[at-l] PT 3 Note from the trail...

[kahley7@ptd.net (kahley7)]

News from Ten Toes...formerly Cheerio.  Old news really, but i waited to check with her
to be sure that sharing was Okay




I'm thinking that I really dont want a repeat o the scare I had last year and this situation is worse.  I hide behind a tree & examine the map & guidebook Dale gave me.  The book says that there is a side trail that leads to a paved road near a church.  I decide I've already hiked this section and decide safety  more important & I bail on the side trail.  in 5 minutes I'm walking thru a neighboorhood looking foe a house with acar in the drive.  I find one and knock on the door asking if they can call the cabins for me & ask if they will come out to the main road & look for me while I walk towards them or call someone who shuttles in the area.  Turns out the man is a volunteer rescue worker and his wife had him drive me out himself.  Said he hadnt had a rescue walk up & knock on the door before!  so, he drove me to the cabins on blowing snow on icy roads that made me very glad I was inside.  he had the heat going full blast, the seat warmers on and I still couldnt get warm untill I took a shower.
so I got pretty lucky there.  Mara got to neels around noon ( those long legs & huge stride, she almost beat me there! ) and she was a bit hypothermic herself.  our cabin looked like a gear bazaare with everything spread & hanging everywhere.  we both took the next day off to dry out & I sealed the tent.

Had a great time there visiting with mara and trying to keep our other cabin mate from dropping off the trail.  she had gotten off @gooch and been @ the cabins for a couple days.  she walked out of neels with me the next afternoon after I bought a new pack, but she dropped the next morning & turned around & went back.  that was pretty sad as some of the feelings she was having were very similar to me last year, except she is in great shape and I couldnt figure out why her milage was so slow... she walked in front of me most of the afternoon, but dragged behind on the last climb.  we did 4.5 miles in just a few hours and that was almost her full daily average before. go figure... but I just kept thinking she could make it if she could conquer her fears & just stay out there long enough to let it become fun.  I kept thinking "there by the grace of god could have gone I last year".  I'm so glad that I didnt stop last year when I had my blue funk mood @ gooch gap... the best was yt to come.

So anyways, mara left neels heading for a 17-18 mile day to make it to Blue mtn shelter to watch the sunrise... she did cuz I read the register when I got there 2 days after her!

This time in GA was so different from last year in many ways... I was having more fun, walking more miles daily, more relaxed, and able to see the same people over & over cuz I could keep up!  Last year it was ages before I did a 10 mile day, this year I did it the 3rd day out.  I was also actually hungry.  Last year I gave away a lot of dinner food, this year I was cleaning my plate & starving when I hit camp & town.  I didnt need more food it was just odd that I was eating what I had!

The need I had felt to rehike from the start was going away.  I guess I hiked my way out of whatever personal demons were following me around from last year.  I came down the descent into Unicoi Gap perfectly setup to do another 10 mile day, except the feet REALLY started hurting on that down.  it is a brutal down, and I decided to go into town with a couple other hikers for the nite.  I was so hungry, I went to wendy's BEFORE showering

Cheerio