Date: 2004-03-26
From: Addis Gap 

To: Plumorchard Shelter
Miles today: 9.6

Damp morning, clouds passing over slowly. Woodpeckers busy this morning, as are crows and songbirds (¢wee-wee-wee-wee, wee-wee-wee-wee¢ over and over) and chirpers.42.2 miles to Wallace Gap and the next food drop at Rainbow Springs Campground. I¢m not making it more than 10 miles a day currently, so that¢s four days ¢ one more than either Rob or I had planned food-wise, but then I overpacked food anyway. If we can do the campsite past Plumorchard Gap Shelter (mile 73.4) today, then Standing Indian Shelter (83.3) tomorrow, then Betty Creek Gap (94.6), we¢ll reach Wallace Gap (103.7) and the Rainbow Springs Campground (+ one mile) by Monday.I¢ve still got a stack of tortillas, 4 oz tuna, 4 oz cheese, one oatmeal, 4 hb eggs, and 1.5 lbs each of carrots and celery (there¢s my extra weight!), rice and lentils for at least four more meals, and gorp for at least two more days, plus three Power bars. Plenty.Elbows and goitersSkeletons and honeybearsChattahoochee trees.ORChattahoochee treesHave knees, elbows, breasts and hips ¢ Torsos, not mere trunks.My digestive system is back in full swing ¢ for anybody interested in such things. Two big helpers: Metamucil in the oatmeal and the Power bards, and coffee with breakfast. Be happy: Be regular.Got to Deep Gap water source at 10:30 a.m. ¢ it took me half an hour to get water and get back on the trail, where I met Chris, Keith (both at the shelter tonight), and TJ. At Dick¢s Creek Gap, I came across my second round of trail magic: a septuagenarian ¢ an AT alum with no trail name -- handing out Pepsis and Mountain Dews. Rob and several others ¢ Eric and Jessica, Chris and Elly, and Rael ¢ had stopped to drink and chat. Every time another hiker descended the trail and crossed the road, he would reach into his pickup for his cooler. ¢You don¢t happen to have a bathtub in there, do you?¢ I asked. He didn¢t, but what a lovely man! Once the sodas were gone, he shuttled some hikers into Hiawassee for a night at The Blueberry Patch, a hostel renowned for its blueberry pancake breakfast.My headlamp is attracting all of the gnats in the loft. I squashed a few in the pages of my journal. (A happy journey to you into the next life, little chaps!) All of the thru-hikers are ensconced in our sleeping bags. Meanwhile, four day hikers ¢ a Baptist minister and his teenaged son, and two hunters -- have engaged in a philosophical debate that is taking a turn for the ignorant. The racist nonsense being spouted by the hunters is bolstering every horrific southern stereotype that a Yankee mind can conjure. (¢The Klan isn¢t really about racism anymore. It¢s more about the ten commandments.¢) The minister is making a brave stand for humanity. If it weren¢t so appalling it would be hysterically funny; these guys are such caricatures of themselves. I hope the good weather isn¢t going to entice any more of these critters out from under their rocks. They give the south a bad name. Corey is down there with them, using humor to call attention to the appalling sentiments being voiced. To one of the hunters¢ comments about a black church group siding with the KKK, in favor of posting the ten commandments in a state courthouse, ¢So what they¢re saying basically is: ¢We hate each other, but we both love God!¢¢