Day #9 - Getting My Trail Name

Miles: 10.4 to Sassafras Gap 

Weather: 50s/30s and very windy 

I was the first one up at the hotel. I packed my stuff then grabbed some hot breakfast in the lobby while I waited for the rest of the group to get up. 

We met our shuttle driver, John, who was supposed to take us back to Unicoi Gap. Quiet Mike rode in the cab with me and Tigger, True Story, and Little Foot rode in the bed of the truck with the packs and poles. John was a really nice man. He and his wife recently relocated from Ohio to Hiawassee. He's a woodworker and she's a painter. His mother-in-law works with stained glass and lives nearby. He had a cross hanging from his rear view mirror that she had made. John's been shuttling for about two years. 

When John pulled over to drop us off, things didn't look like I had remembered. Turns out he had accidentally taken us to another common gap hikers get dropped off at. He had to backtrack about 20 minutes to bring us to the right place. He was very apologetic. I didn't mind because I was in the warm cab, but I felt bad for my friends shivering in the back. 

We started hiking in the cold from Unicoi. The only person slower than me right now is Quiet Mike. I wore my knee brace today, but after a few miles it didn't seem to help much. It was VERY WINDY and cold today. Chunks of frost were falling from the trees. We met some day hikers/trail maintainers that told us about a lookout point on Tray Mountain. It was a looong approach trail with low clearance, but the view was nice and we stopped for a snack. 

We stopped for lunch a bit later at Tray Mountain Shelter where we were supposed to meet Kim. Someone had strung tarps across the front of the shelter because the weather was so bad. Kim had left us this note in the shelter: 

Before we left, Tigger and I peed by the shelter. Soon after, another group of hikers walked up and one of them dropped their pack in our pee. Oops! We hiked on to get out of the cold.

This afternoon we passed a couple of older men on the trail. Since I was at the back of the group and was wearing a knee brace, they asked if my trail name was Gimpy. When I told my group they told me they'd decided to call me Stylez because I'm so stylish all the time. Just kidding. It's because I talk about my PStyle so often. Ha ha! I'll take it though. 

I found a piece of a white blaze on the ground today and put it in my pack as a keepsake. I plan to ship it home with a few other things I don't need anymore. 

We decided to camp at Sassafras Gap, not a shelter. We met some new friends named Boss, Lasso, and Pipe. I ate a bag of instant mashed potatoes for dinner. They were good, but I kept hitting air pockets with my fork so they'd splatter all over my face. Tricky! Tigger bear bagged our food for us. 

I'm hurting but having fun. Our motto is "The Struggle is Real."

Best Thing: Getting a trail name!

Looking Forward To: Good weather and maybe catching Kim.