Date: 2009-11-03
From: Tenting on Wolf Laurel Top, GA

To: Tenting just south of Blue Mtn, GA
Miles today: 13.7

It was very calm last night when I set up my tent, but the wind picked up as soon as the sun went down and blew all night. It was 6:50am before I woke up this morning. That's late for me...it was light out already. I ate one peanut butter and jelly sandwich, had a bunch of those chocolate chip cookies that Mrs Gorp sent me, and then had my morning Jolt Gum. I laid around and worked on a Sudoku puzzle till 7:50am, then figured I'd better get moving. :-) I was packed up and walking north at 8:15am. I walk down the hill and when I got to the first gap, I saw where pigs had been rooting along each side of the Trail. I was climbing towards Cow Rock and saw a hunter coming my way. I stopped to talk to him a while and found out he had hiked the AT in '97. His Trail name was Grey Squirrel. Grey Squirrel ¢97A grouse took off from right next to me just as I came out to Cow Rock. I sat down at Cow Rock for about 15 minutes. Beautiful, beautiful view! I walked down that hill and got to Tesnatee Gap. There were quite a few vehicles and I could hear voices up the next mountain. I caught up to them and Virginia Lane came back to talk to me. She had left some trail magic for me in '05 along the southern part of the Florida Trail for Hippie Longstockings and me. We walked together at the end of their group hike of the Mountain High Climbers and we talked for about 10 minutes. Her husband, Rocky was also there. Great seeing you both again! :-) The group took a break near the top of the mountain, so I walked on to the summit, then down to Hog Pen Gap. I had been planning on getting water there, but I still had a little, so I kept walking. I went over White Oak Stamp, then Poor Mountain, then over Sheep Rock Top before heading down to Low Gap Shelter. I had been out of water for about a mile, so I got water from the spring, then had lunch and signed the register. I ended up staying there about 40 minutes. I could have stretched out in the sun and taken a nap after lunch, but I walked on. A Sobo by the name of Professor came walking by me about a mile later. We stopped and talked a while, and then I walked on. I ran into six more Sobos a couple miles later. We talked and I got a picture of five of them. I only remember two names though...Burger King and Guy With Dog. Sobos headed towards Springer!That's just too many names for me to have sink in so fast. :-) I walked on after congratulating them. Chattahoochee Gap was the next landmark. I was planning on staying just 1.3 miles north of there, so I kept moving. When I got to where I was tenting tonight, I set up the tent, then walked a quarter mile for water for the night. It was another beautiful day. A little breezy, but full sun and mild. Now for the bad stuff. Each day since I left Springer, my heel has gotten a little worse. I made a decision that I wasn't doing it any good by carrying a 30 pound pack and walking on it all day long. It¢s just not going to get better if I keep doing that. I called Mother Nature and she is picking me up at Unicoi Gap tomorrow morning. It really stinks because I was looking forward to a nice winter walk, but I really think I need to work on getting my heel better. I have plans on finishing the CDT next year and I need to be 100% for that. I love this Trail! Oh yeah...I almost forgot to talk about my dinner tonight. :-) I had some nuts, Fritos and jelly beans. That would have been a well rounded meal if only I'd had a pot roast, mashed potatoes and gravy, vegetables and fresh bread with it. :-) Another great day on the Appalachian Trail! :-)