April 2, 2016.  Hiawassee, Ga. Four days of hiking the AT from Springer Mt. Have brought me 51 miles to here. I was expecting to continue one more day and get off at Duck's Creek, but more feet problems than expected have brought me to town for a little rest and a lot of first aid. How does one get a blister under a toe nail????
  So far the biggest difference between now and 9 years ago is the numbers of hikers. I spent the first night at Gooch Shelter and there must have been 50 hikers there. There does seem to be more of a party attitude now and from some, less respect for the trail and their impact there as evidenced by a significant amount of litter. When possible, l have already policed and carried out trash I have found along the way.
  I arrived in Atlanta without much problem to 70' temps and green landscapes. Carl, a hostel worker for Josh and Leigh Saint, picked me up from the train and brought 5 of us to the hostel. Carl and his wife Duffy work at the AT Inn in Millinocket as cooks and shuttle drivers as well during the summer months.
  The first day from Springer was a spectacular day and I was able to cover over 16 miles to Gooch Shelter. Much of the day I hiked with Bill, a retired engineer from upstate New York, who at age 66 could outpace many of the younger hikers. The day was crystal clear , unlike 9 years ago when a snowstorm hit us 2 days in. This time the warm dry temps lead me to mild dehydration over Sassafras mountain, not realizing the lack of springs or streams over a 5 mile stretch. Luckily at Cooper gap, the Army left a water hog for hikers which saved the day.
  Once I reached 16 miles to Gooch shelter, I got to set up the new tent. Thank God for u-tube videos. Flat ground was in short supply and the talking by other hikers went well past 11pm. I barely noticed as I was in bed and asleep at sundown around 8:30.
Awoke  to a waxing half moon but also the start of a haze in the sky telling me that I could expect changes in the weather.  I arose, packed and had the standard AT breakfast of two poptarts, two instant oatmeal, and Starbucks mocha via; around 800 calories in all. Estimates are that one expends 4000 to 6000 cal/day on the AT. You can't carry that much food for a 4-6 day stretch between towns, so while you're resupplying in town, you look for low weight calorie dense foods; not that hard in America!
 Bill went out ahead of me and really did not see him again until the end of the day at Blood Mtn.
  Along the way I hiked with a young man from Baltimore, Silly Moose, who had sectioned hiked in Maine and had also done the Long Trail in Vermont. Also met two older gents from Texas who seemed to be struggling at 5 days into their thru-hike which they were using as a fundraiser for Optimus Foundation.
 Lots of people on Blood Mountain and picture opportunities for me and Wilson, my trusty traveling tennis ball companion. From there it was a short run of 1.5 miles to Neels gap (mile 33 from Springer) and the Walysi Center and hostel where I found a bunk and a shower.

  The next day was cloudy and misty. You could feel the threat of rain. Even the air was thick to breathe and seemed less capable of satisfying your oxygen deprivation. A half mile up the trail, I realized I had not checked off in my mind my camera as being packed, and this was confirmed by emptying out the pack there on the trail. A quick return to the center and we found it on the window sill. The hostel workers told me they also found two cell phones. I am glad I discovered my mistake when I did, rather than 9 miles down the trail. The little mishap did cost 45' in all!
Most of the day till 2pm is best described as showers, and I did not get that wet. All that changed with the deluge in the late afternoon. The contents of the backpack stayed dry but me and everything else was soaked. We arrived at Low Gap shelter at 3:30. There were already several tents set up as people hunkered down to weather the storm. By some miracle of providence, as I arrived, another hiker was just leaving the shelter, preferring to face the weather and another 7 miles to the next shelter. He apparently preferred this over remaining in the present shelter where he had engaged in a not-so-pleasant political discussion with three other section hikers. His departure was my opening to the shelter. The rain stopped for a while a dusk, only to reinvigorate itself  into a thunder and lightning display of great magnitude over night. At times, being in a shelter is good !
  The next day brought short lived showers in the morning, as well as dense mist. As the day went on the sun made its appearance again and started to dry my wet clothing and boots. I had a great lunch at Blue Mountain shelter with a spectacular view of the mountains. Though I had planned to hike through Unicoi gap and camp one more night before going into town at Hiawassee, my feet and the prospect of another hot shower prevailed, and we opted to go to town and take a 'zero' to allow the feet a little rest and recovery after some intensive fist aid.
  So today I am hanging out, doing laundry and catching up with blogging. I am staying at the Hiawassee budget inn, the finest the south can offer where a hikers bash is scheduled tonight and over 200 current and previous thru-hikers are expected to attend free food (pulled pork), and blue grass music. We,'ll see how much sleep I get tonight. I may have wished I had gone back to the trail!