Date: 2004-04-18
From: Low Gap shelter

To: Unicoi Gap
Miles today: 9.4
Weather: clear sky

This journal entry is being written at the ungodly hour of 9 PM: Hiker's Midnight, as someone recently dubbed it. "Huh?" you ask? Well, you see, on the trail, you're working like a sweaty pack mule who lives in a sugar plantation run by a maniacal tyrant. You're working overtime... And, at least for us in this first week of this journey, the last light of day has meant light's out. Down with the sun, and up again with the sun.It's a strange thing to do, let me tell you. Me being the night owl that I am, going to sleep before the sunset is a strange, strange phenomenon.Today was another one of those up with the sun days. Me and Moxie scarfed back a quick breakfast, and we tore down the tent and packed up. In the midst of all these actions which are now routine, I found myself dreaming yet again of having a french press. I'm no morning person, and a bit of a caffeinated boost would really help dissipate the lingering morning blahs. I'll have to look into ordering a titanium or plastic one the next time I've got net access. Because life without coffee is hardly life at all.So, we packed up, and, feeling the usual morning hurt and stiffness, we hiked. It was a gosh-darn beautiful day. We crested the top of quiet mountain ridges, seeing vast distances over green, green Georgia. The ups and downs were fairly easy, and we discovered that by 10:30 AM, we had already hiked five miles.We kept running into Anthony and LeAnn today (some good people we'd met around 40 miles back), and it soon became obvious that we were loosely hiking together.At that five mile point I shared with everyone the fact of my overwhelming desire for a cheeseburger.The notion of Cheeseburger sunk into the minds of all, and wolvish, famished looks started to come to all of our faces. We decided to press on a bit and seehow we felt later.What the first five miles had in easiness, the following four miles made up for in brutality. The trail frequently deevolved into strewn boulders that were perilous and time-consuming to cross. Cruel ascents appeared out of nowhere, and the sun was soon blazing down through the still-leafless branches of the mountaintop trees.Sweat. Rivers of it.At 7 miles, we all met again and plopped down in the dirt. We made up our minds then and there to chase that cheese burger dream.Only 2 miles remained to be traversed before we'd reach a road that could take us to Helen, GA. The following miles were equally cruel and boulder strewn, so we were happy with a decision to get off the trail and spend the night in a motel.I am not going to waste your or my time with anecdotes or praise or detractions about the sleepy little would-be alpine village of Helen. I *will* however take a moment to sing some songs of praise and gratefulness to the magnificent cheeseburgers offered by Bigg Daddy's in Helen. Their address is 807 Edelwiess - a street parallel to the main drag, running alongside the river. Hikers take note: this place is worthy of a pilgrimage to if you happen to be sporting some 50 mile cheeseburger dreams.What a fantastic meal. 3/4 lbs of bliss.And good microbrews, too.While we sat there on their back patio deck, we saw Goggles, whom we'd met a couple days before, so after chowing down, the five of us hung out, resupplied, ate ice cream, and finished off the day with a dip in the dubious pool at our Super 8 motel.Pure bliss.And now it's way past Hiker' Midnight, so I'm gonna crawl into bed.Tomorow has some long crawls upward. I think we'll be flirting with the mile high mark come afternoon.So, goodnight, readers.Keep keen, and remember to put sunscreen lotion on your ears next time you're climbing mountains in georgia.Yowza!-Jonathon