Over Blue Mountain to Unicoi Gap at Hiawasee

Our four day leg into Hiawassee turned into a two day leg to Hiawassee. We started slow on Sunday to try out our legs with 8 miles. Stayed in Hog Pen Gap - not too cold but 30 mph winds howling all night. It was tough getting out of the bag at 6:30 but we set out for Chatahoochie Gap for about 9 miles. It was a nice level walk (albeit cold) for about 6 miles then tough climbing. When we got to Chatahoochie Gap - it was a wind tunnel with the water way down the hill.

We checked the weather and a decent storm was heading in. We pushed another 2 1-2 miles to Blue Mountain shelter. It was further than we wanted to go - it would have us at 11 1/2 miles for the day. But we made it - exhausted and out of our typical fuel/water cycle. The thinking was that we could make it up at the shelter.

The shelter was overflowing and the adjacent tent site was packed. Probably 30 hikers altogether. With noro on the rampage - we weren't interested.

So we had a choice - we could either slip ahead a little and stealth camp (camping away from the shelter) or shoot 3 more miles to Unicoi Gap which is notorious for its treacherous decent and it could be dark before we bottomed out. My hiking partner, Cornbread, was nursing a very sore knee so the decent would be excruciating but he is a Marine so he insisted that shouldn't be in consideration.

If we made it to Unicoi we might be able to catch a shuttle or hitchhike to Hiawassee to overnight in a hotel. And we could wait out the expected thunderstorms.

So, we pushed on and it was rugged but we finally made it to the road crossing at 7:30 after 14 1/2 miles. Completely wiped out and in need of a bed and a ride. I called Cristina and she got us set up at a hotel and we started calling shuttles. No luck on a ride - too late for most drivers after a long day of toting hikers all over Goergia. Just as we were getting ready to hitchhike an old fella who had been handing out trail magic (aka trail angel) offered us a ride into town. We gladly accepted. He dropped us off at the front door of Holiday Inn Express and we missed the rain, ate two pizzas, got a shower, Cornbread iced his knee and we slept for 12 hours.

I woke up to do my laundry only to find out the washing machine was broken. Unwilling to go to the laundromat - we hand washed in the sink. I'm glad I did - it revealed just how nasty my clothes were.