Date: 2017-03-14
From: Dick's Creek Gap (Top of Georgia Hiking Center)

To: Dick's Creek Gap (Top of Georgia Hiking Center)
Miles today: 0.0

Day 07: Dick's Creek Gap, GA - 0.0 miles:Today would be a red-eyed kinda day. After another sleepless night, tossing and turning, and listening to music in an attempt to drain out the noise of multiple snorers. Again, I was happy when 7am rolled around, knowing I could get up and return to the main lobby area to have some cereal and coffee. Sitting at the picnic-like tables in the lobby, I enjoyed a bowl of honey oats, complimented with a hot coffee, while Sir Packs Alot gave his morning speech of his 10 golden rules of hiking the AT. Like any self-help book or bit of advice, everyone has their own opinion. His was generally accurate and applied to what the overall new hiker will one day experience in their months of hiking ahead. One point I found particularly interesting, while pointing at a hand-painted map of the AT on a nearby wall, he showed the point where 50% of the class of 2016 thru-hikers quit, close to 1,500 people. It was 1/8th into the trail at ~300 miles.In what would be a slow, quiet morning in the lobby, I was able to spend close to two hours on the computer uploading my pics on the slowest computer ever. Happy to have that out of the way, the next couple of hours consisted of more lounging around and socializing with fellow hikers. At 1pm, Sarah, Odin and me climbed back into the shuttle to return down the mountains onto Hiawassee. On the way down I chatted with Tumbleweed who is hiking with his sister Moxie. Tumbleweed is from Hutchinson, KS and is very familiar with a nearby town I use to call home a little over a decade ago. With no chores to do, we simply chose to go in as a way to get out of the hostel. In reality, we did nothing more in town than more sitting, this time at McDonald's. We also dropped into a thrift store and outfitter, but nothing was needed, nor purchased. The main street through town was reduced into a one-lane road for a section due to a vehicle that was nearly wrapped around an electric pole. No one seemed to be injured, but we couldn't come up with a possible scenario as to how the truck ended up wrapped around at such an angle.After downing a chicken sandwich, large fries, and a couple Coke's at the golden arches, we made our way back to the Ingles supermarket where we sat at a row of tables near the front of the store. The shuttle returned at 4:20pm sharp, and we we're soon on our way back into the mountains. As we headed back up, the mountains gradually rose around us, the top third of the highest peaks still capped in snow.It's now mid-evening and I'm enjoying the last few minutes of the lobby being open, relaxing on a couch among other hikers chatting, catching up online, or, like Sarah, reading nearby. Ropeburn is discussing the deliciousness of raw milk and living as close to off-the-grid as possible with Tumbleweed and Moxie.A soft fire crackles, filling the room with the faint smell of burning wood. Tomorrow brings another cold day and even colder night. With temps expected to drop close to the single digits, tomorrow night will make tonight seem like a lifetime ago.The goal tomorrow is to at least reach Muskrat Creek Shelter, only ~11 miles away, but we may shoot for Standing Indian Shelter, closer to ~16 miles if our legs rebound nicely from being off them for nearly two days. With another round of weather setting in Friday night, the goal is to reach Franklin, NC in order to avoid it. It's felt a bit slower than anticipated due to the slow-up for weather, but tomorrow brings North Carolina and into the mountains beyond.