Day 5 - Rainy Day in Helen, GA

Greetings from the Helendorf Motel in Helen, GA. We saw a weather forecast yesterday and decided to make today a town day. That meant we needed to make it to Unicoi Gap to get to Helen. We did 10 miles between breakfast and dinner, but instead of making camp after dinner, we hiked an extra 8 miles as the sun set for a total of 18 miles yesterday. We did the last 2 hours in the dark with headlamps, and saw lots of beetles and salamanders in our path. Thankfully, we saw no bears.

We slept in a shelter 2 miles from the gap and listened to the wind picking up through the night. In the morning, we packed up speedily and trudged the last two miles to the road in pouring rain.

All the architecture here is supposed to be German-themed. It's sort of odd, but it's very pretty. I ate German potato pancakes with apple sauce and a Belgian waffle for breakfast.

One spectacle here is a model train exhibit based on the German landscape. Apparently it took 25 years to build, and for an entrance fee of $5, you can view it from both the ground floor and the balcony with a self-guided tour pamphlet. I've really never seen anything quite like it. It even includes two crashed UFO's and a dragon, if you look carefully.

The most important thing I got today, however, was ointment. I have lots of horrible rashes and chafing. With any luck, my body will start to adapt soon. Meanwhile, I'm using 3 different ointments and taking Benadryl and Ibuprofen.

We ate BBQ for dinner and are preparing to sleep for 12 hours tonight.

Here are photos of the Chattahoochie River, our motel "tower," the landscape and architecture of Helen, my exhausted companions, and the model train exhibit.