Day 3 Risk and Reward

Writing from Neels Gap at around 11AM after getting our first food resupply and waiting for our electronics to charge.

It was a little chilly last night, probably high twenties with wind chill. Still slept great though. Our campsite was beautiful and we had a nice bit of sunrise through the trees. 

We packed up and were walking by 7:45am. The ascent up Blood Mountain was pretty easy since we had camped about half way up. The .8 to the summit was quick and we had awesome views of the mountains and the surrounding Chattahoochee wilderness. 

It was really cool actually seeing the views from Blood Mountain since when we were here in 2020 it was in the middle of a torrential downpour. There’s a pretty cool stone shelter at the top of Blood Mountain. 

We talked to a couple other thru hikers, it seems like we’re running into more now. We were probably just in between groups before. One hiker mentioned that he had started yesterday and is planning on covering the distance from Springer Mountain to the GA/NC boarder in 72 hours. That’s about 80 miles in 3 days, quite a pace for someone just starting out. It’s interesting how everyone has their own pace, where they are comfortable but still pushing themselves. We also run into lots of people who are only comfortable doing 5-10 miles in between shelters. To each their own I guess. Hikers often say “hike your own hike”. In other words, do what works for you and don’t try to copy someone else just because they are doing it. Instead enjoy what the trail gives you and take things as they come. 

After Blood Mountain we descended 1,500 feet over 2.5 miles into Neels Gap. Here many hikers end up quitting, after just making it 30 miles into the 2,200 mile trail. Also many people use the outfitter to swap out gear that is not working for them, as I did four years ago when I bought a new tent here. Many people buy new shoes, and when they do they throw their old shoes up in the tree out in front of the store. 

The outfitter here is very nice, they have tons of gear. However it is kind of a tourist location so everything is quite expensive and they charge extra for small things like holding supply boxes for hikers. This frustrates me as it seems like they are trying to get every penny they can from hikers, some of whom are working on very tight budgets. But I understand that they are a business and they may just be making ends meet themselves. Either way, it’s an iconic stop on the early section of the trail, as the AT passes right under the building.

In the northeast, white blazes (small rectangular paint marks) almost exclusively mark the Appalachian Trail. For thru hikers, they mean you are on the right track. Blue blazes indicate side trails. In the two pictures above you see a couple white blazes where the trail passes right through and under Mountain Crossings, before climbing back up and into the mountains. 

Later that day, writing from my tent at a secret tent site that we took a risk getting to. 

Leaving Neels Gap at noon, we planned to go another 11.5 miles to Low Gap Shelter. As we hiked up out of Neels Gap we had a great view of Blood Mountain, where we had come from the morning. I always appreciate looking back and seeing where we came from, it’s like a pat on the back. 

Once we got back up into the mountains we stopped for lunch at Wolf Laurel Top. 

Throughout the rest of the day the weather was very strange. There were intervals of 20 minutes of sunshine and 45 degrees, shortly followed by an interval of strong wind and snow. Soon the snow went away and it was just clouds covering the sun and strong winds. Like gusts over 25mph. When the wind is that strong on top of a mountain ridge it feels so much colder than the actual temperature. Every time an interval changed we had to shed or add layers. We mostly walked ridges for the rest of the day, where we had awesome views of the surrounding mountains.

Right before the final push of the day we went through Hogpen Gap where we had our best trail magic yet from two gentlemen, named Bobby and Barry. Despite having a pack full of trail food, we couldn’t refuse the hot soup they were offering. It was the best thing I’ve eaten in weeks. After we finished the soup and they served us chocolate peanut butter cookies they asked if we could pray together. It was a pretty cool moment and we really appreciate how much they cared. Also the soup was fantastic if I haven’t mentioned that yet. It had vegetables, black beans, and pork. 

Ok enough about soup. We planned to push another 5 miles to low gap shelter, putting us at 15 for the day. On our last ridge of the day we had great views but blistering constant wind. 

We started to fear that if Low Gap Shelter were full we would not have a good place to camp tonight that would be sheltered from the wind. This was particularly important as tonight could be the coldest night we will face. It’s supposed to be in the high teens. We are prepared for this, sleeping in multiple layers of wool and goose-down under a 20 degree sleeping bag could get us through a night that gets down in the single digits. It wouldn’t be comfortable though. 

So we tentatively pushed on to Low Gap Shelter and were not all too surprised to find it full. We decided to risk it and try to find an unmarked tent site just past Low Gap, hoping that it would not be taken and that it would be sheltered from the wind. Tyler and I actually stayed at the same tent site in 2020, after a similar set of circumstances led us to pushing past Low Gap. I was convinced that the site was only a little past Low Gap but Tyler thought it was more like 2 miles. Turns out Tyler was correct, like usual. 

We arrived at the secret tent site and were relieved to see that it was not taken and that the wind was less strong. I call it secret since it is not marked in any of the guide books or maps, so the only way we know it’s there is to have been there before. It’s a beautiful tent site and we were very relieved to be staying at it again, 4 years later. Last time we had an excellent sunset here. We were not disappointed by the sunset this time either. 

I’m glad the risk paid off. If this site were full we would have had to hike into the night to make it to the next spot. It would have been fine, but not pleasant. 

In total we covered a challenging 16.8 miles today. Hiking right after a resupply is interesting because you are used to your pack weight with very little food in it. This sharply contrasts with a pack carrying a full resupply. Not to mention the terrain brought a lot of ups and downs. And the cold weather saps your energy a little more as well. All things considered I’m very happy with our progress today. 

It’ll be a cold night but I’m looking forward to resting and having a couple shorter days coming up. We plan to stay over night in Hiawasee at a motel in a couple days. I’m very much looking forward to a hot shower and a real bed. 

Goodnight,

Walker 

If you want to follow Tyler or Spencer, here are their logs as well:

Tyler: https://tylerat2024.blogspot.com/?m=1

Spencer: https://www.instagram.com/baxter.bound?utm_source=qr&igsh=MWx4MzRqa3M4dGk3Mw==