Day Eight: Just before the Cheese Factory Site to Hiawassee

Chuck was up early and that meant that I was up early. Those who know me will have a sense of my mood. It was not helped by the fact that today was likely to be my last day on the trail. I found myself wishing I could just continue with Chuck, just keep walking, stay out here. My practical side tried to dismiss the idea, but it proved harder to banish than I would have thought. So, as we set out, I tried to figure out whether I actually could.

I have spent most of my life trying to obtain and achieve the things in life that society expects me to want - house, family, job... I can honestly say that before I started these walks, the idea of living a life without the stability of a job and a place to live never entered my mind (even as a crazy idea). Never once. However, some of the things I've enjoyed the most in my life have been things that "never occurred" to me before I did them - living overseas, for instance. So, could this be another of those things? The answer was not apparent, and I ruminated all day.

Our morning started with a climb up Tray Mountain. We passed all the other hikers (at least 20) who had been caught in the rain at the Cheese Factory the night before.  Don't misunderstand, I was not suddenly able to walk twice as fast as the day before. We were just starting earlier than most. Everyone we passed was just getting up and ready.

The sun came out quickly, and it was clearly going to be a beautiful day! After 3 miles, we stopped for a break at Steeltrap Gap. We basked in the sun, ate a bit, and just enjoyed the day.

I know...a bunch of dead leaves. I liked the sunlight on them.

Our break was all too short. Soon we were climbing up the silly-sounding Young Lick Knob. In England, the name would sound perverted. But, I assume that the "lick" part had to do with a mineral deposit and the "knob" meant "a prominent, rounded bump along a mountain ridge" (thank you Wiktionary!). Still it was a ridiculous name. Fortunately, the climb was short and I was soon on to contemplating other things.

And yes. It's actually a picture of me

My last big climb of the hike was up Kelly Knob, an almost 900-foot climb over a one mile stretch - 17% grade! I was happy that despite the steepness, it didn't seem as difficult as the climbs at the beginning of this journey. I was improving!

We descended from Kelly Knob down to Deep Gap Shelter where we debated stopping for one last night outside. At the shelter we took the time to pull all of our gear out of our packs to allow it to dry. There were a few people already at the shelter, but it was already starting to seem a bit crowded. We decided that we would just take an extended break and continue on the 3 1/2 miles to Dicks Creek Gap, where we could get to Hiawassee.

It proved to be a good decision. A troop of Boy Scouts descended on the shelter shortly after we made our decision. They quickly took over more than a third of the area. We watched them putting up tents or hammocks, arguing or playing with each other. I smiled a little sadly to myself when it became obvious which boy was the son of the troop leader. He wasn't really liked by the other boys and didn't want to sleep outside. I hoped he would learn to make friends with others someday.  Life is lonely without friends.

We headed off towards Dicks Creek Gap. The walk down took us back into green, leafy, jungle-looking areas, with pretty little streams.

Soon we reached our destination. We were in luck. A trail angel named Oscar, who had just gotten off the trail from a section hike, was waiting with fruit and candy for hikers. He offered us a ride into Hiawassee and we gladly accepted. As we piled into his truck, I wished the AT a fond farewell. It was a hard, but enjoyable walk.