Date: 2018-03-03
From: Unicoi Gap

To: Tray Mountain Shelter
Miles today: 5.7
Weather: overcast clouds

¢Hello hikers, class of 1990!¢ That was the jubilant greeting we received in the hotel lobby last night. It came from an elderly lady pushing a walker. We chatted briefly as we were checking in. Once we were settled in the room, I regretted that I did not get a photo with her. We started our day today grabbing a quick breakfast in the hotel with Traveler and Dom. As luck would have it, the white-haired woman reappeared. She shuffled her way over to our table and thanked me for my service. I, in turn, thanked her for paving the way on the AT. She said it was very difficult and one of the hardest things she had ever done, but that it was a ¢grand adventure,¢ and well worth the effort. The way she described it reminded me of my favorite AT book, ¢Walking on the Happy Side of Misery,¢ by J.R. Tate (aka Model T). J.R. had me at the title, but the book, which bounces between JR¢s perspective and that of his alter ego, Model T, captures the essence of how a person can be beyond content in less than desirable conditions. The woman said that she hiked the trail the same year as Model T. She was 51 then (the same age as Which Way). When I asked her if she had a trail name, she replied ¢Larry, of Larry, Moe, and Curly.¢ She hiked with her husband (Moe) and a friend. Since she had short hair, her husband wanted her to be Curly. She said I¢ll be Larry thank you very much. We finished our breakfast and said our final farewell¢s to Traveler and Dom. We then made a couple of resupply stops and walked back to the hotel to finish packing our gear and I helped Which Way tape her pinky toe. We then checked out of the hotel and, with our packs on our backs, strolled down the street to Daniels AYCE (All You Can Eat) buffet for a final feeding before returning to the trail. Joyce, of ¢Joyce and Sally¢s¢ Shuttle Service picked us up promptly at 11:45. She kindly agreed to stop by ¢Southern Crossings Outdoors¢ so we could pick up some canister fuel. Evidently they were the only business in town that carried the small backpacking canisters, as we had already tried three other stores that morning. It was a short trip up to Unicoi Gap, where we resumed our hike at 12:15. Wanting to give Which Way¢s toe a rest, we planned for a NERO (near zero mile day). To that end, we were considering stopping at the first campsite, about 3.5 miles away. The day was absolutely gorgeous, with a big blue sky, temperatures in the low 50s, and a nice breeze. We started our hike with a 1,000¢ climb up Rocky Mountain, passing several day hikers along the way. It was good to see so many families spending their Saturday enjoying the mountains. About half way up Rocky Mountain, we saw a couple of thru hikers taking a break, so we stopped to chat, as we generally do. It was a man and woman who appeared to be about 10 years younger than us. The man, I will give him the pseudonym ¢Jump Master¢ was quick to tell us that he would be writing a book. Then he stood up and looked at my pack and determined I needed to make some adjustments. He asked me take it off and show him how I put it on. His partner, I¢ll call her ¢Grins a Little¢ didn¢t say much, but her body language said ¢Here we go again.¢ Anyway, always eager to learn, I loosened my straps, removed my pack and began the demonstration of how I do it. First, I put the pack on the ground, front side down, with the top facing me. I then bend at the knees, reach down between the shoulder straps, grab the pack by the frame, and in one motion I stand up, lifting the pack over my head, releasing my hands from the frame, and letting the pack gently slide down my back. Jump Master was taken aback by my unorthodox method of donning my pack, but the speed and efficiency resulting from my technique brought a sigh of approval from him. I then bent over so that the pack was resting on my back, parallel to the ground, with the bottom of the pack over my hips. I then tightened my hip straps and stood up straight. Jump Master then encouraged me to tighten them more. I then reached up to buckle my chest strap.¢No, shoulder straps first, good and tight. Now the chest strap (good and tight)." Jump Master then walked behind me and started tightening straps I didn¢t even know that I had. His work complete, he gave me one final look over and said, ¢That¢s much better.¢ The experience reminded me of a jump masters pre-inspection of a paratrooper from my days in the 82nd Airborne Division. ¢Turn, hold, squat!¢ Then a good tug on the diagonal straps and slap on the buttocks. Jump Master and Grins a Little then got up and put their packs on, apparently ready to hike. I couldn¢t help but notice all the gear hanging off their packs and Jump Master¢s chest strap riding up on his collarbone.I also couldn¢t help myself...¢It looks like your chest strap is riding a little high.¢ Just then, I noticed a grin from his partner. ¢Oh, and your sunglasses are on the ground.¢ A bigger grin. As Jump Master was adjusting his chest strap and picking up his sunglasses, Which Way and I moved out. Up the trail a few yards, she asked me how it felt. In my 13-year old voice I replied, ¢It fits like a glove, but I can¢t breathe.¢We finished the hike up Rocky Top Mountain which featured some great views from the top. Going up is usually not a problem for Which Way, but coming down is hard on her knees and aggravates the blister on her toe. She had picked up a brace at Rite Aid in the morning for her right knee. She uses K-tape on her left knee. As we started down the mountain, I noticed that her heels never touched the ground as she stepped. It seemed to me, that the lack of a heel strike would create a harder impact on her toes. So, I suggested that she try landing on her heel and pushing off on the ball of her foot. At the bottom of the mountain she reported that her troubled knee and toe felt much better than yesterday. Shortly after reaching the bottom of Rocky Top, we began climbing Tray Mountain, about 300¢ higher in elevation. We quickly passed the campsite that we had considered stopping at, opting instead to stay at Tray Mountain Shelter, located about 1/4 mile past the peak. About 3/4's of the way up Tray Mountain we crossed a fire road with a parking lot. And there he was, in all his glory, a Trail Angel (aka Keith). Keith, from a town just NE of Atlanta, had been parked in the same spot since 8AM handing out every sort of goodie, drink, re-supply item a hiker might want/need. We were experiencing our first Trail Magic. So cool. We both practically swallowed a tangerine whole and Which Way scarfed down a bag of chips. I grabbed some pop tarts to go with my oatmeal in the morning and WW took another tangerine to go. Kevin had much more to offer, but we were ready to press on. So we thanked him and continued hiking. But not before he pointed out that there were only 2,134 miles left to Mt. Katahdin.The trail magic easily fueled us to the top of Tray Mtn. (Elevation 4,398¢). As we neared the top of the peak, we passed through a green tunnel of Rhododendrons and Mountain Laurels. At the summit, Tray Mountain provided the best views we have experienced since our journey began. A narrow ridge lined with foliage continued for about a quarter of a mile, occasionally opening up to expose mountains and valleys to the north and south. It was breathtaking!We continued a short distance to an awesome shelter site. There were only two people in the shelter, but we opted for the tent site that offered another remarkable view. We rolled in a little past 4PM and went through our normal routine.Another hiker, Patty, who started his hike the same day as us and who we have crossed paths with a few times, arrived a bit later. Finally, Jump Master and Grins a Little rolled in about 6PM. He marveled at our tent site, snapping pictures of the view. Since he didn¢t comment on it, I assumed he approved of our tent pitching skills. It¢s a good thing because I really wasn¢t up to taking it down and demonstrating how I set it up for him.Which Way commented that this was the best hiking day so far. That comes on the heels of her worst day. As I sit under a full moon and bright stars, seeing the lights of Hiawassee in the valley below, it occurs to me that the Appalachian Trail rewards those who persevere. I guess Larry summed it up best, it is a grand adventure! Elevation Data:Ascent ~ 2,380Descent ~ 1,800Grade ¢ 10.0  Weather:Day ¢ 55 degrees / SunnyNight ¢ 35 degrees / Clear   Over the Horizon: GA/NC Border