Watch out for these 2

These hairy vines should be avoided or you will be in for an itchy time.  These are the ones that got me. 

Good news is the itching has almost stopped and the no new blisters have formed today.  Of course I have taken 2 rounds of 1/2 dose Prednesone and used the whole tube of Benedryl cream.  I will get a new tube before returning to the AT. 

On a more exciting note, my wife and I will head to north GA, Amicalola State Park, on Tuesday, April 22.  We plan to stop in for a quick visit with my brother, Lewis and his wife, Deon on the way   On Wednesday, April 23, I will rejoin the trail at Horse Gap.  This time I will have a Bear Vault so I can take my time and not have to avoid camping between Jarrod Gap and Neels Gap.  I plan to stay in Blood Mountain Shelter one night.

I have decided to leave the alcohol stove at home and keep my JetBoil.  To me the difference in cooking time is worth the additional weight.  Also other factors that affect the alcohol stove are wind, and the amount of fuel you need to use for different cooking times.  If you need to cook longer you can not just add more alcohol while you are cooking.  With the Jetboil the flame is adjustable, so as long as you have fuel in your canisters you can vary the heat you are cooking with.  The weight of the alcohol and the weight of the cannister fuel seems very comparable, even though I have not actually weighed them.  More to come later.