The Blazer was ready by 9:30. Zach ultimately bought four new tires. During that time I mailed home my heavier Hilleberg tent. It weighed in at 6.1 pounds with the amount of moisture it was holding. I looked forward to losing about five pounds of my pack weight. My pack definitely seemed lighter, even with a four day food resupply and a liter of water.

When we arrived at the trailhead 5.0 announced that he was getting off trail, going home with Zach to Richmond Virginia. I wasn’t shocked, I figured it was coming. I had talked to him about it while we were hiking together the day before we left for Trail Days. He told me he needed to work, needed to do something with himself, at least for a while. I encouraged him to finish the trail, at 25 years old he had plenty of time to work the rest of his life. He told me he had to get off, but he planned to come back and finish the trail. I told him he had to do what was best for him, and that was something only he could decide. That left Dundee, Stubz, and I. Normally Dundee and Stubz hiked together, and 5.0 and I had been hiking together for a time. The three of us agreed to meet up at Jerry Cabin Shelter and camp there together.

The climb out of Allen Gap was steep and tough. We ascended 4000 feet in the first two miles. After we were up on top the hiking was good, none of the climbs were too bad, and none of the descents too steep. There wasn’t as much water along the trail in these mountains, fewer springs were running, I don’t think I saw a single stream the whole 12 miles.

We arrived at the shelter, probably all within an hour of each other. We sat around the fire pit and cooked dinner. “If 5.0 was here we’d have a fire right now,” somebody said. It was true. Every day when 5.0 arrived at camp he would collect a 6 liter bag of water for everyone to use, then he would gather firewood. He started a fire every night.When he first started he trail he didn’t know how to build a fire, but once I taught him he did it every night. After a while he was probably the best fire builder in camp. We missed his presence in camp that night.