Day one continued

About the time I was finishing my evening noodles, these two men were asking Ely if they could camp nearby. Ely was sending them on. Well, they looked pretty bad, worn out, so I told them they could camp by me. We camped about 30 yards away from Ely. The son, Jamin, invited me to come have a camp fire with them. Being a sucker for wood on fire, I quickly accepted their offer. While they set up camp, I gathered fire wood. The father, Jerris, told me his wife dropped them off at Amicalola Falls as well, pre stairs. They discovered that they'd packed too much when they took the stairs. They said the stairs nearly killed them too. My brothers in ignorance! 30 year old Jamin explained to me that B6 is for carpal tunnel syndrome, Folic Acid is for restless leg syndrome (I thought hiking cured that), and vitamin B7 cures cancer. Okay.
 We enjoyed a nice fire- but sadly, no beer. I smoked my last cigarette, gonna need to roll some hipster day hikers for a pack. We told ghost stories until the Super moon came up and we just watched it rise into the sky. Wow, better then television. Unfortunately, Ely did not join us.

Day two: Jerris and Jamin got a head start before I got up. Jamin even went down and brought me water before they left. I burned the plastic cap off the bottom of my stove, and then I made coffee.
It had gotten cold last night. The guys had set up hammocks to sleep in, but they didn't get much sleep because it was too cold. Jamin said he could hear me snore, but I'm pretty sure he was lying.

Later that morning, it didn't take me long to catch up to them. According to Jerris, Jamin was being a 'Sally' and wanted to call his mom to come pick them up already. I have to credit my niece Amy with that 'Sally' line. She's been saying that for years. Specifically, Jamin was being a 'sissy crybaby Sally'. Mom wasn't coming. She just got rid of them!
Before I ended up leaving those boys in the dust, I showed them where we were and tried to bolster their spirits. They still haven't caught up to me.
I am inching slowly toward my goal. Hike 30 feet, stop and rest, 30 more feet, stop and rest. I get a sense of personal satisfaction every time I reach my goal.

*Note to hikers- Definitely fill up with water at the foot bridge. I haven't seen any water on the trail the far. Oh, and have your ride drop you off at the TOP of Amicalola Falls. Those stairs really ARE killers.

Later in the day, two 20 something Scotsmen passed me on the trail. Kilts, rope sandals and bright scarlet bags slung over their shoulders. They weren't wearing any shirts. They probably couldn't afford shirts. That was unfortunate. :)

I didn't think I'd make it to the trail head today, I was just looking for a place to camp. This man came by, said 'hi', then came back to tell me that a shelter and water were a little further ahead. So I drug my tent down there and there's a privy! It is called Black Gap shelter and guess what? The trailhead is 1.5 miles ahead!!!
*Note to hikers- I did pass water and it is at Black Gap.