Date: 2017-04-08
From: Neels gap

To: Bull gap
Miles today: 1.1

Today felt very busy, yet I essentially did nothing and traveled one mile further then my previous location. Frustrating day to say the least. Spent the morning killing time, waiting for the mail to arrive in hopes that there'd be a package for me. My mom mailed the food on Monday, six days ago and the package was expected to take two days to make it to GA. While I waited I bought a new pair of hiking boots. I chose to buy the men's version of the shoes I already owned because they were slightly wider and longer and seemed to do the trick.The mail came at 11:30am, and still no resupply. I was able to make due with extra food that hikers ditched in the hiker box and some purchased food from the hostel I was staying at. I felt like I was moving through molasses all day. I always had one more thing to do and I was always slightly less organized then I wanted to be. Missing my food drop was impacting me more then I had anticipated. I was trying to be flexible and overall, I pulled my act together pretty well. It still sucks though. I put so much energy into preparing meals and figuring out a system that has been working quite well over the past few days. I feel tied down and limited by my diet but food is important to me and I like to have control over what I'm eating. I finally left Neels gap at 12:30 with hopes of hiking 12 miles that day but I was feeling very unmotivated and unprepared for my day.A mile into my hike, I was noticing similar problems with my new shoes. There was slightly more room for my toes but I was nervous I made the wrong decision to buy the boots I chose. The friction's not just from lack of space, it's also a factor of the rigid formation of my boot and the non-breathable nature that makes my feet sweat. I was tempted to turn back and buy trail runners instead but it already had taken me seemingly forever to leave the first time around (I spent 24 hours at Neels gap!). So I kept pushing, hoping I would break the boots in throughout the next few days and wait to buy trail runners until later in the season. I took a break to tape my feet to avoid more blisters and a thruhiker that I'd yet to meet came by and started up a conversation. He convinced me to turn around and make the exchange while I still could because my boots are my most important piece of equipment and the trip back was worth it. What are the odds that this guy passed by and started a conversation saying the exact words that I needed to hear in that moment? It felt serendipitous. I turned around and trekked back to return my boots. Tomorrow will reveal if this was a good decision. I was discouraged when I arrived at my campsite because my day comprised of waiting around for disappointment and then wandering back and forth multiple times to end up a mile away from where I started. I am moving forward though. Since arriving at Neels gap I've done laundry, showered, demoed hiking boots, bought trail runners, acquired more aquamira and socks and managed to muster up (hopefully) enough food to get me to Hiawassee (where I'm expecting there will actually be a mail drop waiting for me, maybe even two). Definitely felt discouraged especially since I feel pressure to match the momentum of the hikers around me. I'm not the only one who took a zero day today (knee injuries and norovirus are abundant and forcing hikers to take time off) but I do feel like I'm starting to fall behind. I'm ready to start picking up more miles and feel like I'm actually making a dent in this monster of an undertaking. Tomorrow is a new day and hopefully my body will allow me to pick up the pace.Note (the following counts do not include me):Hikers I've passed with an umbrella: 2Women I've met who shaved their heads last week: 3