Springer Mtn, GA to Fontana Dam, NC

Day 4, Friday, May 26

Gooch Gap Shelter to Woods Hole Shelter, 10.5 miles

I wake up at 6:15 AM. The sun is coming up. Since this shelter faces east and we're high up on the hill, a beautiful sunrise is in the making. Tom is already packing up. He's headed to Neels Gap today, and wants to get an early start. We'll head to Woods Hole Shelter, and will leave within the hour. Billy and Aaron want to hike with me today. My legs are stiff, my feet are sore, but hopefully Vitamin-I will help. Snackwells and crackers for breakfast. We leave at 7:30 AM and head to the spring for water. I slip and fall in the mud at the spring and get my white hiking shirt muddy. Great way to start the day.

I see the first snake of the day descending Liss Gap. A big garter snake. Over three-and-a-half feet long. Big garter snake. With the three of us hiking and talking, the time and the miles pass quickly.

We reach Woody Gap and cross the highway at 10 AM. It's the first paved road since we left Amicalola. 3.9 miles this morning so far. We stop for pictures and a short snack. As we sit there a Gainesville, GA school bus pulls up and a busload of kids pile off. Their school-end field trip is a trip to the mountains for a picnic and a short hike on the AT. They head off to the south.

As we finish our break, dark clouds begin moving in. Looks like rain again. We put our pack covers on and pull out. At 11 AM, we near the top of Big Cedar Mountain. It's a 500 feet straight up climb. We stop near the top on a rocky overlook for rest and a snack. I've learned that you need to eat something almost every time you stop to keep your energy levels high or you'll never make it.

It's very breezy and the clouds are moving in more. Several Southbounders pass us over the next mile or so. We stop at noon to cook some spaghetti. I take off my boots to rest my feet and re-moleskin my heel. Now I have a blister on my right foot little toe. Wearing two pairs of socks hasn't helped much.

I stop at the bottom of the hill to pump some water. My filter is working intermittently so I'll continue to use it as long as possible. Maybe I can get some help at Neels Gap. A guy and girl pass us on a day-hike to Neels Gap.

We reach Jarrard Gap at 2:45 PM. I sit down to rest my legs and take off my boots again to rest my feet. We still have 1.4 miles to go to reach Woods Hole Shelter. Billy and Aaron go on after a few minutes. I linger, waiting as long as possible. I finally put my boots back on and trudge up hill. Another thing I've noticed about the AT. Any gap is usually preceded by an unreasonable climb uphill followed by a steep descent into a low spot that is followed again by an unreasonable climb. I'm not disappointed. At 3:30 PM it starts to rain. Just a light shower that is actually refreshing. I reach the Woods Hole Shelter Trail at 3:50 PM.

Billy and Aaron are there playing baseball with their walking sticks and rocks. The Woods Hole Shelter is one half mile off of the trail. The sign says only 700 yards. Must have been someone in marketing who dreamed that one up. We briefly discuss heading up Blood Mountain toward the Blood Mountain Shelter, which is on top of the mountain. It's four miles. There is no water on Blood Mountain, and the sign to Woods Hole says there is a spring 300 yards down the Woods Hole Shelter trail. I don't think I can make it up Blood Mountain anyway, so we turn down the trail toward Woods Hole. We get there at 4:00 PM. My feet hurt so badly. I take off my boots, but I can't even peel my socks off. It has been a very painful walk for me.

Woods Hole Shelter is a great shelter. It's relatively new, built in 1998 to eventually replace the Blood Mountain Shelter. It even smells new. It is a nice shelter with a covered table and graveled floor in front of a raised sleeping platform that sleeps six. There are shelves built on the open end of the structure and plenty of hooks for hanging things. The shelter register again claims to have no mice. I open my food sack and discover that the mice last night did get into my food pack and eat some of my trail mix and my Ramen noodles. I find out when I'm sorting my food.

I've planned my food supply fairly well. I have one extra supper beyond my emergency meal that I always carry. The reason I have an extra meal is I haven't eaten any hot meals for breakfast and only one hot lunch so far. Tomorrow will be a short day. Only four miles to Neels Gap, so I'll have time to cook a hot breakfast in the morning and lighten some of the load. I'll use up my grits and oatmeal.

Aaron and I walk back to the spring to fill our water bottles. The spring is very small, but flowing steadily. Someone has cut a three feet long piece of PVC pipe and laid a rock on top of it on top of a small pool so the water overflows the pool through the pipe. First portable piped spring I've seen. Ingenious. I'm going to make a pipe like this when I get home. We fill all of the water bottles quickly. Good cold water. I drink a half-quart and refill.

We walk back to the shelter and I cook my supper. Mouse-sampled Ramen noodles that I add some peppered beef jerky and sunflower seeds to. Excellent. I'm perfecting the low maintenance approach to cooking meals-for-one on the trail. (Billy and Aaron cook for each other). I boil water in my pot and pour it onto the contents and let it actually "cook" in my Sierra cup. Works like a champ. I then eat out of my Sierra Cup and when I'm finished I only have to clean one cup and my spoon. I usually boil a little extra water anyway and use it for cleanup. Makes the cleanup easier.

With my body full, I sit down to write some in my journal and look at the maps. Billy and Aaron gather wood for a campfire. Billy uses a log and a big rock to improvise a wood splitter. He does pretty well making short work of a dead snag.

Tomorrow is going to be a short day. Only four miles to Neels Gap, but over Blood Mountain. At slightly more than 4,400 feet it is the highest mountain that the AT crosses in Georgia. It hovers over the shelter site. Crossing it will be a milestone of sorts. It's an eight hundred feet climb from here, assuming we don't drop down some before we start up.

My blisters really hurt. Two on my left foot, heel and under my big toe, and my left foot, big toe, little toe. I've got a good pair of hiking boots and they seem to be the correct size. A half-size smaller bumped my toes. I'm not sure what's going on other than these boots aren't broken in enough yet. I've done 8-9 miles in them a couple of times without problems. I probably wasn't sweating as bad as this trip and I wasn't carrying a pack. That makes a big difference. I shouldn't have put on damp socks on the second day. It's been tough since then.

I also have to do something about my around-camp shoes. I brought my old topsiders with me. They were great until we got caught in the rain at the spring last night. They got soaked, and they now weigh three pounds apiece. They're also hurting my feet and ruining my socks. I may burn them or throw them down the privy. I'll get some sandals or flip-flops at Neels Gap. I'm also going to drop a few pounds of unnecessary clothes and share some of my food with Billy and Aaron. I think they may stay over at Goose Creek as well and rest their feet. It's been fun being with Billy and Aaron the last few days. They've been fun to talk with and are interested in all kinds of things. I've played Southern host to them, telling them about the area, the South, even chiggers.

At 8:30PM, I visit the privy for the first time this trip. There's more than one way to shed a few pounds. It's a great privy, open front with a view of a huge cove below. It has a flower planter on the decorative window on one side. Very inspirational. I come back to the shelter and write a little more by the candle lantern.

It's almost 9:00 PM and we're the only three at this shelter. Looks like we'll have the place to ourselves tonight. Almost....I hear a plunk on the bed platform behind me. I shine my flashlight at my bedroll and spotlight a mouse. Might be a new shelter, but the mice are already here. I guess that's something I'm going to have to get used to on this trip.

The night is cool and calm with just a hint of a breeze. Billy and Aaron have a nice fire going in the fire ring. It crackles in the background. Billy earlier pitched his tent a few yards away under a tree. He wants to have a spiritual evening, reading the Bible and meditating. He'll be back if it rains. But he seems to be having a hard time deciding whether to sleep in the shelter or in his tent. He finally leaves the shelter for his tent.

Aaron and I gather around the fire ring until bedtime. We talk about everything. Family, friends, growing up, etc. We've really bonded the last four days. I don't know if we'll stay together for the rest of my trip, but the experience has been good. The trail is magic just like everyone says.

Billy comes back to the fire and he and Aaron take turns playing their harmonicas. Intermittent cloud cover turns the stars on and off every few minutes. When the campfire gets hot enough, I throw my old topsiders in the fire and watch them begin to burn. After a while Aaron fishes them out and cuts the rubber bottoms off of them. He is going to try to make a pair of flip-flops out of them. Good Luck!

We sit around the fire until after eleven and then turn in. Billy heads back to this tent.

I awake around 1 AM. The mice are back. I spotlight one sitting on my pack waistband hanging above me. I reach up and shake the pack, but the mouse doesn't even seem scared. He ducks his head behind the waist strap, but doesn't move any further. I turn off the light and roll over. More mice scampering. Mousecapades tonight.

I wake up several times during the night. Mouse scampering, a few raindrops hitting the metal roof of the shelter, but overall this is the best single night's sleep I've gotten so far. My sleep has been erratic due to getting used to sleeping on a hard surface and four-legged Mousecapades all night every night.