Date: 2004-03-28
From: Campsite before Chattahoochee

To: Tray Mountain Shelter
Miles today: 12.4
Weather: broken clouds

They weren't coyotes howling. They were Great Horned Owls, the boys from Pennsylvania assured me. For some reason I felt secure in my tent anyway.I rose early to glimpse a colorful sunrise through the trees. There were still glowing ashes in the pit so I stirred the fire as I cooked breakfast and rewrapped my toes with moleskin. Taking in my surroundings, I realized I had an almost perfect campsite. The one imperfection is no water source.While I packed up, John, who calls himself Cruise Control, offered me some water. I took a half liter knowing it will hold me till the next source at Chattahoochee Gap.I walked with Steve most of the day. He caught up after I refilled at Chattahoochee. After some greetings and intros (the Penn boys were there too), I said I'd see them later and promptly headed up the wrong trail. Not so obvious, the Trail takes a right. The guys called me back after I went a tenth.I have been on the Trail less than a week and already used duct tape twice. Once after the fire incident and today after one of my water bottles sprung a leak. And both times I have used Steve's roll of tape to mend my stuff because I'm too lazy to fetch mine.We took a break at Blue Mountain Shelter where Sean and Jen left a note for me in the registry. I miss them. Hope that I'll catch up with them again soon.Steve sat down with a big sigh and said, "You know, I think I'm not going to skip breakfast from now on." I stared at him with amazement. We had just trekked 4.5 miles. My stomach was growling and I had a large bowl of oatmeal that morning.Our next break was at Unicoi Gap where I met another thru-hiker name Andy, from NH. The descent into Unicoi was long and rocky. I took it slow because it was a bit painful. Then Steve and I took a long break at the parking lot. A couple swigging beers approached us and asked us if we were thru hiking. They were very friendly and talkative but would not get the hint that we wanted a Sierra Nevada. It was torture to see the woman go back to her truck and open a second bottle.I swear, if you are suffering from alcoholism, go on the Trail. First thing, the Trail wipes any vices out of your system. I haven't missed my morning coffee since I started. Second, Georgia has a lot of dry communities because of the Baptist influence. So even in town, a drink is hard to find.But drinking beer at the Gap parking lots seems to be a trend here.We headed up the Trail leaving the Gap well below us. I checked the temp, it was 79 degrees. With very little rain, the streams were low and the brush was dry.In the last couple of days, we went from silence to birds singing in the trees. With that the bugs have come out too, in swarms--very annoying.Flowers are sprouting here and there and greens have been added to the collage. But if we don't get rain, it will be difficult to hike and find water.Steve had done 2.5 more miles than me that morning so his plans were to stop at the Cheese Factory campsite. However, nobody was there so I convinced him to continue to Tray Shelter. After soaking our feet in the cold stream, we headed north again.The weekend is slightly more crowded but today wasn't so bad. Weekends also bring Trail Magic. A trail maintenance pair offered soft drinks and cookies at Tray Mountain Gap. The guy, Ox, did the AT in '98.The view from Tray Mountain is beautiful so I set up my tent to view the sunrise tomorrow. Right now I can see the sparkling lights of the surrounding towns and cities. I like it because it reminds me of how remote we are.I shared the evening with Geezer, Cruise Control, the Vermonters, Andy (NH), Steve, Turtle, and a guy who arrived well after dark named Night Walker. We had lots of laughs around another raging campfire. We tried to pin a few trail names on Steve and me. For Steve, they suggested Spam or Spam-man because he ate a whole can of it that evening. Steve and I liked Saltlick because you can see the dried salt on his shirt. For me, they suggested Miss Independence, Laundry Lady (because I let Steve share my wash at Neels Gap), Spice Rack (because I carry many spices), Pacer, and even Spinster. I was also referred to as The Boss at Neels because I pulled together the shuttle to town. I figure I'll wait another week before adopting a name that will stick till Maine.