Date: 2014-04-03
From: low gap shelter 

To: tray mountain shelter
Miles today: 14.0
Weather: moderate rain

Thursday, April 3: day 5Woke up this morning at 7:00, sunrise. It was a great morning. My chaffing is subsiding and the old hiker's knowledge really got me thinking. What can I drop? Which things can I make lighter? More things to think about on my journey...As I left the shelter area (I didn't get to sleep in the shelter) I washed up and hit the road at about 7:45. About a mile past the shelter a couple was having difficulty with their bear rope. It got stuck in a tree because he didn't cut and singe the edges of the rope. After about 5 minutes of trying to get it untangled with a pole or just tugging really hard I decided to climb the tree. To the couple's surprise I was quite swift in jumping up there & untangling the rope about 15 feet in the air. I scraped my arm up a bit as I dangled in the tree precariously balancing my weight on the tree, my arm and untangling the rope. I was hoping I'd get a trail name from that crazy monkey move but no luck. They just kept saying how grateful they were and offered me their trail magic beer. I refused (to early in the morning) and I really didn't want to lug that weight and trash around, haha. In the end, I got some baby wipes to wipe off the bit of blood and dirt from the tree and went on my merry way. And that was only 8:40am!As I walked along trying to get to Unicoi gap by mid-day (7 miles away), I met up the Trevor again. Still no trail name for him either. The three guys that are fast and put in a lot of miles don't have trail names yet. The two college runners from Atlanta & Trevor. Met up with him for a bit and chatted. He's a really cool guy who's from NH. Rock climbs in his spare time & hiked the 100 mile Maine wilderness, and winter in the White mtns to prepare for the AT. He has an alcohol stove with a wind screen, a go-lite tent, and other UL stuff. Very prepared. After a quick lunch, I left the shelter and headed to Unicoi, about 2 miles downhill. A nice change of pace from the last couple days of tons of up and down mountain climbs. As I reached Unicoi around 12:30, I could smell the grill. I was just thinking about how nice a hamburger would be instead of rehydrated noodles. And here it was! Trail magic!!! I raced down the hill, across the highway, and grabbed a burger and a minute maid juice from the group of trail fairies(?) who dubbed themselves the Unicoi Food Court. It was a great burger! Probably just an okay burger any other time but out here and only 5 days in it was amazing. I've never eaten a burger that fast in my life and thanked the trail magicians profusely. Jolly was there about 5 minutes before I got there and was already choosing down on cheese and a coke. Stinks to be a vegetarian on the trail... After a quick chat with him & his mounting blisters. He set-off to hitch-hike into Hiawassee and tend to his wounds. A couple other people were trying to hitch too. A woman and her husband, I'd say about 27, had a difficult time getting a ride too. We all just laughed saying the woman should just show some leg while the others should hide behind some trees & all jump the car as it stops. It would work too. She's a tall, thin, blond hiker girl. But I don't think they did that. I was walking up the trail and looked back & they still hadn't been picked up. With a big group (4) of stinky, dirty hikers it's hard to get a ride into town. From Unicoi, the mountains to the next shelter (5 miles away) got rough. And the mid-day sun was beating down on us hikers. Two mtns stood in our way. It was tough going but many stops and small sips from my camelback helped. Around 4 miles in, and the last mtn to go I stopped at a forest road & rested. I thought to myself: how lucky I am to do this and be away from the craziness of business life to sit in the sun on top of a mtn and relax. I chuckled a little as I thought this and thought why couldn't everyday be like this. Sure, it's exhausting, tough on your spirit, legs, and feet but the penance of such a journey is the amazing view & perspective at the end. I hope I gain more realizations as I travel further along this country of ours. I hit the mtn top shelter around 5 and who was there relaxing away on their mats? The two Atlanta runners. They got to the shelter at 2:45. Way ahead of everyone. They leap over everyone. I wouldn't be surprised if they could do 25 miles tomorrow without blinking. But they just leap from shelter to shelter. Making us all look like slow pokes. About 30 minutes after I arrived, Trevor came up with a big smile on his face. He's just a joyous guy and is always laughing with folks. We're all happy to be doing what we're doing but he's ecstatic about it. We grabbed some water from the stream and chatted. He said something that really stood out. "Out of all the people we've encountered, the two runners, you and I are the ones who will likely make it." I'm a humble guy but I was still shocked that he could see my resolve to get this thing done. I was really proud that my preparation, small pack, and determination showed through that a seasoned-hiker like him would say something of that magnitude.Rain is in the forecast for tomorrow around 5am. It's the first real test of a hiker's resolve to be drenched while hiking. Hoping my preparation keeps up & I have a good hike tomorrow. I need a resupply. So I thought I'd hike 12 miles and then get a ride into Hiawasee or the nearest inn. I still have to much trail mix, tea/hot chocolate, tortillas, oatmeal, and misc food items. I'll dump some of that off but not all of it. I haven't been eating a warm breakfast so far so all my breakfast foods are just taking up space & weight. Not a good thing. Hoping to get 4-5 days of food to last me till Franklin, NC. Yay! Another state awaits only a week away. This last 5 days have been tough but just. Only a gazillion more days to go! HahaBedtime 9pm