Date: 2014-11-04
From: plunorchard gap shelter

To: deep gap shelter
Miles today: 8.1
Weather: clear sky

Day 133Chillinfat returns, with a vengeance....It's unbelievable to do what I did, if I was another thru hiker and they tried to explain today to me I would be like, uh wahhhh. 8.4 miles that is all. 8.4 hasn't been a goal milage since the hundred miles, the only reason I would ever be satisfied with an 8.4 is if I was going into town. Now I don't like to speak in certainties unless I'm sure, but I think that I'm pretty much. Enclosed in wilderness right now. I took an 8.4 to take and 8.4 and tomorrow I'm gonna take a 7.5 because I'm gonna take a 7.5 #GEORGIASHELTERCHALLENGEIN the start of the trail, I never intended to do this, unlike the #virginiatomatochallenge, this occurred because of circumstance. Around 50 days ago I was in daleville with my parents and they asked me when I would finish. Back then I knew I was getting to damascus on October 10 then I figured I could either average 15 or 20 for the rest of the trail. I initially picked 20, but the after thinking it over and talking to my girlfriend I decided to go with 15. Averaging 15 would put me finishing on nov 15 ( how fitting) and 20 would have put me at this Saturday. Ironically now I realized I would have made it with very little difficulty, but that's easy to say in hindsight. Now I'm in Georgia doing the challenge I can finally focus on what's happening. No longer is my biggest concern miles and OH MY GOD, that's a glorious feeling. This is a side by side comparison of today vs yesterday/the six weeks prior to damascus, let's see if you notice a differenceYesterday/6 weeks priorWake up time:sun up/ before it if possibleHiking time:as soon as possible but around 1:15 after wake upBreaks:2 or 3 15 min breaks all day/ reprimanding yourself if you take moreCamp arrival:1 hour before dark if luckySleep: when sub goes downTodayWake up: 1 hour after sun rose, then read a book for an hourHiking time: 10:00, 2 hours later than other daysBreaks: middle of the day book break after only 4.5 walking,JUST BECAUSEcamp arrival:300It was a great day, so restful, I wish I could just glide over the remaining 60ish miles, but I am enjoying the hammock life and more importantly the sitting and doing nothing lifeIn a related note, I can't forget to watch that video on how to properly set up this hammock when I get to town on Thursday. I'm gonna continue to read the second book in the maze runner trilogy (I don't want to, but you gotta finish what you start) but I finished in walking distance, a book by a fellow southbouder, I got it for free from reddit but I wouldn't recommend it, he is too talkative about his day to day tasks, and while I do that too, I'm not writing a book, if I wanna see day to day tasks I'll look at trail journals with the rest of the idiots who can't write (That's me). Also I have a debate about if I should McDonald's in town, do the whole eat everything on the dollar menu thing, or go to Daniels which is a buffer, but I don't know what they serve, or another pizza buffet. Like always, the trail has some hard choices, and like the old red wire/blue wire its life and death.