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.

March 6th - Day 5

I had to go to the bathroom very early the next day so I poked my head out of my sleeping bag, only to have my face hit with snowy ice. I decided it wasn't worth it and held it until I woke up. The entire inside of the shelter had been covered in a layer of snow/ice. The snow fell hard that night, but that didnt stop us from planning to hike 15 miles to Tray Mountain Shelter. It was by far the snowiest day I've ever hiked in my life and the winds were slapping me on the face real hard. The tubes in my Camelback froze the night before so I was low on water all day. The hike ended with two intense and long climbs back to back but I staggered my way up to the top of Tray Mountain where we were going to sleep. Although the last shelter stay was really cold the night before, Sofia and I decided it was a better idea then to put our tent up in the snow. I got the coldest I've ever been in my life that afternoon. We were on top of a mountain the wind was whipping around everywhere and most of my clothes were damp. I had to change everything and go without socks for the night. Can't wait for warmer weather.

A very snowy trail day!

atop Tray Mountain...  What a difficult climb!

Ross striking a pose for my sister, the photographer

March 5th - Day 4

After comfortably sleeping in a bed for the first time in a few nights sofia woke me up at 6:50 to grab some breakfast Pirate had cooked up, pancakes and great coffee. I said my goodbyes to Blue Moon and Dixie because it was probably going to be the last time I saw them due to there slower pace and taking a zero today. We got our stuff together and left with a new crew consisting of my friends from GA Tech and Florida, Matt, Michael, and Ross. There was no rain at first, but it was very windy and there was a thick spooky fog over the woods. We started with a long climb that went by very quickly but didn't reward us with a pretty view, although the light rain and fog had a beauty of its own. The new group hiked well together and we made great time hiking the 11.6 mile stretch to Low Gap by 1:00. With the sky looking like it was going to pour down on us, we decided to stay there. With heavy rain setting in we were happy to see there was room in the shelter. We thought it would be easier than setting up the tent in the rain. I plopped my pad and sleeping bag in between Ross and a cool lesbian couple from New Hampshire. Some how Sofia didn't set up next to me but that's not too bad, even though I was looking forward to being able to lean closer to her instead of being very careful not to disrupt the two strangers to my left and right. Hikers were flowing in disappointed that there was no room in the shelter and with the rain coming down hard at this time they were forced to figure out a way to camp and stay dry through the night. This shelter is in a prime location with a scenic little creek flowing very close to it and the fog and rain made the day relaxing. We were invited to stay the night in Matt's family's lake house to resupply. It's going to take us two days to get there but I'm happy that I'm in a group of nice guys with whom I enjoy hiking with. A group of hikers in their mid 20s came in and kept us all very entertained with jokes and a good time. The shelter stay has been very pleasant so far and I will tell y'all more about how I slept tomorrow.

the trail heading out of Neels Gap, GA

Ross, Matt, Michael, and I admiring the "view"

you could barely see 2 ft in front of you

living on the trail... up close and personal, Low Gap Shelter, GA