Goodbye, Georgia...Hello, North Carolina!!!

We are in Hiawassee, GA tonight, resting up and hunkered down for another exciting installment of Survivor!  :0)  We are excited to be just 10 miles from our first border crossing into North Carolina!  To recap the last few days...

 

Earlier in the week we hiked to Neels Gap, a well-known place on the trail to meet up with your fellow hikers, stay the night in a hostel and have the experts at the Mountain Crossings outfitter sanity check your gear.  We saw some new friends along the way, Orange Moon, Gingersnap & Jaime who we'd been hiking with since the beginning.  As we were climbing Blood Mountain, one of the tallest climbs in Georgia, I was wiped out and we decided to take a break halfway up.  This is when we experienced our 2nd dose of "trail magic," a 16oz Fruit Punch NOS Energy Drink left right next to the very spot we stopped -- let me say it put a huge spring in our step for the rest of the hike up and down into Neels Gap.  When we arrived there, the "Trail Dames" were throwing a BBQ for all of us Thru-Hikers, and we were so thankful for that!  Nothing better than burgers and hot dogs after a long day of hiking!  After checking into the hostel, we went to the Outfitter and had our packs audited by Logan.  We had whittled our pack contents down to the barest essentials, so there was not much for him to audit, but he did fit us with some super-sweet 2lb Granite Gear packs that we are extremely happy with.  Our night in the hostel was OK.  It was great to chat with other hikers but it was too loud to sleep -- 16 bunks with people snoring and moving around made it almost impossible to catch a wink.  Needless to say we were the first ones to leave the next morning -- out the door by 6:30!!!

 

The next day we hiked about 11 miles into Low Gap, where we arrived early, cleaned up and played cribbage on grandpa's old wooden travel set -- I brought the rules so Jeff would quit saying I was making them up :0).  We both had really sore feet from hiking, and Jeff hobbled around camp most of the evening whining about "chafing". lol!      "Bulldog", the high school principle, and "Old Blue Eyes" camped next to us.  We spent the evening talking about hiking strategy - Jeff & I decided that we needed to change ours if we wanted to make it to Maine.  Before we left the next morning "Bulldog" videotaped us for one of his high school video class projects -- he says it will be on YouTube eventually as "Bulldog on the AT." 

 

The next day we implemented our hiking strategy change from "go, go, get there" to "lets hike a bit, take an afternoon siesta, then hike some more."  So far it seems to be a much better strategy.  We hiked 6 miles to Blue Mountain shelter, relaxed for a couple hours, and then hiked the rest of the afternoon as it started to cool off.  We ran into Emily Maple on our way up Rocky Mountain and took a break with her halfway up at a nice stream.  Our original plan was to go 13 miles that day and camp at the old Cheese Factory Site.  However, there looked like there were some raging wildfires on some nearby mountains, so I agreed to go 15 miles to the shelter on top of Tray Mountain, meaning we would have to cross 3 huge mountains to get there.  On the way down Rocky Mountain, I was hiking along to "Fireflies" by Owl City when I realized I was going to fall.  My trusty trekking poles kept me from falling down the slope of the mountain, but I still toppled head-first down the trail, eventually landing on my backpack with my head going downhill.  I tried to get up, but it was almost impossible... so there I was, laying on my backpack like a turtle on its shell, wriggling around trying to sit up.  It took a LOT of effort, but I finally sat up.  You would think I would inspect myself for damage at this point, but instead I took a couple pictures... lol.  When I took my earphones out, I heard Jeff down the trail singing some random song from his Ipod.  There he was dancing in the middle of the trail completely oblivious.  Hilarious.  When we got to Indian Grave Gap we saw a sign that said the fires were a controlled burn, so I calmed down a little bit, but Jeff was still set on getting to Tray Mountain Shelter.  I was so exhausted, and whiney, but we kept going.  At the top of Tray Mountain there was a great view of North Carolina -- I can't believe we are so close!!!  We arrived in camp near dark, cooked dinner and hit the sack. 

 

The next day we had 11 miles to get to Dicks Creek Gap, which is 11 miles up the highway from Hiawassee where we planned to stop, rest, and resupply.  When we hit the road we met a great couple, Bob & Cathy from Ohio, who offered us a ride into town in their camper.  They not only took us into Hiawassee, but they stopped on the way in order for us to pick up mom's first resupply box at the Blueberry Patch Hostel.  After some much needed Dairy Queen, we checked into the motel and the desk clerk made sure to put us in a room next to the washer & dryer -- lol.

 

Headed off to Franklin, NC in the morning!

 

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HikeStrong 2010 - Jeff & Aly
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HikeStrong 2010 - Jeff & Aly
Want to receive our blog updates by email?  Send a note to HikeStrong2010@gmail.com to be added to our distribution list!