Since I had pushed through to Justus
the day prior, I was less than two miles from what my intended second
day stop was going to be. I knew immediately that the plans were
going to change and I would end up hiking much further than
anticipated. After eating breakfast and drinking my coffee I hit the
trail. That had been my first night in the field in the Warbonnet and
unfortunately, I didn't sleep so well. I think I hung my head too low
because my feet kept going numb. It was odd. Definitely not the
hammocks fault, but something that I would need to address tonight.
It was about 5 miles before I came
across a road crossing and a good place to take a break. Gooch Gap. I
spoke with a dude who had just pulled in and he had informed me that
the road in was less than a mile of non paved road. I made note that
this place would be excellent for the family. The water source was
plentiful and there were a ton of clearings for tents. Also my car
wouldn't get thrashed coming in. I passed a dude in Army issued boots
while he was complaining of foot issues. I was wearing trail runners,
no problems yet. The next 3 miles were pretty much all uphill, so I
just shifted the load on my pack and hit it.
I passed what looked to be a boy-scout
troop and unfortunately they had yet to be taught that uphill hikers
have the right away. Its a lot harder to regain momentum going up than
it is going down. I did meet an older couple and their dog Mitsy. As
I came up on them the gentleman said “Mitsy, hiker” and Mitsy
hastily got of the trail and sat down. It was very cool. After I
passed, she returned to the trail and kept heading downhill.
With every hill that I summited I would
take a photo of the view. Cameras cannot take in the beauty nor do
justice to the rolling hills. To this point there had always been
something man made in the picture. I knew I wouldn't be happy until I
was truly free of civilization and I hoped the next peak would be
void of buildings or roads. Suches Georgia would not fail me for
Preacher Rock atop Big Cedar Mountain provided me with a breathtaking
view completely absent of man made obstruction.
This is a big picture. Click it to fully enjoy the beauty of Big Cedar mountain
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