Day 5, Thurs March 4th, 2021

 

Thursday morning I got up very early and started off from Whitley Gap shelter campsite at dawn.  Rick would follow later, with his longer strides and would catch up with me later in the day.  Our goal that day was Blue Mountain Shelter -12 miles up the trail.

The morning included hiking through Hogpen Gap, over White Oak Stamp and Poor Mountain, and into Low Gap, where I stopped for lunch.  There I met a Scotsman in full hiking kilt, on his way to Maine after retiring as a Paramedic.  He had a broad assortment of camping gear spread around him and said his trail name was Garage Sale, for obvious reasons.  At 66, he’s the second oldest thru hiker I’d encountered.  His plan was to try to get to the finish in Maine by October.  

I left him after a quick lunch of PBJ and trail mix.  The afternoon included hiking thru Poplar Gap Stamp, Cold Springs Gap, Chattahoochee Gap, and over Rocky Knob.  It’s so interesting the way they name geographical sites as knobs, knolls, gaps, and tops.  To me, they all are mountains or valleys.

Rick caught up to me by mid afternoon and we hiked into Blue Mountain Shelter campsite that afternoon.  Set up tents and cooked dinner.

After dinner, I met a group of 4 students from Cornell on a Semester Hiking Program sponsored by the college, where they hike the entire AT and get college credit.  Two of them were soon to enter the seminary.  We had an interesting theological discussion about comparative denominational stances.  Fun to hear perspectives on following Christ as a college student and future seminary student.  I shared the meaning of my trail name and the associated scripture from Isaiah.  It’s been a blessing to be able to share scripture every time someone asks me my trail name.  Several interesting conversations have come of it.

Weather continues to be great. Highs in the 50s during the day and lows in the low 40s at night. 

For the day, 2726 ft of climbing, 12 miles covered on the AT, 13.2 miles total.  

Until next time...