Neel's Gap
Day 4 on the Trail: 3.9 Miles Hiked
Last night we stayed in Woods Hole Shelter and I wasn't disappointed. It was breezy outside but nice and cozy inside. It was just Thomas and I, inside the shelter, and a section hiker named Sean who slept in his hammock. Sean started the trail the same time as our group and Thomas and I leapfrogged him off and on this week and by chance we ended up at the same spot. Sean is a firefighter by trade and an all around good dude. He only planned on doing a few more days but it was nice to meet him and share some good conversation.
Now, getting on to today's news. Thomas and I woke up by 5:30 am and were back on the trail by 6:20 am. We reached the top of Blood Mountain in about 45 minutes and were able to see the sun rise. After taking some pics and videos we started the descent. Let me give some advice to everyone who cares to listen: If you have bad knees, questionable knees, or just aching knees then you need to know your knees are gonna hurt coming down Blood Mountain. All I can say is learn how to hike down hill. The thing is that your legs develop rather quickly. I am only a few days in and I can power up a mountain. It's a slow pace but also a steady one. The problem is your ligaments are slow to adapt to your newly strengthened muscles. The outcome is excess stress on the tendons which can cause all kinds of issues. When we arrived at the Blood Mountain Shelter I ran into a poor kid who couldn't even bend his knees because he wasn't walking down hill properly and was over stressing his tendons, so now that you have been advised use it as you will.
Moving on; we made it into Neel's Gap at about 8:00 am and I promptly sent 3 pounds of un-needed weight home. After mailing the package, and looking around the outfitter store, we ran into a very nice guy named Morris. Morris has been a supporter of the Warrior Hike and friended most of us on FB after we were accepted to this year's hike. We had an awesome conversation. Then "Farmer", a Warrior Hiker from last year's CDT group who walked with us this far walked up. We all sat around and talked some more before Morris offered to give Thomas and I a ride the short distance to the cabin. Never pass up that kind of opportunity! Farmer stayed back for a little while and we went to the cabin. Morris was even nice enough to give us his contact info and make himself available to help in any way as we get farther north near where he lives. Morris is a really genuine guy and I hope he reads this and knows how appreciated he is.
While waiting at the cabin office Farmer showed up and we all had pizza. After polishing that off, Sean the Warrior Hike Founder, showed up and got us a cabin. Farmer was ultimately leaving and not staying with us but planned on meeting back up in a month or so. Slowly throughout the day the rest of the group arrived; all in good spirits too! One cool thing about this place, is they will do your laundry for you, so that is definitely happening!
In addition to the numerous awesome people who we meet on the trail daily, we also meet folks at VFW Posts along the route whom provide food, a place to rest, and good company. Today we didn't meet anyone with a VFW but we did receive support in the form of a potluck dinner from the fine folks from a local church. They were awesome people. The food was delicious and I ate more than my fill. It's okay because I am burning on average 6-7 thousand calories a day. Well, today only 4500 but it was a short 4 miles or so hike.
Well, the weather moved in about 4:00 today and it's been cold and rainy since but tonight promises a comfy bed in a dry room; far better than a cold wet tent or busy shelter.
Tomorrow we are headed down the trail again.
