29 March – Neel Gap to Low Gap Shelter [11.5 miles]

Woke up feeling completely different.  Energetically fixed hot coffee, hot oatmeal and a banana for breakfast and couldn’t wait to start hiking and seeing the things and meeting the people and pushing that cold clean air through me hard all the way.  I walked through the, again, famous, Neel Gap arch and blasted away at the hills, mountains and ‘gaps’  from early morning until early afternoon.  It was cold but intermittently sunny and gradually getting warmer and I just felt . . . strong.  Dear Lord, is it true?  Is it possible that the old Kevin Perrin is still in there somewhere, being yanked out of a closet and into the sunlight for a final run at life!  Insert Rocky Theme Song here.  Note that in all this time I haven’t mentioned any feet problems.  So far so good there  . . .  Why did I stop briefly early afternoon?  TRAIL MAGIC!  This was my first experience but at HogPen Gap, a Gap which will live in my dreams, I ran into some bible-study folks who set up Trial Magic.  It was my first Trail Magic and they set the bar very high. 

As we came through the Gap we came upon tables of food, drink, love and encouragement from a bible group that had set up a very generous Trail Magic site for us.[Trail Magic:  The Appalachian Trail Conservancy states: The term “trail magic” was coined by long-distance hikers to describe an unexpected occurrence that lifts a hiker’s spirits and inspires awe or gratitude. “Trail magic” may be as simple as being offered a candy bar by a passing hiker or spotting an elusive species of wildlife]. This was awesome.  I had lemonade, hot soup, pasta salad, and basked in the sunlight with Echo, Coyote and her family, and Nick from the Netherlands.  I thanked them profusely, took some fruit, refilled on water and hit the Trail for Low Gap Shelter.   Continued at a really good pace, often passing people, all the way into Low Gap Shelter. Set up VERY carefully as we were expecting yet another deluge.