Muskrat Creek Shelter 2112.2 to Dick’s Creek Gap 2123.9 (11.7 miles, 2123.9 total miles)
Surprisingly, sleeping head-in the shelter and it being a few degrees warmer of a night made a big difference in my sleep quality, and I woke up when my alarm went off at 5:45AM, ready to start the day. It really was nice to be hiking with early risers again, I reflected, as Shade Tree was about to leave when I awoke and a light was on in Painkles and Milky Moo’s tent.
The Nalgene was working beautifully to keep me warm at night, but the sleeping bag liner I was using was driving me a little crazy. It had been so kind of Miss J to give to me to use, but it was more like a blanket than a liner, so it was hard to keep it from twisting around me and kept leaving cold spots.
I thought I might have to bite the bullet and finally buy one at the outfitter. Just like the water filter I needed to buy, it was going to sting to spend money like that at the end of my hike for what amounted to a handful of days of sleeping on trail, but I knew I could use those items in the future.
I had a quick breakfast of bars and drank cold coffee with a breakfast essential. Once more wearing all my layers, I hiked out just a little before Happy, Lentil, and Looseleaf, the others departing a bit before me. We were taking two shuttles, and ours was arriving at 1PM, so we had six hours to hike 12 miles, a very safe number.
The sky was hues of cotton candy pinks and blues as I began a very small climb up to a gorgeous view, stopping for a moment to admire the relatively flat lands below. I had insole warmers in my shoes, and though they didn’t seem to have gotten that warm, my feet didn’t hurt as bad as yesterday, so that was a win.
I had to remove the warmers at Sassafras Gap, however, because they were starting to feel like I was stepping on marbles. I began a steep, mile long climb, huffing and puffing as I got to the top, stopping to let Happy pass when she caught me. She told me to keep going because we were about to go downhill, and that was usually where I picked up speed.
I zoomed on ahead, here and there seeing icy patches of trail, descending for about a mile when I saw the sign for the North Carolina/Georgia border. I pulled up short, completely forgetting we were about to hit this today. I stopped to have a seat and wait for Happy, Lentil, and Looseleaf, so we could celebrate this momentous occasion together.
It was a big deal, hitting our very last state on the trail, and it being Lentil and Looseleaf’s home state. Happy got there first, and we both ate frozen Snickers bars to mark this special event. We were getting close to calling it, starting to shiver again, when the other two came down the mountain, surprised and excited to see the sign as well.
While we were photographing the moment, Looseleaf got a text from the shuttle driver saying that one of the vehicles had broke down, and they would need to take one more person in the early shuttle, at noon. Happy zoomed off ahead, the fastest of the four of us, to take that place as I went with the other two.
I listened to Harry Potter as I went, knowing it was a short day, and deeply invested in the climax of the book fast approaching. The fifth was my favorite one, and I’d turned to these books for solace after Frankie died, specifically the fifth one that deals with grief the most. Now that his memorial hike was coming to a close, it seemed fitting I would be listening to this one so close to the finish. I’d hoped to listen to them all on trail, but there just hadn’t been enough time with not wanting to listen to audio constantly and also mixing in other books, podcasts, and music.
We left the sign around 8:30, and for the next 3 miles had a pleasant overall downhill, with a few little climbs interspersed. The leaves on the ground increased evermore as we descended to lower elevation, and when we had a couple longer climbs to traverse, I began sweating fiercely in the bright sun.
I changed to my hiking shirt with leggings, but soon was freezing again. I warmed up on the second climb, but had to put my fleece back on for the climb down. It felt like I was either frigid cold with numb fingers or sweating and uncomfortable in my warm fleece, and there didn’t seem to be any in between.
I lost Lentil and Looseleaf on the second climb when I needed to stop for a few minutes. I was also extremely hungry, not having had much to eat or drink all day. I know I should have had more to eat, but I never enjoyed eating while hiking, and on town days I always wanted town food much more than anything in my fanny pack.
I caught the other two at the top of the third climb having a snack, and Looseleaf hiked on to catch the shuttle driver, while I followed behind Lentil. We got to the road at 12:17, and only waited about 20 minutes before a friendly man in an older Wrangler picked us up for the drive to Clayton.
It was a cute town, and the driver walked us over to Outdoor 76, the outfitter in town, where the rest of the tramily was waiting. It had been a free shuttle provided by the town or the outfitter, I wasn’t sure which, as Lentil had planned everything out, and I was really appreciating that about her lately.
In addition to a new water filter, I found a nice Columbia knit hat for $20, bought a thermal bag liner for 25% off, and also purchased three dehydrated meals for my last dinners on trail, because why not spoil myself the last few evenings, especially when it was so cold.
We then walked over to Universal Joint, a cool little restaurant that had enough vegetarian and vegan options for the others. I got myself a burger, having a great time with the others, though feeling a little anxious in general when I was done eating. Sometimes I just felt that way after eating a big meal, and with the end so near there was a nervousness below the surface lingering for me.
We tried to figure out what to call Looseleaf’s dad, and Milky Moo came up with Bruce Leaf, because his first name is indeed Bruce. When Bruce arrived he was very kind and friendly, laughing in a good natured way at the new name he’d been given.
Bruce had rented a Ford Expedition for the occasion, which just barely fit all of us and our packs inside. He took us to Ingles to resupply, where I definitely bought too much food, but also tried to treat myself to more than a few items, it being the final resupply of the trip, hard as it was to believe.
With dozens of bags of groceries, we were crammed tight in the SUV as we drove 25 minutes back to Bruce Leaf’s house, which looked to be something straight out of an architectural digest. Enormous glass windows, eclectic furniture and decor, and a similar looking guesthouse down the hill, it was every bit the “nicer than you think” that Looseleaf had told me the day before.
It was a stunning home, with the cutest cat and Lentil and Looseleaf taking the lead on cooking an amazing rice and beans dinner with the help of the others. I had some writing to catch up on, so Looseleaf showed me to an comfortable office on the top floor of the house where Lentil had written her thesis.
After a shower and dinner, I worked on organizing my bag for the slackpack tomorrow. It was 16.7 miles during continuous rain through the whole day and a high of 43 degrees. In other words, it would suck. We all made PB&Js to take with us, and I packed some good snacks in my fanny pack as well.
The good news was that, although it would continue to be freezing cold, it would be sunny every day till Springer after that. I told myself it was only one day, and we’d get to sleep inside again the following night, and not have to carry all our gear in the rain, either.
Every time I did something that felt awful, I knew I was a little bit stronger for next time. I’d learned on the trail, and yesterday in particular, that pushing myself through what felt impossible lead to feelings of great strength and gratitude on the other side. Not quitting right before things got better was like a muscle; a little easier each time.