Day 8: German Diversions

Helen, Georgia, had a cute Bavarian theme and
is a popular trail town just 10 miles off the trail.

March 15: The morning was absolutely gorgeous. An occasional stray cloud floated across the sky, but it was the first definitive sunny day since the first day way back on the Approach Trail. It was time to get back to hiking!

But before I did, Amanda and I wanted to check out our adopted home for the night: Helen. It's styled as a Bavarian village celebrating all things German--not unlike Leavenworth (the Washington state version, not the prison outside of Kansas City!) for those of you familiar with that.

When Amanda did some research, we learned the similarities with Leavenworth were even greater than we imagined. Helen had been an old logging town in decline and in the late 1960s, some businessmen noticed the steady stream of cars passing through the town but not stopping in it. They rebuilt the town with the Bavarian slant and the rest, as they say, is history.

So we stopped downtown to walk around and explore for the better part of an hour. A lot of shops were closed but that didn't stop Amanda from looking through windows when she could, perhaps taking the term 'window shopping' much too seriously!

But as all good things must come to an end, so did our explorations. I needed to get back on the trail!

We drove back to Neels Gap. I took some new photos of the area now that the weather was sunny and clear, and went inside to find Fireneck for the photo of him I forgot to get last time I was there.

Amanda and I parted ways. Just before I started the hiking, I was going to check my guidebook to see how far away my next targets were when I realized--it was still in the car! I had been looking at it on the drive up and when I had finished, it slid down the side of the car and under the seat. I couldn't get it out while we were driving and figured I'd pick it up when we came to a stop, but then forgot about it.

I rushed back to the parking lot hoping to catch Amanda before she had left. She was just pulling out and I jumped into the parking to block her escape. =)

Where's the schnitzel?!

She stopped, and I went to the passenger side where I fished under the seat for the runaway guidebook. Whew! Close call!

Then we parted ways again. Amanda drove off, and I started hiking again.

It didn't take long for me to catch up and pass other hikers, but I didn't recognize any of them. This wasn't surprising--I had been off the trail entirely for four full days and everyone I knew was likely far ahead of me. Some of them had probably even quit the trail in my absence. Rumor has it that about 20% of people drop off the trail at Neels Gap where I was starting the day.

A couple of hours into the hike, I found a group of hikers at rest near a viewpoint and stopped to take photos and rest myself. Not everyone had trailnames, and I'm not sure I even got everyone's name. One fellow who seemed to do a lot of the talking I later learned was named Silent Mike, and I asked about the trailname because he actually seemed to do much of the talking. Was it meant as sarcasm? =) Turns out, he's a quiet but fast hiker and tends to sneak up on people when he's walking, startling them when they realize he's right behind them.

Amanda's version of window shopping.

Also in the bunch was Yellow Jacket, a trail name that was allegedly self-evident on a cold day. She wore a bright yellow shirt which I had assumed was the reason for her name, but she told me that no, she really did have a yellow jacket. Then there was Something Tank, a trailname I had partially forgotten by the time I wrote it down in my journal. "Something" was not her trailname, but there was a word there that for the life of me I can't remember. She had her trailname because of her buzzed head.

"Hey! So did I!" I told her, taking off my hat so she could see my head properly.

"I took off 30 inches," she told me.

Wow. Okay, she wins. =) That must have been one of the most dramatic hair cuttings I'd heard of on the trail.

"I took off.... maybe two inches."

The shoe tree at Neels Gap.

We also talked about the weather. I had been curious how the weather had been for them, and they complained bitterly about the rain. Today had been their first dry day on the trail. Some of them had taken a zero day at Neels Gap just to get out of the rain. Yep, it sounded like the four days I had been off the trail were an excellent four days to have missed!

I continued onwards while they continued their rest. I caught up with an older gentleman named Bloodhound who was a Vietnam vet and apparently still suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder and he told me about some of his kills in Vietnam. It was a little odd. I've met war veterans before, but none of them seemed to want to dwell on the people they had killed--not that I ever really asked about it.

Late in the day I made it to Low Gap Shelter where I was surprised to find only two other people in the shelter. I had thought about cowboy camping tonight since no rain was in the forecast, but since the shelter was so empty, I just threw my stuff into it. Here I met all sorts of new other hikers, including one from Germany--the second hiker I had met from Germany on the trail.

I asked how he had learned about the Appalachian Trail, and apparently there was some sort of documentary about it (in German) that had played in their country and since then, the Appalachian Trail had become a mecca for many Germans. Allegedly, something like a hundred Germans had hiked the trail in one particular year. I have no idea if that's true or not or if that's just an exaggerated story, but there you go. 

He didn't have a trail name as of yet, and I thought about it and suggested, "You know, you could just use Germany as a trail name. I've never heard of anyone ever using the country where they were from as a trailname before."

He thought about it for a moment and said that yes, he could use that. Really?! I got to name a second person on the trail?! Cool! =) So now he's Germany. Assuming it sticks, of course. The name is still new enough that he could decide that he didn't like it and change it again.

I also suggested he maybe he should visit Helen. He might find our American version of a German town amusing. =)

Fireneck I had known online for years, but it wasn't until I reached Neels Gap where we finally met face-to-face for the first time!

A little after sunset, a couple of enterprising hikers started a small campfire which I wandered over to enjoy where we shared more of our war stories. I also told the Cremation of Sam McGee because, you know, that's my thing. =)

An hour or so later, a headlamp pierced through the darkness and another hiker arrived at the shelter. He was a large man--tall and hefty. Looking more like a football player than a hiker, and he asked if there was any room in the shelter. Plenty, we told him--only three of us had set up inside of it and it could fit seven. So he joined the party and threw a couple of heavy cans of food into the fire to warm them.

The rest of us thought that was a little odd. First, you don't see heavy canned foods on the trail very often. (When you do, it's almost certainly a newbie hiker that doesn't know how to pack light,) Second, we were all a little concerned about what the fire might do to the can. Would it explode as the contents heated up, raining down beans and who knows what else on everyone surrounding the fire then drawing in bears over the night?

These cans, fortunately, did not explode. Their ends did bulge outwards, as if ready to explode, but no explosion. After opening one and eating it, he found a plastic liner or something in the food, which seemed to confuse the guy. Was it edible? I guess he didn't realize that same canned foods do have liners, and throwing them into the fire did nothing for that. It wasn't an issue I had thought about either. So he ate around it.

Then it was off to sleep, another day coming to an end.

Steps count: 27,533 steps
Miles for the day: 11.5 miles
Total miles: 52.0 miles

'Twas a beautiful day for a walk!

A bunch of hikers at rest, enjoying the view. Yellow Jacket is the woman on the far left in the yellow shirt (but she has a yellow jacket that she's actually named after!). Silent Mike--who talks quite a bit!--is leaning against the tree on the far right.

I had a close call falling down a cliff, but fortunately, I managed to grab onto this tree to arrest my fall!

Tesnatee Gap. This is a popular area for people to ride motorcycles. They were all over the place and I could hear them from much of the trail!

It wasn't just a clear day--I was practically broiling in the sun!

Definitely not a whole lot of leaves on the trees as of yet!

Not sure what happened to this tree!

The Low Gap Shelter

The shelter campfire.

Day 3: Here Comes the Rain Again....

Hikers at Gooch Gap try to warm up before
hitting the trail.

March 10: It rained on and off during the night, and by morning, it had mostly stopped. But not entirely. A light drizzle persisted and would continue to persist throughout the day. Not hard enough for me to pull out my umbrella, but annoying enough to make everything feel wet.

Early in the morning, though, it was largely dry and by the time I reached Woody Gap a couple of hours later, the rain had stopped completely and what little water had fallen on me had dried.

Woody Gap is notable because it's the first paved road that crosses the Appalachian Trail, and Amanda was waiting for me when I arrived. I remembered the first time I hiked the trail I was amazed at how fast cars traveled down the road. It was as if it was the first time I had ever seen a car traveling at highway speeds, but this time, it didn't phase me a bit.

Amanda provided a couple of Krispy Kreme doughnuts and orange juice which I happily accepted, along with a roast beef sandwich which I took for later. Because Amanda wanted me to go another 11 or so miles to Neels Gap, the next road crossing.

She didn't have to twist my arm to make this happen. Although it had been raining and looked like it would start again at any moment, it wasn't a hard rain and the weather forecast for the next few days looked to be much worse. I didn't have to be talked into taking advantage of the mediocre weather for hiking and then take the next few days off for sightseeing off the trail in genuinely bad weather!

The fog starts rolling in!

I also dropped off some of my gear--no sense in carrying a full pack if Amanda was just going to pick me up again later in the day! I dropped off my sleeping bag, camp clothes and extra food, lightening my load by 5 to 10 pounds.

Then off I went. The drizzle started up again, and for about five minutes, it rained hard enough that I finally had to pull out my umbrella. Then the light drizzle returned and I put the umbrella away.

An hour later, the trail entered a thick layer of fog, reducing visibility to perhaps 50 feet. It gave the trail an eerie look and I rather liked the photos I was taking. They had a ghostly feel.

Not much happened on the rest of the hike. I stopped at the Woods Hole Shelter for lunch and chatted with a few other hikers who also stopped to eat. Then onward I continued.

The last section of trail climbed Blood Mountain, the highest point on the AT in Georgia, then dropped down a steep, rocky trail slick from the rain. I'd call it the most treacherous part of the trail so far, but I got down without any sprains or injuries.

Woody Gap is the first paved road the AT crosses.

When I arrived at Neels Gap, Amanda was nowhere to be seen. I told her that I expected to arrive at around 4:00 but made it about 15 minutes early. No problem, though! Neels Gap has all sorts of entertainment available because that's where the Walasi-Yi Interpretive Center is located.  They provide showers, give hikers a chance to replace bad or overweight gear, provide lodging and just are a place for hikers to hang. A large tree in the yard has hundreds of pairs of old boots hanging off of it. It also has the distinction of being the only place where the Appalachian Trail passes through a man-made structure.

Amanda showed up about 10 minutes later. She hadn't been here yet and wanted to go inside to browse, so I threw my pack in the car to follow suit, but headed back when I remembered the passport I acquired at Amicalola Falls. I knew this place would have a stamp for it. Amanda continued on without me.

I got my passport and went inside where I was ambushed by Fireneck--a letterboxer and fellow long-distance thru-hiker who's done the Appalachian Trail, Long Trail and Colorado Trail. (I think that's all of the long-distance trails he's done so far.) We had never met before--not in person, at least--but I immediately recognized him from his photos. And I was stunned--how did he know I'd be there just then?!

As it turned out, he worked there, and had read that I was starting the Appalachian Trail and keeping his eye open for me knowing I'd have to pass by soon. He never told me he was working there so I had no idea he was even within a thousand miles of me. (I thought he lived in Illinois or Ohio or something!) But it was a really fun surprise.

He couldn't talk for long--he was actually working, after all. But we probably chatted for about 5 minutes before he went back to working and Amanda and I browsed the rest of the store.

When we finished, Amanda drove us back to Atlanta for the night. Well, Marietta, to be precise, but I know a lot of you folks who've never been to the Atlanta area probably don't know where that is. ;o) Amanda has family who lives there (hello, DeAnna and Zoey!) and we headed there where we talked most of the night and ate spaghetti for dinner. Good times! =)

Total steps for the day: 37,426
AT miles for the day: 15.9
Total AT miles: 40.5

I like to think that ghosts inhabit fog like this. =)

The Blood Mountain Shelter is among the oldest shelters on the AT, built in 1934. It's also at the top of Blood Mountain, the highest point on the AT in Georgia. I told other hikers that the mountain was named for a  thru-hiker massacre in '93, but it's actually named after a battle that took place between two Native American groups. (Or so the story says.)

The trail down Blood Mountain is steep and particularly slick when wet!

Neels Gap is the only place where the AT passes through a man-made structure. That hole in the building ahead--that's the official AT!

This tree was filled with dangling abandoned shoes!