Yellow Blazes and Stomach Aches: Days 13–15

Day 13: Cave Spring to New Hope South Baptist Church

Sparks and I emerged from the Hearn Inn in search of coffee and breakfast. There wasn’t much open, but we did stop by Spring Brew Coffee Company for caffeine and pastries. The coffeeshop had a giant television right behind the register, and it was blasting Fox News. I really don’t like watching news on TV — no matter the channel, and especially on a thru-hike. Get me back to the woods.

Before we left town, I wanted to drop two postcards in a mailbox, but there weren’t any downtown. So I started walking to the post office. When I was still about ten minutes away, a police car pulled up to me. The officer rolled down her window and asked if I was looking for the Pinhoti. I told her my predicament, and she took my postcards for me, promising they’d go out by 4pm that very day. The officer, Debbie, loves meeting hikers and asked if I needed anything else before getting back to the trail. I really appreciated her kindness; thank you, Debbie!

On our road walk out of town, Sparks and I planned to stop at a trail angel’s house. Julie, the angel, would drive us through a busy section of the road walk that didn’t have a shoulder. This is called “yellow blazing” in the thru-hiking community.

On the way to her house, I very unfortunately realized that something I ate was not sitting well with me. If you get my drift.

Sections of the road were bordered by wisteria-covered trees. It smelled lovely and reminded me of my hometown. I’m not sure if this kind is invasive, though. 🙁

I used the bathroom as soon as we arrived at Julie’s, and felt well enough to hike on. Julie drove us to Dollar General for a quick resupply before we yellow blazed to the next trailhead. Once we started hiking again, I had to pull over with my trowel multiple times. There was nowhere to hide, so Sparks walked ahead and kept a lookout, while I hoped no one would walk up from the other direction. I nearly “became a real thru-hiker” multiple times. NO GOOD.

I had zero appetite, a headache, and was feeling weak. Luckily, our miles were mercifully flat.

Thank you, Julie!!

After a couple incidents, Sparks dug through her first aid bag and found a Pepto-Bismol for me. That seemed to settle my stomach enough that I could go more than ten minutes without having to poop (hello, coworkers). I called a friend to complain and cry about predicament for a few minutes, then started feeling better. 

Turkey tracks!

Julie had told us about a church on the trail with a working spigot and space where we might be able to set up camp. Consulting FarOut, it seemed like other Pinhoti hikers had stayed there before as well, so Sparks and I felt okay to pitch our tents behind one of the church buildings when we arrived. A few dogs at the big house on top of the hill nearby barked into the night, but I just put in my earplugs and got to sleep. I had high hopes of being able to stomach some oatmeal in the morning.

Day 14: New Hope South Baptist Church to Tent Site at Mile 236

I did indeed manage to eat oatmeal this morning, and was relieved that my stomach issues from yesterday seemed to have resolved themselves.

Cows!

Sparks and I finished the rail trail and hiked back up to a nearby ridgeline. I was so glad to be away from the road noise for a while before we had to cross another gap. On our way there, the trail passed close to a logging site. I’d never seen the machines that can literally pick up a tree from the ground. Apparently they’re called feller bunchers.

Soon, the trail was totally obscured by felled trees. It made me feel surprisingly sad. And also annoyed because now we had to hike around this logging mess to find trail again.

We enjoyed a longer-than-normal lunch up away from the road before we literally ran across Mack White Gap. The gap was essentially a blind crossing from both directions — a curve on one, a hill on the other. Fun.

Thankful for Sparky during these long water carries!

The pollen continues

We hiked up to another ridge then down a gravel road to our tent site.

I felt like chatting as I hiked up the final climb of the day, so first I called my place of work to bug some coworkers. 🙂 Then I called my friend Bryce. I caught him on his cross-country drive from NYC to Michigan. He’s starting the PCT in April, and was in the process of moving all of his worldly possessions to his parents’ home. As we talked, echoes of the feelings I experienced last year swam through my mind. He’s embarking on a life-altering journey. I couldn’t be more proud of Bryce.

It was still a few hours before sundown when we made it to camp, but Sparks and I decided to call it a day. I set up my tent on a bed of pine needles — my favorite — then drank some wine I’d packed out while preparing dinner with my friend. 

Day 15: Tent Site at 236 to East Armuchee Creek

Sparks liked my Gossamer Gear tent so much that she had one shipped to her in Cave Spring!

I woke up hearing what might’ve been an elk not too far away. Sparks and I jokingly referred to whatever it was as a “mountain cow” as we packed up camp and started hiking. The trail was cruisier than the elevation profile would suggest, though it was hot and humid.

Sparks texted a trail angel named Leland to see if he could help us get somewhere to charge her power bank — she’ll be switching to a bigger battery at our next town stop.

Leland met us at a road crossing and offered to slack pack us three miles to East Armuchee Creek before taking us somewhere to charge up. We agreed, and met him at the creek about an hour later.

I often think about how willingly I trust complete strangers when I’m on trail. Aside from truly believing the good in people, I’ve come to trust my gut. If something feels the tiniest bit off, I walk away without worrying if I seem rude. Leland, though, I could just tell he was deeply good. So, yes, I nearly immediately left him with most of my belongings to slack pack a few miles.

Anyway, when we made it to East Armuchee Creek, Leland took us to Dollar General for some snacks, then back to his cabin where he graciously let us sleep for the night.

Snacks!

We all sat on his front porch for a while getting to know each other. Leland used to hunt with his dad near Springer Mountain in the 60s. Back then, he would run to the trees and hide if he saw any Appalachian Trail hikers.

Leland explained, “My daddy said that the hikers were all hippies and potheads.”

That cracked us up.

A few years ago, Leland was hunting in the woods near the Pinhoti and came across a hiker at a road crossing. He asked if the hiker needed anything, and they mentioned that a ride to the grocery store would be helpful. I guess that hiker gave Leland a good impression, because they changed his perception on the hiking community as a whole; Leland wanted to keep supporting hikers however he could after that interaction.

After Leland left for his house, Sparks and I washed up in the creek. At the rate we’ve been hiking, and skipping the worst parts of the road walks, it looks like we’re going to finish the Pinhoti at least a day earlier than we’d originally planned. I’d been going back and forth all afternoon on if I should switch my flight a day earlier. If it didn’t cost anything, I’d do it in a heartbeat, but I’m trying to stick to a pretty tight budget. In the end though, I opted to changed my flight so I wouldn’t keep spending time and money in Georgia for 2-3 days after finishing the trail.

I was surprised by how stressed I felt making this decision, but don’t feel like investigating those feelings tonight. Fingers crossed I get some good sleep.

The creek that lulled us to sleep.