That is definitely the 'quote of the day' from Thursday. Wow, rough day. Gary's quote pretty much sums up how we all feel/felt. We started the day with snow on the ground. So off we go, the wind was whipping, it was cutting right through our clothes and, of course, the first part of the trail leaving Neel's Gap this morning was a climb. I realize halfway up that during this small amount of time we've been hiking, the waterline to my bladder (camelback thing) has frozen. I tucked it into my coat and it thawed out and was fine. We started snapping out of our cold weather funk after an hour or so. We were singing random songs, talking about movies and TV shows. At one point while flying down a mountain at what felt like breakneck speed, I stepped on a rock and wiped out. Of course I died laughing, and once everyone else knew I hadn't snapped my legs into a million pieces hilarity ensued. Liz was behind me so she had the best view. She kept thinking about it and would start laughing again and then we all would start again. By lunch we were feeling better and had an amazing, let me repeat, amazing view on Cowrock Mountain. The sun was warming us up and we were eating, highlight of the day. After a giant descent, we come to another HUGE climb at Wildcat Mountain that had lots of rock stairs and parts felt nearly vertical. From the top we could see our lunch spot on the Cowrock mountain behind us. It was really neat to see how far we had gone in such a short amount of time and pretty motivating. From then on it was a steady supply of ups and downs, both geographically and mentally. It was our final 4.4 miles to Low Gap Shelter and we were definitely ready to be there. Gary and Liz, now named 'Hustle and Flow' for how fast they hike, took the lead and we didn't see them again until we arrived at our destination. Cody and I trucked along, up and down, up and down. We kept passing the same people; we would stop for a break and they'd pass us and vice versa. Finally we think, "after this mountain the shelter will be down the gap." Wrong. This very vicious cycle continues for about 4 mountain summits and descents. We weren't the only ones thinking we were nearing the end, along the way we heard a few people say, "it's got to be less than two miles." etc. Finally I'm beginning to be very irritated with this seemingly never ending roller coaster ride through the mountains. I looked at Cody at one point and said, "If I get to the top of this mountain and see the trail going up another mountain I'm going to jump off at the top." We passed one hiker, I think his trail name is "O.B", for Old and Busted, and he asked if we had a spare set of lungs he could borrow. We run into O.B. and his hiking buddy Cabo a lot. We finally reach Sheep Rock Top and start our final descent. The wind starts whipping again and let me tell you, it was completely unrelenting. Not only was today filled with ups and downs, it was filled with hots and colds. Climbing up=hot, sweaty. Going down=cooling off (especially if wet from sweat) and getting hammered by 30-40mph mountain winds. Finally we make it to Low Gap shelter and lots of people are here. We set up camp and all four squeezed into mine and Cody's two person tent. We talked about how it felt like we'd been out here for so long and that it was weird thinking that this time last week we were still going out our normal business. I mentioned how each day I'm thinking, "why is this not getting easier physically? I should be getting used to this!" and then I remember that this is only the first week. It was pretty funny because everyone kind of feels like that too.
Friday 3-22
We had an 8-9 mile day today. It was pretty easy for the majority of it, pretty flat with gradual inclines. We climbed Blue Mountain today which has an incline of 1,000 feet in elevation. Today was hard, slow going because we are all sore. Crossed a boulder field which was very tricky. I wiped out again today on all the rocks. We had lunch at the top and took a "shuttle" (old man who charged $10 per car load to pick us up at Unicoi Gap and drop us at the hotel) to Hiawassee Georgia. We are taking a zero day (hiker slang for day off) here on Saturday because it's supposed to be cold and rainy. I got pretty annoyed today and had to remind Cody why we are on this trip. We've planned this trip since last May and we are here to hike but also to relax, take our time and enjoy ourselves. This isn't a trip where we need a strict schedule. If I am going to huff and puff up these mountains then I'm going to take my time and enjoy the view at the top. On trips like this we have to enjoy the small things while we can because the next day may be raining and miserable. I'm on this trip to relax and enjoy the peace and tranquility. If I feel like sleeping late one day or taking a 3 hour lunch I want to do that. From now on I'm hiking my own hike, with a group or alone, no one is going to rush this girl through this hike.
Saturday 3-23
Today it's raining and we're in the holiday inn express relaxing. We've been taking turns in my room because there's a jacuzzi tub. We're having our zero day today. We stuffed our face with breakfast and will be checking out at noon. Tonight there's some marine event all the guys are going to. They have rooms provided at the budget inn tonight too. I'll spend the day relaxing, resupplying and doing laundry.
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