Now playing: “Solo” by Trampled by Turtles
My «whys» related to this post:
- Not simply survive, but live.
- Take as many photos as you can to remember the moments, but also create canvases with the best of each state.
- To chase the feeling that I’m home every time I see a white glow; know that I’m supposed to be here
- See the world and meet other good people along the way.
- Embrace the blowjob and fall in love with even the worst of the AT
- To remember that the AT will always love me
Day 3: Sunday, April 5
- State: Georgia
- Begin: Above the Clouds Hostel (via Gooch Gap)
- End: Lance Creek Restoration Area
- Address: NoBo
- AT Miles Today: 6.9
- Total LASH Miles: 23.9
- Total AT Miles: 570.5
- Forecast: Rainy/Partly Cloudy, High 61/Low 50
Short and sweet
Congratulations, readers! I’ve decided to keep this post short (at least by my standards). I’m still not sure how I’ll continue recapping. Will I do one day at a time in more detail? Or will I group several days together and leave out some of the finer details? We’ll find out together, because I don’t know either. Being honest as always, but thanks for staying.
Goodbye, above the clouds
Lucky (left), the owner of Above the Clouds Hostel in Suches, Georgia, with me (right) before leaving
Whenever I write about waking up, I’m tempted to start with Kesha’s lyrics: «Wake up in the morning feeling like P. Diddy.» But since P. Diddy is a supposedly horrible person, I’ll hold back. Instead, I’ll jump right into the story. (Ha, yeah, okay, Storm. Too late for that.)
Lucky, the owner of Above the Clouds, made us all breakfast: scrambled eggs and toast. Yes, man! Good start to tomorrow. I introduced myself to him once he had a free moment and thanked him for creating such a wonderful environment for long-distance hikers. Then I mentioned my annoying situation.
In the end I decided to stay at the hostel to escape the rain. Otherwise, I couldn’t justify staying in one so early in LASH. The plan I had worked out in my head the day before was to get to the lodge before the second round of rain on day 2 and wait out the rest of the rain on day 3, which was expected to end around noon. But the trips back to Gooch Gap were much earlier. I would be back in the rain after finally drying all my gear. I’m not afraid of rain and can certainly take the suck it brings, but I thought I had a chance to avoid it so early in the hike.
Lucky, however, was empathetic and got me a shuttle for 1:00 pm. I was one of the last to leave that day, as most left early to pack (leaving heavy things and picking them up later) or shopping in the city. April, the one who taught me how to play chess, went to town, but we made plans to meet again on the road. While waiting for 1pm to arrive, I had another Red Baron four cheese pizza with fellow pizza enthusiast Brandon. Hint: character foreshadowing.
hello loneliness
gooch gap
But once they dropped me off at Gooch Gap, I was alone again.
Although I’m used to being alone on excursions. That was most of my section hikes. In fact, walking alone allows me to freely take photos without feeling like I’m holding back my walking companions. I can also listen to my music to help me achieve whatever state of mind I’m looking for at that moment. Plus, I’m never really alone as long as I have white flames in my sight. They are my constant reminder that I am home.
While hiking alone toward Woody Gap, I passed Ramrock Mountain. Perhaps I was simply in a lonely state of mind, but the views seemed magnified in beauty and meaning. I felt the smile on my face and stopped to record a video for my memory. To my right there were mountains for days. I’m not used to seeing that in South Jersey. Not even that much on the parts of the Mid-Atlantic Trail I’ve completed. And the lack of leaves on the trees in the Georgia spring made the mountains much clearer to absorb. It’s times like this when I remember that I’m not just surviving. I’m living to the fullest.
“That’s a shame,” I thought with a smile. «The rain stopped and it turned into a beautiful day. But I never got to play disc golf with Bounce at Above the Clouds.» Yes, this was one of the thoughts that popped into my distracted ADHD mind as I took in the incredible scene around me in every direction. Above the Clouds played disc golf and Bounce had enthusiastically agreed to play with me, depending on the weather and workload. I mean, maybe she was just being a good host, but I was looking forward to it! Or maybe he was enjoying the feeling of inclusion.
Today was a lonely day, regardless of whether it’s what I wanted for the third day of my LASH. However, he was fine walking alone, as long as he didn’t end up alone at camp that night.
alone in the camp
Son of…
woody gap
After passing through a strangely empty Woody Gap, I finally ran into familiar faces near a supposed secret camp that Bounce had told me about (which I didn’t end up finding). Wi-Fi and others from the lodge were in the opposite direction past Preacher’s Rock and Big Cedar Ledges. None of them knew the whereabouts of April or the others who had come to town. But the original plan was to target the Lance Creek Restoration Area, one of two decent places to camp before entering bear-only territory near Blood Mountain.
Large cedar ledges at Preacher’s Rock
Well, it turned out that I was literally the only hiker out of 100+ in the area who decided to camp at Lance that night. Everyone else stayed in bear bin territory closer to Blood Mountain and Neel Gap, or hiked 2.4 miles further to Jarrard Gap, an area technically within bear bin territory, but part of an exception for April 2026. So those of us who didn’t have a bear bin for our food had limited sleeping options on this 5.5 mile stretch.
It was a cold night and darkness fell quickly as I ate my Knorr Cajun rice from my REI Flexlite Air chair. Only. But this would be the only night during my month of travel that I would be alone. I spent the rest with strangers, yes, but only temporarily. Many of the people ahead would play an important role in my overall journey, not simply this LASH.
Alone, but only for now.
Next
Fellow Trek blogger Homebound is a few inches closer to me, and Neel Gap, an important checkpoint, is within reach.
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