Day 6 – NERO Hero

Clear day today as I’m taking a NERO (near zero mile day) to Hiawassee.

This morning I made sure to move forward and broke camp quickly to ensure I made it the 3.6 miles to Dick’s Creek Gap in time for the 10am shuttle into town; otherwise, he would have to wait until the noon transportation. Since this is my first NERO of the trail, I want to maximize my time in town as much as possible to get the most out of Hiawassee.

It wasn’t too difficult a hike, with some cruising parts and mostly a really long descent into the nearly 1500′ gap over a couple of miles. Upon reaching the road, I was greeted to some cheers and screams as a cooler full of beer sat like magic on the trail. Check out GAYi1s. So I had to take a couple of PBR in the morning, since it would be impolite not too…

Hiawasee

Shortly after, I took the shuttle to Hiawassee, a trail town beloved of AT hikers and really the first major resupply option on the trail. My mission in the city was pretty simple: food for now, food for later, and visit the city. I was able to successfully and easily resupply at the grocery store (Ingles), visit the supplier (Trailful Outdoor), and get some food at a local restaurant (Bronco’s). I bought way too much food, as I probably have enough food for 5 days, but I actually only needed 3 days at most to get to Franklin, North Carolina, my next stop in the city. Something I need to improve and improve on…

The shuttle is actually a free community shuttle, which is really cool how the town caters and welcomes hikers. Later, I stayed at the Green Dragon Hostel, where I was able to shower and wash my clothes, since they stunk!

Hiker Tasks

There is not much more to add for today. I did my hiking duties, had dinner, and went to bed.

You may be wondering, what tasks are hikers required to do? Well, for me it is like this:

• wash clothes
• wash
• Clean/wash the water bottles and Cnoc bag.
• Backwash water filter (cleans sediments accumulated in the filter during the filtering process).
• Wash the pot and spoon.
• Classify and organize the food bag.
• Sort and reorganize the package.
• Empty all trash from the bag.
• Charge all electronic devices (power bank, headlamp, watch, headphones, phone).
• Dry the tent (not necessary at this time).

That’s all for today, we’ll be back tomorrow!

Statistics for day 6:

3.6 miles

554′ ascent, 1473′ descent

Deep Gap Shelter to Dick’s Creek Gap

6 DSLC (Days since last cathole)…

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