The one with the four mountains – Day 5

Today was a great day on the road. I picked up my pace today to see what I could do. Green Dragon Bill was picking me up at Dicks Creek Gap and I didn’t want him to have to pick me up late.

Route report

Donna from the Green Dragon dropped me off at Unicoi Gap at 8:20 am. The weather today was perfect! A little cool in the morning but warmed up quickly.

Today I hiked 4 mountains: Rocky Mtn, Tray Mtn, Kelly Knob, and Powell Mtn. You’d think, looking at the names, the easiest would be Kelly Knob. Good? It’s just a knob, not even a mountain. That knob kicked my BUTT! It’s a full mile climb with at least a 12% grade the entire time with NO BREAKS. That was the hardest climb for me so far!

I finished at Dicks Creek Gap shortly after 2:20 pm So, that’s 16.7 miles in 6 hours. I felt good with that rhythm. Tomorrow I’ll have to see if it hurts.

Thought of the day

I have plenty of time to think along the way. I decided to add a random thought of the day.

Today’s thought is about flowers. It’s interesting to me that you see a group of one species of flower, for example violets, and then can go several kilometers before seeing another group.

That first family of violets has no idea that 2 miles away there is another family of violets. Only someone walking the trail can see and interact with both groups.

In life, we tend to get into our comfort zone with our family or group. They could be close friends, our real family, co-workers, people from church or whatever. Just as the trail forces us to see different groups of flowers, it also forces us to interact with different people.

I need to live my normal life as well as my trail life. I need to get out of my comfort zone and force myself to see, interact with, and have compassion for more people.

people i met

I met several people at the Green Dragon. An Ohio duo, Sonic and Scatter, plan to complete the AT in Georgia. Those ladies are so much fun! Hopefully, I encouraged them as much as they encouraged me.

Plant of the day

I have decided to add this to every blog. This section will highlight a plant I saw along the way. I am using the Seek app to identify plants.

Today’s plant is Flame Azalea. It is a species of rhododendron native to North America. Interestingly, it is poisonous to humans.

bird of the day

In this section I will highlight a bird that I identified along the way by its song. I am using the Merlin app to identify them.

“Carolina Chickadee” by Andy Morffew is licensed under CC BY 2.0.

Today’s bird is the Carolina Chickadee. This bird is native to the southeastern US and uses its beak to open and eat seeds. Your song is really beautiful.

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