i have learned a thing or two about...

wild boars. I was in Low Gap two nights ago, and was awoken late in the night by weird crazy noises, in the loud-crashing-through-leaves genre...there was a group of older middle-aged guys I'd say, camping out in a site below me, all a bit overweight and carrying a lot of gear, with whom I presume to have been their sons, and they were all snoring, really loud. I thought "mmm...it must be deer - but they arent nocturnal right?...or a .. person? a crazed psycho coming up here to terrorize hikers?" Sleeping well at night still hasnt quite come to me the way I'd like it to (pass out as soon as I lay down)...Something about teh night makes it all feel bigger and unknown...different things move around at night and make different noises...I have the usual, ridiculous paranoia (imagining crazy psychos - "wasn't there some girl from UGA who was beheaded up here?" and "where was that shelter where the couple was murdered?" which only comes at night. This night in Low Gap, however, was different - there was definitely SOMETHING out there, and not very far from me...the other people in the Gap were all snoring...still snoring! They don't hear it! Something with hooves/feet, sticks breaking and leaves getting kicked up..I finally summoned the courage to turn on my headlamp, at which point the noises instantly stopped...so it's smart, I thought..it senses me...Still snoring coming from the campsite below me...The noises continued after turning out my light...but they seemed to be moving further away from me (good)...Mmmm...I'll just try to lay back down...suddenly! SNORTING! HOGS! WILD BOAR! But of course! Instant mind-at-ease feeling..so it wasn't some psycho crazy man..yep, just snorting, like any ol' pig..I finally went to sleep..

This morning I ran into a young guy hiking with his buddies from Connecticut - he goes by "Chong" because "my other buddy is Cheech so we got it worked out!" He said that boars are agressive as hell and should you see them, drop your pack and climb a tree because they will attempt to goar your ass. He said he would try to climb a tree with his hiking pole and attach his Gerber knife to it to harpoon them...Seemed a bit off to me, but I then considered myself lucky because yesterday morning I think I finally stumbled across the herd of wild bopars that kept me from sleeping the night before - all I saw were little black heads stampeding off to the other side of the ridge I was on - no climbing trees for me! Now I know if they've been around because the terrain looks like someone went through with a leafblower....

Already finding myself settling into a rhthym out here - maybe becoming part of a rhthym perhaps...I get up with the sun, take down my tarp tent, pretty much pack up, eat granola with dehydrated milk and dried fruit and oatmeal, eat an energy bar, drink my coffee and smoke my smoke, poop (part of the rhthym), and get moving...if you want something to dry out attach it to the right side of your pack, that way the rising sun and mid-afternoon heat dry it out as you move north..you really do feel the sun move over you...this morning it drizzled and was interrupted by sunbursts and occassional grey skies..the forest smelled awesome drying out...never decide how far you'll hike during the first 1-2 miles of the day - that's when you feel the most aches and pains, which are usually gone by noon...washed my socks and shirt in a spring this morning - I already feel myself getting nit-picky with my cleanliness and that of my cooking equipment..took awesome pics of these fern buds and met a few more "long haulers" - Postcard, middle-aged guy from Ohklahoma; Bear, who is as big as a bear, Chong (aforementioned), and 18 Mulberry Field. All from Connecticut, my age or younger maybe. Chong complained about his knee and ankle and had to wrap it up..18 Mulberry Fuield is a tall skinny guy who seems a bit jittery, wearing long cotton underwear under his khaki shorts and cotton socks (very dirty) with tennis shoes...nice guys, all different, but if I dare to critique, all overgeared! Or mal-geared rather...dunno...Bear said "I started with 56 lbs at Springer and now I'm down to 45!" I have a feeling Chong may not make it with his knee and ankle bothering him...

An introspective morning hike...everyone is definitely out here for their own reasons and to do whatever they want and go wherever they want to go at their own pace..I'm gonna slow mine down a bit once I hit North Carolina I think - I hit my first 20 mile day on day three! I'm about 15 to 18 from NC now...I hope to cross the state line tomorrow...

It's gotten more social for me out here too in the last day..already passing a few groups going NOBO (northbound) who may have left a week before I did...met a really nice older guy, out on a day hike with a big black lab, coming down Kelly's Knob. White moustache and a small backpack, maybe 65 yrs old. Chatted with him a bit on my way up the Knob. He asked if I wanted something cold to drink and gave me cold Coke! Turned out he thru-hiked in 2000...We talked about how cooler it will get once the leaves bud out on the trees, how nice the stretch is in New Hampshire, and "to take it one day at a time." ..another reason I wanna slow it down is to chat more with people...

Although sometimes I could feel this bizarre "competitve" sense getting into me...part of me is running high on adrenaline still I think (which explains a 20-mile day followed by a 17-mile day...)..."competitve" sounds bad perhaps..sometimes I don't wanna talk to people and I wanna get some miles under my feet...it's funny though; conversations with people last over the space of a few hours, because you never really say "well, enjoy the rest of your 2,175 mile hike!" because you're both bound to run into each other again...so you chat, head further up the trail, then maybe 10 miles, 20 miles later, maybe even a few weeks later, you pick up the same conversation again...rhthym....

I think I did a good job of packing - havent really been too disappointed in bringing something unecessary or something lacking....the weight must be 25 with no food! Speaking of food, I aim to get into Hiawassee this afternoon for food, enough to get me to Fontana I hope, where a care-box awaits me (my only one...)..I've been eating my oriental noodles with dehydrated milk and curry sauce, dehydrated veggies (too salty!) and "reconsituted" chicken, which doesnt taste like chicken....I'm already sick of peanuts and chocolate .... craving red meat right now....

Saw a fantastic owl on top of Blue Mountain and got some great pics of him, which ya'll will hopefully see if I manage to post them somehow...so yeah, tons of squirrels, birds, owls, loud noisy stampeding wild boars...

I look forward to each new day...the scenery changes and you feel the miles fade away under your feet...

Some great stretches in GA: Neels Gap to Tesnatee Gap (where you find Cowrock Mtn); Low Gap to Unicoi Gap - great ridge-walking and tons of owls that call at night!...

I'll try to update whenever I get into a town...my next "big town" will be Franklin NC, and I may pass it up to keep moving north to Fontana Dam....

I'm gonna give a big shout-out to my Scoutmaster, Ed Lindsey, and Assistant Scoutmaster Mr Woodworth, who took a group of young kids up on these stretches about 10 years ago.

In good health, got two nasty blisters but that's natural! Gonna hitch it into Hiawassee, and hopefully get back on the trail tonight....hope this finds everyone well and in good places to be...

See ya up there!