Date: 2006-03-15
From: Low Gap Shelter

To: Tray Mountain Shelter
Miles today: 14.9
Weather: clear sky

3-15-06Low Gap Shelter to Tray Mountain Shelter14.9 milesA journey for the body, mind, and soul...Last night I slept in my sleeping, with the Cocoon liner, and in my thermal underwear, and was still a bit cold at some points. The Z-Brick (so called by Uncle John) performed well though, giving me good comfort when I lay on my side, which is very important when you have dinosaur hips. Breakfast was hot oatmeal and hot cocoa, the right way to warm up on a chilly morning. We packed up and got hiking as fast as possible so we could get that blood pumping through our veins. On thing I've learned from winter camping trips, to get moving and stay moving is the best way to get warm and stay that way. Starting around 8:15AM, we hiked for a bit before the sun got a bit higher, and then took a break to shed some layers.Again Uncle John was ahead of me and set our pace. The hiking this morning was quite easy and we covered a good amount of miles quickly. Spotted patches of ice near wet spots and water sources, meaning it got well below freezing last night. We met a man named Golden Waldo who lives in New Orleans and was hiking a section here in Georgia. He spoke quite freely and passionately of the horrors of New Orleans and the drastic lack in governmental response and current repair associated with that tragedy. Also encountered a previous thru-hiker Phoenix, who warned me that if I continued hiking in sandals (which I was that day) my arches would fall out, and I would spend the rest of the AT with my feet wrapped in bandages. That didn't freak me out or anything.9.6 miles into the day we descended into Unicoi Gap, where a parking lot was located. What a miracle! Another pair of trail angels! Something Moon (I have it written down somewhere) and Steffan had a cooler of soda, and get this, beer! on ice and a whole box filled with Little Debbie snacks. Talk about hiker heaven! I guzzled down a beer, occasionally taking breaks to wolf down some Little Debbies, with attempts to chat with these generous people. Moon has attempted to thru-hike last year but had suffered a stress fracture in her foot when hiking through Shenandoah National Park. She was very friendly, gave lots of advice, and was enthused about attempting the AT again next year. We all hung out around the back of their truck with their pooped-out white German Shepherd lying at our feet. What a great day to be alive.Uncle John went ahead to start the steep ascent but before he left out angels loaded him up on some little Debbies for the trail ahead. I stayed for another twenty minutes or so, before following Uncle John's lead, also laden with more Little Debbies.Even with that extra weight, I flew up the mountain, finding Uncle John still making his way up. But we made it, and what's even better, we passed right by the old Cheese Factory site and got to Tray Mountain and showed it a thing or two. Another appealing mountain, like Blood was; I will again revisit Tray someday.Upon reaching the Tray Mountain Shelter area, we found an available campsite and set up the tent and got to cooking. I feasted on hummus n' crackers, mac n' cheese, and a girl from Tennessee named Holly came over to our campsite to introduce herself. I mentioned I had hummus and her eyes lit up, so I went over to her site and shared it with her and her dad. She had just graduated with a premed degree and will be attending medical school in the fall, after she finishes her hike.Some people had gotten a fire going in front of the shelter, so I moseyed on over there to warm up my hands after hanging our food on the bear cables. And wouldn't you know it, people had marshmallows and Girl Scout thin mint cookies out and were sharing them freely. You really have your faith restored in human kind when you see this kind of generosity on a daily basis. I graciously accepted all offerings, relaxed, and then headed to the tent to go to sleep as the sun was setting down over the mountains and its glow receding into the night.