Date: 2017-04-09
From: Swag of the Blue Ridge 

To: Cowart Gap
Miles today: 9.0
Weather: clear sky

Day 12 on the Appalachian Trail April 9Miles Today: 9Total Miles: 70.8I slept in a little later than normal this morning, just around 8am. I knew my legs could use some extra rest after yesterday's climbs. Not in much of a rush, I dilly dallied around and was ready to head out at 9. Actually started the day at 9:15. I walked over to the sites next to mine and wished the two hikers and the ridge runner named Davis a good day. He had quite the load to carry out and I almost offered to help carry some of it. I definitely would've if we had been going to the same place. Its astonishing how much trash people leave out on the trail. Not just little pieces of trash either. Davis was tasked with carrying a 5-6lb tent out with him that someone ditched at a campsite along with a garbage bag close to full with other junk people carelessly left behind. It really grinds my gears that there is so little respect for the world that we live in. Some people... Anyway, it makes me respect people like Davis more who are willing to hike miles in to the mountains to collect garbage that is left behind and make our trails a better place.Shortly after leaving camp, the trail began to climb in elevation again. My legs were already screaming at me for making them trudge uphill even more. The mountain I was climbing, Kelly Knob, turned out to be a real ass kicker and I found myself stopping every couple hundred feet to take 30 seconds breaks before carrying on. About 2/3 of the way up, I knew something wasn't right as I never struggle as much as I was to make my climbs. I reached down to touch my thighs and I couldn't feel my fingers up against either one. My thighs were completely numb. That's when I realized I had my waist strap on my backpack way too tight and I was cutting off the circulation to my legs. No wonder why I was having a hard time. My muscles were getting limited blood flow while forcing them up a steep ass mountain. I loosened my strap and I instantly felt better and slowly regained circulation. Within a few minutes I could feel my legs again. Soon after, I reached the top and was rewarded to a summit by myself and an awesome view. I stayed for 15-20 minutes while waiting for dad to arrive. After he showed up I headed on my way down the mountain. I had run out of water on the way up so I cruised on down to the water source waiting below. I drank a liter at the source and then filled up my bottles. When I returned from filling up, dad was on his way down and we decided to stop and have lunch. I made a salmon wrap with hot sauce and had it gone in seconds. At the time, I wasn't really hungry but I knew my body needed the calories to keep pushing on. I've found that I'm not eating as much as I should and the only time I'm hungry is at dinner. I've heard this is quite common at the start of the AT but after a few weeks you can't get your hands on enough food. After lunch it was a short hike to Dicks Creek Gap. The trail meandered up and down slightly and then it was a steep drop into the Gap. At the Gap I waited around for a half hour or so, listened to some music and laid back on one of the stone picnic tables that was available. That cold stone felt great on my back. When dad arrived we decided on a camp spot for the night which was a short 1.8 miles ahead at Cowart Gap. A slow uphill on the way out of the Gap got my legs running again and then it was down yet again. I stopped at a really nice campsite about 0.3 miles from the Gap we planned on stopping at. It's perfectly situated between two ridges, down in a valley. The site is open enough to fit several tents and has a fire pit but it looks like it will just be dad and I tonight. Nothing wrong with that, it's almost preferred. It's almost 6 now and we're all set up for the night. I've been here since about 3pm just relaxing and hanging out. I heard from Joe a little after I got here. Turns out he took a zero today at Top of Georgia Hostel, about 1.5 miles back from where we are now, to rest up a knee that he twisted coming down Tray Mountain two days ago. He's planning on meeting up with us tomorrow night at our next camp location at Bly Gap. We will be passing our first state border tomorrow and Bly Gap is shortly after. Tomorrow should be a day filled with high spirits as we cross our first major milestone of the trail. Here we come North Carolina!