Had a great time at Low Gap Shelter Last Night - very nice shelter and interesting people. Got to bed pretty early - probably around 8:00 pm. Slept great - best night so far for me. Started to get up shortly after 7:00 am and was off on the trail - first one out again at about 8:00 am. I knew this was going to be a long day and wanted to make the best of it.
Weather was great and some spectacular views as a result. Before I knew it I was at Unicoi Gap (sp), having blasted 9.7 miles with 5.4 miles to go. Luke had passed me along the way (reminds me of my son, Ben - lanky and can move on the trail) but ended up catching up with him at Unicoi Gap as he was chowing down on a stash of trail magic. I helped myself to a Snickers bar and a P&G sandwich (my lunch!). Everything was going great until I had about 2.7 miles left and absolutely hit the wall...straight up the hill. Promised myself I could have the Snickers bar at 3:00 pm but never got around to eating it until the next morning for breakfast.
[This internet connection in this town is not working well...lost most of this entry - have to shorten]
First into the shelter, got my tent set up and made dinner - Ramen (yum) and Pizza Pasta. Made me feel much better. Met a young boy and his father doing a section hike and a new thru hiker called Tater. Tater weighs in at least 300 lbs and is packing about as much, including tons of food and a laptop. I think he has been on the trail for about two weeks! Quite a character.
Big surprise to see Raspberry because he was going to bail at Unicoi Gap (sp) with Sam and her girlfriend. He decided to keep going. Luke came in next. I have learned much from Luke and will apply the lesson tomorrow - slow down and enjoy the scenary along the way. I would move out ahead of him...he would pass me...and then I him - when he was resting. More breaks! Dave came rolling in as well as Charlie Brown. Rumor had it that Andy had bailed at U Gap but big surprise - he showed up. This is critically important because he is from Ireland and is packing some great whiskey for St. Pats day. So everyone is trying to stay close to him. Jake and his girlfriend showed up as well. Ended up having a nice campfire that night.
Inspected my feet and got depressed. I have never had blisters before but have developed one on each side of my ankle - wierd. Frustrating and bit worrisome.
Anyway, got to bed at about 9:00 pm happy with the great weather we have had - great company and lots of fun overall. I love my sleeping bag and sleeping pad and seem to be getting a good night sleep.
One last thing - the group decided that I should change my trail name to "Crank" - been giving me a hard time about getting going so early and thought short and sweet is better. So I am now Crank, formerly known as Crankdaddy in the shelter journals.
Thanks everyone for tracking progress - thanks CAROLYN for helping me with the updates when I call!
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