Date: 2012-11-14
From: Mountain Crossings Hostel, Neels Gap, Georgia

To: Hawk Mountain Shelter
Miles today: 23.6
Weather: overcast clouds

Pirate likes to run a tight ship (OK, pun intended), so he had breakfast on the table right at 7:00 AM as promised. I like to run a tight hike, so I was there waiting. Pirate made whatever one would call generic Egg McMuffins. He made four of them (just for me), and I told him I wouldn't be able to eat them all. He kind of gave me one of those "yeah right" looks then told me I could take any I didn't finish with me. The plate was empty in about ten minutes.Needless to say, I had plenty of energy as I climbed the last 4,000-footer of the trail (OK, I'll stop with the "last this or that" thing), Blood Mountain. I love a mountain with both a good view and history, so I was well pleased at Blood Mountain. Apparently, the Creeks and Cherokees fought a fierce battle on (and for) the mountain considered holy by both. The mountain summit was stained red with blood and the creeks draining the mountain ran with blood. As to the view, it was a rocky summit with views similar to many New England peaks. The climb was actually quite tolerable. The shelter on top of the mountain was a neat old fire cabin, but, based on campers' testimony (i.e. the couple still in their bags there), it was frigid there last night. Score one for my decision to stay in the hostel.The hike over to Cedar Mountain and for much of the rest of the day was pretty easy and rolling terrain. Maybe it was just psychological, but I felt as if I could sense the mountains getting less rugged as we approach the Piedmont. I had lunch at Gooch Gap where a couple gave me a good laugh by telling me that I was "too clean looking" to be a through-hiker. Granted, I had showered at the hostel the day before, but I think they were mainly referring to my refusal to grow a hiker beard. I shaved at every town stop. The pleasant hiking continued until Justus Mountain, which was a bit of a huffer, and then PUDs seemed to dominate the rest of the day. So much for calming mountains. I was a little disappointed this evening when I thought I was looking at Springer Mountain only to find that I was looking at this mountain, Hawk Mountain.I am here tonight with two section hikers, one from St. Louis and the other from nearby Atlanta. I am a little amazed that there seems to be an endless supply of section hikers, even in what I consider less than pleasant, cool conditions. We also had visitors in the form of about 100 Army Rangers who walked through in a long line in the dark as they were using night vision goggles. Apparently this part of the national forest is used for their training.It's strange to think that my time on the AT is over. All my life, I have always thought about all of the miles of the trail I had never seen. After tomorrow, there won't be any. When I took my first step off of Baxter Peak on Katahdin, Georgia was so far away it might as well have not existed. Even as recently as last week, it felt as if I had all of the time in the world out here, frankly more time than I wanted. Today, for the first time, I felt a bit of terror realizing that, come Monday (the day I plan to make it home after the weekend in Atlanta), I am right back where I started. But then I realized that's not true. I may be facing similar circumstances, but I am a different, new person. I have this experience in my history and skill set, and the Appalachian Trail was my catalyst. This whole journey was not just an elaborate vacation. Tomorrow will be a day I remember for the rest of my life.