Yup, it was cold again last night. Kacy had the windy side of the tent this time and ended up using her rain coat as a wind breaker over her sleeping bag to stay cozy. We made it on the trail just before 10 am after breakfast and some blister treatment for Kacy’s feet. It’s just too cold to get out of bed earlier but at least we weren’t the last people out of camp today.
We struck out without doing much research about the day’s hike knowing we were headed for Gooch Gap Shelter and that it would probably be more of the same up and down as we’d done the past two days. Unfortunately, we were well past the last easy water source as Kacy finished the water in her pack and we realized the next reliable source wasn’t until we reached the shelter. We had one liter between the two of us for the next 6 miles, it wasn’t hot and we would make it but we’d be thirsty when we got there.
About a half mile after this realization we encountered a spring of water seeping down the rock face on the side of the trail. It wasn’t an easy water collection, I had to climb up a ways above the trail and my shoes got soaked. It was absolutely worth it though as we were eager to stock up for the rest of the day after thinking we would have to go without and not willing to count on running into another spring to stream.
As we continued down the trail we started hearing rumors from other hikers of a St. Patrick’s Day party if we pushed the extra (literal) mile down into Gooch Gap. In Cooper Gap, where we stopped for lunch, Ms. Janet was handing out trail magic beverages and confirmed the rumors. Gooch Gap would be hosting a fire, hot dogs, and beverages if we made it that far and that all sounded very appealing.
We did stop at Gooch Gap Shelter to make use of the privy and fill in the logbook to let Lux and Katy, who were somewhere behind us, know that we were pushing on. There was a ridge-runner there regaling the crowd with stories of the “fecal cone” in the privy building up nearly to the toilet seat. He was worried he’d have to deal with it himself but finally someone else came around to knock it down. I guess that’s just part of the experience being in the bubble of NOBO (North Bound) hikers.
The downhills were really starting to hurt the knees, the mile into Gooch Gap was down the whole way and thus pretty slow. By the time we rolled in there were tents, hammocks and campers everywhere. The fire was going strong, the hot dogs smelled good, and we were handed a beer each as we wandered by looking for a place to pitch the tent.
There was a good mix of folks trying the AT for the first time and those that have done it previously. It was awesome to meet them all and hear their experiences and reasons for hiking the trail, I do wonder how many of us will make it all the way this year. We made more new friends, passed around the whiskey we’d been carrying, enjoyed the food and drink and went to bed in high spirits. Thanks to Ms. Janet and everyone else who pulled that party together this year.
Day 3 Mileage: 9.5 mi [Hawk Mountain Campsite -> Gooch Gap]
Total Mileage: 25.4 mi