Day 5: Woody Gap to Neel Gap

(Tenses might read weird in some places – I started this on Day 5 but finished on Day 6. I’m too lazy to go check and correct, so just an FYI)

YEEEEE-HAWWWWW!!! I made it to Neel Gap peeps!!! With 10.5 miles covered, this is my first 10+ mile day.

I just had the best shower. EVER. Five days of trail scum washing down the drain felt great. No, great doesn’t even begin to describe it. Magical might be a better word, but no – that doesn’t do it justice either. Regardless of the right word, I feel totally clean and somewhat rejuvenated.

So here I sit at the Holiday Inn Express in Dahlonega, GA – the exact same place I stayed at the start of this journey. As I write this, I realize that it is nice to be typing this post on an actual laptop keyboard, versus the usual touch screen of my computer phone.

You may be wondering how, exactly, I wound up right back where I started. Have I been wandering in circles? Was there some weird spacial warp phenomena at Neel Gap? Read on for the answer…

This morning, my alarm went off at 6:00am as planned. I had difficulty getting up and moving at that exact time, but finally was up at 6:20am. Not bad right? I mean don’t most people hit snooze on their alarms before actually getting up?

I was finally all packed and hiking at 9:30am. Not a bad time, but I still have a 3 hour morning routine. I chalk it up to my OCD tendency. It will either improve with time, or I’ll just have to get up early and live with it.

At Neel Gap, there’s a place called Mountain Crossings, which is a full service/supply outfitter for hikers. They specialize in meeting the needs of thru hikers. One useful service is mail drops. Prior to the start of my hike, two boxes were mailed to them. One was resupply for the next leg of my hike. It contains about 5 or 6 days worth of provisions. The second was a “bounce box” which contains items I will only need during my town stays.

One fact I didn’t know about Mountain Crossings was their hours of operation. So I started today’s hike in the blind – not having any clue as to when I had to arrive. I tried to call them a few times, but there was no answer. The day’s hike started at a breakneck pace – facilitated by easy terrain. By the the time 11am came around, I’d already covered 3.5 miles and arrived at Lance Creek Campground – my original destination for Day 4.

My phone had signal so I tried Mountain Crossings again and found out they were open until 6pm. Time for quick mental arithmetic – I still had 7 miles to cover, and just under 7 hours to do it. That meant a hiking average of better than 1 mph. Being my personal average is 1-1.5 mph, this seemed attainable.

I hiked an additional 2.5 miles and arrived at Jarrad Gap at about 1pm. The terrain was a gentle climb of about 100 feet over the entire distance which helped the pace. Quick check in the trail guide showed 5 miles remaining to Neel Gap and I had 5 hours to do it.

I had a decision to make – either stop here and camp, knowing I would arrive at Neel Gap early the next day, or to press on with the possibility of not retrieving my mail drops – which would mean no town stay tonight. I struggled with the decision for about 5 minutes and decided that I simply had to make Neel Gap at all costs. I was mentally ready for a town stay. I needed it. I must have it. so I hiked on…

I made it to Bird Gap where another decision had to be made. It was now 2pm. I had 3.5 miles remaining with 4 hours left. The situation seemed to be improving! Except for one thing… Blood Mountain.

Blood Mountain is the highest peak on the A.T. in Georgia. From Bird Gap, it has a climb of about 700 feet to the peak. That doesn’t sound like much, but it is a steep climb. From the peak down to Neel Gap is a 1300 feet descent in less than ideal trail conditions.

The bottom line is that I was faced with the most difficult conditions yet, and I had to cover it in a limited time frame. Another decision point lay before me: There is a blue blaze trail called the Freemason Trail. It bypasses the peak of Blood Mountain, curving around the mountain at constant elevation. It then rejoins the A.T. on the other side before Neel Gap.

I must say it was tempting to take this alternative. Easier terrain would mean a greater chance of making my deadline and therefore town stop. But at what cost? I would be missing one of the most iconic landmarks along the A.T. Additionally, I would forever be known as a “blue blazer” – one who skips sections of the A.T. proper by taking easier side trails around difficult obstacles. If I took the easy way out and end up finishing my thru hike, I would have to live with the knowledge that I skipped Blood Mountain. Additionally, my friends back home would never ever ever let me forget it, either!

So, I made the bold decision to take on the Blood Mountain challenge. One of my favorite bands Rush has a lyric, “…lady luck is golden, she favors the bold…” which further egged me on. So I had 3.5 miles to cover in 4 hours, up and over the hardest terrain yet. I ate a bunch of dried pineapple and cashews to fill up the tank and pressed on at 2:15pm.

The climb was tough, no doubt about it. Several parts of the climb involved rock steps – it’s like a stair case made from rock slabs. The trail maintainers do these kinds of devices on step sections – to help prevent erosion of the trail. The trail curved, went up, turned, had switchbacks after switchbacks until I finally heard voices in the distance which meant I was near the peak.

I finally arrived at the peak at 3:00pm. Some members of the Georgia Appalachian Trail Club (GATC) were taking in the view while taking a break from trail maintenance work. I thanked them for their kind work which they appreciated. Without the work of volunteer efforts of the various A.T. clubs, thru hikes such as mine would not be possible. Every thru hiker should profusely thank any volunteers they see out on trail. At the conclusion of my hike, I may join one of VA’s trail clubs in an effort to “give back.”

The view from the top was stunning, as was the historic 1934 Blood Mountain Shelter built by the Civilian Conservation Corps. The 1934 date is listed in my A.T. Guide Book, but I’ve seen other dates of 1933 and 1937 so I don’t know which date is accurate. The shelter has quite a bit of history behind it. Sadly, some hikers with no respect for the A.T. and what it means have abused the shelter over the decades. That led to a 2011 restoration effort by the GATC. You can read a detailed account of that here which I highly recommend.

After a 20 minute stay for chatting and taking pictures, it was time to climb down Blood Mountain. I had 2.4 miles remaining and just over 2.5 hours until closing time at Mountain Crossings. I seemed to be keeping with that 1 mph average – which includes the break times.

The descent was brutal. There were parts of the trail that didn’t resemble trail at all. Those parts involved walking over slabs of exposed mountain rock that were oriented in weird angles. Careful foot placement was essential. From my first five days, I’m happy to report no blisters on my feet, but on this descent I began feeling “hotspots” forming. I therefore had to be SUPER careful of foot placement – intentionally choosing my steps so the slope of the rock would be in the forward-back direction of my foot instead of side-to-side. It seems side-to-side is more conducive to blister formation.

Anyway, for the first half mile of the descent, the A.T. is routed over those rock slabs. Afterwards, things eased up a little. I encountered sections that looked like a “proper” trail – you know, dirt instead of rock. There were also sections that were rock steps. Steep rock steps. Man, I feel sorry for people out here choosing not to use trekking poles. I bet all of them wind up buying a pair at Mountain Crossings. And if they don’t, well, they’ll probably quit the A.T. in a month or so anyway.

With about a mile remaining I passed the area where the Freemason Trail would’ve rejoined the A.T. had I taken that bypass back at Bird Gap. I reflected on the views I’d just seen at the top of the mountain and was so glad I decided to tough it out by going up and over. Had I taken that bypass, I never would’ve known.

I had no idea what time it was, nor did I care. I hiked that last 1 mile with reckless abandon. As stated earlier, I had to make that deadline at all costs (excluding injury of course). I was still hiking safe but, where terrain allowed, I just plowed ahead at a crazy man’s pace.

I arrived at Neel Gap to see a parking lot full of cars and several people outside. I knew I’d made my deadline. I went to take a picture and looked at the phone to reveal a time of 4:30pm!!! Holy crap, I thought!!! I had just covered 10.5 miles in 7 hours. Not only was it my longest distance day, but it was my hardest terrain day, and I covered it in record time!!!

The actual distance is 10.9 miles according to the A.T. Guide… the 10.5 figure came from a program I use on my computer phone as a backup to the A.T. Guide. Clearly the two are using different references for the trail milestones. Using 10.9 miles over 7 hours works out to 1.55 mph average hiking pace – which includes a 15-20 minute break every couple hours. I feel super good about that.

Now inside the Mountain Crossings store, I was waiting in line to retrieve my mail boxes. Following that, my plan was to grab a shuttle to Blairsville, GA for my first town stop. While waiting, I’d been chatting with the lady in front of me. She said that she, her husband and son had been out on a day hike for the day. Oddly enough, they were at Woody Gap this morning – exactly where my day started!

She was asking about my immediate plans and my hike in general. When I told her my plans to shuttle to Blairsville, she offered me a ride into any town I wanted! I said, “really?!?” She reaffirmed that she and her husband would be happy to give me a ride and that it was no trouble. She suggested Dahlonega, since it was on their way home anyway.

Had I chosen to stick to the Blairsville plan, I would’ve either had to hitch a ride or attempt to find a shuttle. Neither option was a 100% guarantee, and so I chose to take the 100% option that was right in front of me. What is the old phrase – “a bird in the hand is worth two in the bushes.” This situation was totally in line with that old pearl of wisdom.

So, these folks made room in the trunk of their car where I was able to place my two boxes and backpack. I then sat in back with their son as we drove off towards Dahlonega. Along the way, we traded stories of where we were from, talked about the A.T. culture in general, some specific points of interest on the A.T. and she also warned me of a “guy in a red pickup truck near Dicks Creek Gap.” There have been reports of this guy picking up hikers, driving them way out of the area and then demanding $100 to return them to the trail. Good info to have!

Since I’d just stayed in Dahlonega last week, I chose to stay at the same place I already knew. These nice folks drove to the hotel and I remarked that I sure hope the place had a room available, seeing as I had to reservations. She said not to worry, that they wouldn’t strand me. While I was unloading my gear, she actually went in to check availability for me! She came out and said, “you’re good!”

I carried my stuff in and she made sure I got my room and got a key. We then said are goodbyes and I thanked them in the most sincere way possible. These folks are true trail angels and I greatly appreciate their help in my journey. I shared my blog address with them, so if you read this – feel free to post a comment below for all to see!

So that is how I ended up back where I started. No fancy wormholes or walking in circles, just an amazing coincidence brought on by the kindness of some truly generous people. Thank you again!

Tomorrow will be a zero day here in town. I will update my itinerary, do laundry, upload photos and videos (I know that people throughout the known Universe are eagerly awaiting them), re-examine my itinerary forward, eat some town food, watch some T.V. and enjoy town life for the next day. On Thursday, I will shuttle back to Neel Gap and continue my hike.

Oh yeah, I ordered pizza while writing this and it has now arrived. I am going to devour this pizza now. And then I will sleep. In a bed. Goodnight!

 

wandering on…

Kelly