Day 6 - Low Gap to Unicoi Gap

Monday April 24, 2017

Last night Lauren and I zipped our bags together to pool our warmth. It worked well and was definitely warmer, but I had the hardest time keeping my pad beneath me! I swear I "slept" half the night on the wood floor of the shelter. She only had to get up two times to use the restroom though. Major improvements there. I still have such a hard time getting comfortable. I keep thinking I'll get tired enough that I'll just be able to pass out. But instead my body is achy, which makes getting comfortable even more difficult. I think I probably average 4-5 hours of sleep each night. Not ideal.

We woke up and got moving around 6:20 am. It was still pretty wet and drizzly. Luckily our boots weren't all that wet though. I'm always surprised at how long it takes us to get packed up and on the road! I went through our food and handed out the remainder of our meals to the rest of the hikers. I also gave Paul the rest of my Ibuprofen. I did get a little short with Lauren at one point because I wanted to get going and was worried about missing our shuttle pickup time. Kind of feel bad about that.

[caption id="attachment_2214" align="alignnone" width="2320"] last day on the trail[/caption]

We finally hit the trail at 8:10 after saying goodbye and wishing everyone good luck. It's sad leaving them all. I wonder if in a few months we'll even think about each other. The first few miles of the trail were a steady but easy incline and we were able to make good time. I was amazed at how many campers and abandoned tents we came across. It was ridiculous! I felt very slow and sluggish for the first time all week. I like to think it was because a certain time-of-the-month was starting, but it could have just as easily been the miles finally catching up with me.

As the trail went on we came to some steeper pitches, but luckily they weren't too long. It also stayed really wet and cold! We stopped at one point and during the break I got really chilled and started to feel a bit miserable. I felt bad that I couldn't be my normal peppy self. The rain picked up a tad too, so I decided to pull the poncho over myself again. That, combined with an uphill ascent, helped warm me up and everything was ok from then on.

A few hours in we hit a rocky, muddy scramble that was slow going but sooooo pretty! I freaking love the vibrant green moss in conjunction with the grey rocks and deep maroon trees. We took some pictures, but they don't do it justice.

The first half of the latter part of the day was a struggle. We kept thinking we had come to the end of the uphill ascent, but then it would surprise us with another rise. Finally we came to the last (for us) shelter, 7 miles from where we started that day. We stopped to look around and sign the log book one last time. My hands were frozen so it took me forever to write haha. After a few more final rises we finally hit the 2 mile descent to Unicoi Gap. Unfortunately we were on the exposed side of the mountain and still up in the clouds and fog. This was probably the windiest/chilliest portion of the whole trip.

Once we broke through the clouds the temperature increased by at least 10 degrees. Awesome. So, the last two miles of our adventure was quite nice. We took our sweet time too. At first because the terrain required it. Lots of slick, rocky scrambles. But eventually we put those behind us and the sun started to peek out so we slowed down to enjoy it.

We stopped to take some pictures quite a few times. I think the final mile probably took us around 40 minutes to finish haha. By the time we reached the Unicoi Gap parking lot Wes (our shuttle driver) had just pulled up and was waiting for us. So perfect. I keep thinking that someone from the night before would catch us on the trail, but no such luck.

Wes was a cute old man who shuttles (along with his wife) in his retirement. The conversation was OK, but as soon as I sat down in the car all of the and physical exertion and lack of sleep from week came crashing down. I could hardly keep my eyes open. The drive back to Amicalola Falls was longer than expected too. It ended up taking us about an hour and twenty minutes to get back to our car. 6 days of walking, accomplished in 1:20 in a car... I don't like thinking about that.

Once we got to the truck we went down to the Visitor's Center to turn in our parking slip and finally weigh our packs. Mine was 37 lbs and Lauren's was 32. Its hard to say how heavy they were at the beginning with all of our food. I swear it was around 45-50 lbs though. Soooo ridiculous. They felt so so heavy. We dumb. haha

I kept thinking about what I'd do differently if I were to do it again. Honestly I think I used everything I brought. I'd definitely ditch the camp chair, try to lighten up the tent and water filtration, less fuel (we brought an extra canister and didn't need it), etc. I think I'd add my thermals and maybe a fleece hat? The biggest think I would change would be to our food though. All that chicken and tuna was way too heavy! More protein powder drinks instead I think.

I can't help thinking about how I can get myself back on the trail. I'll have to talk it over with John when I get home. Maybe in June/July he'll come back out with me? Maybe I'll come back on my own? I don't know. It was an awesome trip though.

Its hard to explain why I loved it so much. There's something about hiking. It's so simple, so pure. Each day you have one main goal: get to this point. Nothing else matters. I always felt a strong sense of purpose and direction. Everything you do during the day is to get you from point A to point B. I'd completely forget about the real world and other issues or worries I had in my "real life." I'd even forget what day of the week it was. It was such an escape.

I'm not looking forward to going back to the grind and feeling like I'm not adequate or have no purpose/meaning/direction. Those thoughts never occurred to me on the trail like they do during everyday living. It make me sad just thinking about having to go back to that. Lauren mentioned that I seem a little depressed, and honestly I think I am. We both agreed that we wish we were back in the mountains. I mean even LAUREN WANTS TO GO BACK!! That's a major achievement if I do say so myself.

She asked if I'd do the whole trail and I kind of want to. At least in sections. she said she'd join me for a few days in the north if I did. Win! She did really well all things considered. This was only her second time ever sleeping in the woods, let alone backpacking! Honestly I'm really proud of us. I feel like we totally crushed our goals, with unusually heavy packs to boot. We were able to keep up and even "beat" most of the people we met along the way. (seriously why am I so competitive?) Her feet are totally trashed though, poor girl. I'm not sure we could have kept going for much longer.

• First meal off the mountain: Zaxby's Chicken Finger Plate
• 2nd meal: Zoey's Kitchen
• All we did for the remainder of the day was shower and watch HGTV
• We both slept like ROCKS at the hotel

Reaching Unicoi Gap