... before we could even get finished, those crazy people were talking about hiking up to the top of Mt. Le Conte again in August. Been there, done that - not my idea of fun: a continuous uphill trek of mile after mile on rough, uneven, rocky terrain. I hope I was courteous and polite when I said' No Thanks' (without including any four letter words).
I think it took us about three hours to do the five miles up and down, over and around, through the woods, and the stands of rhodedendron and mountain laurel, over several streams and fording a few creeks to finally get to the place we could take off our packs. The Hike Inn has real beds, a friendly staff, a very good cook and crew. We were four of about three dozen hikers.
I am very glad I stopped over to spend the previous night in Decatur, because the weather changed dramatically between the time I packed up to leave home and the time I arrived in north GA. I requested more layers to insure warmness while I was at F.'s, and was provided enough clothes to cover everything except my nose. I expect it would have not been much fun at all, if I had not had enough to wear, most of which I wore to bed when up on the mountain top. We somehow accidently had a very cold night, with the temp. dropping below freezing, as I saw icy patches as we descended on Saturday morning. Thankful for the layering effect. And thankful that the sun was out, wind backed off, and it was a beautiful weekend.
With only one night to stay over, it was a hard trip back. We left right after eating breakfast to try to get back to our vehicles by noon. I don't think we quite did that. But safely, uneventfully arrived in the parking lot to find no busted windows or missing personal items. I was a bit anxious about leaving my car unattended, having experienced a break-in. Plus the Decatur people recently had things stolen from a vehicle parked inches from the house, so there is constant awareness/knowledge that this sort of thing happens all the time. The world is full of crazy people, as well as those who are larcenously hopeful..
Drove into Dahlonega for lunch and parted ways. I was headed for South Carolina and they were returning to TN, with at least two people asleep in the back seat on the way home. I had planned a visit with my pen pal in Greenville, when it occurred to me:' I'm over half way there by the time I get to Gainesville'. So went on to SC, with plans to see the cousin and spend the night.
Crazie me. Had to get up at 5 a.m. on Sunday to drive home from SC, about four hours, and be at work at 10:00. I might be still dragging my tail from all that... wondering when I will admit how difficult it is to burn your candle at both ends and the middle.
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