Days 7 and 8

Howdy howdy. Warm, dry, and full here, all a hiker can really ask for
( and no blisters!). Had a great day yesterday. Got on the trail at 8
after a mammoth breakfast. I drank tons of water and ate every two
hours and felt fresh the whole day. I started in Unicoi Gap and
immediately had a 1000 ft climb over the next mile to the summit of
Rocky Mountain. This was another rather pointless "up and down", as
there was no reward of a good view at the top. Immediately after
descending the mountain I had another one to climb, Tray Mountain, the
third highest peak in Georgia. About halfway up I was confronted by
two middle age men walking toward me without packs asking if I wanted
a cheeseburger. Um, I said, I've got a lot of miles to do today, no
thanks. They insisted it would only take a minute, and I reluctently
yielded, thinking to myself that this was very weird. One of them, the
big one, fell in behind me, and I started running scenes from
Deliverence in mind and trying to figure out how quickly I could get
my knife out. Anyways, my worries were for nought, as I followed the
leader to the top of a crest to find a truck on a forest service road
with a grill next to it. Sure enough this was an awesome act of Trail
Magic, or the random acts of kindness people bestow on hikers. The
guys were locals named James and Bill. After a wonderful cheeseburger
and a Mountain Dew, I said a quick farewell, bur not before they
stuffed a baggie of cand in my pack (only later did I find a miniature
New Testament with the candy). Now fired up by cheeseburger, I powered
up Tray Mtn to be rewarded with a great view. Then up and down for the
rest of the day. I caught up with Tenderfoot around 1, and after a
challenging summit of Kelly's Knob, arrived at Deep Gap Shelter at 3.
The beat shelter yet, by far. Slept ok. Got up early today, did an
easy 3.5 miles to Dick's Creek Gap, and got a ride into town to get
more food and fuel. The hostel had bikes, so rode around town to get
some Dairy Queen and a sixpack( if you are going to bike with beer,
cans are a better choice than bottles, something that should have been
obvious). Just bought food and went to an all-u-can-eat buffet with
Tenderfoot and his wonderful wife Shasta and daughter Page. Tenderfoot
has to go back to work on Monday, but hopefully he will come out to
hike for a weekend when I get near his home in Tennessee. It has been
a lot of fun hiking with him. Tomorrow I will be crossing the Georgia
- North Carolina border... Yes!!!! I might not have reception for a
couple days till I get to Frankin, NC, but I will try to keep you all
informed. Hope all is well with everyone

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