Date: 2014-03-08
From: Horse Gap

To: Woody Gap
Miles today: 10.5

Our day started off chilly and I started going as soon as the tent was packed in order to warm up. Right off the bat we hit Sassafras Mountain which had been talked up by a previous thru hiker last night. I was definitely huffing by the top of it, but it didn't feel all too bad which was reassuring.I got my first taste of trail magic at the next gap where someone had left three gallons of fresh water to break up the six-mile dry stretch. I also met Ed, a section hiker out for a weekend with his brother-in-law and niece. We hiked together for a bit and then split up while he waited for the other two.I met all three of them again at Justus Creek while drying out the tent, filling up on water, and eating lunch. They all obviously love being on the trail and are quite the trio with plenty of jokes to go around. I also met Will and Sweet Meat there for the first time while they filled up.Further on at Gooch Gap we experienced our first face-to-face trail magic. A family of three that has been section hiking the trail for a few years has made it a tradition to come up and camp there for a weekend with all sorts of snacks, drinks, and other goodies. Met up with Ed again there and he offered to lend us a charging cable for Meg's camera which we didn't have a way to charge it turned out.After setting out from there I stopped at a rock outcrop with an excellent view and a lot of sun. There I met a couple, Birdie and Pongo, who were out for the day. We ended up talking for about an hour before I realized how late it was getting and headed on.Shortly thereafter I met two other guys who were handing out drinks. I gladly accepted a cold beer and stopped to chat. I didn't account for how quickly that would kick in on an empty stomach after 10 miles. I was lightly buzzed about halfway through when the conversation turned to religion. The two young men were up representing their church it turned out and being in such high spirits I ended up discussing faith on a number of levels with them for another half hour.After again realizing it was getting late I took my leave and half-jogged the remaining half mile to Woody's Gap hoping to catching Ed, Mike, and Kaylie before they continued on to their campsite for the night. They were not there on arrival and no one could remember seeing them. I resolved to catch them the next the day to return the cord, but quickly forgot about it after meeting Fresh Ground.Fresh Ground runs the Leapfrog Cafe, an entirely donation driven trail magic setup with all kinds of fresh-off-the-stove food from hot dogs to spaghetti to pancakes. He sets up for a week or so at a time following the first bubble of thru hikers up the trail until around mile 800.Sitting and eating hot dogs and cookies I got to see a slice of what the hiker community really is. He was talking and trading stories with Heartrock and Rainbow Braid, two past thru hikers who had come just to saw hello and to help out. I hadn't realized just how close all the hikers from a given year become nor had a I realized how much further the AT community extended beyond just the hikers.In between dinner and setting up the tent I got talking with Will and Sweet Meat. They met at school in Kutztown, PA and had more than a few suggestions for where to go if we end up near there. They're also pretty nerdy and we talked for a while about LARPing which was an unexpected but refreshing topic to find on the trail.Later that evening we were invited up to one of the many campfires to hang out with another past thru hiker, Truth, and a few of his friends who were just up for the night. Also there were the California women and Jesse (who we had met at Horse Gap). I stayed up until around midnight talking with them before calling it a night.