Date: 2005-04-05
From: Blue Mtn. Shelter

To: Addis Gap
Miles today: 13.0

   Off to a rough, slow start this mourning. The heels of my feet hurt really bad for some reason. Also, my left knee didn't feel good at the knee cap. I felt pretty good pushing the miles we did yesterday, but today I seem to be paying the price. It took a while to warm up (maybe a mile or two). Its tough walking with shooting pains in your heels, especially miles at a time. On the uphill climbs (and there were plenty of them today), my heels were being restricted and pressure from the back of my shoes was causing me problems. I was a bit slower than the rest today and eventually had to stop to take my shoes off. Out of nowhere I had a crippling pain in my right heel, and I wasn't even going up hill. I had to stop and take my shoes off. I let my feet air for a few minutes and then decided not to put my socks back on. I only used sock liners (2 pair) and this helped out significantly. It allowed my heels to move enough to releave the pain. I think the original problem was they were restricted from moving at all. The sock liners allowed for a little more room and surprisingly didn't cause problems else where. They also kept my feet much cooler, and I could actually feel breezes and wind pass through my shoes cooling my feet. It was a great newly discovered air conditioning system. I was still in a lot of pain and had many miles to go before our destination. Today was full of tough climbs and steep downs.         Along the way we were hearing rumors of free food and beer at the campground we were actually heading for. I didn't keep my hopes up after hearing these tips. Someone heard from a boyscout troop, and I came across a father and two young sons who said there was a party there. The father said he had been there two years ago and they had kegs as well. This seemed to be the light at the end of the tunnel for me that day. I was determined to get there, but at the same time didn't keep my hopes up, thinking nothing would be left. About a half mile from the blue blaze to the campgrounds, I saw a pink sign that said "Welcome thru-hikers to the 12th annual feast in the forest." They had dates posted below which said they had already been out for about a week, and tommorow was there last day. Looks like I was in luck. I was so happy after feeling so crummy I could have cried tears of joy. For the last half-mile I stumbled past sign after sign saying things like "home-made food" and "free beer" and "all are welcome." I was alone at this point and had been for most of the day. Earlier we couldn't figure out how someone would be able to bring food to the trail because we didn't see any roads on the elevation maps. It turned out that the blue blaze was an old woods road that led 1/2 mile down to an emaculate campground. And sure enough there were tents and tarps set up with three pick-up trucks parked. (I am not sure if this is the sort of thing I should be sharing about my hike. I should maybe just stick to the tough parts. Don't want to make it look like I am having too much fun. Lol)        I got down there and Brett and the others were sitting around with smiles. There was a keg keeping cool in the stream than ran through the campground, and two empties sitting by the truck. There was tons off food, grilled corn on the cob, sandwhichs, peppers, lamb, etc. It was really great and some of the best trail magic I experienced by far. Hopefully I will see something close to this at some point down the trail. It was a great end to a hard, tough, demoralizing day. I filled my gatorade from the keg, and 20 oz. of budlight goes a long way after hiking 13 miles in the Georgia heat. I didn't drink that much. I was more concerned with the food.        Our hosts were varied, a lot of them had already left before we got there. It was the first time a few of them had been out to a "feast in the forest." One by the name of Fish worked for the US post office. He told me all sorts of stories about caving like wading waste deep in bat guano, or being stuck in a crevice completely upside-down for over an hour and a half. It was interesting talking to him, especially with the occasional tobacco juices drooling out of his mouth as he spoke in his southern/GA accent.        That night was clear and I slept outside without a tent. It was the first time in a while that I slept cowboy under the stars (last time was in the australian outback). The stars at night were excelant. We slept right next to a stream which drowned out all unwanted noise, and I had a great sleep for once.