According to Pittsburgh:

APRIL 2, 1997 - WEDNESDAY

   slept soundly in the motel. hadn't slept too well the last two nights in the tent. it is a matter of getting used to it, i guess. did some work on the computer before leaving the motel, then to a drug store to get a brace for PAT's knee, then breakfast, then laundry, then the post office to mail a few things, then to a gas station to fill up the 5 gallon igloo (water container), then off to NEELS GAP (US19/129). guess who we met there? yep, JANE and PETE. they were happily taking their first showers since saturday. JANE's family (hubby and two sons) were coming from ASHEVILLE, NC to see her. she was excited. PETE was happy that he hadn't yet hurt any part of his body severely. PAT limped around and got plenty of sympathy...
   i got dressed for hiking and headed out for HOGPEN GAP (GA348). PAT has the job of being there with the van when i arrive. another glorious day on the trail. the weather forecast is for 70's in the daytime and 30's, 40's and 50's progressively at night as the week unfolds. rain showers are predicted for saturday and sunday. any hikers that started after last friday's storms are having a tremendous start weatherwise. i didn't see many hikers after NEELS GAP. i did run across an older fellow named JOHN. he was hell on wheels downhill, but slow as molasses on the uphills. he was also headed for the HOGPEN GAP area, and was happy to find out that PAT and i were going to tent there. we parted company on one of the uphills...
   PAT and the van were at HOGPEN GAP. (ya know, you trust your vehicle and all of your belongings to someone that you just met the day before, and there is a twinge of concern) JOHN showed up shortly thereafter. there were good tent sights right at the parking area, so we positioned the van as a wind barrier and setup camp. supper and conversation ended another wonderful day...

   right after we hit the sack last night, HALE-BOPPers began to show up. apparently, we were camped at astronomy central. for three hours we had to listen to loud obnoxious people that were very excited about the comet. we were 50 feet away trying to get some sleep, but they didn't care. i am now king of HALE-BOPP trivia...
   up at dawn, ate, dressed, gone. HOGPEN GAP (GA348) to UNICOI GAP (GA75). JOHN left earlier than me, but i caught him about 4 miles into the hike at LOW GAP shelter. there i rested, signed the register, had a snack, and did some reading. the trail after the shelter is an old overgrown forest road, 5 miles long, that is nicely graded. i lit the afterburners and made some good time. the trail leaves the road at CHATTAHOOCHEE GAP. i took a short break there. i had been hoping to run in to a hiker, THUNDER CHICKEN, that i had previously made arrangements with to drive to ATLANTA on the 10th. he has been leaving messages on my answering machine, when he found a phone, letting me know where on the trail he was. i figured i'd run in to him on the trail soon, and i sure enough did. we hadn't previously met, but thru general conversation that you have with hikers as you meet, we decided who we were. we hiked together for a while. he decided to head for UNICOI GAP and tent with me and PAT, then we would all go into HELEN, GA tommorrow for a hearty meal. two other hikers traveling together, SLOE (female) and BOG (male), indicated that they were going to thumb into HELEN tommorrow and get a motel, so i told them that i would be happy to run them in. they will hike down to UNICOI GAP in the morning...
   there were no good tent sites at UNICOI GAP, so PAT, THUNDER CHICKEN and i drove to another road crossing, TRAY GAP (USFS79), for the night. supper, laughs, HALE-BOPP trivia. good night...

   everyone got to HELEN as planned. SLOE and BOG got a motel room, took showers and did laundry. PAT, THUNDER and i just hung around town generally making a nuisance of ourselves. the town is styled in a bavarian motif, very unique. we eventually all got showers at the motel, then headed to UNICOI STATE PARK for the lunch buffet at the lodge. yum. hikers sure can eat. our server was very excited that we were thru-hikers and talked and talked about a friend that had thru-hiked last year. she wanted to know all of our trail names and wrote them down so she could tell her friend. she took very good care of us...
   after dropping SLOE and BOG off, we headed to UNICOI GAP (GA75) for our daily hike. THUNDER and i took off around 2pm for the short hike to TRAY GAP (USFS79), where we had tented the previous evening. when we arrived, a small crowd of thru-hikers, HAWKEYE, GOOFY FOOT and TIME TO FLY, were there talking with PAT. we all yuk'd and chuckled for a time until the three headed up the trail for the next shelter. THUNDER has decided to slackpack with PAT and i until the trip to ATLANTA on the 10th. we ate, planned hikes, repacked the van, repacked our packs, and got prepared for the possibility of overnight rains. HAWKEYE hiked back to retrieve his hat. he said he had forgotten it, but we knew he wanted some of our freshly brewed coffee. we gave it to him in a tiny little expresso cup. he enjoyed the coffee and the abuse, then headed back out. darkness came. we lit the coleman lamp and talked about insignificant things...

   off early, headed for DICKS CREEK GAP (US76). stopped at the TRAY GAP shelter to use the privy. it's a joy not having dig a hole. before i got to the shelter, i caught GOOFY FOOT and TIME TO FLY hiking in the wrong direction! they had turned the wrong way when leaving the shelter. ran across a hiker named ERIC who had pulled a hamstring. he was hiking with the pain. he now has the name of HAMSTRING. stopped and chatted with SILVER TORTOISE, an mature lady. it is good to see the many senior citizens out here. passed HAWKEYE on an uphill. then he caught me at DEEP GAP shelter, were i was taking an extended lunch break. after leaving the shelter, i passed by a cub scout group (10 or 12 people) headed for the shelter. further on, i passed by eight people also headed for the shelter, carrying burgers and beer. can you imagine the diversity at that shelter? thru-hikers, cub scouts and party animals, 25 to 30 people! oy...
   THUNDER, PAT and i set up camp at DICKS CREEK GAP after running a few hikers down to the BLUEBERRY PATCH, an organic farm that has showers, bunkroom, laundry, phone and breakfast for thru-hikers. for dinner, we chowed down on ANGEL HAIR PASTA AL POMEDORA, a group effort. it was THUNDERS recipe, and was absolutely delicious...
   night is falling, we have added an hour to all of our watches and clocks, and it definitly feels like rain. tommorrow we enter North Carolina...

   the rains came just as we were ready to call it a night last night. it rained all night long. my tent is waterproof to a point, not bad though. it was still raining when we all arose. breaking down camp in the rain is not fun. everything was wet. THUNDER headed out for DEEP GAP (USFS71). i stayed until the van was loaded. last night, we drove the van into an area that it really wasn't supposed to go in an effort to have it close to the tents. this morning, the van got stuck in the mud when we tried to get it out. PAT and i waited until the BLUEBERRY PATCH shuttle arrived with eight hikers, then recruited them to push the van. one of the hikers was named ROCK DANCER. you'll find his journal on the internet at www.trailplace.com. he says that he has a few blisters, but is doing fine. it was too late for me to start hiking. day off...
   went into HIAWASSEE GA for breakfast, then into FRANKLIN NC to shop, then onto DEEP GAP. we setup camp so everything could dry, then ate supper. around about 5:30pm THUNDER had not yet arrived. i hiked south about 2 miles, but could not find him. he arrived back in camp around 7:45pm, happy as a lark. it had been a hard sixteen miles along a wet trail...

   it was a dry chilly night in a bear sanctuary. that's right, a bear sanctuary! we were camped just under the sign. no quadraped mammels visited us though...
   up with the light, ate breakfast, and lit the afterburners. the day remained chilly, but the sun was bright and warming. ran across a hiker named BRENT that is suffering the effects of OSGOOD SCHLAUGHTERS (sp) disease, a fancy name for a tender knee cap. he is now known as OSGOOD...
   i heard music playing as i rounded a bend in the trail and ran into TUMBLEWEED and his radio. his journal is also on the internet at www.trailplace.com. he says that he has no blisters, and is having a terrific time. we hiked and yak'd all of the way to MOONEY GAP (USFS83), where PAT was to be waiting. he showed up shortly thereafter, as did THUNDER, and we set up camp. THUNDER and TUMBLEWEED hiked another eight miles north after setting up camp, and i went to pick them up at ROCK GAP. PAT had a campfire going when we got back, and we made supper and ate around the fire. it is a chilly night...

   THUNDER CHICKEN has a watch that cock-a-doodle-doos like a rooster. he used this to wake us up this morning. he probably won't do that again. we ate, broke camp, and all headed for ROCK GAP. THUNDER, TUMBLEWEED and i then hiked to WINDING STAIR GAP (US64), where PAT was waiting. THUNDER and i continued hiking, and PAT and TUMBLEWEED went into FRANKLIN NC. TUMBLEWEED is taking a few days off...
   PAT was waiting at WAYAH (war-yuh) BALD (USFS69) when THUNDER and i arrived. it had been a mostly uphill day, so we were fatigued. we found a very nice place near the trail, at the top of the bald, to tent. set up camp, cooked supper, started a campfire, and watched the sun go down...

   it was very, very cold in the morning. none of us wanted to get out of the sleeping bags, but we had a big mileage day. it seemed forever before the sun broke thru...
   after the usual morning activities, THUNDER and i headed out. i was still cold, and did a sprint for the first six miles, not stopping but once to retie a boot, then taking a break at COLD SPRING SHELTER. two couples, that i had screamed passed earlier, caught up here. one couple, i forget there names, were familiar with the SLACKPACK TOUR thru the internet. the fellow had grown up in PITTSBURGH PA, so we had a few things to discuss...
   THUNDER strolled in eventually to take a short break. we hiked out together. the temperatue had improved and my legs had tightened up, so the pace was a bit slower. there are more ferns, flowers and budding trees as the days go by. we are not far from the explosion of spring. i regret not beeing able to identity all of this beautiful foliage. i'll study up after the hike this year...
   we arrived in at the NANTAHALA RIVER (US19) in the early evening. PAT was there, of course. we all had supper at the restaurant overlooking the river, then headed for FRANKLIN NC. TUMBLEWEED had switched motels, but we found him anyway! we got a room and took much needed showers. i retrieved my e-mail, a whole weeks worth. that kept me busy into the night...

   up early working on this journal. we are headed for ATLANTA to drop THUNDER at the airport. he will be back on the trail in a few days after a short trip to DALLAS. we will also be picking up KEN BREEDEN from the AMTRAK staion. he is the fellow that, along with PAT, will support the SLACKPACK TOUR. LAURA LUTCHANSKY, our one paying customer on the TOUR, and her husband GARY will be arriving at USFS42, near SPRINGER MOUNTAIN, on friday evening. saturday will see the beginning of the SLACKPACK TOUR thru-hike. stay tuned...

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