April 15th, Georgia

April 15th

Here are some happy (and not so happy) things from the AT today:

• First, it is tax day.  I'm thankful that I got my taxes done before I left.  
• Yesterday we planned to get an early start today.  We woke up early, but it took a while to get moving.  We left camp around 8:30 AM.  That is good for us.  Neither of us are sleeping well on the trail.
• We planned to take a break before the next big ascent.  It was fantastic to see trail magic waiting for us when we got there.  A person called King Tut seemed to be in charge.  We were able to take a break away from the wind, have a hot sandwich, and some other snacks.  It was wonderful.  They do trail magic there every Tuesday and Thursday during the hiker season.  One of the things they offered that we didn't end up taking were crocheted (or knitted, I didn't look that close) hats.  Each hat had a white blaze on it.
• It was all uphill for a while after that.  Bel has an app that shows how much elevation we will gain or lose over whatever mileage we trek.  It is pretty handy.  I go very slow uphill.  That is why my Fitbit mileage is so different from what we hike.  FitBit doesn't know I'm taking baby steps.  Over 30,000 steps today and 9.5 miles on trail.  There was a fair amount of rolling trail which helped us move along between breaks.
• There is an app called what3words.  It is a location app that uses three words to locate anything in the world.  At least that is what it claims.  I've only used it in the United States of America. I've been using it to remember, more or less, where we hang our bear bag.  Last night I wrote a poem using the three words from close to where we hung the bag the night of April 11th.

///lumpy.gazed.declares

Along the hill

LUMPY with stones

Leaves, trees, not still

Wind, a tree moans

GAZED there I did

A branch to snare

Twas there I hid

Food from a bear

The bag I say

DECLARES to this tree

Please do not sway

Do not break free

Next morn twas there

My bag, no bear.

Today's pictures:

Pre sunrise

Every day things seem a little greener.

I hope the panoramic pictures are viewable. 

Trail Magic!

Boulders.

The rocky areas on that mountain are where some of the previous photos were taken.

Just a few more miles to go!  🤣

Hog Pen Gap.

Pretty rocks.

Lens identified this as an American Giant Millipede.

A little waterfall oasis that was traveling across the trail.

Getting close to sunset.
We turn-in early these days.

☮

Thank you for being here and being part of my daily happy things. Stay safe!