"I am talking here on the 11th - a Saturday, Easter Saturday, actually, with tomorrow being Easter Sunday. Let me think ... I'm not sure where I am right now. Hmmm ... Muskrat Creek Shelter, I guess. I am in my tent - the shelter is already overrun with people as a result of the heavy weather we have been having and the large slug of people that had to hole up in the hostels, motels and hotels in Hiawassee.
It was a discouraging day. They were calling for partly sunny and 63 degrees. In fact, it was cloudy all day long and misty at the mountain tops. When we got here it was 48 degrees, and now, at 6pm, it is 40 degrees with a very chilly wind. It's probably due to the elevation here.
Last night we ate at Daniel's Steak House in town. I had fish and shrimp, what with it being Good Friday and all. We resupplied at the Ingles grocery store - this areas answer to Safeway or Giant. got a new watch, replacing my only failed piece of equipment. I was surprised, because it is a Casio that is virtually identical to the one that failed, and I bought that 10 years ago. It's amazing that it is still being sold - it looks like the same vintage!
Got up at 6:45 this morning and had breakfast at the Inn with other hikers. Grabbed the second earliest shuttle back to Dick's Creek Gap and started hiking. We were heading out of Georgia, and she did not give up without a fight. The last 9 miles in Georgia was rough the whole way - very steep climbs. mark and I have decided that the trails in Georgia never miss going directly over the top of the summits of every single mountain. Only a half dozen times in 78 miles did the trail not go right over the top, and then they only slightly missed it to the side.
Finally we came to the border between GA and NC. We were warned that it was pretty non-descript, and that was an overstatement. One small board nailed to a tree - GA on one side, NC on the other. We got out mark's whiteboard and took some photos marking the milestone.
We met 'Ridgerunner' at the famous Bly Oak Tree - I guess fame is in the eye of the beholder. It is an odd looking tree. It was quite windy there. Ridgerunner told us that Georgia was just a warm up for North Carolina. We immediately found that out as we had 3 brutal climbs. The first was a Stairmaster from hell with log steps about two feet high. A very difficult hike. We struggled, but got 12 miles in today. The guys we were hiking with the last couple of days moved on thru and pushed for a shelter 5 miles away, making their daily total 17 miles. We thought about it and said no, don't think so. Mark's shin was bothering him, and I was not without aches, so we thought it would be a little much for us.
Today I tried to hike with less gear on to avoid sweating so much. But I got chilled early and was throughout most of the day. I guess it is another lesson learned - sweating and stay warm is better than being cold.
We ate an early dinner - Mark, I and Rusty (the female I mentioned before). She is from PA, near the center point of the AT. We all ate dinner together and then got our bear bags up. Now we are all in our tents and sleeping bags. It's 7pm and chilly. It has been a cold, raw day. Being in the sleeping bag is as warm as you can get! Tomorrow will be another lengthy day, but it is supposed to be the pick of the litter weather-wise. Supposed to be sunny and in the 60's in the mountains. Tomorrow night there is a line of thunderstorms coming through, so we may push harder to get closer to Franklin, NC, our next resupply point.
Georgia and North Carolina has thrown everything they can at us so far. They have cheated us out of many views with mist and fog, but they did not cheat us out of the tough climbs. We are exhilarated that we have gotten through Georgia, but we have been warned that NC makes GA look like a walk in the park - that's hard to believe! It sounds like it will be challenging all the way through Fontana Dam and up to the Great Smokey's. Mark just sent out a spot, and now it's time to sleep."
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