March 17
End: Cohutta Wilderness Ridgeline
Miles: 29.6
Total: 1766.5
It rained a bit in the night, and the cows left. I was glad to be mostly dry under my tarp. No one noticed me in the morning, and I was able to leave just after the sunrise.
The road walk continued, and before long I reached Spring Place and the Chief Vann House. I stopped here for breakfast and met some very nice people. I realized that it was St. Patrick’s Day when I opened up my biscuit and it was green! I also had a fantastic peanut butter milkshake, and the owner, who was amazed by my journey, let me eat for free.
Moving on after this stop I used a bit of music to help the time pass, and went past a small community before coming upon Ramhurst, which has a Dollar General! I bought a little junk food to enjoy before I got back into the mountains.
Soon I was walking up old dirt and gravel roads. I stopped and talked to a local, then continued upwards, finally hitting the trail. There was a family out camping and riding ATVs on the trail which I shared with them. After a bit more forest road I got back on a footpath and soon met Speaker, who was thru-hiking in the opposite direction.
It was cool to talk to Speaker. He was on the Florida Trail while I was down there, and had a lot of hiking experience in general. Soon we parted company, he to find a spot to hang his hammock, and I to finish the day’s hike and find a spot to camp.
I was soon walking a forest road with very nice mountain homes on either side. I passed them up, then reentered the woods, climbing up and finding a spot to camp among the pines on top of a small hill.
