Neel's Gap: Blood Mountain

Pace and Porter have been cruising right along. They are averaging about 15 miles a day without any problems. Because of that, they arrived at Neel's Gap a day early. From Springer Mountain they went to Gooch Mountain Shelter, from there they arrived at Neel's Gap.

They were full of stories. They met a man that had hiked 1 hour. He had a big bowie knife strapped to his chest. He asked they guys if they were thru-hiking the A.T., when they answered "yes", he said, "You can have it! I'm done!" There was one person who gave up early in the process.

At one of the shelters there was a young man that tossed and turned all night long, groaning and making strange noises. The next morning Porter and Pace talked to the guy. He didn't seem to be doing very well. The good thing about Porter and Pace is that they are both New York State Licensed Guides with wilderness first aid training. Porter starting to question the man and it was determined that he had hypothermia and is a diabetic. They wrapped him in one of their jackets to warm him and gave him some candy to get his blood levels back to normal. He was doing well when they left but the young man decided to stay the day in the shelter to give himself a rest.

Pace also helped a woman whose feet were pretty blistered. He wrapped her feet in a special tape he has for just the purpose. So as you can see, both Porter and Pace were good CITIZENS on the trail, helping those in need.

Now you might think that everyone is having a hard time on the trail. Not so! They have met others that are cruising right along, having fun and meeting the challenges of the trail.

Porter called me to say that they had arrived at Neel's Gap a day early and asked if I would be able to meet them on 3/30 instead of 3/31. I was staying with my family outside of Atlanta, GA so I hopped in my car and drove to Neel's Gap. It was the most winding road I have every been on. It was as if they let a snake decide where they should pave the road! It was very foggy as I got close to the summit and my destination, Blood Mountain Cabins. For $60 a night for the cabin they found a great spot to stay. Each cabin is assigned an animal name, theirs was the Beaver Cabin.

There is even a resident stuffed beaver as the cabin's mascot.

Porter celebrated his birthday a day early. Pace had sent down a 30 pound box of presents and beverages for Porter's special day. He even gave Dreamer a special "thank you" gift for writing the blog and driving them down. Porter got some special gifts, including Silly String, cheese in a can, cigars, Peeps, and lots of cards from his family and even from their cat and dogs. One funny gift was from his sister Liz (Burps) although she might be missing a tooth. Anyone need a slightly used retainer? A good gag gift is always appreciated and Porter's family excels at giving them.

Porter gives a big THANK YOU to his family for his birthday wishes. He had lots of fun opening his gifts and cards. He is wondering where the ears went on his chocolate bunny...strange. ;-)

You might wonder if Porter carried all that weight, the answer is: NO! Pace and Porter drank their special beverages and ate a bunch of the snacks that were sent. You'll be able to tell what happened to the Silly String.

 Lots of gifts for Porter.

Porter thought it would be fun to Silly String Dreamer while she opened her gift. It is a Pez dispenser with a little duck on top.

After all the fun of opening the gifts we went in search of dinner. We went down the winding road of the mountain in search of a restaurant that turned out to be closed. The one very cool thing we saw was a mother boar (wild pig) and her six piglets that were on the side of the road. We couldn't get a picture before they ran into the woods, but what a sight it was to see wild pigs. We ended up eating frozen pizza that we bought at the camp store. It was actually very good.

Planning their next day using a map. The image below is taken from the book they use. It shows where shelters and other places are including where to find water. It also illustrates the elevation and gives mileage to their next destination.

Dreamer left Porter and Pace once again to start their travels. They started out in a misty and foggy day but in wonderful spirits.They are very excited about their journey, and although they miss friends and family back home, they know that you are all cheering them on. 

Off they go from Neel's Gap and onto their next adventure!

Till later,

Ground Control (a/k/a Dreamer)