There were only 5 of us in the shelter last night and Jonathan slept in his tent beside us. Troop 400 was also staying in the flat area further out, but they were pretty quiet all night so we almost forgot they were there. Otis and Stogie were the first to stir. Otis had shared some Tennessee bourbon with us last night and he continued to offer this morning. But he was also offering food since they were heading home as soon as they got to Unicoi Gap in a couple of miles. We all got protein bars for trail magic this morning. Even more magical, he made all the mouse holes in my bag liner disappear by giving me a new trash compactor bag he was through with.
I had the most annoying ear worm this morning—“I want a hippopotamus for Christmas, Nothing but a hippopotamus will do.” I have no idea where that came from, I didn’t dream of hippos. I did dream about getting attacked my a female lion but she ended up falling in love with me and killed everyone else. I got off with just a few love bites.
The shelter was empty by 8:30. We made plans to catch up with Lindsey at a hostel at Dicks Gap tomorrow evening and then go into Hiawassee to eat and resupply. She and Jonathan took off and we followed shortly behind. The Boy Scouts were almost ready when we left.
It was another cold, drizzly, and foggy morning. We just hiked with our heads down because there wasn’t really anything to see. It’s hard to believe that it was just a week ago today when we said our final goodbyes. I remember feeling like Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz saying goodbye to Tin Man—“Goodbye Porcelain, I’ll miss you most of all.”
We hadn’t caught up with Otis, Stogie, Lindsey, or Jonathan by the time we made it to Unicoi Gap. There was a contingent from Savannah waiting to pick up the Boy Scouts. They offered us some fresh fruit and took our trash so we count that as additional trail magic. One of the leaders had section hiked this area last year so he gave us some things to look for including a couple of three story shelters. We will pass the first one tomorrow and stay in the second one in another two nights.
My knee was bothering me a bit again early on. Bunny told me I had just probably irritated my hibiscus. She knows I haven’t had any plants for years but I’ve learned enough in my 13 months and 2 days of marriage to just agree and say yes honey. I may have discovered a bigger problem than my knee which could be a hike ending problem—dark chocolate may be giving me indigestion. I’m going to try cutting my portion size back from 1/2 pound and see if that helps.
It never really cleared up all day. It did stop drizzling for a bit around 2 and the sun tried to peek through, but that was short lived. We met Jake while we were heading to the shelter and caught up with Patches again. She saw us and decided to pack up and head on in the potential rain but said she’d probably see us tomorrow night at the hostel. Jake hung a tarp across the upwind side of the shelter which helped stop the drizzle blowing in. We filtered water, ate, stretched, hung bear bags, and did all the chores we needed to get done and were ready for bed by 5:15. What are the odds I can get Bunny up before 7?
EFG