March 23
End: NC/GA State Line
Miles: 35.3
Total: 1931.9
I heard Sticks start his hike a full thirty minutes before I was able to get going. I was even surprised to pass other hikers who had been at Low Gap Shelter and had started their day quite early. Finally I caught up to Sticks, and we hiked on.
I was planning a big day, and we hiked at a fast pace. Sticks carried quite a light pack and moved fast. He used big bamboo sticks as trekking poles. Throughout the day we hiked in intermittent light rain. Sticks donned his rain gear often, but I just walked through the wetness. It worked out well, as I dried out easily and the rain was never too hard.
The wind blew fairly hard on the tops of several mountains, but we just walked fast in order to get away. Eventually we got separated, and I hiked on, trying to do a ton of miles and get to the first shelter in North Carolina.
I passed by the Plumorchard Gap Shelter with two hours before dark, and didn’t even think of stopping. At some point, I took a fall because of the mud pit which used to be the Appalachian Trail, and the hip belt on my pack tore off.
Unhappy, things got worse when I got hit by heavier rain. I then realized that my pack was split down the side. Thankful that nothing was missing but miserable because of the rain and the condition of my beloved pack, I started to set myself up to be picked up at Deep Gap by friends from Franklin the next day.
Meanwhile, the rain continued and was soon a full fledged monsoon. Moving as fast as I could, I slipped and slid my way onward, finally reaching the Georgia - North Carolina state line during a lull in the rain.
Others were camped there, so I set up my tarp as quickly as I could, got dry clothes on, and got in my nice dry sleeping bag. I was happy to be dry, but had been miserable for the past hour, and now needed an emergency pickup because my pack was in shambles.
I cooked up some hot food and got to sleep as some rain came down on my tarp. I slept decently after a long day with a disappointing ending.