Date: 2019-03-26
From: Stover Creek Shelter

To: Gooch Gap Shelter
Miles today: 12.9
Weather: light snow

Ugh. Rain. Today was rough. I was lucky enough to be sleeping in the shelter last night out of the rain/hail storm. But, because of the amount of hikers on the trail right now, there is less room in the shelters and I knew I might not have that luxury every night. I also didn¢t sleep well in the shelter with my pad being broken, so I wasn¢t too keen on sleeping anywhere until I could replace it. I started out the morning well. I woke up at 7am, which is early for me, but I was ready to go. I was definitely chilly and didn¢t want to leave my sleeping bag, but I knew I had a long day ahead of me. For some reason, the way I planned it, I either had to hike 6 miles to the nearest shelter or push on and hike 13. 6 would bring me back a day and I¢d have to change my hotel and everything this weekend, so I went with the plan. Every other day this week is 10 or less miles of hiking. Tyler was surprised when I started laughing and joking with him because he could not remember my name, so he started calling me giggles. A new trail name? Better than Danielle, what he was calling me all day haha. Breakfast of warm oatmeal was good! I headed out at about 9:30am. A little too late for my mileage, but I was enjoying chatting with everyone. The morning hiking was like walking through a rainforest. It was foggy, dark, and damp, but really cool. I came across a rattlesnake skin and almost jumped out of my skin. I¢m glad it wasn¢t the real thing. People at my shelter had suggested stopping at ¢Long Creek Falls¢. It was beautiful! It sort of felt like Rivendell from the Lord of the Rings, with the intertwined branches and flowing water. It was very peaceful and I had a snack. I got back on the trail afterwards and headed for a place to have lunch. I passed a creepy, eerily quiet dirt road with a graveyard. That¢s the second spot with graves that I¢ve seen on the trail so far. Soon enough Colt from my shelter showed up. He was having some knee pain and I was having some feet pain. I climbed up to a mountain peak and figured I¢d have service, so I checked in with everyone, but unfortunately my battery was low. Every day it¢s been either or. I have great service, but can¢t use too much of it because of low battery, or I have a ton of battery and no service. The latter was the first night. I tend to have more service in higher areas, so I¢ve learned to stop on peaks and check in. I passed several people and eventually stopped for lunch at one of the mountain peaks. I believe it was called Sassafras. I could give that mountain some sass for the rough climb and downhill haha. Overall, Georgia hiking is all up and down. It¢s constantly making you descend rocky slopes and go right back up again. There are some nice breaks on ridges, but even then, you¢re looking down and to one side there¢s a steep drop. It¢s been interesting hiking. Not quite as gorgeous as the White Mountains that I¢m used to, but there are some nice views! I¢m enjoying it. The rest of the day after lunch was really rough. I had already climbed more than 10 miles, but I felt defeated. It was taking forever! I found Colt again and we got water at this tank and found a retired man who had hiked half of the trail last year and quit due to injury. He was very nice and helpful, and being able to put my pack down for 20 minutes made a world of difference. The last 3 miles hurt. My feet were killing me and it was starting to rain. It was early afternoon, but because the sun wasn¢t out, it felt like evening and I was worried about making it to my shelter. I was having a lot of frustrating thoughts because of the mileage and the weather, and wishing I had done the 6-mile day. I finally arrived to my shelter and wanted to cry I was so happy. There was a fire and I met a trail ambassador and his grandson and they had wonderful tips for me. But the joy lasted briefly because it really started to rain. Five more minutes and I could¢ve had my tent up, but instead I got completely soaked and so did my stuff. I put my tent on a muddy hill and was covered in mud too. After a long day, I was really not having it. And the shelter was full of people. I suspect 45 people were there. That includes the people in the tents; it¢s a total for all the people at the campsite. I got out of my soaking tent to go up to the shelter to make my dinner. I was very thankful for the shelter to use my stove. I ate a Mountain House meal of beef stew and finally went back to my tent. With a deflated sleeping bag, and now being soaking wet, I didn¢t sleep at all. I tried hard to, but I couldn¢t. I was freezing and soaking. I knew I¢d have nights like this on the trail, but you still don¢t know just how bad it is until you experience it. I also was noticing that a lot of people had two-person tents. I considered that while shopping in REI, but went with a one-person instead. It¢s tiny. I barely had enough room for me and my pack. I am considering replacing it and the sleeping bag in two days at an outdoors store. REI has a wonderful refund policy so I¢m hoping something can work to send the other ones back. I loved all the help that I got there and truly felt ready to go on my trip, but again, couldn¢t know how my gear would hold up until I was out there.My shoes are amazing. Everyone said I would hate them. But they were dry and warm today because they¢re waterproof, and the extra padding is great on my feet! My feet have definitely taken a beating, but I¢m thankful for these shoes. I have not thrown them off a cliff yet, REI employees. Hahaha. I do have a lighter pair of shoes waiting at home that I¢m going to switch to, but not yet. Ugh what a day. Today was really rough. I honestly wanted to throw up my hands several times and getting through the mental challenge is going to be the hardest part for me. My body carried on and besides my feet, is doing quite well. It¢s my head. Ugh. I definitely remembered things I talked with my therapist about this year, like mindfulness, and taking those moments to stop and take a drink of water or take in the view. I¢m not on this trail to just do the miles every day. I want to take it in. But until I fully get my trail legs, it¢s going to be a bit rough. I¢m excited for when I¢m fully adjusted; I think I can bear the stinky weather better when 13 miles doesn¢t feel so long. One day at a time!Song of the day was ¢What the Water Gave Me¢ by ¢Florence and the Machine¢. It gave me power and on a day filled with water, it was fitting! Diana/Giggles? Haha