Day 4 - Neel's Gap (Saturday)

So it rained on and off all night. I was glad to be in the shelter. This morning my toes were severely protesting when I put my boots on. I retaped my left little toe before we set off about 0830. It was slow hiking up Blood Mountain. I finally made it to the top about 10am. The views from up on top were spectacular. We could see (I was with Sherpa and a fellow hiker, Low Impact) My feet didn't feel too bad coming up but it was even steeper and more rocky on the way down. Sure enough, by the time I got to Neel's Gap and the outfitter's, I was limping and near to tears. I had to tell Sherpa and the rest of the group that I was dropping out 2 days early. Sherpa was sad but understood. It's too bad really cause other than my toes, I feel pretty darn good. So, I got a ride from Neel's Gap back to the Hiker Hostel. Now I'm clean and dry and have a bed for the night.

While at Neel's Gap, Sherpa had a message on her phone. Tiger Bomb and Katahdin Kid were camped at Jerrod's Gap the night before and were going to try and catch up to us at Neel's Gap. Unfortunately, they hadn't arrived by the time I got my ride. I hope they can catch up to Sherpa. I'm sorry to have missed saying good bye. Now I'm doing my nasty laundry and I'll go out to dinner in Dahlonega some where.

I completed about 30 miles more of the AT over the last 4 days.