Date: 2018-03-08
From: Mooney Gap

To: Rock Gap - Franklin, NC / Sky Valley, GA
Miles today: 7.8
Weather: clear sky

I woke up little before sunrise and rolled over to give Which Way a kiss on the cheek. I missed and got her feet instead. What, how did they get up here? Turns out that our impromptu tent site was not exactly level and all of the blood was rushing to her head, so she switched ends sometime during the night. I slept like a rock last night until I got my usual five hours in¢at midnight. WW was still awake when I woke up and reported to me that my snoring was keeping her up. According to her, my snoring was something like I was blowing air into my sleeping matt. She soon got to sleep and I stayed up a few more hours working on yesterday¢s journal. The trouble I go through for our readers¢lol. Eventually I nodded back off and slept until around 6AM. After kissing WW¢s feet, I let the air out of my Therm-a-rest NeoAir XTherm sleeping pad (worth every penny), put my EE Revelation 950-Fill Down Quilt (keeps me cozy and warm and weighs a whopping 19oz), and gave the cross pole of my Big Agnus Cooper Spur-2 Tent (light and gets the job done) a good shake, sending powder snow down the sides of the tent fly. It was a whopping 19 degrees when we woke up, but the sun was shining and the winds were light. I quickly went to fetch the bear bag from a nearby tree. I had problems getting the excess line tied off last night, so the nylon cord ended up in a knot. If it had been 40 degrees I may have spent more time trying to work the knot out. But, with my fingertips still numb from hiking yesterday in sub-freezing conditions, I quickly turned to Plan B¢cut the line. I boiled some water to make oatmeal and coffee for me and buttered grits and hot cocoa for WW. The only adequate place to operate the MSR Pocket Rocket stove, was on the trail, a mere 3 feet from where our tent was pitched. Like I said, ¢not so stealth¢ camping. Wanting to get our hike started (and our bodies warmed up), we wasted no time scarfing down our hot breakfast, taking down the tent and packing up the rest of the gear. Close to 8:30AM I pointed WW in the right direction and sent her on her way as I finished packing up the tent. As I hiked alone, I meditated on how content I was to be hiking on this cold morning, breathing in the crisp mountain air, with the morning sun warming my face, the frozen trail under my feet, and the absolute wonder of God¢s creation all around me. From the little ice needles shooting up from the earth, still a little warmer than the air, to the icicles hanging from rock walls; to cool springs gurgling out of the side of the mountain; to moss covered trees that stood strong and reached to the sky; to the leaves on the Rhododendrons that, in self-preservation mode, hung vertically from branches in the frigid temps, like bats hanging from the ceiling of a cave. As I was taking it all in, I saw WW ahead standing in the middle of the trail, facing to the east.As I got closer I realized she was singing. A few feet away I recognized the tune, ¢I Stand in Awe of You¢ and I joined in for a few words until I came to her side and looked to the east with her. Then my voice just cracked. It is futile for me to try to capture in words the majestic view before us, in that moment. The picture I snapped from my I-phone does not even come close to capturing the moment and the view. The scenery painted on the canvass before us was by far, the most awe-inspiring sight we had seen since we started our trek. After taking in the moment a bit longer, we continued what would be a 2.5 mile climb to the top of Albert Mtn. I stopped a moment later to retrieve some water from a spring. My filter and hydration system frozen, I filled two 1-liter Platypus bladders with the cold water. Although the water, literally coming from the side of the mountain, is cleaner, and certainly purer, than what comes from your tap, I threw in an Aqua Tab water purifier for good measure. By the time I caught up with WW again, the terrain was getting much steeper. We paused for a quick drink and snack, shortened our hiking poles to compensate for grade, and shed our OR Helium II Rain Jackets (really more effective as a wind breaker). Shortly after continuing our hike, we found ourselves in a semi-rock scramble to the top. Careful to avoid icy spots, we were standing atop Albert Mtn. in no time. Peaking out at 5,213¢, it was about 200 feet shorter than Standing Indian Mtn., but much more majestic. There is a 200¢ fire tower at the top of Albert. We passed on the climb, focusing our attention now on the next milestone, just a half mile ahead.Just as we departed Albert Mtn. a light snow began to fall and would continue for the rest of the hike. We quickly reached Big Spring Gap, where we commenced in doing our version of the hillbilly hoedown. Why? Because we had completed our first 100 miles of the AT! The location was marked by sticks under the Big Spring Gap sign, spelling out ¢100.¢ No time to relish in our mini-victory, our next goal lay just 5 miles ahead at Rock Gap, our exit point to our second Zero Day. Which Way was out front, moving as quickly as she could on her bum knee, we made good time on our final approach. When it comes to the end of a hike, I liken WW to a trail horse when it turns for home and ¢smells the barn,¢ she is all about getting there. Sometimes I think her trail name should be ¢Barn Sniffer.¢ We arrived at the parking area at Rock Gap around 12:30, where Al and Susie were waiting to greet us. Who are Susie and Al, you ask? Don¢t know, we just met them. Allow me to explain. Susie had been following us through our trail journal and reached out to us before we started our trek, offering us a ride and place to stay during our ZERO. One of my mantras is ¢never deny a person an opportunity to do good.¢ So, we said yes! But, we wondered, what we were getting ourselves into? Would they have a dozen cats in their house (don¢t be offended cat lovers; WW is allergic to cat hair, that¢s all)? Worse yet, would they be mass murderers? Wait, I¢ve been sleeping in the wild with the bears and the freezing temps. What is there to fear? As it turns out, absolutely nothing! We could see our chariot awaiting through the sparse forest as we took the final turn on the switchback. Susie was out of their vehicle asking Close Call, who beat us to the parking lot, if he knew Which Way and Next Step. Close Call was undoubtedly assessing the situation that we were about to walk into. A former firefighter and EMT, he is cautious by nature and instinctively aware of the environment around him. Those skills and the fact that he is such a likable guy have made him great to hike/camp with over the past few days.Anyway, CC relayed that he knew us and told her that we were close on his heels. He looked over his shoulder, seeing us approach, and said here they come now. We quickly exchanged hugs with Susie and fist bumps with Al (not the hugging type). We loaded our gear in the back of their SUV and climbed in the backseat, where drinks (a Coke Zero for WW) and snacks awaited us. Susie and Al live in Sky Valley, GA, just south of the NC-GA state line. In route to their place, a beautiful and cozy home in the mountains, they graciously dropped us by the Wendy¢s in Franklin, where we practically shallowed a single, fries, and chili (for me) whole. Turns out, that was just an appetizer. Susie made us a homemade pizza with our favorite toppings. We cleaned our gear, took hot showers, and started laundry as the pizza cooked. Oh, chocolate cookies and milk following the pizza! And, wait, wait, lasagna for dinner. They treated like royalty and made us feel right at home. We immediately hit it off. Susie readily laughed at all my corny one liners and Al and I were bantering in no time. At one time he threatened to put me on the back porch (with a beautiful view by the way) and let Which Way sleep inside. Susie is a retired school teacher and Al is retired from law enforcement and a current City Councilman.I was somehow relieved to know that he had ¢done a little investigating on us.¢ Oh and the bed, so comfortable. I could go on and on and on... Elevation Data:Ascent ~ 2,015Descent ~ 2,330Grade ¢ 6.9  Weather:Day ¢ 30 degrees / Sunny/WindyNight ¢ 19 degrees / Snow Showers  Over the Horizon: The NOC Anything worth doing, is better done TOGETHER--Which Way and Next Step!