Day 5 of our thru-hike and Wheels and I are in Helen, GA at a Best Western. We'd planned to stay at Low Gap Shelter but caught wind of a bad storm moving through the area. At low elevation, with 50mph winds and flash flood warnings,we were at risk of sleeping in our tent under standing water and ruining our gear.
Luckily, when we stopped for breakfast after a 6.5 mile hike from Neels Gap, a friendly stranger offered to drive us out to Helen from Hogpen Gap. It was a fantastic moment of trail magic.
So we've spent the afternoon roaming around this cute Germantown filled with beer gardens and schnitzel, waiting for the storm to pass.
After the first few days, we are finally starting to "get our legs" but it has been anything but easy. By Neels gap nearly 15% of aspiring thru-hikers drop out, so we are still very much in the game. Tomorrow we've got a taxi coming to take us back to Hogpen where we'll hike 11.9 miles in the rain to Blue Mountain shelter.
We took a few short videos throughout the last few days, check them out below!
-Catnip and Wheels
Mission time: 04:09:49:41
Catnip and Wheels summit Springer Mountain:
http://youtu.be/ojzsBLPH9ys
Catnip and Wheels - Day 2, AT'14:
http://youtu.be/sTIsWJTK5dI
Catnip and Wheels summit Blood Mountain:
http://youtu.be/IKjE8nV5fY8
Smart decision seeking refuge from the storm. Glad to know you are building strength - "getting your legs" and adapting your plans as you go.
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