Day 6: Civilization

Today we hiked 11 miles and are staying at a Budget Inn in Hiawasee, GA!

We got another early start today.   No thunderstorms last night, we have been really lucky with the nasty weather passing around us so far.  It was foggy in the morning but after an hour or so the sun finally came out.  It still always amazes me how fast it can disperse.  In no more than 30 seconds we went from dense fog to bright sunshine.

Fog suddenly lifting

Fog suddenly lifting

Wombat (renamed to Long Gone)

The hike was mostly down hill today with the exception of a steep one mile climb out of Addis Gap.  We cooked through the distance and were at Dick's Creek Gap by noon.  We had made a couple reservations at the Budget Inn in Hiawasee and were waiting for the shuttle to come pick us up when a nice gentleman in a pickup offered everyone a ride into town.  Dip'n'sip and I took him up on it along with another hiker, Tony, so that we could get things figured out at the motel while everyone else waited for the shuttle.

E.T. (English Tony)

Riding into Hiawasee

Since Hiawasee is accessible from two points on the trail we got to see a bunch of people that we had left behind a few days ago which was awesome, a little mini reunion.  Tomorrow is Dip'n'sip's birthday, so we had some celebratory beers (no bars cause Hiawasee is in a  mostly dry county and you can only get bottles of beer at the gas stations and supermarkets).  We found an all-you-can-eat for dinner and with right very hungry hikers we demolished the place.  Showers, laundry and resupply were our main focus this afternoon.

On our way to dinner

Definitely one of Srocket's best photos

Back row: Field Stripper, Wombat, (I forget the middle two), me
First row: Dip'n'sip, Srocket, Why Not

Almost all our little hiker family hiked together for most of this morning , which was great because tomorrow we are all going seperate ways.  Wombat (renamed to Long Gone) is going to shoot for the border tomorrow.  Srocket and I are doing a Nero (near zero day) to the first shelter.  Dip'n'sip, Field Stripper and Why Not are taking another zero day in Hiawasee.  Unfortunately we didn't catch up with GQ in Hiawasee so we aren't sure what his plans are. 

It is amazing how quickly we have all bonded in the last few days.  It is probably in a large part due to some shared personality trait that drove us all to hike the trail in the first place.  Everyone also is going through all of the same trials and tribulations.  Regardless it is sad to see our close knit family disperse but ultimately 'hike your own hike' as the saying goes and hopefully we will see them again at some point up the trail.