Day 5 – Ram Rock Mountain to Blood Mountain

Day five began a little earlier than the last. PB&J and coffee for breakfast, no privy so I wait and hope for the best and I found the best at Woody Gap. This is a parking area with bear trash boxes so I could unload days of trash and a four-sided privy with toilet paper!!! Which I was running short on.

At this point I’ll mention that I have only changed my underwear once, which is about average on the trail because carrying a pair for each day is too much weight. Also, I lost that pair, so if you find em, you can have em.

Hygiene is a little difficult on the trail because you are supposed to pack in and pack and the ridgerunners say that biodegradable wipes are not biodegradable enough to live on the trail. My compromise was to use hand sanitizer on my toilet paper to get cleaned up for the fresh underwear. Yes, it burns a little, but it works for me. TMI maybe, but it is what it is.

Alright, finally on my way to Blood Mountain. Stopped for water at Woods Hole Junction to refill on water and met some more trail magic with Duane and a New Belgium Hop Avenger IPA, which fueled my climb to the top. Thank you, Duane!

The climb to the top of Blood Mountain is a lot easier than the elevation map shows, so I hit the top around 5 p.m. This is a popular area for day hikers, but at dusk everyone was headed to their cars.

Day five:  another 10 plus in the books.

I could not get my weather app to work and I have heard that the shelter so I pitched my tent inside after sweeping the floor. This is probably not proper etiquette, but I was the only one there and it was going to be a cold one.

Day 5- Blood Mountain Shelter

Dinner was a potato soup by Backpacker’s Pantry, which was by far the best dehydrated meal and was pretty good in its own right.

 

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Comments 8

  • julie : Feb 26th

    I look forward to reading your posts everyday. No pressure! But it is nice to actually follow, via Trek, someone on the trail each day. Safe travels!

    Reply
    • James Aguilar : Feb 29th

      Good morning Julie. I hope to provide as much information and as many words, but with less posts. I need to hit a lot of standards to get my blog posted and as a rookie to blogging, it takes a lot of time. The. more efficient I get at it, the more I’ll post. I’ll be uploading today, so I hope you like my condensed version. Thank you for following and keep the comments coming.

      Reply
  • Michael B : Feb 27th

    What an exciting adventure. You didn’t mention if that house on blood mountain was haunted. This is a very impressive experience. I hope you’re having a good time. I hope to catch up with at some point!

    Reply
    • James Aguilar : Feb 29th

      Good morning. I didn’t know it was haunted. Somebody ripped my tent, so I’ll blame the ghost. The ghost let me sleep well and protected my stuff from the mice, so I think it’s a good ghost. Thank you for following, update coming today.

      Reply
  • Maya : Feb 27th

    Was cracking up while reading the first few paragraphs of this one! I appreciate a good over-share!

    Reply
    • James Aguilar : Feb 29th

      Good morning Maya. Waking up in a warm hotel in Hiawassee, GA after 13+ miles and tallest peak at 4,000 feet. I’ll be updating today with my first cat hole. Thank you for following along with me.

      Reply
  • Lux : Mar 3rd

    Only thru-hikers know how to appreciate a good ole trash can. I remember the excitement shared by everyone the day we reached Woody’sGap. People were all elated by the bathroom and the trash cans. Have fun on your journey! Happy hiking

    Reply
    • James Aguilar : Mar 3rd

      Good evening. I hit maybe Big Rock Gap after 10.1 this morning and hit a bear proof trash site and couldn’t be more excited. It was raining and I was soaked, so I took a trip into Franklin, and I’m out in the morning. Awesome to hear you picking up what I’m putting down.

      Reply

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