Day 6 - Hiking in the Clouds!

Brandon is now in Hiawassee, GA! He and his new hiking buddy that he met at the shelter last night, departed from camp at 8 o'clock this morning and arrived at Dick's Gap at 12:15 pm. Tray Mountain Shelter is located at an elevation of 4200 feet. The 11-mile trail that descends down to Dick's Gap stays around 3800 to 4200 feet for much of the way. At that elevation, Brandon said it was like they were hiking in the clouds. The weather was foggy, rainy and dark, but as soon as they started descending, he said the weather cleared up and everything became lush and green. His plans are to stay at Mull's Motel tonight, take a "0 day" tomorrow and just hang out. The severe storms that we are supposed to have tonight and tomorrow are expected to pass through the area where Brandon is also. I'm so glad he was able to get to town before the storms move in and looks like things worked out great with the bad weather coinciding with his day of rest. He sounded excited that there was a Food City, Family Dollar, Hardee's and a $6.00 "all you can eat" buffet all within walking distance! He will head out on Sunday morning for Muskrat Creek Shelter, the first shelter on the AT in North Carolina. The trail leading to this shelter begins at an elevation of 2600 feet and climbs to an elevation of 4600 feet. With that said . . . rest well and eat hearty, Brandon . . . and get ready to climb!!