Miles: 9.4
Weather: Raining cats and dogs. Or at least a Monsoon.
I got up early this morning and packed up camp at the shelter. I wanted to get 7.2 miles of hiking to the next shelter and then decide what to do with the day. I knew that it was supposed to rain. A lot. All day. After about two miles of hiking it started to pour rain. First it was foggy, and sort of creepy. Well, very creepy. But then it just rained very hard.
I was so excited that I was getting close to the shelter where I could tuck into a dry spot, study a map, and decide if I should go into town or wait it out in the shelter when I saw 12. Yes, 12. People leaving the shelter up ahead. I ran after them. 'Hey', I yelled, 'do you have a car at the next road?' They turned around and stared at me in the rain. They were a group of Korean-American business people; a group of friends from Atlanta, just out for a day hike. Only two of them spoke English fluently enough to understand my question, (I speak no Korean) and tell me that, yes, they had two vans at the bottom and they could give me a ride to Helen. No, I said, I am trying to go to Hiawasee. Helen, they said, Helen is nicer. It is closer. Helen is the town to go to. OK, I said, rain dripping off all of us, Helen it is. I was incredibly impressed by these hikers. They were very very fast. I didn't want them to drive away without me, so I kept pace. But I was very tired at the bottom. I was relieved to know that I had a ride into town. I thought I could get to town, try to get warm, and then decide what to do next. I piled into their SUV with four other dripping hikers and a full size poodle.
They dropped me off 20 minutes later in Helen, GA. You really have to see Helen for yourself to understand it. It looks like a full size doll house town. Every building is built in a faux German-ish style. I asked every shop keeper and cashier that I ran across and all of them told me that no one lives in Helen. All of the workers drive in from towns 20-30 minutes away. I checked in for the night in the Helendorf River Inn and Suites. It is wonderful.
Me in the Spooky Fog
I can't get over the beautiful green on the Trail in December.
This is how much it was raining. Wow. See the blaze?
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