May 19, 2015 Day 043

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Hello Again!

Updates: Here we Go!

It was May 19th and we were planning on going back to the trail. We had gotten off of the trail at Dick’s Creek Gap. But going back to Dick’s Creek would leave 10 miles of the trail unhiked. That didn’t sit well with me. Everyone else assumed we were going back to Dick’s Creek, but I printed out directions for Unicoi Gap (Unicoi is 16 miles south of Dick’s Creek). I did not tell anyone we were going back to Unicoi Gap until we were already on the road. They didn’t like it, but were willing to hike it “AGAIN” for my sake… This would be the third time we hiked Kelly Knob…

We left home at about 10:00 arrived at Unicoi Gap at about 16:00. We packed up our gear and headed into the woods. About twenty minutes into our hike we saw a plastic bag hung on a tree. There were granola and candy bars in the bag. There was also a note in the bag. The note was from a woman whose trail-name was Nana. She had hiked the trail in 2004 and had left the bag as trail magic for any hikers who found it. She wanted to give back some of the kindness she had received while hiking the trail. We were thankful and enjoyed her kindness.

We hiked up to the top of Rocky Mountain and set up at the camp near the summit. While setting up the fire and tents we found that the campsite was inhabited by hundreds of Snails . . . Each of us recognized the significance of the snails. It was God telling us Operation: Appalachian Snail was part of His Will.

Rocky Mountain Snail

Rocky Mountain Snail

Rocky Mountain Campsite

Rocky Mountain Campsite

May 11-18 2015 Days 035-042

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Hello again,

Finally have a few to update everyone on the progress of Operation: Appalachian Snail.

We got up on the morning of the 11th and packed up our gear. We faced North again and headed back over the mountains we had hiked the last two days. 

As soon as I had reception on my phone I called my Dad to verify that he was coming. He was. So, we continued Northbound on the trail.

We hiked back up Kelly Knob. Kelly Knob is a 4,176′ high mountain. The last mountain over 4,000′ feet in GA. Tipawa has gotten so good at hiking we walked up the whole mountain without taking a break. An amazing feat.

We hiked back up to the Vista. Hiked back to and over Powell Mountain. And on down, down, and down some more to Dick’s Creek Gap. Where my Dad was waiting to pick us up.

We lifted our gear onto the roof of our Pathfinder, but we did not have enough rope to tie everything down. We had to drive as slow as possible to the Top of Georgia Hostel to see if we could get some.

When we got to the Top of Georgia we found out that Bohemian Gypsy Nighthiker was there.

Me and Bohemian

Me and Bohemian

We talked with Bohemian and got some rope from the generous volunteers at the Top of Georgia Hostel. We safely tied down our gear and headed for the house.

We got home around 01:00. I can’t describe how strange it felt to be home after 2 months on the trail. It was like being deployed again. Everything felt new and fresh. We didn’t know what to do with ourselves. But we made the best of it by eating and drinking everything we could find… Then showered and slept in our beds!

So we were home. But we still had alot to do. We rested. We cleaned. We repacked. And repeated. I thank God we went home when we did. We got to have birthday party for Skyla while we were home.

Skyla's Cake

Skyla’s Cake

Refreshed and resupplied we were ready to drive back to the trail on the 19th.

May 10, 2015 Day 034

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Hiked up a very tough mountain Today, that is not called a mountain. It is called Kelly Knob. It is called a knob, but it is 4,171 feet high. It felt like a mountain to us. The good thing is we got phone service on the knob, so I was able to call my mother for mothers day from the top of a mountain.

We continued to hike to a place called Addis Gap. There we decided to camp for the night.

Tinkerbell at Addis Gap

Tinkerbell at Addis Gap

 

It was Mothers day and I thought Tipawa could use the rest. We hiked 1.8 miles for the day.

We talked about what was coming soon. We needed to stay somewhere in the next few days. We were again almost out of food and now with no money to buy any.

After dicussing our options I decided to see if my Dad would drive to GA to pick us up tomorrow and drive us home. There we could get food, showers, laundry, and rest without spending money. I called him and he said he would be there. We just had to walk back the 5.4 miles we had just walked the last two days.

So that was the plan when we went to bed…

May 08, 2015 Day 032

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Today we hung around the hostel with a man named Renaissance. He is a volunteer at the Hostel.

Having fun at the Hostel with Renaissance

Having fun at the Hostel with Renaissance

After checking out we waited for the hostel owner. The owner, Bob “Sir-Packs-Alot” Gabrielson is an experienced hiker and wilderness guide.

Bandana Bob

Bandana Bob

Bob offers a pack shakedown for every hostel guest and I didn’t want to miss the opportunity to see him laugh at what we had taken that we didn’t need.

He didn’t laugh at us. He went through all of our packs and asked why we had taken something and asked if we needed it. He would then explain what he took on the trail and why. He taught us more than I can write. He helped us shave over 30 pounds from our packs.

Well we needed to get back to the trail. So we got a shuttle to a Gap and decided to walk southbound for a while. But since it was late when we got to the Gap we decided to set up and stay at the Gap.

Campsite at Gap

Campsite at Gap

May 07, 2015 Day 031

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Got up early and checked the guide. We were 17 or so miles from where I wanted to get. But at our rate of travel that could take 3-5 days. So I looked again and realized we could get a ride from a hostel only 4 miles away. That became our goal for the day and we headed up Blue Mountain.

We got to Unicoi Gap at about 14:00. Unicoi Gap is at mile 52.9. So from April 07th to May 07th we hiked a total of 61.2 miles. Not alot huh? But to us it is a huge distance.

We managed to get a hold of the Top of Georgia Hostel and they sent a shuttle to pick us up.

Top of Georgia Hostel

Top of Georgia Hostel

Its funny, the Hostel put us in a building with bunks. The name of the building was the Wolf Den. So, we went from the Wolf Pen to the Wolf Den!

The Wolf Den

The Wolf Den

Our Bunks

Our Bunks

At the hostel there was a scale. Tipawa weighed 284 pounds when we left. The scale read 255 when she stepped on it. She lost 29 pounds in a month. Gig lost 20 pounds. I lost 10 pounds. Off, Tinkerbell, and Repunzel’s weight stayed steady. But they lost fat and gained the same weight in muscle.

At the Hostel I caught a shuttle to Hiawassee, GA to get some supplies. The only store I could shop at was a Save-A-Lot. But I got what we needed.

We repacked all the food and prepared to head back to the trail on the morrow.

May 06, 2015 Day 030

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Got up and looked around the campsite in the light. It was up on a knob. I looked at the guide and realized we were at the site of a shelter that had been removed. Rocky Knob Shelter.

Rocky Knob Shelter Site

Rocky Knob Shelter Site

The only thing left of the shelter was the old fire pit.

Rocky Knob Shelter Fire Pit

Rocky Knob Shelter Fire Pit

Everyone was still beat and the food was getting low. So Gig and I decided to go to Enota Mountain Retreat to see if they had a store where we could buy some food.

We hiked 0.7 Miles back to Red Clay Gap and found the trail to the retreat. We hiked another 1.4 miles down the steepest trail we had seen so far. But we made it.

I could tell right away that the retreat was way above our price range for a stay and I thanked God we hadn’t found the trail the night before.

Gig and I walked into the main building and looked at what they offered; which wasn’t much. But they had cold cokes and candy. The owner told us that they had a hiker working for his stay and I realized he was Bohemian Gypsy Nighthiker.

As we walked to see Bohemian, Gig and I opened our candy bars and tried to eat them. My whatchamacallit had a very strange taste and Gig’s Mr. Goodbar was Green (yes it was green). They had to have been there for years. But we were hungry, so, we ate them…

We talked with Bohemian and headed back to the store. Bought some heavily overpriced and outdated food and headed back to our campsite. (The raisins we bought were a dollar for a small box and two years out of date…)

Gig and I hiked back to the campsite with a surprise. Tinkerbell had asked Tipawa for some smores, but I said we were backpacking not camping and you don’t bring smores backpacking. Tipawa told Tinkerbell that if she wanted me to do something the best way to get me to do it was pray and ask God to make me do it. So Tinkerbell prayed for some smores. The only fresh food at Enota happened to be smores and I bought them and carried them back to camp.

When Tipawa and Tinkerbell saw them they prayed and thanked God for answering Tinkerbell’s prayer.

We ate Mac and cheese, smores, and washed it down with soda. It ended up being a great night…

May 05, 2015 Day 029

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We left Low Gap Shelter with a plan to go a few miles to another campsite. I did not want to hike long because it was Gig’s birthday. We started hiking; up again! We started playing a game on the trail. I picked a word to say, spell, and say. Once I spelled the word right I would use the last letter of the word I chose and use it to pick a word that started with that letter. I would then pass that word to Tipawa and she had to say it, spell it, and say it. Then she would pick a word and pass it down to the next person; and on and on…

And so we passed the hike this way for most of the day. Found a really nice waterfall:

 

Tipawa's Waterfall

Tipawa’s Waterfall

And Hiked…

As the day wore on I realized that we should have come to the site we were heading for. We had passed a few sites, but we were looking for one near a waterfall. We hadn’t seen a waterfall. Or had we??? Could the little waterfall we passed been the one we were looking for?

At the next break I double checked our Appalachian Trail Guide. The guide called what we were looking for a “Cascade.” I had looked at the guide and decided to go to that place when I was tired the night before. Somehow my brain translated cascade to waterfall… I could of swore it said waterfall. Well, now it was looking like it was going to be a long day…

We hiked on to the next Gap and got there around 19:00. But the site was a long one along a hillside and had some dangerous looking trees above our heads… We discussed it for a few minutes and decided to head for the next Gap.

And so, we got out our headlamps (just in case) and headed down the trail. We hiked… After an hour or so we came to another campsite that was too small and stopped for a break. If we could find the Gap we were looking for we could hike a side trail 1.4 miles to a place called Enota Mountain Retreat and stay the night. But, we couldn’t find the Gap. This was a crazy part of the trail, it seemed nothing matched the guide.

We hiked on as it got dark… Another Night Hike!

After another hour or so we came to a sign that said camping and decided to stay there no matter how big it was. We had hiked enough for that day… But the campsite was a nice one.

When we got up the next morning we realized we had passed the Gap we were looking for the night before (the small campsite that wasn’t marked) and had walked a total of 6.4 miles.

I know it don’t sound like much … But again, we are still out of shape and this is the mountains after all…

May 04, 2015 Day 028

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Found a great campsite last night and set up.

March 04, Campsite

May 04, Campsite

It was a nice walk to the site.

Pretty easy trail...

Pretty easy trail…

We packed up after breakfast and immediately started uphill. (If I haven’t said it already) After all this time on the trail we realized that downhill STINKS!!!

We hiked for a few hours and made it to Low Gap Shelter. It was our hottest day so far, and we were beat. I was sitting on the ground just after we ate and was so tired I just layed down and fell asleep. When I woke up Tipawa was sleeping on the ground across from me, Gig was asleep on a log, and Tinkerbell and Repunzel were playing in the mud.  I could only hope no hikers had walked by and saw our crazy family sprawled out all over the campsite.

We decided to stay there for the night and set up and settled in.

Low Gap Campsite

Low Gap Campsite

April 30 – May 03, 2015 Days 024-027

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So we were back at the Wolf Pen. Off was back to working at the Wolf Pen. We were back to resting and eating. But we met some more amazing people. The man the shuttle driver was picking up at Hogpen Gap was amazing to talk with. He is 72 and is hiking the trail. His trail name is Dyslexia 27.

 

Dyslexia 27

Dyslexia 27

We also met a man named Eric. He was hiking the trail but twisted his knee and had to see a doctor.

 

Eric

Eric

Pray for Eric … he may need surgery.

I had an amazing day just talking with Dyslexia and Eric. We talked about all kinds of things. Just had an Amazing time. I am so glad God brought us back to the Wolf Pen to meet these amazing men.

I can’t say enough about the people who run the Wolf Pen. If we had enough money, I would live there!!!

Wolf Pen

Wolf Pen

After three days at the Wolf Pen it was time to hit the trail again. The owner of the Wolf Pen drove us back to Hogpen Gap.

 

Wolf Pen Gap Country Store Owner

Wolf Pen Gap Country Store Owner

We thanked him and headed back into the woods…