Date: 2017-04-03
From: Gooch Gap

To: Neels Gap
Miles today: 14.3
Weather: overcast clouds

So, my thru hike of the Appalachian River is going swimmingly. The morning started early, well before sunrise, as we both awoke at 5am. I grabbed a quick breakfast of oatmeal, powdered milk, and freeze dried blueberries, and we hit the trail at 530am. I hiked with the help of my headlamp, Lookout with his phone (he had forgotten batteries for his headlamp), through the early morning. The fog rolled in shortly after we started hiking and soon had reduced seeing to tens of feet ahead. As we walked our talking startled something, not sure if it was a bear, boar, or deer... But it sounded large and clumsy. We waited for it to clear the trail, apologized for disturbing it in very loud voices until it had moved on, and continued on our way. The rain started shortly after, first sporadic drops before becoming more consistent but still light. The morning light had just started to faintly sillouette the trees as we reached Woody Gap. The rain starting so early had unnerved us... The Plan had us over blood mountain before it started, which obviously hadn't happened. We reluctantly decided to push on anyways, the other option was to hitch out of Woody Gap into town, take a zero, and come back tomorrow to do this stretch, but we didn't like the prospects of trying to hitch before dawn, it was very early on the trail to take a zero, and we'd still have to go over Blood Mt when it was wet tomorrow. We started hiking and it want long until the rain started coming down heavily and the wind picked up. Lookout had discovered that the cabins took reservations and had left a message last night requesting a reservation, so we stopped briefly at 8am to call the cabins and see what had become of that request. Turns out NONE of the hikers who had stayed there the night before we're leaving, so they were full. So much for The Plan. Despite no longer having a place to stay on the other side, we had to continue, since we were in an area which required campers to use a bear can (or face a $2000 fine and an angry bear). We pushed on, the rain ranging from moderate to heavy throughout the morning, but made surprisingly good time, reaching the trail leading up blood at 10am. As we ascended blood mountain the rain intensified and the trail began to take on water, becoming more of a puddle than a trail. We reached the summit by 1045am and took a quick break at the stone shelter at the top, where we met Matt^2 (2 guys both named Matt) who were taking lunch. We decided to push into Neels Gap rather than stopping at the shelter and not moments after leaving the shelter, the first crack of thunder ripped through the sky. We rapidly decided that the top of a 4400ft bald mountain was the last place we wanted to be, and started "moving quickly" down the mountain. The rain was pouring down and we didn't even need the blazes to tell the way, the gushing river a much clearer marker. We passed several newly formed unreliable springs as we decended into the tree line, the thunder and lightning still prevalent. I have new appreciation for the term soaked to the bone, being wetter than I've ever been before. We stopped briefly to empty out the couple inches of water that had accumulated in the bottom of our pack covers throughout the morning but finished our fastest 2 miles of the AT yet by arriving at Mountain Outfitters in Neels Gap. Leaving our soaked packs outside, we went inside and called one of the places on their phone list and managed to score 2 of the 3 remaining beds in a cabin at Misty Mountain Cabins for $30/ea which also included a shuttle ride there and back (much better than the $75 hotel room and $20 shuttle). While at the top of Blood Mt we had talked to Matt^2, who were in the same position as we were, so we requested the cabin take all 4 of us, which they agreed to. After our lodging was taken care of, Lookout and I both ate a whole pizza and talked with a SOBO who we expect to see again somewhere in NJ in a couple months. Matt^2 arrived shortly after, having abandoned lunch when the thunder started, and followed us down the mountain. We ended up waiting for our shuttle ride for about an hour, but got to watch an older thru hiker buy an entirely new set of gear, a girl who had a pack larger than she get a shakedown, and get heckled (friendily) by an older gentleman for doing long days at the start of the trail (he's probably right... But we had a plan).We caught our shuttle to Misty Mt, and met McKaine, another thru hiker who would be sharing the cabin with Lookout, Matt^2, and I for the night. We all took hot showers and laid our gear out to dry. My gear was only slightly damp where water had likely run down the back of my rain jacket, which is pretty awesome considering the rain we hiked through, but my clothes were completely soaked so I took the opportunity to do sink laundry (they couldn't have gotten any wetter anyway).We're currently chilling in the cabin... Matt^2 got a mail drop at Neels and their friends sent them 35lbs of food, including a 12 beers, 12 freeze dried dinners, and had used candy and granola bars as a packing material. They offered us what they couldn't carry, so I picked up some snacks and will grab another day of food at Neels to get me to Hiawasse. McKaine had also picked up a 6 pack and had some pizza delivered, so we're in the unfortunate situation of having far too much beer to drink tonight. It also appears that we're having s competition for who can move the least this afternoon. Life is tough.This was the best Monday (and the best day backpacking) I've had in a loooong time.