Neels. Say that 10 times fast. No, really.

KNEELS? NEAL'S? Neels? ...uh, where are you!?

What I've learned about this trail thus far is that there are ridiculous names for the "stops" along the way. I've actually seen GA's Neel's Gap in person, and it looks like a nice outfitter stop and a decent enough hostel, though if you read Matt's last post, it's apparently less than stellar. However, the man's been spoiled!! Pretty sure you don't get much better than Hiker Hostel (Dahlonega, GA). The place is flat out NICE. Regardless, in my opinion, a hostel beats a shelter with a space-hogging snoring woman. (:-P)

Matt reached Neel's Gap last night, achieving 30.7 miles into his journey. According to his last post though, he's now reached 49.8, which puts him between Blue Mountain Shelter and Unicoi Gap...19 miles in one day!! WHEW. To put it into another perspective for those of us non-hikers... I try to workout at least 3-4 times a week and spend an hour or two on either the elliptical or the stairmaster, sometimes take a Spinning class, or I dance my cares away in a Zumba class at my YMCA. Considering that, I hiked a few of the same areas of the trail that he's already (in 4 days!) completed this go-round (as if they were nothing), and I slowed him down BIG time. We made it 6 miles in about 4 hours. Granted, 2 - 2.5 of those hours were in complete darkness with 45mph winds and snow... if you haven't heard the story, call me, I'll tell it to you. Alone, he books it! Very proud of his efforts today.

I found an awesome Trail Distance Calculator today... Input a starting point by clicking on it, click on the finishing point, and your trail mileage will display. It works similar to a Free Language Translator and is really easy to use. http://widgo.com/trail/

I'm having fun tracking his efforts.... anyone interested in starting a betting pool yet? How far will he go? Will he make it to Trail Days in Damascus, VA on time (Mid-May)? Will he finish the thru-hike on Try 1? How long will it take him? For those that dare, I say it's a $1.00 buy-in, because let's be honest... us recent-grads are broke. :) Happy betting!!

- Alissa