Date: 2019-03-31
From: Hogpen's Gap

To: Blairsville (zero day)
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: clear sky

March 31 (Day 8): OMG! Where do I even start? Our campsite companion, Sunshine, said it was 60 degrees last night when we went to bed. We were really warm. Sunshine came over and we sat in our tent and chatted and laughed. It was really fun. Sunshine went back to her tent.At our campsite there was a father and son there before we got there and they had already set up camp. So there was just the 4 of us at this campsite. Unfortunately it was about .2 of a mile from the highway and the traffic was pretty noisy at times, especially the crotch rockets. The weather was nice so all the bikers seemed to be taking advantage of it.Later that night the rain began and it poured all night and the wind was unbelievable! The tent shook like crazy. We staked it down but it still shook.By morning the rain had stopped but it was still shaking off the trees. The wind was still blowing at 40 MPH! The temperature was in the 20s. We were cold and wet and waiting for the wind to die down a bit, but it just didn't seem to.Suddenly we heard a man's voice ask if anyone wanted a coffee or hot chocolate. He was one of the other tenters and had waken up to part of his tent collapsed and things wet. He told his son to stay in his own tent and he would grab the shuttle and go get the car. He did that and grabbed some hot drinks to offer us. He said if we wanted a ride into town they would be glad to wait for us to pack up. David, Sunshine, and I talked about it and decided that since the winds were supposed to continue all day and then tomorrow morning's high would only be 28 we decided to take a zero day.We packed up as quickly as possible and got into their warm truck. It felt wonderful. I was having trouble feeling my fingers and it took a while before they warmed up. We introduced ourselves to Mike and Zach. (Mike said that some hikers had seen Zach hiking in a pair of pajama pants and gave him the trail name ¢Party Pants¢.)As we were loading our stuff in the truck, we saw Tiger and Lifer checking their maps and getting ready to hike on. They had stayed at the Whitley shelter so they were dry and ready to go. God bless them! (We had passed the Whitley Shelter sign, but it's 1.4 miles off the trail! We didn't want to add 2.7 miles to our hike and it wouldn't even be on the AT.)They dropped us at the Best Western in Blairsville, GA. The staff was amazing and allowed us to hang our wet stuff over the railing outside our room (#203). Housekeeping offered whatever we needed to clean our sopping wet gear. It was a little chilly in town but the wind was only 15MPH so that helped with the drying. It took about 2-12 hrs to really get things dry.As we were leaving the hotel we saw 2 of our fellow thru-hikers (Miak and Tanja from Germany). They told us that if we didn't find any butane, we could have the partial one that they had found in the hiker gear box at Neels Gap.After we had a good handle on our gear situation we walked around town and hit the Dollar Store first. We found our new food resupply place! We were able to get almost everything we needed except butane to cook with and some extra tent stakes. (Never did find them.) There was also an Ingles grocery store. It's like a Martin's back home. Bought a 2nd knee brace to be safe. I started wearing one on my right knee and figured I should probably protect my left one too.We hung out at the hotel for a short time and then went to a local Mexican restaurant. It was authentic and delicious. It was one of only a few places open. They roll up the sidewalks at 2:30 on Sunday afternoons in GA. :)They have these really deep and wide gutters that run along each side of the streets there. Probably 4¢ deep and 8¢ wide. I have been climbing up and down mountains for a week now and never fallen. I walk out of the Mexican restaurant and promptly fall out of my shoes and down onto my knees! I had a lovely black and blue bruise on my right knee by the time we got back to the hotel.Trying to repack all the stuff we bought was tough. I have been wearing a warm, lined hat that looked like a raccoon. I borrowed it from my daughter, but I had to ditch it. Wearing it to bed was not comfortable but I have to wear a hat because of the cold. (Yes, Mackenzie, I owe you a new hat.) I've also had to ditch my book and my paper journal. Too much weight. I thought I would have time to relax and read at night but by the time you set up camp, make & eat dinner, and then hang your bear bag, you're ready to sleep!I've noticed that the 2 times we have eaten ¢town food¢ I have woken up with the worst swollen eyes. I don't know if it's the salt or extreme change in diet or what, but I look scary! Please tell me my diet is not going to consist of oatmeal for the rest of my life or I may have to find a cliff to jump off. Still trying to get accustomed to the texture of oatmeal (or gruel as I prefer to call it).We have found a local guy who will take us back to Hogpen Gap tomorrow at 8:45 for $25. The hotel serves a hot breakfast and the weather is supposed to be really nice for the next 4 days. Can't wait to get back on the trail!