Day 4 (50.1-69.2)

Chirp, chirp, chirp… What I thought was a bunch of birds outside Blue Mountain Shelter was actually my alarm… I pressed snooze a few times, reluctant to get up. I then remembered I wasn’t the only hiker to occupy the shelter last night. I sprung up out of my sleeping bag to an already awake Woobie. As I profusely apologized for the alarm, he assured me that it was actually pretty nice to wake up to. I disabled my alarm in the event the next person might not find it so pleasant. 

I scarfed down some pop tarts and made my snacks more accessible for the days trek, drank some water and set off down trail. It was a foggy rainy day, the views were few and far between. Today was strictly about mileage, that’s for sure. 

First big climb of the day out of Unicoi gap up Rocky Mountain was a workout. The typical hike a few, stop a few, all that work to be in a cloud, it is what it is. As I came down from Rocky to Indian Grave there was a man sitting on the ground at the bottom. There hadn’t been too many hikers recently so I could only assume it was Woobie. “There he is!” I exclaimed. I stopped for a brief moment to see what his day looked like as he booked it from the shelter earlier that morning. Woobie mentioned that “around the bend” hostel was booked due to the cold snap coming through. Which just so happened to be where I planned on stopping at the end of the day. I knew the town of Hiawassee had a lot to offer and wouldn’t mind visiting for a moment, I wasn’t too terribly concerned.

3 miles straight up Tray Mountain and roughly 1,200 feet of elevation. I was HUNGRY. Two chicken tortilla wraps, more pop tarts, beef jerky and tons of water later, back to the grind. My pack was noticeably lighter after lunch. There’s a catch 22 when it comes to food. The more you carry, the longer you can stay out but the slower you go. The less you carry, you can make your miles but you have to stop for a resupply. Likely at the same point as the person who carry’s more food and hikes slower… 

The remainder of the day was filled with a lot of PUD’s (pointless ups and downs) and tons of swimming around in my head. The swimming started roughly at tray mountain and lasted for several hours. Thoughts about life and the hike. My previous thru-hike attempt. You think about a lot of things you normally wouldn’t think about because you’re so focused on real world things. It was hard in its own way, but strangely relieving. 

The miles passed, through the fog and the rain and the wind. Up and down, over and over. 

At Mile 65.6 I was faced with the decision to hike .5 down to Deep Gap Shelter and stay the night to take a NERO (near zero) in town tomorrow or finish the 3 miles to get a ride into Hiawassee for the night. I chose town, for the sole reason that the shelter was probably packed with people who had the same idea, after all I was registered hiker #190. Who knows where and how far everyone is already. I didn’t take my chances. I finished my day at US76 (Dick Creek Gap) and walked the .5 down to Around the Bend for a shuttle into town. Knees were shot from all the downhill and a slight pain in my Achilles. I knew I made the right choice. It’s early, my body is adapting, it’s time for rest and my first ZERO.

Side note - Daniel’s Steak House in Hiawassee 10/10







 


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