Date: 2009-03-26
To: Hiawassee, GA
Miles today: 13.0
Weather: heavy intensity rain

so ive made it to my second town. Hiawasse, GA. its cute and small and has everything a hiker needs. hot showers, buffets, computers, sode and beer. Hiawasse was horrible though! so after i strolled into the shelter/camping at Tray Mountain Shelter, the shelter was completely full so i had to set up my tent. it started pooring at around midnight and never stopped. so i woke up at 7am and tried to pack up as much stuff as i could inside my 1 person tent, which you cant stand up in. then i stepped outside and as quickly as possible packed all my gear into my backpack and took down my tent. dude.. my tent was soo freakin muddy, it was rediculous. so i just attached it to the outside of my bag, i didnt wanna get everything inside it wet and muddy. i started hiking around ten to 8am, i think i was the first one to leave the shelter area. i just wanted to get into town. it was 11 miles away and i knew what i had waiting there for me. a hot shower. so im hiking as fast as i can possibly hike. i mean, i am flying. i get half way where there is a sign that says "Dicks Gap 5.4 miles" this is where im headed and will need to find a ride into Hiawasse. so i thought, "wow, so far so good, im half way there already and its only 10am!" well, the next 45 minutes was hell! i mean, this mountain was rediculous. it just wouldnt stop going up. and, i was hiking in the clouds so i could hardly see more than 20 feet ahead of me, so im just holding my breath hoping that it flattens out, but it never did. it never did. at some points i was actually yelling out loud "are you kidding me?!!?! come on already!!!" i guess hoping the mountain would take pitty on me and maybe flatten out. then finially i begin my desend. i dont know what i like better really. ups or downs. there is good and bad in both of'em. but at this point, after all that climing, going down felt wonderful! but that too seemed to go on forever. and ever and ever... i was completely soaking to the bone, freezing, my fingers could hardly move, a muddy mess and i had pools of rain water hanging and splashing around in my sleaves of my rain coat (yeah, crappy rain coat)but then, i heart the greatest noise i have ever heard... a car. and then another car. i yelled "thank god!!" cuase i knew that Dicks Gap was just ahead. the next 10 minutes took forever, but i finally made it. i reached Dicks Gap at about 12:30pm. and i totally lucked out cuase i didnt even need to wait around in the cold rain for a ride, there was this guy who i had met on the trail earlier, who was there waiting for his freinds to get off and said he'd drive me into town!!! (it was 10 miles away) this was amazing! i could have cried! he actually had to unclip my backpack cause my fingers were so frozen i coudlnt get them to work!so i get into town and get to The Hiawassee Inn, which is run by these two addorible gay guys. oh my gosh,i lvoe them. i walk in freezing and wet and they give me a hot cup of coffee and a hot toasted bagel with cream cheese. i almost peed my pants. AND they handed me my room key with a luangry basket and they did my laundry!! i think i feel inlove with them right at that moment. getting into my room and then hoping hitno teh shower was the best feeling my body may have ever felt. it was like having dozens of those "tingler" things all over your body at the same time. i sat on the tub floor in the shower for an hour. ahhh... i crawled into bed and slept for aobut 2 hours. it was amaazing! all my other freinds arrived at about 3pm or so. they call me the super hiker that i put it in 3rd gear cuz i hike so fast. the guys say i make them look bad. lol. but hey, i guess ill do everything i can to get to a hot shower when freezing wet. then, it was dinner time. we had mexican and i almost died again. hooolllly shit it was amazing. i ate it all (the hiker hunger is starting to kick in) and finished a huge 32 oz beer. i couldlnt have been happier. so now im here in town taking my frist 'zero' (taking a day off and hiking no miles) i need to rest my shoulder a bit more and plus, its raining all day today, so i thought, well, might as well take your frist zero. all my freinds went on but they're taking zeros in the next town or so so ill caught up to them im sure. boy do i feel good...