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Mile: 70 | After an 11-mile push to Dicks Creek Gap, we stuck out our thumbs in the rain for our first hitch. The ride ended at Hardee’s for a long-craved burger… which my stomach immediately regretted. But a warm bed and clean sheets in Hiawassee made it all worth it.
We hiked 11 miles to Dicks Creek Gap. The gap felt never ending. We left at 6:45am and made it to the gap by noon. We wanted to head into Hiawassee for a zero. After two 11 mile days in our first week we deserved it. Not wanting to pay for a shuttle we started our first hitch hiking effort! Tip: if you yell 'I'm cute' enough times at cars, someone will stop for you! Hahahah all jokes aside, we held out our thumbs for about 45 minutes while the rain finally slowed down. A nice guy who attempted a thru-hike last year stopped and picked Whisperer and I up! His trail name was 'Earl Grizzly' because he always carried Earl Grey. He was as nice as can be and hitched us to the closest Hardee's in Hiawassee! We finally got our burger:
It was delicious going down, but I definitely regretted it later. I don't really eat fast food so it went right through me... anyway...
We went over to the Holiday Inn Express next door, where Dragon had gotten a room, to check in. We arrived and there was no one at the desk so we rang the bell that was there. A man came over to help us. He printed out our check in bill and placed it on the counter for us to sign. I looked at it and realized that they were charging us $99 for the first night and $104.99 for the second night. In the AWOL guise it said $79 a night, on the phone I was told $109.99 total. I was frustrated and didn't know what to do so Whisperer and I stepped outside to call our money controllers at home.
Our other options were the Budget Inn, which we heard mixed reviews about, or Top of Georgia which was further out of town, but did have a shuttle.
I had my heart set on getting an ice bath in while in town because my legs were very swollen and my feet hurt. I knew that it would make me feel better and would reduce some of my bruising. We decided to bite the bullet and take the room.
We checked, showered, and got our town clothes on. Whisperer went to Ingles and got us some snacks, chocolate milk (need it every time we go to town), and some beer. We hung out with Dragon and just chatted until hiker midnight (9pm). We stayed up a little bit later and finally got some good rest. I slept the night for the first time since the Blood Mountain Cabins.
I sort of felt nauseous, I had since I started the trail but it kept getting worse... more on this later.... and I was completely exhausted. But so glad to be in a bed, warm, and clean.