Date: 2004-05-05
From: Low Gap Shelter

To: Deep Gap Shelter
Miles today: 22.0
Weather: scattered clouds

Having retrieved my food stuff sack in the morning, it was evident that once again some little critter had gotten at the chocolate craisins and put a second hole in my stuff sack. Thanks again June. I love those things but grrrr. It was time for drastic measures. The food sack was emptied. The holes were patched with duct tape from my water bottle applied both inside and out. Then the sack was lined with the small trash bag that had been reserved to line the sleeping bag stuff sack. Now the food was put back into the orange sack with the plastic lining and there were no more problems. Of course the future bear hoist cable systems had an improved feature. Just above the pulley there was a Frisbee or inverted pie plate type thing to deflect the little critters.Hiker Hobble:Over breakfast, a few of us got to talking about an amazing phenomenon, the Hiker Hobble we dubbed it. Sure enough, all the thru-hikers were hobbling around. It was as if we were all crippled somehow. It was hard to believe that all these folks were going to walk 10, 15 or 20 miles today, not to mention carrying packs. The thought of another 2,000 miles seemed outrageous. Folks were in pain. When the time came, however, each donned a pack and set out as if there was no problem. This was determination. For most, the feet would get tough, the boots would be replaced, the sock system changed, the muscles would strengthen, but for some the adventure would end. The Hiker Hobble could be observed in the mornings at shelters for the next several weeks. In time, though, it would be overcome and vanish from the trail entirely. The Hobblers turned into hiking machines.I left the shelter shortly after Alexandre. He was a Canadian who just completed his first year at McGill University and his feet were hurting. We hiked together for a while but his feet were slowing him down too much, so I moved on. I had my doubts about his feet surviving. Once again there was that question. Will he make it? Will I see him again? This is a strange linear place.Georgia Hiking:Hiking in Georgia was different from hiking in NH in many ways. First there was the vegetation. There were very few conifers or evergreens. The trails were not as rocky as those of home. The trail frequently skirted the actual summit of a mountain. It seemed that every dip the trail passed through had a name. They were all gaps, and every gap was marked with a sign. This made it very easy to keep track of my progress. The trail was seldom steep. The leaves on the trees were just starting to come out and that confused me until it dawned on me that the trail was hovering around 4000 feet most of the time. That explained the late spring and afforded views that would certainly be gone in a few weeks. There were also lots of snails and centipede things in the trail. The centipedes were brown or black with bright neon yellow trim. They almost looked manufactured. It took a great deal of focus to avoid stepping on them. Look up at the view for a moment, and there would be the awful sound of a crunch under foot. How disturbing.This day took me past places like Chattahoochee Gap, Unicoi Gap, Indian Grave Gap, the Cheese Factory Site and Sassafras Gap to name just a few. Things were blooming everywhere, but the leaves on the trees were just unfolding.Pack TowelSome call the AT the "green tunnel". That would denote lots of shade. Think again. At this elevation, with no leaves yet, sunburn was a real concern. I could feel it on the back of my neck. Sun screen goo never makes me happy, especially when the chance to wash comes so seldom. The solution was to wear my trusty blue pack towel like a scarf. It was great. If it tried to escape, it just got tucked into my shoulder straps. Always know where your towel is just like any good galactic hitch hiker.Lunch part 1 was at Blue Mountain Shelter at noon and 7.2 miles. Lunch part 2 was at Tray Mountain Shelter at 4pm and 14.6 miles into the day.At 7:55 that evening, I pulled into Deep Gap Shelter after a 22 mile day. Once again food was a very high priority. Cleverly I picked up water on my way into the shelter.This was a really cool post and beam shelter complete with a loft and deck for a porch. There were 3 other guys there and a young woman. The woman was already in her sleeping bag on the deck outdoors. She had just started her hike and wasn¢t feeling well. She didn¢t seem to be very well prepared. We offered some advice, but she didn¢t seem to be concerned. Two of the guys were together and out for a week or something.The other guy was named Adam and may have arrived after I did. He was from Tennessee but in college for engineering at Georgia Tech. We had a good time talking about the trail while we fixed and ate our dinners. He seemed a bit surprised to hear of my daily miles. He wasn't the only one, me too. We were both looking to get to Standing Indian Shelter tomorrow, an even 20 miles away. That would be his first 20 mile day. It was dark by the time we turned in.