The fog surrounded me. I walked in the clouds, lost in thought. So far this journey had been easier than I expected; there are lovely flat ridge tops, the weather is perfect, and the hills aren't that steep. Not that I'm complaining, but I must be doing something wrong if I'm not already in pain. I know this bliss can't last forever, and the anticipation of hitting a wall is killing me. It's bound to get hander, and the longer that it's easier the harder the harder will be.
Our fourth night on the trail found us at Jarrard Gap. My over-eagerness had accidentally led us to hike too far, and we were on the edge of a 'bear canister only' zone. Because of bear activity, it is required to carry a bear canister to camp within the 5 mile zone. Well, we didn't have a bear canister, and there was no way we were about to hike 5 more miles or backtrack out of it. We were stuck. Besides, the only flat spot to camp was in the zone. Being the law-abiding citizens that we are, we walked outside the zone to hang out bear bag, and set up tents inside the zone. That was still legal, right? The old bear poop nearby had me only slightly concerned that our food would be missing the next morning.
Blood mountain is full of steep climbs and jagged rocks. This is the place where, a few years
ago, Diane and I agreed to thruhike the AT together while trudging up switchbacks.
After the knee-pounding descent, we took a break at the bottom and ran into some Chinese folks who were about to go on a day hike. They soon discovered our mission of thru-hiking. Gasps and awes met us as they started asking question after question of our journey so far. After admiring so many thru-hikers before me, it was different to be on the other end of things.
A van pulled into Neels Gap, and our college professor and his family jumped out to help us with our pack. It was great to see familiar faces. They knew exactly what a thru-hiker needed: 1. Food. 2. Shower. 3. Laundry. 4. Sleep, and accommodated our every need. Chick-fil-a and sunshine made for a fantastic afternoon with a night of good food and fellowship around the campfire.
We were dropped off under rain clouds. I smiled as I passed the spot 3 years ago where I first set foot on the AT at Neels Gap. Even greater was the memory was meeting my first thru-hiker. It was a warm day in February, and I had been relaxing in my eno with some friends when he approached. He had already done a thru-hike and was going for a second one. "If you need to figure something out, you will figure it out by the time you are finished." His words still hang with me.
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