No bears, no bats, no mice (oh, my!). Nothing interrupted our sleep last night, so we were well rested when we woke up at 6:30. Packed up quietly, so as not to disturb our sleeping shelter mates. After choking down our dry granola, and drinking the remaining Kool-Aid from last night, we started hiking at 7:15. We’re going to have to do something different for breakfast on those mornings when we don’t want to take time to fire up the stove. This stuff tasted great at home, but without milk, it literally "sucks all the juices out of your body", as Brandon put it. Plus, it just doesn’t give you enough "oomph" for the morning.

The weather looked threatening, so we had our pack covers on, but it didn’t rain all day. The first few miles out of Low Gap were over fairly easy, graded trail. We quickly made it down to Chattahoochee Gap. At the risk of being redundant (who, me? never!) I am constantly struck by the beauty of the mountain laurels, rhododendrons and wild azaleas that line much of the trail in Georgia. They form such a graceful and inviting canopy. It’s like they are there to guide you along a pathway to a secret garden. The colors are so distinctive, the delicate pink of the laurels, the hot pink of the rhododendrons, and the fiery orange of the azaleas. Together, they make a spectacular display.

From Chattahoochee Gap, we continued on toward Blue Mt Shelter, passing lots of inviting campsites along the way. We were going to stop at the shelter for lunch after 7.2 miles, but it was only 11:00, so we blasted on by. Kept on over Blue Mt. and down to Unicoi Gap, where we ate lunch in the parking area, then pressed on toward Rocky Mt. The climb up Rocky Mt. was steep, but not as intense as we expected. It was over before I really had to hunker down. From there, the trail went down to Indian Grave Gap along a Forest Service road. As we passed by, there was a huge group of guys, all sprawled out on the ground, lounging in the shade. Looks like they had the right idea. In the shelter register last night we read about a large group from an outdoor program for troubled youth. Figured it had to be them.

They were headed to Tray Mt. Shelter also, so we booked on to make sure we got there ahead of them to stake out a spot. The climb up Tray was also steep, but mostly well graded, so wasn’t as tough as expected. There were enough level and downhill sections thrown in to keep from overheating too much. Part way up, the trail passes the site of an old cheese factory that was built years ago to bolster the local economy. It was unsuccessful, and there’s nothing left there now. We got water from a piped spring before making the last push to the top of Tray.

Ronald and Brandon zoomed on ahead. I knew I just needed to throw it into low gear and go for it. When I got to the top, Brandon was waiting for me at a breathtaking viewpoint. The breeze was blowing, and it felt great! Ronald had gone on the ¼ mile or so to the shelter to secure a spot. We were the first ones there, so I swept out the shelter and set out our packs. It was only 4:00, so we had made great time for our first 15-mile day. It was time for a nap as a reward. We lay the groundcloth down on the grass in front of the shelter and stretched out in the warm sunshine with the cool breeze blowing over us. It was heavenly!

By 5:00, hikers started arriving. There was a guy named Larry who was hiking to Harper’s Ferry. He set up camp back up the trail a ways. Then came Patches and Sunny White Dog. He’s the first thru-hiker we’ve met. His real name is John Rist, and he’s from Maryland. Sunny is some kind of huge fluffy sheep dog. Patches hopes to thru-hike with a flip flop at Troutdale, Virginia to Vermont, then back to Virginia to finish up after Katahdin. I chatted with him most of the evening, and he even shared a cup of his Café Vienna with me. The group of 13 (2 counselors and 11 teenagers) finally showed up and set up tents all around the shelter. By then, we had already moved out of the shelter and found a scenic campsite near a rock outcropping.

Went to bed around 9:45, after a few tense moments over hanging the food bags, due to bear reports. Eventually got them hung, and turned in after a great day.

At fifteen miles, today is our longest yet. The miles, combined with two big climbs, make it our hardest yet. With all the work we did getting prepared for the hike, we're in better shape that I thought we'd be. We're able to cover more miles and feel better than we've scheduled. As a result we can readjust our schedule when needed to cover unplanned events.

We are trying to make some extra miles to make it to the Blueberry Patch tomorrow. When we call yesterday to confirm if our mail drop had arrived, we found out they would be closed this Saturday and Sunday for overnight stays. I had heard a lot about the place and wanted to stay there. It would also give us a chance to get into town for some extra food and have dinner.

We were packed and hiking this morning by 7:15. All the others were still sleeping when we ventured out on this clear cool morning. We sailed along the flat trails, only slowing once on a rocky section before Blue Mountain Shelter. It was still too earily for lunch when we arrived at the shelter, so we decided to go on to Unicoi Gap.

We made the gap by noon and were feeling pretty good about ourselves. We covered the last ten miles before noon. Ahead of us lay the real work of the day. First would be a thousand-foot climb up and over Rocky Mountain. That would be quickly followed by a fifteen hundred-foot climb up Tray Mountain. By the time we hit the summit of Rocky, we were amazed. The climb went easy and we were feeling great.

We stopped at the site of the Old Cheese Factory to get some needed water and eat at candy bar. From there to Tray Gap the trail was almost like a boulevard. At Tray Gap I saw a group of three locals ahead just leaving their truck with packs. Like an idiot, I tore up Tray Mountain like a man possessed. I was determined to secure a place in the shelter for tonight. I quickly blew by them and almost ran to the top.

On top I stopped long enough to take a couple of pictures. Brandon arrived a couple of minutes later. I told him to wait for his mom before coming on the shelter. It was 4:00 when I arrived at the shelter. No one was there yet. I felt good to be able to hike so hard, but dumb to tear up the mountain so hard. It didn't even look like rain.

When Linda arrived we laid around an hour before deciding to setup camp on a grassy area by a rock outcrop with a view of the valley below. We cook our dinner on the rocks and enjoyed eating with a great view. It's one of the best views we've had so far. After the sun went down, we could see the lights of the town in the valley below.

We caught up today with another thru-hiker Patches and his dog Sunny White Dog. Patches thru-hiked the Pacific Crest Trail twenty years ago. Now he was hiking the AT. Sunny was quite nice to Linda and Brandon, but he has a thing about men. He growls and snaps whenever I get close. Patches is heading up to Virginia. Once there he will skip to Vermont to finish the northern section before the autumn snowfall closes Katahdin. Then he'll come back to complete the center section.

Today we got up at 6:30, and because we were in a shelter, we did have to take down the tent. We were on the trail by 7:15. We started out level and we stopped for lunch at Unicoi Gap. We ate for about a half-hour then started the steep climb up Rocky Mountain, then down the other side. We got to the bottom of Tray Mtn. about 3:15 and climbed to the top and on to the shelter. We didn't stay in the shelter because we found a flat area with a view. There was a group of thirteen boys that came in after us. We also met Patches and his dog "Sunny White Dog". They were nice. We hiked fifteen miles today.