecurities (my skin, my voice, my posture), and I felt horrible about myself. I couldn't understand how he could be so nice to me the first day, and then take me down the next... I cried and cried, and wondered when and if I will ever change and get over my "issues", my problems, and why it was taking me so long. (Later, I realized, this is only Day 3 of my hike! It's way too early to expect myself to have changed and be perfect in the eyes of someone else! Especially someone that did not even know me or care about me). It was 7:11 am, and Obie decided he wanted to take the 7:30 ride afterall, so we quickly packed up our stuff, and took the sign off the door. Our ride pulled up, and I was happy to see Richard and some other thru-hikers in the car.