Day 36: Oatmeal Gag-Fest and Poop Stories

Another Oatmeal Gag-Fest

It was cold when I awoke. Not super freezing, but my nose was cold and I had no desire to get out of my warm bag. I did, though. Reluctantly. Breakfast was going to be oats, but I took one look at it and gagged. I smelled it and gagged. I tried to eat it and gagged. I knew in my heart that oatmeal for breakfast was coming to a close. I don’t know what I should have now. Oatmeal has always been it.

I left with a meager breakfast and sped hiked nearly three miles in an hour. I met up with Sweeper and Fine Young Buck and we snacked before continuing on. It was uphill. And it continued for miles. It took a bit for my body to switch into ‘uphill overhaul’, but once it did, it became easier.

Lunchtime

When I got to the top, I felt inspired, so I called my dad. I told him all the funny conversations I’ve had so far. There have been so many. Unfortunately, I lost service after about ten minutes and I continued on downhill. About halfway down, I started to run out of energy. I had no fuel in the tank. I forced myself to hike another mile downhill to a gap before stopping to eat lunch.

Apparently, I lunched only a hundred feet from where Sweeper and Fine Young Buck lunched. I only found out when Sweeper passed by and laughed.

Sam’s Gap

The next section was uphill. I listened to music and kept trudging on. And on. And on. I was ready to be finished. I was tired and desperate to get to the promised hot shower. We were going to stay at Nature’s Inn for the night. Walking a mile felt like hours. I was rewarded with hail for my efforts.

When I finally saw Sam’s Gap, my energy was renewed and I picked up the pace. I saw Sweeper chilling under the bridge and I walked past him to get to the parking lot. While we waited for Fine Young Buck, I had time to scroll on my phone.

Nature’s Inn

He showed up and called Amy, the property manager of Nature’s Inn. Five minutes later, she came rolling up and took us to the hostel. She gave us a mini tour before she had to leave to pick up another person. We were all quick to take a shower and start the process of laundry.

As we waited for the laundry, we hung out in the lobby building that held the resupply options and kitchen items. Kea, another thru-hike, had the fireplace going and kept it going well into the night. It was in that building that I tested my hiker’s hunger. I had two quarter pound hotdogs and a mac n cheese cup. I was still hungry. The food was expensive though, so I went to bed hungry.

Poop Stories

With the warm fire and comfy sofa, I was slowly falling asleep. The interesting conversation kept me awake though. Of course it was about poop. Hawaii, who was having a nero after nearly being impaled from a tree branch in the night, said, “This might be too much, but I’m going to share anyway. I did not poop once from Amicalola Falls to Neels Gap. When I showed up to Neels Gap, I feared I was going to break their plumbing. I’m sure my ankles were affected because I know I was carrying at least six pounds of shit.” Fine Young Buck, of course, asked what her favorite poop position was. The conversation dissolved into utter chaos. Kea was saying the entire time that “I don’t need to know this,” but was laughing and blushing.

The night wrapped up and I headed back to the cabin. I was beat. I didn’t fall asleep immediately, though. I had a book to finish. When it was done, I was asleep within five minutes.