Hiking the Good Hike

Have I mentioned how much fun thru hiking is? This trip has now surpassed all of our previous trips in both days and mileage. For those not familiar with AT culture I apologize if I've used unknown terms. In future posts I will try to define trail jargon as I go. On that note, the unusual names mentioned in our posts are trail names. Trail names are basically nick names for hikers and are a long standing trail tradition. Cassandra and I are yet to acquire trail names. Continue reading below for updates on days six, seven, and eight.

Day 6
Cheese factory site to Dicks Creek Gap - 13 miles

It was another beautiful morning. We decided to try to make it to Dicks Creek Gap hoping to stay at the famous Blueberry Patch. The Blueberry Patch is a small hostel outside of Hiawassee, GA run by a former thru hiker and his wife, but more on that later. Just after leaving camp we were surprised to find trail magic (a good deed given to a hiker usually in the form of food or drink) again. A local Boy Scout troop had set up and were cooking breakfast. We had pancakes, sausage, and the best eggs I've ever eaten. What a pleasant surprise! We were finally on the move at 9:15.

Our hike was basically uneventful otherwise. We hiked pretty hard with Roosta and Molly to get to the hostel before it filled. We really need to take an easier day soon. The Blueberry Patch is awesome. The owners are so nice and very helpful. Upon arrival they offer cold drinks, showers, and offer to do your laundry. I can't beleive how welcoming and hospitable they are. Gary, the owner, is a former thru hiker and they opened this hostel as a Christian ministry following his hike. The service these people provide to hikers is amazing. It felt great to be clean and have clean clothes.

After getting settled in, a handful of us hikers went into town for dinner and a resupply. We are at a local buffet, the food wasn't great, but it was nice to have some real food for a change. After resupplying we returned to the hostel where we sorted and repackaged our food for the next four days. I had good enough cell phone reception to talk to my sister for a few minutes, it was nice to talk to family. Tomorrow we'll have breakfast here before getting back on the trail. Gary has invited all who are staying to go to church in the morning. We kind of lost track of the days but that sounds nice and we'll likely take them up on that.

Day 7
Dicks Creek Gap to Muskrat Creek Shelter - 11.8 miles

We slept great last night. A warm bed is nice. Waking up was difficult, I'll blame in on the time change. Not long after waking up the breakfast bell rang and we went inside to a cozy little dining room with a table for ten. Gary and Lennie began passing around the food they had prepared. Homemade biscuits, hashbrowns, sausage, eggs, and pancakes. We had blueberry syrup for the pancakes that was so good I can still taste it. We had orange juice and real coffee and we all sat and ate like a big family though we only have known each other for a week. It was really a great time. I will always have fond memories of that meal and our stay at the Blueberry Patch. Any potential thru hikers out there should definitely put that on your must do list.

After breakfast Gary shuttled some of the hikers back to the trail while some of us stayed to go to church. It was really nice to have the opportunity to attend church, I didn't think we would for quite a while. Everyone at church was very nice and welcoming, it seems they're used to having hikers visit.

Following church, Gary shuttled us back to the trail. It was after 1:00 before we got on the trail. We hiked with Chickadee most of the afternoon but she chose to hike ahead as she had planned to cover a few more miles than us. We crossed into North Carolina; it was nice entering our second of fourteen states. We got to Bly Gap where we had planned to camp but it was very windy and the tenting options were subpar. We chose to move on the Muskrat Creek Shelter hoping for better wind cover. We arrived at the shelter to find there were many hikers already there and many we knew including Roosta, Chickadee, Blue Moon, and Trail Movin. Not much in the way of tent sites but we made due. We prepared for rain as it was forecasted with certainty.

Day 8
Muskrat Creek Shelter to Standing Indian Shelter - 5 miles

I was told by a two time thru hiker there would be no more than ten days like this on the trail. This makes three. Today started and ended with cold rain and strong wind. The good news was we slept until after 8, we needed a good sleep. The rain began sometime during the night, we stayed warm and dry. We knew the rain was forecasted to last all day and we were unsure what conditions would be on Standing Indian Mountain so we chose to only hike to the next shelter 5 miles away. Lame, but better than a zero I guess.

The hiking wasn't very difficult. We arrived at the next shelter in just over two hours. When we arrived, Roosta and Chickadee were already bundled up in the shelter along with some spring breakers and two German brothers. The spring breakers and the brothers chose not stay but the shelter filled to capacity quickly. I'm not really very fond of the full shelter, I hope this is our last night in one for a while. I suppose it's better than pitching our already wet tent in the pouring rain. It was really boring just sitting in an overcrowded shelter watching the rain, but the weather the last few days had been amazing so we had it coming. I just was kind of bummed to only hike five miles and shelters are not the best place to spend a day.

Tomorrow is forecasted to be nice. We're hoping to make up some miles and be able to maybe get into Franklin, NC the following day. Maybe 16-18 miles tomorrow.

The weather sucked today but this is still an amazing experience. I hope for better weather in days to come but we'll make due with what we are given. We are blessed to be here regardless of what the weather is.


Thanks for reading,
Chris