Day 6 (Chattahoochee Gap (mile 47.8) - Swag of the Blue Ridge (mile 61.7))

I left camp just before 9am with the intention to hike 13.9 miles to Swag of the Blue Ridge. According to my navigation app, there is a sign ingraved with the words "Swag of the Blue Ridge," and because I think that is funny, I wanted to camp there😋 It is also 7.5 miles from Dick's Creek Gap where I plan to get picked up tomorrow at 11:15am. If I hit the trail by 7am, that should give me enough time to make the shuttle into town.

You may have noticed that I have not spent any time talking about the weather. That is mostly because for the past 5 days, the weather has been outstanding. Last night was the first time it rained since I have been on the trail. Nothing crazy, just enough to create a ton of condensation in my tent and a heavy fog in the morning air. When I first started hiking, the fog had mostly receded from Chattahoochee Gap. However, as I climbed out of the gap, I reentered the fog bank, which was both eerie and enchanting. The trail routed me along mountain sides covered with boulders, moss, and ferns, which complimented the fog to evoke strong fairytale vibes.

I hiked alone for most of the first few miles. The only person I passed before I hit Blue Mountain Shelter was a ridge runner at a campsite. I walked by on the trail and we quickly exchanged greetings before I headed down the trail. Soon I caught up with Lauren and we talked more about trail budgeting strategies. She also gave me a heads up about potential trail magic up ahead at Unicoi Gap. This was exciting news, but I didn't want to get my hopes up as I started the steep and difficult decent into the gap. On the way down, I ran into Daphne and shared the "word on the trail" with her about potential trail magic ahead. It is a really fun thing to watch a hiker's face light up when they hear the words "trail magic."

Sure enough, when I reached Unicoi Gap, an older gentleman who introduced himself as "Ynot2K" asked if I was thru-hiking. When I said yes, he asked if I would like a doughnut or some fresh fruit. I accepted both offers. I stayed for a bit to talk with Ynot2K and he explained that he is from southern Georgia and spends a lot of time traveling and living out of his converted van. I asked him if he had thru-hiked, and my jaw proceeded to hit the ground when he said that he has thru-hiked the AT three times! I dropped my trash with Ynot2K and thanked him for his generosity.

The climb out of Unicoi Gap was brutal, with over 1,000 feet of elevation change in less than a mile. Fortunately, residual happiness from the recent trail magic experience fueled my climb and soon I was appreciating the views from Rocky Mountain. I then began the climb down into Indian Grave Gap before starting the ascent of Tray Mountain, the last mountain over 4,000 feet on the AT before I reach North Carolina.

On my climb out of the gap I stopped at a campsite which was once the site of a 19th-century dairy farm. There are no longer any remnants of the farm, but the campsite is now known as the "Cheese Factory Site." While I was stopped, I ate a snack a snack and stretched in anticipation of the climb up Tray Mountain. On my way up the mountain, I ran into a group of day hikers who informed me that while the views at the top of Tray Mountain are decent, there is an unmarked side trail from the summit campsite which leads to a little known knob with gorgeous panoramas. I tucked this little tidbit in the back of my mind as I climbed to the summit.

The views from the top were good, but I did not hang around long because I was excited to investigate the "unmarked side trail." I started following a trail leading from the campsite at the top of Tray Mountain and soon I was hunched over - practically crawling - through the densest mountain laurel I have ever seen. After what seemed like forever, the mountain laurel parted and I found myself on a secluded ledge overlooking everything. The view was indeed spectacular and I decided this was the perfect place to stop and eat lunch.

View from the secret overlook on Tray Mountain

After lunch, I did my mid-day stretches and began the decent from Tray Mountain. I still had 3.8 miles to hike before reaching Swag of the Blue Ridge and the clouds were teasing rain. At this point in my hike, I was surprised to observe that my shoulders were probably the most sore part of my body. Other places - especially the bottoms of my feet - were also starting to feel the hiking, but relying heavily on my trekking poles to ease the climbs and decents has been turning into a real arm workout.

After hiking 2 miles from the top of Tray Mountain I reached Steeltrap Gap, my last chance for water before reaching camp. After consulting my navigation app, I noticed that the spring was down a 0.1 mile side trail from the gap. Because Swag of the Blue Ridge has no water sources nearby, I knew I had to collect two full liters of water to ensure I would have enough for dinner, cleaning, and general hydration. I foolishly decided to carry my pack down the side trail, which turned out to be ridiculously steep. Climbing back to the gap from the spring with an additional 4 pounds of water was rather unpleasant. In the future, I'll make sure to ditch my pack at the the top of side trails and just carry my bottles to springs far off the trail.

After Steeltrap Gap, I only had about 2 miles left to reach my campsite. As I was climbing out of the gap, the sky started sprinkling, and I decided that I should finally break out my headphones. I downloaded a ridiculous amount of music on my phone in anticipation of this thru-hike attempt, but until this point, I hadn't really even thought about listening to any. I picked the album "Perils from the Sea" by Mark Kozelek and Jimmy Lavalle; a really great album featuring Mark Kozelek's vivid storytelling over restrained and minimalistic production from Jimmy Lavalle. The album was an excellent choice, and I found myself moved by both the music and the mountains.

The remaining miles passed quickly and the sprinkling subsided as I made it to Swag of the Blue Ridge. The sign was everything I expected - given that all I expected was a sign engraved with "Swag of the Blue Ridge" - but I noticed that this sign looked freshly made. I checked the comments on my navigation app and it turns out that the original sign was stolen last year and has just recently been replaced.

I quickly set up my tent and started soaking my dinner while I went on the search for a good bear bag tree. I did not search long because a perfect branch was located right across the trail from my campsite. I got my rope over on the fourth toss and went back to the campsite to check if dinner was ready. As I waited, an older gentleman came down the trail and introduced himself as "Dirk, d-i-r-k... not a trail name." He told me that his buddy named "Sneaky Pete" was just behind him and they were both pretty tired. Just then, Sneaky Pete came hiking down the trail and exclaimed how exhausted he was. There were plenty of tent pads around and it was getting pretty late, so I let them know that they were more than welcome to set up camp.

I ate my dinner and did my evening stretches as Dirk and Sneaky Pete set up their tents. We chatted for a while and I learned that they are old buddies from high school. At this point in life, Dirk is a retired social worker and Sneaky Pete is a retired nurse. I also learned that a few years ago, Sneaky Pete did a cross country bike ride from coast to coast.

After hanging my bear bag, Dirk asked if I could show them how to hang their bear bag. Apparently they had tried to hang one last night to no avail. I said I was happy to as I laughed to myself and quietly wondered if showing people how to hang bear bags would turn into my nightly ritual. Fortunately, the tree was in a more convenient location for teaching than last night's tree. Dirk struggled a bit with rope management but we soon got a line over the branch. After the bag was hung, I retired to my tent and set my alarm for 6am.

Tomorrow my goal is to make it 7.5 miles to Dick's Creek Gap by 11am. I'll try to hit the trail by 7am which should give me plenty of time. Tomorrow night I'll be showered, my clothes will be washed, and I'll be sleepin in a bed. Sounds nice😁

The smell of damp earth
clings to the foggy morning
in moss filled gullies

Day 7 (Swag of the Blue Ridge (mile 61.7) - Dick's Creek Gap (mile 69.2) *overnight in Hiawassee, GA*)

I woke up at 5:45am, 15 minutes before my alarm was set to go off. I started packing my things in complete darkness and quietly wondered when the sun would start peaking over the horizon. I packed as quietly as possible because Dirk and Sneaky Pete were sleeping nearby in their tents. After my tent was down, I crossed the trail to recover my bear bag. When I returned, Sneaky Pete and Dirk were stirring in their tents. I started my morning stretches and Sneaky Pete poked his head out of his tent to wish me a good morning. As I was packing my things, Sneaky Pete came over to thank me for helping last night. We shook hands and he offered to buy me dinner tonight in Hiawassee. After getting his phone number and agreeing to meet up in town, I headed down the trail.

It was nearly 7am, and it was still totally dark out. I spent the first 20 minutes of the hike relying on my headlamp to guide each step. This was my first experience "night hiking," and it was not nearly as treacherous as I expected. In fact, it was rather enjoyable. I reached Sassafras Gap and dropped my pack at the top of the water trail. After collecting a liter of water, I ate breakfast sitting next to the water trail.

Despite my timeline, I stopped for lots of pictures of moss and ferns

I spent most of the morning playing tag with Caroline, Tyler, and Drew. Caroline and Tyler were also trying to make the 11:15 shuttle into town and they passed me while I stopped to enjoy a small vista on Powell Mountian. I made it to Dick's Creek Gap at about 10:45am and waited around with a large group of thru-hikers while we stretched and exchanged stories from the trail.

The shuttle for the Budget Inn arrived promptly at 11:15 and our shuttle driver introduced himself as Bob. Bob was a stout older gentleman with a thick moustache and a large puffy jacket. He wasted no time to chat and opened the back doors of an old beat up passenger van for us to place our packs and dirty trekking poles. I noticed that Bob was wearing a hat that said "Grumpy Old Man Club." I asked him what I had to do to become a member and he quickly responded "buy a hat."

The shuttle van had clearly seen better days but we made it to Hiawassee without incident and Bob dropped us off at the Budget Inn. I checked into the motel and quickly spread my gear across the floor of my room to dry and air out. The accommodations were everything I expected from a hiker-oriented budget motel in rural Georgia. My room had a bed, shower, and toilet. The man who checked me in also directed me to a separate building across the parking lot which housed coin laundry machines. I was satisfied.

My first priority was to find some food. I walked about half a block to a Taco Bell and ordered four burritos. I sat in the outdoor seating area and actually struggled to finish the fourth burrito. I returned to the Budgett Inn and hung my tent to dry. One of the other shuttle drivers - who introduced himself as "Stone Legs" - asked if I needed quarters for the laundry room. I told him that I did and we chatted for a bit while he turned my five dollar bill into quarters. Stone Legs had a strong Australian accent and I learned that he was from Perth. He told me that he has hiked over 8,000 miles on the AT including three thru-hikes. He recently moved to the States full time and bought a plot of land in North Carolina intending to grow hemp. Unfortunately, the pandemic hit and he lost everything. Now he is a volunteer shuttle driver for the Budget Inn and they give him a place to stay.

In the laundry room I found a hiker box that was pretty picked over in terms of food. However, I did manage to scavenge some useful items for my night in town including some q tips, hand creme, a disposable razor, and a tube of Bengay. I put my laundry in the washing machine and took a shower. When I was all nice and clean, I asked Stone Legs about the best places to resupply in town. He told me to check Walgreens for good deals on $1 bags of nuts and trail mix, otherwise he said Ingles was likely my best bet. I grabbed a bunch of nuts and trail mix from Walgreens and then called my parents while I was walking to Ingles.

On my walk to Ingles, I passed the Hiawassee town square which included a big sign saying “Welcome Hikers”

When I got back from Ingles, I did stretches on the patch of grass between the Budget Inn and an abandoned gas station. I then texted Sneaky Pete to let him know I was still available for dinner and called AC. We talked for a while as she gave me exciting updates about developing internship opportunities and I updated her on trail life.

I arranged to meet Dirk and Sneaky Pete at the Sundance Cafe at 7pm. The cafe was about a 25 minute walk from the Budget Inn, but it was certainly worth a free meal with new friends. Sneaky Pete said there would be another couple joining us and when I arrived I met "5 pounds" and "Mule," a retired couple from Minnesota. I ordered a Guinness and the fettuccine eggplant parmesan. While we ate and drank, we discussed thru-hiking, canoing in Minnesota, frog fungal disease. Altogether, it was an excellent meal with good company and conversation.

From left to right: Dirk, 5 Pounds, Mule, and Sneaky Pete

We left Sundance Cafe with our bellies full around 8pm. After saying my thanks and goodbyes to Sneaky Pete, Dirk, 5 Pounds, and Mule, I walked back to the Budget Inn feeling very happy. When I got back to my motel room I zoomed with AC and applied some Bengay before falling into a very deep sleep😴

Early morning hike
headlamp beam to guide my steps
Dick's Creek, here I come