Yesterday morning when waking I made a bunk reservation for the Top of Georgia Hostel and Hiking Center(this place is awesome). When picked up, I learned about the their slack packing option. Slack packing is when a trusted source(in this case the hostel) will hold on to your main pack and offer a smaller, light weight to get a section done. At the end, the pack will be there. In this case, the end was the hostel right by Dick’s Creek Gap. Yesterday I was picked up at Unicoi Gap and brought to the hostel. Thus said, I didn’t do the section between Unicoi and Dick’s gap. So today I slack packed it. It was 17 miles from Unicoi to Dicks and it was not entirely easy. Even with a much lighter pack with essentials, it was rough. A great thing though was that I was able to see the ‘herd’ of folks I was hiking with a few days ago. Blew by them, felt kind of bad but I was able to do bust out 2 or 3 days into one. A hard one. The trail seemed endless, my feet are torn up but I feel good overall. 17 miles is a personal best for me so it’s a confidence booster. Unfortunately I forgot my gps so my miles didn’t get track but let’s go by the honor system here.
Over the past few days us Hiker Trash(it’s what we call ourselves) have been blessed with Trail Angels. Who are those? Some of the best people I’ve ever met. Trail Angels usually camp up at gaps(road crossings) and supply hikers with snacks, drinks, and maybe some extra supplies. It’s the best thing to have a hot dog or sandwich in the middle of a hike. It’s such a spirit booster and helps our morale. These Trail Angels don’t get paid to do this. They do it out of goodness out of their own heart and beliefs. It’s their beliefs that they are doing a great duty to God by helping others. It’s a wonderful surprise when it happens and us hikers are crazy grateful for it.
Last night I didn’t get good sleep due to a snorer but surely tonight I will. Some ibuprofen will help. A day off is in my future soon
-Angel