Weather: 50s/20s with high winds and snow
It rained overnight. I meant to check that my hiking shoes were under my rain fly but was too lazy. I woke up to wet shoes, but they dried quickly as I hiked and my feet didn't get wet. Kim and I both overslept our alarms so we ended up leaving camp at 8 instead of 7. The good news is we slept great! I love my Thermarest NeoAir XLite!
Because of our miscalculation, lack of bear canisters, and what our friends had planned, we had to hike a brutal, knee-murdering 15.9 miles to Neel Gap. We had to get up and over Blood Mountain because a snow storm was blowing in. I flew on the uphills but the downhills got progressively more painful. I had to go super slow and start descending sideways to avoid a real knee injury. It was soooo cold and brutally windy that we hardly took any breaks. The goal was just to get to Neel Gap as quickly as possible. We did it in 9 hours. Not too bad.
Today was a lot of mental work. When I got cold, I thought of cranking up the heat in my car or at home to keep me warm. When the sun would shine briefly, I'd think of my mom and how she'd wished that for me. I had to keep reminding myself that today would be over and the pain and cold were only temporary. I was not going to die no matter how hard the day was. I had gear to keep me warm and enough money to take a zero if needed.
During our hike, Oliver caught and killed a squirrel. My face and hands are windburned and my lips are chapped. Ibuprofen is my friend. We FINALLY got to the famous Mountain Crossings. I've never been so happy to see a building in my life.
The bunks were full, so we called a guy named Ron and shuttled to Blairsville. Kim and I rode with our packs and Ollie in the back of an SUV. Kim and I shared a room with Abby at the Seasons Inn. Mike, Chris, and Tigger stayed next door. I showered for the first time since Saturday (today is Tuesday). We exploded our gear in the room to dry our tents. We also did laundry.
It's snowing outside! I can appreciate that now that I'm warm and dry inside. We went to an AYCE (All You Can Eat) pizza buffet. I only had 4 small slices but I made up for it in sweet tea consumption. We did our first resupply at Foodland. That was kind of fun. Finally got some cheese! I've been craving it.
Best Thing: Getting to Neel Gap without injury and seeing the famous Mountain Crossings.
Looking Forward To: A short day tomorrow and eating new food.
Vitamin I. Your friend on the trail. :) The famous Farmer Cheese wasn't too far from where you were (not that you could have gotten any but just the thought . . . ). Enjoying your journal entries. Love you!
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