Day 6 – 7.32 miles – Up early, had breakfast at the lodge. Tim and I left about mid-morning to explore the town, get some resupply, lunch, etc. We ended up at Tilted Cafe for lunch. Pretty darn good food, drink, and atmosphere. After picking up, resupply items, new insoles and a few other items from Trailful and more beer from Bacchus we called Mountain Maw’s Dirt Cheap Taxi to take us back to the lodge. Upon returning we found out that some of our tramily was placed across the hall from us. Once reunited we all decided to have dinner at Daniel’s later that day.We ended up running into Mud Duck, and a few others. By the time we were seated there was a whole gaggle of hiker trash. Rounded out the night chatting with fellow hikers back at the lodge over some cold beers.
Day 5 – 9.7 miles – Stayed in a bit at Low Gap shelter this morning. Tim and OK Kid had their coffee while I broke down my gear. Left camp around 7am heading for Unicoi Gap and hopefully a shuttle,lodging, and resupply in Hiawassee. I stopped for breakfast a few hours into the hike by a waterfall. Tim passed me and I never saw him again until Unicoi gap many hours later. I thought to myself I should give him the name Speedgoat. OK Kid and I stopped for a late lunch at Blue Mountain Shelter, where I snapped this exuberant pic. I arrived to Unicoi to find Tim had procured a ride for us. I also found a church group handing out homemade cheeseburgers, chips, and drinks. Such a sight for sore eyes after a grueling descent to Unicoi Gap. As I ate I thanked the strangers for their generosity and timing. The wind picked up and we headed to the truck. We would continue to use this shuttle in the coming days. I 100% recommend using Moneychanger for shuttles in and around Hiawassee, GA. OK Kid & I split a room at Lake Chatuge Lodge and we headed that way. Tim opted for his own room as he had not been sleeping well. After getting cleaned up and running a load of laundry though we headed down the hill to have dinner at the BBQ place. The food was ok except Tim’s ribs were raw and the bar service was high on something. The bartender dropped our food and we had to wait twice as long.
Day 4 – 10.4 miles – Got up before sunrise this morning and broke down camp. Left Tim and OK Kid behind at camp. It was so peaceful and quiet I wanted to enjoy to myself. I stopped at a spot on a ridge to watch the sunrise and have breakfast. It was glorious. Shortly after I reconnected with OK Kid and Tim at a spring nearby. Later in the day we arrived at Low Gap shelter and it was empty. A creek ran straight through the site and I thought it would be a perfect place to sleep for the night. We opted to stay in the shelter instead of pitching our tents. I slept great, Tim not so much.
Day 3 – 6.1 miles – Craig dropped us off at Jarrard Gap and we made our way towards Blood Mountain a few miles north. After climbing Blood Mountain we paused for a snack and to take in the views. The sun made it difficult to get a good shot of Blood Mountain shelter. We ran into a couple of folks from Delaware on the descent. It happens so much I’m not surprised anymore. We Delaware folks sure do get around.They took this picture for us. Oklahoma Kid is pictured in between Tim and I. Part of our tramily. We rolled into Neel Gap after descenting the mountain. After a bit of resupply, and a lot of food, snacks, and chatting with fellow hikers we hiked on to our resting place for the night, Bull Gap.
Day 2 – 9.5 miles – I awoke early and set about nature’s business then breaking down camp. I’m starting to get the idea that I don’t want to linger in camp. I’d much rather get up and get out on the trail and then have breakfast later in the morning after sunrise. We stopped at Justus Creek to cool off with several other hikers and had lunch. We arrived at Gooch Mountain Shelter around 3pm. Upon inspection the shelter was fully exposed on a hot hillside. I didn’t care for the idea of roasting on the hillside for the next 5 hours. I convinced my companions to put for Gooch Gap in the hopes of holding up elsewhere for the night. We arrived at Gooch Gap around 4:30pm and began calling around for a place to stay. We finally landed a place at Misty Mountain Inn & Cottages in Blairsville, GA. The proprietor, Craig Griffiths, would shuttle us to and fro as well. While waiting for him a few hikers we knew from the trail showed up. While we were talking Ms. Janet, a known trail angel, puts up in her van and offers candy and drinks to which we happily obliged. We ended the night drinking cold beer on a porch in Blairsville. Surprising 2nd day on the trail, to say the least.
