Day 3 and 4 aka Trail magic is real

Day 3 started out in Black hawk campground. We needed to get to Gooch mountain shelter, which was about 9 miles away. An uneventful morning of hiking had us thirsty and unsure where exactly the next water source was. After a fairly grueling climb and descent, we came across some trail magic. Some trail angels hauled a large tank of water to the gap we hiked into. It was perfect timing for us since it was turning into a hot and sweaty day. There was a group of about 8 veterans there filling up with water. They are part of a program known as "walk off the war". One of the gentlemen we met gave us some food including a dehydrated ice cream sandwich. The Appalachian trail, as I am finding, is unique in the aspect that since so many people hike it, there is a lot of help from other hikers or just random good doers. The afternoon had us both tired and ready for rest. For the last mile, Louisa and I walked separately since her feet were hurting and I thought it would be more efficient for me to arrive at camp earlier and find a spot (which are at a premium due to large volume of hikers). At the intersection of the shelter trail and main trail were a couple of men handing out apples. Oddly enough, I had been craving apples all day. I stopped to chat with the guys for a bit and the subject of pain came up. I told them of Louisa's foot pain and why we were walking apart. They asked me when she would be by and I told them about a half hour. My estimation was based on me walking 2 miles per hour and Louisa walking 1 mile per hour for 1 mile. As soon as I was done explaining this, James spots Louisa crushing it up the hill. They got to make fun of me for my gross miscalculation of Louisa's speed :)

Day 3 ended around a campfire with about 10 other hikers and one of the ridge runners. A ridge runner is someone who walks the trail throughout the day and offers guidance to other hikers. The conversation around the campfire was filled with laughter and stories of the days hike. 

Day 4:

I woke up at about 7 EST to sit on a log outside our tent and watch the sunrise and listen to birds chirp. Feeling not quite rested, I went back to bed until about 8:30. Louisa and I didn't start hiking until about 10:15. After a mile and a half, we arrived in Gooch gap. James, from the day before, had setup in the gap and had been making hot breakfast for hikers all morning long. We had yogurt, more apples, banana bread, orange juice, and sausage biscuits. Then, I had James perform a shakedown of our gear. I laid out everyone on a tarp and we went over what we actually needed and were able to shed a small amount of weight. 

It took us about an hour to get out of Gooch gap, but it was well worth the time. We hiked another 4 miles to the next gap. By this time, it was 2:30 and we still weren't exactly sure where we going to stay. The problem is that there is a 5 miles stretch that requires hikers to use a non pliable bear canister to store food. We don't have one since they are bulky and heavy and not necessary for most of the trail. Fortunately, there is a grocery store in Suches, GA that rents then to hikers. Even luckier yet, there is a free shuttle that runs to the town from the gap that we were in. So we caught the shuttle to town and got the very last bear canister they had. We also got to order a small, yet very delicious pizza. We made it back to the gap around 3:15. At this point, we had hiked 5.5 miles already, and the next gap we wanted to get to was another 6 miles away. So we got trekking. About an hour in, it started raining. We quickly threw on our rain jackets and kept going. Unfortunately, we were doing a lot of up and down on slippery rocks, but we took it slow and made it through safely. One thing we forgot to check was if there was any camping at the gap we wanted to get to. Turns out there is a campground a mile west so we cut the hike a little short, probably less than a half mile. We found a single camp spot high up in the hills. For once, there is one else around. The silence is deafening and I love it. 

View from our current campsite.

Tomorrow, we have a 5 mile hike up and over and back down Blood mountain. It will spit us out into Neels gap, where we have a cabin booked for Easter Sunday. We are both looking forward to a shower and getting to do laundry (yes, having clean clothes is a luxury).