March 7th - Day 6

Sleeping on top of a mountain like we did last night has its ups and downs. The wind was howling all night and it was very cold, well in the teens. Although when the sun came up in the morning all we had to do was walk out of the shelter to catch an amazing sunrise. Sofia and I were running very low on food and we were happy that Hiawasee was only about 10 miles away and the terrain was mostly down hill. Hiawassee is right by Lake Burton where were going to stay with Matt's mom. Still having frozen water I made the mistake of drinking a lot of unfiltered water and got desperate enough to eat some snow, more than I'm proud to admit. The day went by pretty quick and I was happy that I was going to see the family and eat real food. I was pretty bummed Pop couldn't come because I would've liked him to help me resupply, but the man's got to work and I understand that. After seeing the family and introducing my hiking buddies to all my grandparents and mother I started to feel sick, I think all the dirty water was starting to catch up to me. I went behind the car and yakked all over the place, I felt pretty sick until I drank a ton of water and some soda. I resupplied way too much food and gained way more gear than I got rid of so my pack is now heavy as hell. The lake house stay was an awesome getaway from the wilderness and Matt's mom was a super nice lady. I ate three good meals and slept in a comfortable queen-size bed, what more can a man ask for? Went to bed around 11:00pm, which is crazy because lights out is around sunset when I'm in the woods. It was a well-needed rest after 2 tough days.

the first glimpse of sunlight from inside the Tray Mountain Shelter, GA

What a view!  Waking up to this is awesome. Tray Mountain Shelter, GA

on our way down the mountain to Dick's Creek Gap in Hiawassee, GA

Almost there. Thank goodness for warmer weather.

Finally made it to the trail head. It's been a tough couple of days. I was starved and dehydrated.

Sofia is ready to go home with Mama, the Witos and Heidi. She better come back.

mmmm... Chick-fil-A

restocking for the next few days

So happy to be at Matt's lake house. His mom is great! I'm so thankful.