Date: 2013-04-01
From: Swaim Gap

To: Blue Mtn Shelter
Miles today: 15.9
Weather: overcast clouds

Well, I didn't hear an "April Fools" joke all day, tho the bears may have played one on someone nearby. A young man camping about a quarter-mile beyond me was heading SOUTH on the Trail as I was packing up this morning. I inquired why the wrong way. His reply: "Something broke off the branch I had hung my food on and ran off with it all." So he was re-doing the 3 miles back to Neel Gap to re-supply. The others camping in the area were "Oak" & "Hipsy-Gypsy" and another young man without a trail name.It was a nice warm morning, but it turned cooler in the afternoon. That seems to be pattern. It all depends on the wind and the clouds. Walking in the sun on the lee side on a mountain can feel warm, yet going around a corner into the wind can change it a lot, especially if clouds cover the sun at the same time.I will be very happy to get out of Georgia, the poison ivy state. Even tho I haven't had it for years and am probably less allergic than I used to be, it still makes me nervous having it all around. I remember reaching GA from the North 2.5 years ago and suddenly finding everything covered with the stuff. The leaves were out then, but the stalks and vines are quite evident now. In order to dig a hole to poop in, one has to wade thru a bunch of dead stalks, many of which are probably poison ivy, then dig down thru the runners that cover the forest floor, allowing the ivy to spread. If you lean against a tree, if it's a white oak, it probably has a poison ivy vine {from 3-inch diameter down to eighth-inch], ugly, hairy things that often have branches that reach out for your face while you are watching your feet. If someone could turn poison ivy into a cash crop, the economy of North Georgia would surge!I walked for a while with "Bonzai" and with "Dolphin" and his son, Matt, stopping for lunch at Low Gap shelter. I stayed almost two hours, during which time, the crowd changed almost completely. I saw "Jimbo" & "the Bard" from Milwaukee, "Dimples" from NJ, "Greybeard 13", a girl from Vermont, 3 guys who were staying the night, and four other people who came in while I was leaving. On the way back to the Trail, I saw "Tea-sip" & "Java Man", the older couple I had met coming up the Approach Trail last Wednesday. I didn't get to talk with them, but other hikers later reported that they were both in their 80s. Actually, there seem to be a half-dozen or more people over 70 who started last week.I find I can hike along alone most of the day, with only a few encounters with other hikers, except when I get to a shelter -- then things get crowded. By the time I got to Blue Mountain shelter, the place looked full. A couple of people kindly moved over to make one more space, so I could sleep next to the dog. This dog was very quiet, stayed put all night, and didn't cause any trouble. He carries his own food and enjoys fetching sticks, endlessly, to give the hikers some exercise. There must have been twenty tents around the shelter, so the food-prep area was crowded, and the bear cables were overloaded.These are cables strung up with pulleys, so everyone does not have to hang his own bag to keep food away from the bears. Even tho I seldom have trouble getting a rope up over a branch, it's a good idea, since there aren't always a lot of suitable branches. The other problem is that a person who hangs his food relatively early has difficulty in the morning if he wants to leave early since everyone else's is piled on top.At the shelter, I met some people I'd met on day one and others I'd met today. Some new ones: "Kawabunga" & his dog, "", "Honey Badger" from VA, "Bonzai" from Southern PA & moving to Colorado for seminary, "Indian", and many more.