14.5 miles

March 9, 2018

Whitley gap shelter (mile 37.8) to Unicoi gap (mile 52.3)

I woke up at 5 am shivering and couldn’t get back to sleep. It was still pitch black, but laying there shivering was not going to do me any good. So I packed up and walked.

Night hiking was actually pretty sweet, and I was able to hike comfortably with my headlamp. The forest noises were only mildly terrifying.

A big bonus of the early start was seeing the sun slowly rising through the trees. It was absolutely beautiful.

I did get a bit thirsty though, my water bottles had frozen so could only chew on ice chips for the first couple of hours. Next time I need to put at least one water bottle in my sleeping bag, along with my water filter. And my phone. And my Garmin. And my power bank. Hopefully I should be able to fit in there as well.

I stopped at low gap shelter just before 9 am to get some water and K2 and Doo where there. They had slept in, it being so cold they had been reluctant to leave their sleeping bags. They were just about ready to leave when I arrived. It was really lovely to see them. We promised to meet up on Sunday in Hiawassee for some brisket.

I was feeling pretty good after a miserable night, my early start all but erased the time lost for the side trip to Whitley gap shelter and the sun came out and warmed everything up, turning a cold morning into a glorious day. I cranked up the music and whistled tunelessly as my legs ate up the miles.

I was positively awash with positive vibes when a hiker came trudging the other way.

“Lovely day isn’t it?”

“Hmmpf it will be cold tonight. And there is rain forecast for the weekend”. And he stomped away.

“I meant, like, right now dude. Right now it’s lovely. Jesus!”

It got real rocky before Blue mountain, which slowed me down some. I was also getting pretty damn tired.

I stopped for a quick rest at the Blue mountain shelter. There was already a big crowd there and I really should have called it a day. But I was tired and not thinking straight. The ‘lost miles; of yesterday and this morning had started to irritate me again and I had Unicoi gap on my brain.

I geared up and a dude I met in the first day (This was Pacecar, I was to learn later, and we bonded over having the same down jacket) asked if I had accommodation sorted, as he had heard everything was filling up so I should get a reservation somewhere before I headed down the mountain. Sound advice. Which I completely ignored. I just wanted to keep moving.

The descent into Unicoi gap was pretty rocky. I was thinking about what to do when I got there. I was sure I could work something out. But I was too tired to really think clearly, and I was starting to worry about it.

Thankfully the trail provided. At the carpark there was a top of Georgia hostel van. The driver, (a lovely gent by the name of Tom Kennedy who thru-hiked in 1980) waved me over.

“I haven’t made a booking”

“That’s ok, we have had some cancellations. You look tired. Hop in”

Boom. Thank you Lady luck.

After a grueling, long day, I got some hot food, a hot shower and a warm bed. Today was a good day.