TRAIL DAY 11
Wed, Mar 2, 2016 This must have been truly an uneventful day for I took not a single picture. I’d been on the trail enough that it’s complete novelty had faded – the woods and hills were pretty much the same – and my goal was simply to get myself to the Top of Georgia Hostel which I mentioned in my writeup on Wolfpen Gap.
AWOL directions said NOBOs should turn left at US 76 at Dicks Gap and walk (0.5W) following blue blazes to the hostel. White blazes are for the AT and blue are for side trails.
A steep driveway on the right led up to the hostel which was a substantial main lodge with angled side buildings to the north. Hikers with dogs were directed to the end building, farthest from the lodge.
Since I arrived pretty early in the day, I was the first to occupy the dog-friendly space and chose the bottom bunk at the front-right of the long room holding 4 double-deckers, two end-to-ed on the right and two on the left. There was evidence of another occupant whose things were on the top bunk at the back-right of the room. She turned out to be a part-time employee in her 50s or early 60s who had been there prior years to help out during the hiking season. She was pleasant and easy going and was up late and up early with her work.
There was a plug-in pot on a table to the left as you entered for heating water which is usually all a hiker does for a hot meal. Between my bunk and the door, there were hooks for gear under a window with a narrow ledge. I hung a lot of things there and loaded the ledge with many items. It was virtually inevitable that, at every stop, you went through all you had carried that far. Let’s face it: you didn’t carry what you didn’t need so why wouldn’t you unload it all?
I didn’t always need the pack of miscellaneous repair items but over the entire hike, I would use some or all of what I carried in it. A small green stuff sack my green liner had come in was handy for my electronics. I needed that most every night to charge my phone, although Flight Mode might spare the battery for two days of use. When we get to mice and bears, there’ll be even more cleaning out of the pack each night.
I had left my light but “bulky” crocks at home and would send for them later. Meanwhile, I used my down booties which had a light sole suitable for the concrete walkway to the lodge and the more crowded bunkhouse, laundry, bath, common room and kitchen next door. The kitchen, common area and three double-decker bunks at the north were all packed with hikers. People were playing cards, board games, a guitar or quietly reading if that was possible. It wasn’t loud and boisterous – just busy.
Let me digress, as I have before, to say that I wanted my post-AT life to be different from my pre-AT life – and it is! I simply can’t return to the trauma of my gotta-make-money earlier life as a litigator. While not wealthy, in fact struggling financially now, I must find the story inside me and get it out onto the page and stage. At 75, I hardly need more input. Personal output is what I’m after.
My point in wandering here is to say that, while all the issues of life flutter around me causing concern and occasional anxiety, adding to the to-do list, it is the trail that anchors me. It is a part of me now and has changed me forever. I want to tell my personal story of the trail as far and wide as I can, a ship with its anchor on board.
Before bed, I noted someone tending a fire up in the woods. A trail running at about a 45̊ angle from the dog-friendly bunkhouse led to the fire up a small hill about 100 yards away. Theo needed a time in the woods and so did I so we went exploring off leash. Theo never needed to be roped in because he never wondered. He followed me everywhere and, when hiking, stuck to the trail, carrying his saddlebags, doing his job. We were very tight and he never did and never would run off. It was the same at home where I could leave the gate open if need be.
I went up to the fire where the fellow tending it was on his cell phone. The coverage was better here than by the lodge so I called Bonnie and then returned to the bunkhouse and bed.
Day #11 Young Lick Knob > US 76 (Top/GA Hostel) 8.7 miles