Unicoi Gap to Sassafras Gap campsite

Day Eight – Friday, October 7
10.4 miles in 6.75 hours
Unicoi Gap to Sassafras Gap campsite

Change of plans, we didn’t leave our car at the inn after all.  After talking with Joyce and Sally we firmed up our plans to drive to their house instead of them picking us up at the inn.  They live just a few minutes out of town and it saved us $5 too!  Shuttles are really not that expensive though and are well worth the money. 

Us starting out fresh today at Unicoi Gap.

View from Rocky Mountain.

View from Rocky Mountain.

 So Sally took us to Unicoi Gap and we faced another steep climb up Rocky Mountain, rising 1068 feet above Unicoi Gap.  It always seemed to happen that the toughest climb was right after we had rested up, which, I guess, was a good thing.



The colors are beautiful as we approach Tray Mountain.

Willie had told us that the upcoming section would be the toughest yet.  Again, Willie was right.  Climbing Tray Mountain was a lot harder than Blood Mountain, although Blood is a little higher (4450 compared to 4430). 

As we were approaching Tray Mountain we met a delightful couple on a day hike sitting on the edge of the mountain enjoying a magnificent view of a colorful mountain.  Those apples they were eating looked so delicious and refreshing – I wanted to grab it out of her hand!  We asked if we were on Tray Mountain yet and they indicated that it was the mountain in front of us – it was higher still that what we had reached.  So we lumbered on.    We had our meager lunch at Tray Mountain Road just before our final ascent.

The air on top of Tray Mountain had an odor about it.  We never quite figured out what it was, but it was very noticeable today.  Maybe it was decomposing plants or something.  There were also lots of flies and bees.  Tray Mountain is known as the southernmost breeding area in the US for Canada warblers. They live in the rhododendron thickets along the southern approach to the trail.  I saw just one.     

Blister showed up today! We have been very pleased with our boots and had no complaints with our feet at all- until today when a blister decided to pop up on one of my toes.  I guess it was all the steep downhills today which made my toes slide forward to the end of my boots.  I guess if that is all the foot problems we have we’ll be doing well.

At Sassafras Gap campsite we needed water and a place to stay for the night.  There was a water marker, but after trekking down the hill, Wait-up found the water source dry.  Oops!  Another night of rationing our water.  BUT – we did see a trail going up the hill and I found a nice established campsite not too far off the trail.  We decided to pitch our tent there instead of going on to Addis Gap, where the campsite was .5 off the trail and there might not be any water there either. 

While we were pondering what to do, a man and his son came by who had just hiked two 11-mile days to get from Deep Gap in NC to get to where we were now.  He told us that the trail on the other side of the line was fairly level and that it was not a bad 11- mile walk each day, so we decided then and there that we WOULD and COULD make it to Deep Gap, NC by Sunday evening.  We had a couple of nearly 11 mile days under our belt already, and seemed to be in better condition now than ever.  We could do this by Sunday evening!  Yay!