Date: 2014-04-17
From: Addis Gap

To: Bly Gap 
Miles today: 14.3
Weather: clear sky

Farewell Georgia and hello North Carolina! It was a long day of hiking and my longest so far but we finally crossed the state like on our week anniversary on the trail. It's crazy to think how much has happened in only a week- places I've been and the people I've met, they change so suddenly that you have take a step back and realize all that has happened.    So last night was cold and windy throughout the night, the quilt held up amazingly, l just have to learn how to position myself properly in it, you pull a little too much quilt to one side and all if sudden a blast if cold air is hitting you and that wakes you up quickly. We all woke up around 7-7:30, Mouse left pretty quick, she doesn't hike too fast so we catch up with her down the trail, soon after Cruise left then Delaware and finally myself, we all skipped breakfast at camp and would eat it down the trail where it was a little warmer.    Once again at the beginning of the day was a steep uphill up Kelly Knob, it was slow going getting up there but knowing I was going to eat my honeybun at the top was motivation enough to get up there as soon as possible. Today was more up and downs that don't look too bad in the guide we use but when you're out there hiking them, there pretty annoying and take a lot of energy to hike them. Once again my left knees starting acting up, it's mostly on the downhills and when I'm standing around with my pack on. It got to the point where I had a slight limp, I'm. It too sure what it is, it goes away after awhile once I start hiking and when I get to camp, it goes away. I took a Ibuprofen today and that helped out a bit, I'll just have to monitor it.   So with the knees hurting combined with the long mileage, I hiked listening to music for the first time. There are those who thru hike and won't bring any electronics with so they can reconnect with nature and then there are those who bring electronics to enhance the experience. I'm part of the latter, when I went cross country with my brother, music played a huge role in the trip,it connects to certain events of the trip and when I hear a certain songs nowadays, it brings me back to that awesome time. I needed to escape the thoughts on my head for a brief while so I put the headphones in and listened to Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros for beginning to end and it transformed the trip, first it put me in such a better mood, I'm hiking with a grin ear to ear, basking in the sunlight and enjoying the beautiful weather, secondly, it made me hike a lot faster and get your inclines in no time flat, it put me in such a zone tat before I knew it I was at the border of Georgia and North Carolina. I was expecting the sign to be a little bigger and maybe in a more prominent spot but it was a small sign nailed to a tree right along the trail, it's very easy to miss. An older gentleman was day hiking and I talked for him for a bit and I took his picture in front of the sign and he did the same for me. It's definitely makes me more confident as a hiker that I got here, I met up with a guy named Guppy who was hiking with Namaste who I knew from the first day and he said she left the trail, it's still a but disheartening to hear when people leave the trail and it makes me more appreciative of the opportunity I have out here and to do my best for myself.   Cruise came in after me, then Delaware and finally Mouse and we found a good camping spot and started a nice fire. We agreed to try to hike together for awhile. We have a good dynamic going and we're all a little on the quiet side which works for all of us. They're all good people and good hikers so I'm glad to finally another group to hill with at the end of the day at camp and leapfrog each other while on the trail.   One week down and many more ahead and I can't wait, Georgia was a good starting point and gets you ready for what's ahead, it was time to move on and start the next chapter in this thru hike adventure, can't wait to see where it takes me.