Date: 2003-03-02
From: Hawk Mt. Shelter

To: Gooch Gap
Miles today: 8.8
Weather: overcast clouds

Day Two, Hawk Mt. Shelter to Gooch GapHappy was leaving the Trail to go home. He came out to spend a few days in the woods, meet a few hikers to follow journal-wise. He gave me the last few ounces of his fuel, as the seal on my Heet bottle was allowing evaporation. I'm going back to a Sprite bottle. I'm carrying the same alcohol stove that I did on the Long Trail, and so far it is performing well. What I am really failing in, however, is stove lighting. My cold fingers just can't get the thing working. I may have to go back to matches.As I was shouldering my pack to leave the shelter, in walked two familiar faces from the Long Trail: Mama Lipton and Flatlander. We hugged, and they said another LT hiker friend, Pilgrim, had shuttled them. Pilgrim is my ride back to Neel's Gap March 9 (I have to get off the Trail on business for five days).Dog, Wench and I hiked together again today. They will go on when I get off at Neel's Gap, so I'm enjoying their company while I can. We made many Ted jokes today, which I took as a healthy sign. Ted truly felt like a companion, and every time someone ripped off a raunchy zinger, we blamed Ted for it. So far, Ted has been very bad this trip.We also observed the various uses to which we had put our Ted tea towels. After all, this IS backpacking, so everything must be dual purpose.Let's see, there were Teddi tent wipes, Teddi face rags, Teddi body wipes, Teddi head bandanas, Teddi Kleenex, Teddi sit pads. There are about 18 Teddi towels out in circulation on the Trail. During the day, we tie a Ted to the back of our packs, so Teddi sees all.Dog ripped off a particularly loud bit of flatulence (we are eating some strange and indigestible foods) and immediately exclaimed "Ted!"I shot back "Was that your Ted or my Ted?" Yes, this is what it has come to, sad to say, adults laughing at fart jokes.Sassafrass was still Sassafrass, steep and wearying. We plodded up - what else to do but plod up? Go home?We had lunched at Horse Gap. Dog took my picture by the sign, lest I forget how to spell HORSE. My new camera is persnickety. Perhaps I should read this heavy manual I am carrying?The climb up Sassafrass after lunch whupped me, and I was dragging. Caught up with the crew at Justus Creek and we expected the long climb of two years ago. Was there a relo? It wasn't as hard as I remembered.We got to the new Gooch Gap shelter and were still cooking. My friend Hopeful's sister designed this one, and it was sweet. It even had a mouldering privy of the type I had seen in Vermont. This one smelled like cedar chips. It works via aerobic decomposition.We three decided to march on. Bear Kat was still a day ahead of us. He said he needed time to be alone after learning about Ted. Any miles we did today shortened tomorrow's 12 miles, a bit much for this old bod so early in North Georgia.Two more miles took us to Gooch Gap. Two miles just doesn't sound like much unless you have backpacked in mountains. But it means an hour of hard labor, this time at the end of the day. I didn't have my groove yet out here. No blisters, but lots of arch, calf and hip pain as unused muscles groaned back into service. I knew the groove would come, I just needed to be patient. About 10 minutes away from the gap, a hiker appeared coming toward us. It was Betty aka Swallowtail. She was still out, plying the gaps with her trail magic, She brought me a light neoprene wrap for the small of my back, gave water and two tent stakes I had forgotten in the madness of the week before. We used her van as a "bear bag" that night.Maybe 20 tents out in Gooch Gap. Bumpkin and Kevin (now Sniper) stayed in the old shelter, which still exists, tho the books say it doesn't.A young hiker named Diesel sported a huge bloody blister on his heel - duct tape was not helping, Second Skin wasn't sticking. I offered up my secret weapon - Compeed. Don't leave home without it. I doctored his foot, and in return he cracked out his guitar and serenaded us past dark around a campfire Fire Dog and Swallowtail stoked. Diesel's hiking friend Speck joined in with her fabulous voice and presence. They sang gospel songs. The music and heat attracted nearby campers, and soon we had three part harmony. Ted would have loved it. It was beautiful. One haunting song went "...open the eyes of my heart, I want to know..." I had to leave the fire, it was so evocative of Ted it started me sobbing. I couldn't catch my breath. I walked off until the thing had run its course, blew my nose on my Teddi tent wipe and went back and sat with the Wench, who was resting on a log a little ways back. "I hear ya, sister," she said in a thick voice. That song had struck her the same too.The wind just roared thru the gap. It sounded like the trees might fall. The mist was blowing out and a front was coming through.