Jackie and I hit the road Friday, driving from West Chester, PA down to Roanoke, VA. We rested up at an Extended Stay America after eating pasta from Olive Garden for dinner (truly embracing the benefits of proximity to the airport and enjoying the "food of the region"). After a bright and early 5:30am wake-up, we again hit the road on Saturday en route to our final destination, Ellijay, GA.
On the way to Ellijay, we popped in to Mountain Crossings Outfitters, which sits on the trail about 40 miles north of Springer. I needed to drop off a box of food to replenish my stock once I complete those first 40 miles. While we were there, I serendipitously ran into my boss from ridgerunning. Jim is hiking Springer to Hiawassee with a friend. We'd talked about meeting up, but I never guessed it would happen there. He shared some of his Georgia AT expertise, and some words of encouragement. Oh, and I'm not allowed to quit. Jim and I shook on it.
Once Jackie and I got to Ellijay, we collected our cabin keys and drove up the steeply graded, one lane mountain road to find this incredible place. Jackie booked the cabin on airb&b and it was wonderful. Incredible view, hot tub, big deck, and of course, dog friendly for Slip. And the best part was that on Sunday, Aunt Christine flew in for girls night, to be a part of the send off, and to help Jackie with the long drive back to Pennsylvania. It's been a lovely 3 days of driving through the mountains, movie watching, pack packing, dog walking, and deck lounging. What a way to spend these days leading up to the hike!
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