Day ten

I like to think on the trail. Bunking down in Low Gap shelter, everyone had their stuff hanging up everywhere.

I looked up at my bag and there hanging on the outside of it is a religious medal that my sister Theresa gave me before I left. It felt good thinking that St. Michael the archangel was watching over all of us. I left before everyone else except for the “newlyweds” and “Sticks”.  I knew they would all pass me up and they did.

It was a really quiet day. I planned on doing 10 miles to Unicoli Gap and then catching a ride to Helen to get my INR tested. Well it started to thunder so I covered my pack. I had to stop for water and it started to rain, so I pulled out my rain gear and put it on. A couple of college kids passed me and said Blue Mountain shelter wasn’t far- and fortunately it wasn’t, because the sky opened up to a torrential downpour.

The newlyweds and their puppy were already there, and since they have Verizon (which seems to be the only cell service that works in these mountains) they were able to tell us that it would blow over. So, I waited it out and came on down to Unicoli Gap. This really nice woman pulled around and brought me all the way to Helen, GA. Her name was Teresa and she was wearing scrubs. I told her I needed to get my INR checked and she told me I couldn’t do that in Helen. She is picking me up tomorrow and taking me to Hiawassee in the morning. I could tell as soon as I met her that she is a breed of special people that bless the Earth with their goodness. It’s just a natural thing for people like Teresa. I hope she lets me buy her breakfast, I think she works nights. Oh, and I just love her accent.

The first thing I did was get a room. Helen is a quaint little Alpine village. The hotel clerk sent me down to the store to pick up some things, but I didn’t get any farther than the liquor store. Vivica, from the liquor store, recommended that I try The Hay Loft for a burger. I also enjoyed the house merlot. Thanks for the suggestion, Vivica! I bought a bottle of Yellowtail Shiraz and a pack of cigarettes from Vivica.   While I was sitting out front smoking, Booger Bob hollered from across the street!  Apparently he, Jeff and the Salesman had gotten a room and were already partying.  Again, he is a total hot mess.  I came back to my room, put on some clean clothes, poured myself a glass of wine and headed for the laundry mat because they close at 9:00 p.m. I was starving, but I had to do the laundry before I could eat.  Well, I sloshed my wine on my clean shirt and dropped one of my gloves, so I pulled off my shirt and threw it in. I sat outside this laundry mat, in Helen, GA., in my pants and this sports bra.

I finally got my INR checked in Hiawasse but not soon enough to get back on the trail. The people at Budget Inn are really nice, and even let me use their computer. On the way back from dinner, I stopped at a fruit stand. The fruit seller was a fairly toothless older man named Dwayne. He was selling fruit out of the back of his truck.  Always trying to push my blog, I asked Dwayne if he ever uses a computer. His response, “No, I just got through 4^th grade, but I did it three times.” He gave me a cantaloupe. He said it was too ugly to sell, but it would still taste just as good- it did.