Day Four: Justus Creek to Henry Gap

There's nothing quite like a good night's sleep, unless perhaps it is having as much water as you need! We got off to our earliest start yet (with completely full water bottles of course). We were the first out of the campsite, and this meant we had quite a bit of time to ourselves at the start. We listened to the birds and admired the sun as we walked through the trees. 

Crossing Blackwell Creek

It was a lovely day for a walk - starting to get warmer, nice and sunny. The path meandered its way up to Ramrock Mountain. From the top, we could see for miles, probably because there were no leaves on the trees - one benefit of starting the hike in March.

Ramrock Mountain

There were three hawks soaring around the top of the mountain. They didn't seem to be hunting, just enjoying being able to float on the wind, rising and dipping with the air currents. Hawks are beautiful creatures. I had seen a documentary about how falcons and hawks can ride through the air with barely a beat of their wings. I watched them with envy. What would it be like to soar through the air like that?

My grandfather loved hawks. Every time I was in a car with him, he always saw at least one. He passed away a couple of years ago after a long life filled with adventures and music and traveling. I miss him. As I watched the hawks, I wondered if maybe they were a sign from Grandpa, that he was watching me on this hike with a smile...

Pressing on, Chuck and I marveled at the number of springs that were right near the trail. We wondered why no one marketed Georgia spring water. As we walked along, we stopped at the springs and filled our bottles, able to drink without filters because we were so frequently passing the actual spring sources. After our lack of water yesterday, I loved every sip of water I took.

One of the many springs along the trail

We passed through Woody Gap. This was our last opportunity to head into the town of Suches to resupply if needed. The AT Guide indicated that there were a few stores there, but conversation with other hikers led us to believe that Suches did not have much-es. So, we decided we could make our food last and keep going.

Woody Gap

We headed up Big Cedar Mountain. We started to see lots of other hikers. Some new, most people we'd encountered already. At the top of Big Cedar Mountain, there was a large rock edge with impressive views. People were relaxing on the warm stone, taking their shoes off, basking in the sun. 

We relaxed, ate a bit, and enjoyed the views. A number of the hikers were doing some foot repair - blisters.  I had noticed a little pain on one toe, so I figured I'd better check and took off my boots. Sure enough, I was starting a blister on one toe. Fortunately, I had prepared for this and quickly wrapped my little toe up.

The next couple of hours were spent coming down from Big Cedar Mountain towards Henry Gap. Just past Henry Gap is Jarrard Gap, where hard-shell, bear-resistant canisters are required in order to camp for the five miles past it. Everyone we had seen was planning to camp at Lance Creek (2 miles before bear country), and we were wondering if our early start would mean we'd get there before too many people arrived. Well, there must have been a race to Lance Creek because the campsite had 10 or 12 structured tent sites and they were already full. People were camping all over the surrounding area.

There was no real decision to make - on we went. As we walked, we met up with Alex, a young man from the north east. We had first seen Alex on day two, and he seemed like a nice guy. Alex had the same backpack as we did, so he must be smart. Alex and Chuck found a campsite at the top of Henry Gap. We each set up our tents and then hung out for a bit while we ate. Chuck and I finished our evening with a game of Scrabble.