Day 183: Gooch Gap

Start: Neels Gap (AT mi 31.3 miles). Stop: Gooch Gap (AT mi 16.9). Today’s miles: 14.4 miles. Total AT mileage: 2176.2 miles.

Sundae and I got to sleep in this morning two days in a row for me!). Breakfast was ready at 8:15, I was at the table with coffee in hand at 8:10. I could smell the bacon while I was getting ready. Mrs. Bonnie and Mr. Paul made us a spread: baked eggs in picante salsa with cheese (incredible, really. I think I’ll be making a whole30 version, sans cheese, when I get home), bacon, pancakes, and homemade gluten free muffins with almonds and other goodies in them. Plus coffee and juice! These two are quite the chefs!

Sundae and I took a picture before loading up in separate cars.. Mrs. Bonnie was taking me to Neels Gap, Mr. Paul was taking Sundae to Gooch Gap. I’ll be hiking today what she hiked yesterday, and then tomorrow I’ll be hiking what she’s hiking today.. obviously we both made a good plan since it’s the same itinerary!

Mrs. Bonnie dropped me off around 9:30 and I promised to update a pick up time for later when I had a better guess as to when I’d be getting to Gooch Gap. It was sprinkling, but not too bad, although the cold was definitely here to stay. I snapped a better picture of the Shoe Tree and then headed up the trail towards Blood Mountain. I’ve done this climb before, from another trail, and I was worried I’d be sucking wind and struggling. Honestly. I was at the top before I realized it.. the climb was nowhere near as hard as it was the last time I did it, then again, I was a good 30-40 pounds heavier then and hadn’t been hiking almost every day for almost 6 months when I did it before.

So, I made it to the top, rain coming and going, the cold staying put-making my hands red as the leaves when I’d take a glove off for a second to eat a snack (Mr. Paul’s muffins-I brought 4 with me..). Coming down the rock slabs originally had me nervous that I’d be slipping and falling like I did on the daily in New Hampshire and Maine-and yet-I stayed on both feet all day.. even during the descent with big rock steps. I was shocked and quite pleased with myself.

All of my views were stolen by the clouds, nothing to see but the same misty, foggy views from yesterday, but just like then, I still loved them. I could snap pictures of this trail weaving around trees with fallen leaves all around all day long.. clearly, because I do. The rest of the trail was a breeze. At some point I got hungry and wanted my lunch, but was too cold to sit and eat it. I took my day pack off, swigged some water, made my sandwich, put the pack back on and kept walking, eating as I went, trying to not get mustard on my gloves.

I got to a point and text Mr. Paul that I should be there by 4pm. I was actually going to get there a little sooner than that, but figured I could walk slow, upload pictures to the blog site, and if I got there too early I could start typing up today’s stuff. But, at 3:35 when I showed up, their car was there already and both Mrs. Bonnie and Mr. Paul were walking back from a little hike they decided to go on. I got a picture of them before we all got inside the car with the seat warmers on high.

They drove me back to the house in the woods, winding around curved roads with gorgeous views.. some better views than I got while hiking, honestly. They said every day the colors pop just a little bit more, then before long all of the leaves will have fallen and there will be a stark difference in the beauty-but still beauty all the same.

Once back at the house, I showered and then rested before dinner. Close to 7pm, dinner was ready and Sundae’s dad was here! He drove up today, will sleep here tonight, and then in the morning Mr. Paul will drop me off first, then take him to Springer Mountain to meet Sundae for her finish and the approach trail! He is so nice and we all four chatted throughout dinner.. which was spectacular, by the way.. biscuits and salad and a casserole with rice, chicken, corn, broccoli, cheese.. probably other things too, and then topped with shaved almonds.. whew. I won’t lie to you, I ate at least half of that casserole dish by myself, and when Mrs. Bonnie asked if I wanted to pack out the rest to eat tomorrow I made them all laugh over my excited “ohhhhh yesssssss.”

Mr. Paul is going to email me the recipe. It’s good.. like, not just because I’m a Thru hiker.. like it’s actually really good. Anyway. Now, I’m laying in bed, unable to get pictures to upload to Facebook.. and sore as can be, but over the moon reflecting on this experience. How lucky am I that my last “in town” stay was with a couple that treated me like their granddaughter? I’m so grateful, beyond words for this entire experience, and mostly for the people I’ve been blessed to meet.

Tomorrow, when they drop me off at Gooch Gap, I’ll be on my last “real” day of the Appalachian Trail. I’ll technically be stopping only a quarter of a mile from the southern terminus to camp for the night.. that way, when I get up Saturday morning and pack up to leave, I’ll get to the summit sign within minutes, and then only have the approach trail to finish this epic journey. I wanted to get to the end of the trail the same day as I finished the Approach Trail, so it’s all officially on the 6th of November-exactly 6 months to the day from when I started.

“They” say that on average it takes 5-7 months to complete a thru hike of the Appalachian Trail.. and on this one, I don’t mind being exactly average at all. I’ve never been the fastest hiker, I’ve never claimed to be a purist, but I’ll get to say I’ve walked the whole way. My feet have gotten me every single step of the way, most of the time with my full pack on, some of the time with the ease of only carrying that day’s necessities.. I’ve got a continuous footpath that I’ve created, from Georgia to Maine-starting in the middle and making it to Mount Katahdin in Maine, then coming back to where it all began and making it home to Georgia.. sometimes I hiked northbound, sometimes I hiked southbound, once I even hiked miles out of order.. but the path is connected the entire way. I’m pretty damn proud of that. And if something were to happen between now and Saturday, I think I have it in me to crawl the rest of the way if I have to. If New Hampshire and Maine taught me anything, it’s that I’m a whole lot tougher than I give myself credit for sometimes.

Anyway. I better get some shut eye. We have to be up early tomorrow to get Sundae’s dad to her so she can finish this thing 🙂 Sweet dreams, y’all.