Actually, we’re hearing more from the calves than the dogs this morning. Not to say the dogs (both left and right on each of us) aren’t howling they are still sore from yesterday, and urge a vote for less miles of walking. To which a majority of the joints chime in with a hearty “I’ll second that!” All of the other body parts have plenty of time to discuss as our “break camp” skills are still far from perfected, you might even say inefficient (if you wanted to be generous). However, in the end we quieten them with Vitamin I, and we are on our way…

Today we wanted our highest mileage yet, but the slow packing put us in a hole from which we never recovered. A truth of the trail is there are some miles that are just not like the others: today it was three major climbs, each with 1,000+ feet of elevation gain: Blue Mountain, Rocky Mountain, and Tray Mountain. Nice views and clear weather on all, but taken as a package – Wow!

The highlight of the day was two “Trail Magic” experiences: one at Unicoi Gap and one on the southern slope of Tray Mountain. Trail Magic is when someone (often an anonymous individual, or sometimes a more formal “trail angel”) does something unexpectedly good/nice for thru-hikers. Nine times out of ten, trail magic involves food & drink.

Here’s how it went down… It’s just a bit after noon and we’re picking our way down an incredibly rocky, steep section of the trail into Unicoi Gap. We come to the road crossing (which in itself is an adventure, as we have not seen a car in hours!, and the cars and trucks zoom by very fast through the gap). With a short line of sight, hikers must hurry across the road (try hurrying with a full pack – ugh!)

There in the parking lot is Solo, a GA>ME 2011 thru hiker, with an assortment of drinks, snacks, lawn chairs and a willingness to relieve us of our trash. We fueled up on soft drinks and some tasty salty homemade Chex Mix. Needless to say, after all that, the climb out of Unicoi Gap seemed effortless! Oh! And the other good part of trail magic? It draws thru-hikers like bees to nectar! Lots of conversation! Thank you, Solo. #payitforward

By late afternoon when we are tired, hot, and fighting off the urge to call it a day, even though we haven’t gotten in enough miles yet, we were crossing a level area with a view of the day’s final, but very steep, climb up Tray Mountain. We spot some activity on the west side of the trail in a forest service road parking area. It turned out to be a grill manned by the three members of the B Team, a group out for the weekend supporting a number of their hiking friends (we would assume that would be the “A Team”). But they were more than willing to share their bounty with anyone else passing through. Hamburgers with all the trimmings, pancakes, fresh fruit, water, coffee, Gatorade, and soft drinks. Holy cow! Most of you know X is not a soft drink kind of gal but in less than three hours she finds herself chugging down her second Coke of the day! And, again, it comes at a time when we needed help from somewhere other than within: that’s Trail Magic! Thank you, B Team.

After cresting Tray, it’s time to think about a campsite. We rule out Tray shelter (mice, probably crowded, and 2/10 mile off the trail), pass up several less than great spots, and luck out by finding one with a good water source and the already arrived leader of the 300 for company. His trail name Leonidas is a literary homage to the king of Sparta killed at Thermopylae fighting Xerxes and the Persians. Seems like a nice kid. We hope he does not meet a similar fate on this epic quest…

-N