Walking around Watauga Lake (Day 40)

I started the day very late, mainly because I didn’t want to leave Boots Off Hostel. The place had a great vibe and the morning was bright and sunny, like the day before. It was the first hostel I stayed in that offered breakfast to hikers. I made a fruit plate hoping it would give me some much needed nutrients.

rope swing

The AT resumed along Watauga Lake. But we didn’t walk far along its shore before my attention was derailed. A rope swing hung from a nearby tree and I watched two hikers shoot each other a beer and jump into the water. It was definitely a sight to behold at 10am

Once we finally started the day, the hike was beautiful. The sky was very blue and the trees were in full bloom. There was a speedboat in the water and it seemed like we were in the middle of summer.

The only irony was that while I was walking alongside all this water, there were very few quality water sources on the trail today. In one, we basically dug in a mud puddle, using a buffer to filter out rocks and sand. The next source was down a nearly half mile long blue trail, which was the steepest climb of the day. It’s supposed to rain tomorrow morning. Maybe that will improve our options a little.

Wildlife Encounters

The highlight was seeing another black rat snake on the trail. Although some other hikers also ran into a huge rattlesnake. I saw some photos and videos, but I was definitely jealous that I missed him. We are camped at Iron Mountain Shelter tonight. I’m told the rain will start tomorrow at 8am, so I think I’ll have my tent packed by then.

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