Springer Mtn, GA to Fontana Dam, NC

Day 8, Tuesday, May 30

Tray Mountain Shelter to Dick's Creek Gap, 10.6 miles

I awake at 6 AM as "Mule-boy" is getting up. It's cold. The whole mountaintop is enclosed in the clouds this morning. I can't even see Monty and Lydia's campsite fifty yards away. The temperature is in the upper forties and there is a gentle breeze blowing through the trees that sounds like rain. I get up at 6:15 AM and begin another day. This morning I'm moving very deliberately. I plan to leave at 7:15 and hike with Monty and Lydia to the highway. I only have 10.6 miles to the highway. Listen to me...only 10.6 miles. Three days ago that was a lot, but after yesterdays 15 miles, 10.6 miles sounds like a cakewalk.

I retrieve my food bag that I again hung off the back of the shelter and begin packing up for another day. I dine on cheese crackers this morning. I pull on clean clothes and then put back on my long stuff. It's too cold to be in shorts this morning until I'm ready to hike.

I carefully tape my feet again this morning. My right foot is fully on the mend now. The goal is not to get any new blisters there. My left foot is still the trouble spot. One of the Tallahassee guys gave me some second skin last night which has helped a bunch overnight. My left heel isn't as sore this morning. We'll see how it does when the boot hits it.

First one out of the shelter again, I leave at 7:25 AM. Monty and Lydia are still packing up as I approach their campsite. I decide to press on. I say goodbye in case I don't see them again and walk down Tray Mountain in the mist. At 8:15 AM I hear voices ahead and walk into a campsite where I find Billy and Aaron. Folks at the shelter last night told me that Aaron had walked up to the shelter while I was taking a bath and left when he saw it was going to be full. He and Billy had camped a mile or so further up the trail. They did a seventeen-mile day. Pretty amazing. I talk for a few minutes and also say goodbye in case I can't catch back up with them after I stop in Hiawassee. They plan to go to Plum Orchard Shelter tonight, past where I get off for Hiawassee. I won't cross Plum Orchard until tomorrow.

I take the neatest picture of a broken oak tree that is lying across the trail. I take my first break at 8:50 AM at Swag of the Blue Ridge. "Cypress" passes by five minutes later. He's actually talkative this morning. He says "Hi" and raises his hand as he passes. "Cypress" is from Baltimore, Maryland. He graduated from high school last year and started his thru-hike from Maine last August. He caught up with "Mule-boy" a week or so into the trip and they hiked together all the way into Virginia. That's where "Mule-boy's" back gave out and he had to be evacuated from a shelter. "Cypress" continued on to Damascus where he quit. He said that there weren't many people on the trail at that point, and he wasn't having any fun, so he quit.

"Mule-boy" told me that he liked having "Cypress" out front on the trail. That way he didn't have to worry about spider webs. "Cypress" tears them all down ahead of him. Looks like I won't have to worry about spider webs this morning. "Mule-boy" catches up with me a few minutes later as I climb a hill. I keep pace with him for ten minutes and then he pulls away. I hope there is some beer left by the time I get to Hiawassee.

At 9:55 AM I decide to break for a snack and boot rest at Addis Gap. I've made 5.3 miles in 2 hours and 30 minutes. Pretty good and exactly half way to Dick's Creek Gap. 5.3 miles down, 5.3 miles to go. I dread Kelly Knob ahead. It is an eleven hundred feet climb from where I currently sit. Yuk! It's the highest peak between Tray Mountain and Bly Gap (the NC/GA line).

As the weather has warmed up and dried out the insects are more active. The trail here is somewhat grown up on the sides. As I hike the next several miles, my progress is marked by grasshoppers exploding into the air on either side of the trail. They remind me of fireworks. I've never seen so many grasshoppers.

I reach Deep Gap at 11:15 AM. 7.1 miles so far. I see the highway in the distance across the valley below shortly before noon. That's great. I am going to beat my projected time considerably. As I hike, I begin to realize that the highway isn't getting any closer. Although the terrain and the hiking are easier, it isn't much fun. My feet hurt and I want to get to the highway! I finally reach Dick's Creek gap at 12:55 PM.

As I cross the highway, a hiker comes down from the picnic area on the other side of the road. He passed me on the Approach Trail last Tuesday and I saw him again at the Springer Mountain Shelter on Wednesday Morning. His name is Jason, and he was the hiker with Phree, the kid who is carrying 60 pounds and hiking 20 miles a day. They had both passed me near Hawk Mountain Shelter on Wednesday afternoon. They have just come from an overnight in Hiawassee. Turns out their shuttle is who picked up "Mule-boy" and "Cypress" at the Blueberry Patch and took them into town. "Mule-boy" had mailed a package to the Blueberry Patch Hostel in Hiawassee, so they first hitched from Dick's Creek to the Blueberry Patch and then on into town. Their shuttle then gave Jason and Phree a ride back to the trail.

We talk for a few minutes as I begin to stick my thumb out. So few cars pass, I'm beginning to wonder if I'll ever get a ride. At 1:30 Monty and Lydia burst out of the woods and cross the highway. They've caught up and have decided to go into town as well. They are tired and want a hotel room for the night.

The three of us stand beside of the road with our thumbs out. After another twenty minutes (almost an hour wait for me), a woman named Mary with Missouri license plates pulls over in a Saturn. We're actually going to get to ride in a car. As bad as we smell! I expected the best we would have done is someone with a pickup truck would stop and let us pile on the back. Turns out Mary and her husband have just retired and moved to NC. With several other couples they have bought 300 acres near Brasstown, NC and all are building and moving to the area over the next year or so. Mary or "Saint Mary" as I have dubbed her is on her way to Hiawassee to go grocery shopping. She moves packages, mail, papers, etc. out of her backseat to make room for us. We put two packs in her small trunk. Monty and Lydia climb in the back seat with the remaining pack in their laps. I climb in the front seat and Mary drives us directly to the Hiawassee Inn.

After checking in rooms that cost $54.00 each we quickly shower and head to the Subway next door. We all order foot long sandwiches with the works and chow down. Haven't had a sub this good in a long time. After eating, I begin my search for flip-flops and a dry bag. First, across the street to the Trail Shop. No luck, but did find some small carabiners and Second Skin. We stop back by the motel for our dirty laundry, and head for the Rite-Aid. No luck again, but the air-conditioning feels good. We run into "Mule-boy" on the way to the Laundromat as he is crossing the street. He gives us the run-down on Hiawassee. We decide to meet for dinner that evening.

We get the laundry going and I leave Monty and Lydia at the laundry. I head for the post office to pick up my mail drop. I then visit all of the stores in Hiawassee looking for flip-flops. I never knew there was such a worldwide shortage. I finally find what I'm looking for at the Family Dollar Store for $5. I head back to the laundry, pick up my clothes and head back to the Trail Shop for one last look at their dry-bags. I finally decide that the one they have is too small and I head back to the motel.

I spend the rest of the afternoon sorting and sunning gear, taking inventory, opening my mail drop and trying to see if there is anything else I need to buy while I am in town. Since I have been able to pick up my mail drop this afternoon, instead of tomorrow morning as I originally scheduled, I am ahead on the overall schedule. That's great!

I take another shower at 6:30 PM and the five of us, "Mule-boy", "Cypress", Monty, Lydia and me, head for Daniel's Steak House and their famous all-you-can-eat buffet for $5.50 per person. What a deal. I pick up the tab for dinner and we then head for Ingles to buy final supplies for the next leg of the trip. I pick up some orange juice for breakfast tomorrow morning. I repack my pack when I get back to the room, call home, and then hit the sack. I dream of Trail Angels during the night.