Day 19: Waking up in a fairy tale

When we wake up today and leave the shelter, we enter directly into a fairy tale.

Right next to the shelter, in the middle of the fog, there was a deer eating some grass, not at all bothered by our presence. Am I a Disney princess now? The aesthetic really felt like a fairy tale, as if someone had forgotten to close the door to Narnia.

After admiring these incredible animals and following our morning routine, we headed out. But the fairy tale feeling did not leave us.

A couple of kilometers later, the forest began to change. The pine trees started to take over, moss was growing on everything, the atmosphere got a little darker, there was a cool breeze blowing through the forest, there were tons of squirrels jumping, birds singing, you get the idea.

You can’t really capture it in photographs, but I felt at home and in tune here. This place is special, this is what forests should be like. What a wonderful place.

After the most impressive hike yet, we arrived at Kuwohi: the highest point on the AT. Which is also the 200 mile mark! There is a watchtower built on top of it, which is a kind of tourist attraction. So it was a little more crowded.

Many people drive to the parking lot and walk the last kilometer to the tower. Most of them were cursing the climb, as they stopped every few steps to take a breath. It puts what we are doing into perspective.

There are still many kilometers ahead today. When we reached Newfound Gap, we heard stories from hikers heading south who said there was an aggressive bear around. Growling at the hikers. We can’t seem to get a break from the bears!

At one point, I waited a little for my dad, I shouldn’t stray too far away when there’s trouble with bears. And that’s when I heard it and saw it! It was a small bear, almost brownish. I think half the size of our smoked bear. I guess this one is especially hungry, which makes it more aggressive. But fortunately, he continued walking in the other direction.

Today I felt great again physically! Like I could walk another five miles if I wanted to. Dad has been struggling a little with his energy. I don’t think he’s eating enough calories and it’s starting to affect him. Those ramen noodles just aren’t cutting it anymore. We will solve it in the next replenishment.

We went to the shelter, but it was full! Totally full. Setting up our tents is now! There were some familiar faces, but also many new ones.

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