Journal Entries

Chilly morning on the trail.

Day 7 - Unicoi Gap Resupply to Cheese Factory Site Camp on Tray Mountain

3.4 miles

Overcast day, rain in evening, cool.

During our 24 hour time off the trail at the Whitlarks we resupplied our food for the next 5 days on the trail. I did all our laundry, managed our finances, caught up on email, and we worked on our video series.

I was anxious to get back on the trail after the whirldwind of work off-trail, but hiking again felt strange. I suppose we'll grow used to these post-resupply transition periods.

We started back on the trail at 3:15 this afternoon and arrived at camp at 6:30, having realized along the way that Toesalad left his watch at the Whitlarks. Ugh.

There is a hiker group here tonight, people we recognize: Bloodroot, Red Hawk, Fall and Oats. Nice to see the "gang" again.

It started raining while we were finishing supper. Feeling cranky about items left or misplaced during our resupply.

Went to sleep late last night, looking forward to a good sleep tonight.

Day 6 - Low Gap Shelter to Unicoi Gap

9.7 miles

Sunny, clear, mild-temperature. Perfect day.

We made it to Unicoi at 2pm, almost on the dot. Everyone was very motivated today, excited to get off the trail.

The whole Whitlark family met us, Amy, Michael and their three young kids and brought their two vehicles to drive us all to their home in Sautee Nacoochee.

At their home Damien and I worked to prepare for our next few days on the trail, the Whitlarks graciously driving Damien to the grocery store and REI for our resupply needs, while the kids relaxed.

We ate a delicious supper and drank copious amounts of sweet tea, literally drinking up the Southern Hospitality.

Going to bed late, lots of work to do through the evening. Not used to that as on the trail we've been in bed by 9pm.

Low Gap Shelter camping

The state of my hands after brushing leaves and detritus off the bottom of the tent. It rained a bit yesterday and the ground in the tenting areas was a bit mucky because of that.

This is just one reason (of quite a few) we don't like pitching our tents on dedicated tent pads. Whenever possible, we avoid them. But the site was packed last night and our 2 tents have a larger footprint than the one person models most hikers use, so we had to take what we could find.

The compacted ground of an established tenting area does not absorb water well. If you experience a lot of rain overnight in this scenario the tent will be resting in a pool of water by morning and you may be sleeping in a pool of water if your tent "bath-tub" (the bottom of the tent) is damaged, of poor quality, or isn't seam-sealed well.

We'll hang the tents out when we get off the trail today to more thoroughly dry the bottoms and just to air them out.

Low Gap Shelter camping

Rise & Shine.

Trying to get an earlier start on the day by waking up at 6:30. We are meeting the Whitlarks at Unicoi Gap at 2pm. We have 9.7 miles to hike and need to make sure we arrive close to that time.

Day 5 - Bull Gap Camp to Low Gap Shelter

9.4 miles

The day started misty, foggy and overcast with light sprinkling rain and a bit of wind. Put on our rain jackets once during the day. Turned out to be perfect hiking weather. A nice break from hot days and sunburnt ears.

Kallins left camp earlier than us this morning, not sure when we'll see them again.

Mostly easy hiking, though Sheep Rock Top was exasperating. "Are we almost at the top already?" Others hikers felt the same so that was reassuring.

Getting stronger each day, less pain. Also nice that our packs are not so heavy as we eat more food.

Met Shepherd with her 3 dogs on the trail today.

Damien and I are figuring out video details. Finding a groove, maybe. And camp chores are getting more routine also.

Met a bunch of hikers at Low Gap Shelter tonight. Full "house" in shelter and camping. There are at least 50 campers tenting on the hillside around the shelter.

Looking forward to a new day tomorrow and meeting the Whitlarks, who are hosting us for the night.

Day 4 - Lance Creek Camp to Bull Gap Camp

8.5 miles

Sunny. Warm. Hazy skies.

Camp was pretty this morning. We woke up early at 6:30 so we could spend time in the afternoon at Neels Gap.

Left camp at 8:30. Hiked a good pace. Summited Blood Mountain (4461 ft.), the highest peak on our trip so far and the highest peak on the Georgia portion of the trail.

Hot day, no shade.

Everyone in good spirits. Tenacious Bling bruised her knee. Toesalad helped by carrying her pack down Blood Mountain into Neels Gap.

We arrived at Neels Gap at 1:30. 7.5 miles in 5 hours. We were pleased with that pace.

Bought some gear, picked up an Amazon order of food stuffs, accessed wifi, did email, and tried to upload a finished video to our video series. The upload did not finish in time.

We weighed our packs in the shop. 20 lbs Tenacious Bling, 21 lbs Padawan, 23 lbs Otter, 27 lbs my pack (not including camera), 29 lbs Toesalad (without water).

Enjoyed a very tasty trail magic supper at the hostel.

The highlight today was arriving at Neels Gap. I loved the stone buildings and the history and significance of this place on the trail; the sense of hiker camaraderie and that we belong here with the mail drops and gear. All the hikers are lovely people.

Kallins with us at Neels Gap and campsite.

Otter at the summit of Blood Mountain.

Day 3 - Blackwell Creek to Lance Creek Camp

9.8 miles

Clear skies. Warm.

We got an earlier start this morning. Left camp 9:50. We received trail magic from Snellville St. Matthew's Episcopal Church on Ramrock Mtn. Perfect timing. Hot hike in and out of Woody Gap. Without leaf cover we're exposed to a lot of sun on these clear days. I burned the tip of my ears today.

Lots of hard climbing. Coming into Lance Creek was magical; all the tents nested in the gap. Unfortunately, there isn't a designated latrine area and not everyone has the best backwoods potty etiquette. This site seems to be heavily used, so close to the start of the trail and Neel's Gap. You have to watch where you are walking if you venture through the woods (looking for your own spot to relieve yourself.) This is one of the less-than-lovely aspects of this site.

Awesome cooling off in the creek before supper. Feel like a new woman after that. Pretty exhausted tonight.

Kids are burned a bit, but overall in good spirits. Camped again with Kallins on the hill at Lance Creek.

Highlights of the day: the Luna moth we saw on Ramrock Mtn, trail magic, Lance Creek camping.

Fellow hikers at Woody Gap.