A Very Grumpy Hummingbird

Day 19: Tent site at 320.2 to Gennet Poplar

It stormed again last night. And very, very sadly, everything was wet this morning.

Not surprised about: my clothes and socks from the day before, my shoes, the outside of my tent.

Surprisingly wet items: the inside of my tent and my quilt.

I don’t think I’ve woken up this grumpy on a trail… ever? I was cold and wet, and knowing that we had to cross a creek first thing made it extra hard to convince myself to get going. But eventually, nature called, so I put on my wet socks from the day before and ventured out, trying to find a little privacy somewhere between the maze of OHV trails and poison ivy.

(Sidenote: I’ve now learned that OHV stands for off-highway vehicle. How have I gone so long without knowing this?)

Mornings like this, I just want to get moving. And sure enough, once I started hiking, the sun peeked out from between the clouds to start burning off the fog, my core temperature rose, and eventually the creek crossings felt like a fun part of the adventure. It doesn’t take much to get me smiling again.

Leaving our campsite in the morning (behind Sparks)

Another crossing a couple miles later!

During a brief road walk, we met two southbound hikers that hiked the AT last year: M’Lady, who greeted us with a curtsy, and Captain von Trapp. They warned us that we’d have another night of wet feet, but none of us felt very phased by the rain and water crossings at that point.

The four of us came upon a new subdivision in the mountains, massive homes-in-progress looming around us. Kind of eerie in the fog. During a short snack break next to one of the construction sites, a southbound hiker named Betty White walked by. He told us about a mountain biking resort not too far ahead called Mulberry Gap — apparently there’s a hot tub and a camp store. Noted.

Snack break with pals

The trail was cruisey today for the most part aside from a couple very short, steep hills. At a road crossing, I set out my tent in the hopes it would dry while I ate lunch. It only dried a little bit, but Outlaw walked all the way to the store at Mulberry Gap and brought me back a chocolate milk, so I kind of forgot about the whole wet-and-heavy tent thing. Outlaw, you were really my hero today.

Outlaw and Llama walking through the mist

As soon as I reached our tent site surrounding the giant Gennet Poplar tree, I hung up my quilt and tent in an attempt to continue drying them before dark. We were anticipating a frost tonight, and I knew I’d be freezing if my gear was still wet. Eventually, I wrapped the quilt around myself hoping my body heat would finish drying it out. It seemed to help.

Outlaw and Llama made a fire tonight, so I also carefully set out my socks and insoles. I laughed at my pruney toes.

Finally, a free foot picture for you. Please enjoy my yard sale.

A couple fat sprinkles started plopping down around us, and that was our cue. We hustled back to our tents.

Tomorrow, we’ll reach the northern terminus of the Pinhoti. I think I feel a bit sad, like I wish I could go on. It feels too soon to fly back to Michigan. So we’ll savor these last 9-something Georgia miles of the Pinhoti.

And then devour some Taco Bell.