Date: 2017-05-28
From: Woody Gap

To: Neel Gap
Miles today: 10.9

Sunday, May 28 Started at Woody Gap at the 20.8 mile and finished at Neel Gap at 31.7. Today I did 10.9 miles.The night at the Hiker Hostel was great. As I said last night, I went to bed at 9 pm and fell asleep immediately. I did not wake up until 3 AM to go to the bathroom (that is a long stretch for me). I fell back asleep and woke up at 6 AM as a big thunder storm was coming through and it was pouring down rain. I had wifi so I checked weather and it was supposed to clear by 9 AM but there was a good chance for storms this afternoon. I decided to take the regular shuttle at 9 AM. (The manager of the Hiker Hostel was originally going to make a special run for me at 7:30AM) I got up and packed and got ready for a day on the trail in the rain. (rain gear was ready)Coffee was ready at 7:30 AM. I had about 5 cups. Breakfast was at 8 AM ¢ muffins and fruit. (The fruit was very good.) There were 2 men from Tampa, Florida in the bunk house with me. They were involved in Boy Scouts and had gone to Philmont. They are out of scouting today since their boys are finished. Their boys were Eagle Scouts. These guys were 57 and 63 years old and were doing a 7 day hike for about 60 miles. The 63 year old (I will give you their names later) had tried a thru hike in 2008. He twisted his knee, stepped on a boulder (Boulders are everywhere on the trail.) before Hawk Mtn Shelter (8.1 miles and one day into the trail) An EMT had to hike in and take him out on a stretcher. His trail name is ¢One Day¢ and his friend¢s name is ¢Footloose¢.Our shuttle took us up to Woody Gap. We arrived at 9:15 AM. I didn¢t hike with them (they were going 4 miles) and I was trying to make Neel Gap by 5 PM. (I would have been ok arriving between 5:30 or 6 PM)It stopped raining by 8:30 AM and it was dry. Blood Mtn is 8.5 miles and it was 2900 foot elevation gain over about 4 miles. The first miles were a lot of up and down (no switchbacks like we had at Philmont). The terrain was the same as previous day with a lot of rocks, boulders and roots on the trail. You have to watch every step. The difference was more rocks and boulders.I went the first 2.2 miles in 1.5 hours (moving at a good pace considering the ups and downs plus the terrain.)I arrived at Jarrad Gap at 12:25. I covered the last distance of 3.6 miles in 2 hours. The big climb started up Blood Mtn. I had 2.6 miles to reach the peak. I arrived at 2:35 PM. I had a lot of water and took some pictures of the view. There is a photo of rhododendron flower canopies over the top of the trail. They were beautiful and smelled even better. I felt great about my pace up the mountain. ¢One Day¢ and ¢Footloose¢ didn¢t catch up to me.The views on Blood Mtn were outstanding. Still no rain. I had a steep decline to Neel Gap over rocks and boulders. (See the picture) The AT blaze were marked on the rocks instead of the trees. Plus the rocks were slippery because of the rain and mud. Going over a boulder, my foot slipped and went into a crevasse on the boulder and my foot was stuck. It was steep and it caused me to fall. I went to my knees. I had to lean back to get my foot out and I couldn¢t get up without taking my pack off. A person hiking behind me on the trail saw it and came up as fast as he could to see if I was ok. He helped me get up (He looked like a football linebacker). I was very lucky. I could have easily twisted or broken my ankle and the trek could have been over. I was lucky ¢ I decided to slow down.Decent to Neel Gap. I arrived at Neel Gap at 4:34 PM. I was on the trail 7 hours and 20 minutes and covered 10.9 miles. I felt good arriving before 5 PM.The outfitter store was still open (closes at 5 PM). I decided to buy a new sleeping bag to reduce my pack weight by 2.6 lbs. I shipped my old sleeping bag home. My new sleeping bag weighs 17 oz. FYI- I weighed my pack this morning and it weighed 37.8 lbs. The 2 guys at the Hostel said their packs weighed 29.9 lbs. & 32.0 lbs. Also food and water in all packs weighed about 12-14 lbs. I have showered and I¢m heading to bed at 9:30. Thanks for following on my journal.