Weather yesterday was once again lovely. We all made our way mostly solo and in pairs from Gooch to Jarrard. Nearly all of us who have been together since the start were at Jarrard. It was a nice gap to camp in, and the first time I haven’t camped in or near a shelter since starting the trail. We hadn’t exactly established a solid plan, so showing up to Jarrard and seeing a bunch of friendly faces was a good feeling. Another great evening around the campfire, before heading to bed around ‘hiker midnight” (9).

Today, most of us were headed to our very first resupply here at Neel’s Gap. Blood Mountain was a fantastic view along the way, and the biggest climb so far. From there, it was just a couple miles downhill to the gap, and to resupply at Mountain Crossings. This place feels so luxurious, with its pizza and cold sodas and hiker food to resupply on. It’s even a full outfitter, you could buy all the gear to start the AT right here if you needed to. When we showed up and walked around the building to the picnic tables, it seems like we saw everyone we’d seen so far on the trail, and it already feels like a family reunion just 5 days in, which is pretty crazy. It’s amazing how easy it is to make friends out here. I guess it’s because you know that everyone you meet has this one particular thing in common with you. Also, it feels like time has slowed way down. Maybe it’s just all the new experiences, but it feels like it’s been weeks since I started at the Falls.

I’m now actually camping at Bull Gap, just a mile or so past Neel’s. This is another nice campsite not near a shelter, but there are still probably a dozen tents here, as this is where a lot of the folks who resupplied at Neel’s today went.