(2/27) Recovery and Progress

     Last night was cold and snowy. It was also my best night of trail-sleep yet. Went to bed around 6:30 before the sun fully went down. There was a lot of wind and about a half inch of snow accumulation over the night. We woke up to an incredible sun rise. It began with very bright and vibrant colors juxtaposed with the darkness of the rest of the sky and the clouds.

     Then the colors of the sunrise faded to pastels over the mountain peaks.

     Before too long the sun rose like a red ball of fire, turning the faded pastels into burning colors again.

     Before we spent too long watching the sun rise, we packed up and hit the trail. Meanwhile, our compatriots from less latitudinally gifted locations (southerners...) stayed in their sleeping bags to avoid the cold and snow. We were right at home in the conditions. For most of the morning we were the first people on the trail, setting the first footprints.

     After some extensive stretching last night, my knee seems to have almost fully recovered. I believe what happened was as we hike my leg muscles got very tight. As I was walking with tight muscles the ligaments in my knee were forced to stretch. By stretching the muscle I was able to relieve the tension in my knee. Either way, I was able to walk all day with very minimal pain on my leg. I hope this continues and I don’t have any more issues from my joints.

     We only needed to hike 11 today, from Trey Mt shelter to Dicks Creek Gap. We started hiking by 8 am and by 10:30 we needed to stop for breakfast and to filter water. While I stated on the food, Tyler went to fill up the water bottles. I was set right by the AT, and he headed down an intersection that was labeled “water” which usually means water is very close. I finished making enough oatmeal for both of us, ate all of my share, stretched, uploaded yesterday’s blog, and he still wasn’t back. I didn’t want to leave our stuff on the trail to go look for him, but I headed down the side trail enough to know that the water was not close to the main trail. Finally, Tyler showed back up with all the waters full, absolutely livid. Apparently the water source was a creek called John’s Creek. And the path to John’s Creek was very long and very steep. He was forced to eat his oatmeal cold and pack up all of his things after taking a very long and steep side trail to just get water. I thought all of this was hilarious.

     We continued to hike and it was an beautiful day. For those who don’t know, hiking in the snow is probably my favorite type of hiking. I think it is gorgeous and I appreciate the additional challenge. Not to mention, colder temperatures mean that you do not overheat. Today’s hike was remarkably pretty. The trail itself was pristinely white and the sky was pure blue.

     We had clear sight to the mountains of North Caroline, as well as the ridges we had already crossed. Today was the most breathtaking day on the trail yet.

Our first sighting of the mountains of NC

     After the John’s Creek incident we were on the trail again. Pretty soon after we started hiking, we were passed by another through hiker we had seen before who we have been calling Vermont (because he’s from Vermont). He passed us saying he would be stopping at the next gap, and would probably see us there. We continued hiking and eventually met him at the aforementioned gap. From there we shared our plan of going into Hiawasee, which was very similar to his plan as well. So we decided to execute it together.

     We hiked and talked through the beautiful snowy woods and mountains. We hiked over some of our last peaks in Georgia and made good time to Dicks Creek gap. We called a shuttle which we were told would give us a free ride to the Budget Inn in Hiawasee if we stayed the night at the inn. However, the inn told us that the shuttle doesn’t start until March 1st. So we decided to hitch hike into Hiawasee instead. After many cars passed, finally one stopped to pick us up. It was a man from Maine in a rental cat in the area for work. He told us that hiking the AT was something he was always interested in doing and we talked a little as he drove us the 11 plus miles to town.

     After our first hitch hike was successfully completed, we walked to a Mexican restaurant and ate fresh food for the first time in about a week. It was amazing. We also did laundry, ordered a pizza (we are always hungry), resupplied, and got to know Vermont a little. All three of us are sharing a room tonight and will hitch back to the trail in the morning.

     Tomorrow we should cross a state line for the first time! We will pass from Georgia into North Carolina. The terrain in NC looks much more rugged than that of Georgia, but we feel up to the task. The weather looks spotty over the next week, which is fine except we may miss out on views (for which NC is well known). Either way, we will make the best of it and we will get our fair share of views later down the line.

     For now, we are headed to bed. We will sleep in (until like 8 am) then head back to the trail.

Goodnight.

Walker

Check out Tyler’s blog- https://tylerat2020.blogspot.com/?m=1