Date: 2010-03-27
From: Gooch Mountain

To: Woody Gap
Miles today: 6.0
Weather: clear sky

Last night it got down into the twenties. Many people woke to find ice in their water bottles, not solid but a top layer that had to be broken up. Sleeping in the shelter was colder than sleeping in my tent and there was an on and off snorer that woke me several times. The sleeping bag that Brian lent me was great at keeping me warm. The little thermometer said it was seventy inside the bag when it was thirtysix outside the bag. It also fought off the freezing breezes that snuck up through the eves of the shelter roof. Thanks Brian for lending me the bag and backpack for the journey. With it being so cold this morning it was very hard to get motivated. Even some people who had 0 degree bags commented on being cold. I also was not looking forward to changing from camp clothes to hiking clothes in the privy. I had done the reverse the night before so I didn't sleep in soaking wet clothes (from sweating in them) and that was a brisk adventure in itself! There isn't room inside the mummy bag to change but if I unzipped it it would make a decent cover. I waited until some of the others left and the people I was familiar with were the only ones around. I switched bottoms all right but was less confident about changing tops so breaking a guideline put a fleece on over the camp clothes and started an already late running day. I skipped cooking this am and instead ate backstock of crackers and gorp. Though not eating as much as planned the hiker hunger is starting to build. One problem currently is not being able to hike and eat at the same time. O.k. keep the jokes to a minimum it isn't about coordination. What happens is if I eat while hiking the vurps set in like you wouldn't believe. This is not a pleasant way to hike. Eating means stopping, consuming then waiting twenty minutes to a half hour even if it is just a snack. This will be another adjustment for the body. Got to Woody Gap @ 4pm, had left camp at 11:40 and covered 5 miles to get there. Slow compared to most but just right for me. Met up with Gonzo, Last on the Bus and another thru-hiker that were waiting for the shuttle to The Hiker Hostel. They decided to chuck their thumbs out for the chance at an earlier ride so relaxing could be done at the hostel rather than on the side of the road. I took a break and had a snack before heading the two miles down to Suches to pick up a mail drop at the post office. The plan was to hike to town pick up the mail drop hike back to the trail head and put in a couple of miles on the AT before camping for the night. This was not to be. About the same time I finished a snack the guys managed to catch a ride so we parted ways. I began hiking down the winding road watching motorcyclists and sports car drivers enjoy the awesome conditions for being out that day. Most of the time I was thinking about not being hit or the cause of an accident. About half way into town a Trail Angel named Richard Anderson pulled over to offer me a ride. He had seen me coming down the road as he was dropping another hiker off at the trail head. He brought me to the post office which had closed earlier since it was Saturday. My back up plan for this situation was to camp at Two Wheels camping a mile away from the p.o. toward the trail so Richard generously took me there. The sign on the door said 'Open April 2nd' but the lights were on so I knocked anyway but thre was no answer. I don't know how I missed it the hundred or so times I read the companion but it says it right in there, open in April. I was feeling in a bit of a pickle and did not want to take advantage of the generosity of the ride. After looking at the map for camping I decided to head back up to Woody Gap. If I made it in time to catch the shuttle to the hostel and if they had room I'd stay there, if not I would hike further down the trail, camp til Monday morning then backtrack to get the mail drop. The Trail Angel dropped me back off at Woody Gap where I crossed the road and waited for the shuttle. Thank you so much Richard for helping me through what would have been a very frustrating rack up of empty miles. May you have much prosperity in the coming month! After a couple of minutes looking down the road I saw a woman get out of a suburban in the lot where I had just been and asked from across the street if I was waiting for the shuttle. It was Leigh from The Hiker Hostel, yay! Even better, though I didn't have a reservation there was room. I met another thru-hiker Jamie who was already in the shuttle. We waited a few more minutes and were off to the hostel.Josh and Leigh Saint who own and run the hostel have a beautiful establishment. I actually don't like to call it a hostel because it is so nice. It is more on par with a bed and breakfast. It is nothing like the hostels I crashed in years ago when bicycling on the Cape. At 5:30pm anyone who wanted to go to the Super Walmart in town piled into the van. There were eleven of us and Josh who drove. We had about 20 minutes in the store. Some people bought SubWay for dinner but I was looking forward to pizza since Last on the Bus had been talking about it the last few times we crossed paths. When we got back to the hostel I asked him if he would add a small Hawain to his order. After four days of trail food the hot hot pizza was a nice treat and after three nights of camping I was spoiled with a pullout love seat bed. Tomorrow will be a zero day here then Monday pick up the mail drop and back on the trail.