Mark and I have made it to Neals Gap. We hiked up and down Blood Mountain yesterday. We've met some great folks including "Indiana Jones," "Brave Foot," "Bear Cub,", "Music Man," "Pickles," "Barefoot Sage," "Key Chain," "Johnny Thunder," "Blaze," "The Breeze," "Rolling Thunder," "Slowgoing," "Sonny" and "Share," among others.

We talked with three friendly retired fellows who were day hiking. Bill, Ed, and Steve were all Baptists in the Binkley leaning direction. Bill used to teach college math, Ed fought STDs for the CDC, and Steve was a prison chaplain for 30 years. I really enjoyed talking with Bill about String Theory and harmonics.

Mark and I have about 11 miles to do today before Shabbat, so I'd better sign off.

Peace and Love to all,

Elgixin (my trail name--given to me at age 16 when I was in the Order of the Arrow)

Mark and I hiked from Neals Gap to Low Gap on Friday afternoon after getting assistance from Winton at Mountain Crossing with our packs. He helped us make adjustments in the straps and suggested some unnecessary equipment that could be sent home and some alternative equipment that was lighter. I'm no longer carrying a fanny pack and with water and food and everything my pack is now 33 pounds and much more comfortable.

We got started hiking again at 2 pm on Friday and decided to keep moving until we got to Low Gap, 10.4 miles. The last hour was after dark using our headlamps. It had been raining all day, and the fog was thick. We could see about 3 feet in front of ourselves. About 45 minutes after dark, I'm pretty sure I heard a bear growl and started beating my hiking sticks together and shouting. We never heard anything that sounded like a bear after that; and needless to say, we were moving along as fast as our tired legs would carry us. It wasn't very long before we got to the Lows Gap Shelter which was totally packed beyond designated capacity. The folks there had all already bedded down for the night but said the next morning that they had heard me shouting on the trail as it wound around the mountain above the shelter. We pitched our tent in a light rain and managed to stay sufficiently dry to sleep for the night.

I didn't get to light candles Friday night, but lit them in the morning after most of the folks had vacated the shelter. We spent the morning drying out a little and talking with Mike who had gotten out of hiking sync with his girlfriend and was waiting for her to get to Lows Gap. As it turns out, Mike thinks of himself now as Buddhist but grew up with his Jewish father and Luthern mother. He has been in the Peace Corps and taught around the world since then. He has also had a Vipassana meditation experience, so we had a lot in common.

About noon a group of Royal Rangers (boys group in a Pentacostal Christian denomination) from Atlanta came to the shelter for lunch. Some of the boys were pretty loaded down with gear and seemed to find hiking in the rain rather difficult.

I checked in with the "PP," and Mark and I headed north at 2 pm. By the time we got to Blue Mountain Shelter we were mostly wet but decided to press on another couple of miles to Unicoi Gap where we could spend the night in a warm, dry hostel called "Cloud 9." It turns out they have a comfortable bunk house, showers, and laundry facilities. Four others with whom we have become friends got to Blue Mountain Shelter right after we did and decided to join us in moving on to Cloud 9. "Crutch" who has thru-hiked twice picked us up at 8 pm at Unicoi Gap and took us into town where we all bought dinner at McDonald's before getting to the hostel where we got showers, put on warm clothes, and started the process of washing clothes and drying out our gear.

This morning several of us pooled our food, and "Forrest Gimp" and I cooked pancakes, eggs, bacon (for the non-Jews), and hashbrowns with onions and cheese. "Barefoot Sage," "Pickles," Austin, Colby, "SerenityRich," "AT Red," "Sonny" and "Share," and "Crutch" all had a nice breakfast together.

We will sit in a hot tub for awhile and then get started again. Today is beautiful and entirely dry, so we expect to have a great day of hiking.

Peace and Love to all,

Elgixin

It has been such a great experience to have Mark come along with me for the beginning of this journey. I expect I will feel very lonely after he leaves to return home to resume his life as a busy professional musician. It has been great, though, having Jil, Mark's partner, meet us today in Franklin, NC. We plan to go to a free pancake breakfast for hikers at a local church in the morning. Then Mark and Jil will take me back to Deep Gap where we left the Trail and where I will resume my journey. In about 4 more days I should reach the Natahala Outdoor Center and will hopefully be able to add a few words more "from the trail."