Dinner at the Marine Legion
Day 6 of the Trail: 8.4 miles hiked
Sleeping at the same camp as everyone else isn't ideal. It's not that we don't get along, it's just some stay up late and some (Thomas and I) get up early. We get up really early, like 4 am, this morning early! I'm not planning on getting up that early everyday but when I wake up, I wake up. Also, we both really enjoy the hike before the sun rises and it provides the best time to see deer and other wildlife. One other positive aspect is that you will undoubtedly climb a mountain at some point and it will give you the best view to see the sunrise! This morning we got to see it from the top of Blue Mountain. If you are reading this then stop, get a map, figure out the closest mountain or really tall hill for you, Okies, and make a plan to go see the sunrise. Then come back and read this blog some more!!
Thomas and I arrived at Unicoi Gap at about 8:30 am and got some yummy trail magic from Ann and "Trail Mamma". They had a big bag of cookies and sweets. Thank you very much to those nice two ladies. We then kicked back and watched other hikers make their way down Blue Mountain, zigzagging left and right till they reached the gap. We would wait several hours till everyone else arrived but that's okay because that means we get that much more rest for our bodies. While waiting we were blessed with even more trail magic. A group of 4 or 5 former hikers decided to repay the trail gods by doing magic for this year's hikers. Homemade cookies, grilled hamburgers, chips, drinks, everything a hungry hiker could ask for. I didn't get their names sadly.
From here we went to Hiawasee, GA via a shuttle bus and once in Hiawasee we got rooms at the Budget Inn. Now, when I say budget, think of all those "Inns" next to highways that you see and say to yourself, "Who would stay there?" Yup, that's this kinda place. But the WH paid for it and we were able to do laundry. ($2 per load for washing and drying each!) It's just part of the adventure.
After laundry it was off to the store to resupply and then we went to our dinner with members of the local Marine Legion.
During dinner we were all introduced to Bud Johnson, a WWII vet who witnessed the raising of the flag at Iwo Jima. It's is an awesome thing to hear a true hero speak of a time when this country was completely united against evil. Bud was a fascinating person and we should all remember how his generation made it possible for ours to live as freely as we do.
That sums it up for today. Tomorrow it's rain and high mountains for me!
