The short but winding road

55°am

65° pm

8.8 AT Miles, 16.9 Total AT Miles

short but difficult path

I woke up at 07.30 and was on the road by 08.30, taking some time to repack my backpack. At first it was cold and foggy. The trail had some sharp ups and downs, which encouraged me to eat trail mix and raisins in hopes of keeping fatigue at bay for later. He wasn’t very successful in that regard. I met a hiker named Melissa who was light on her pack, we gawked at who would probably walk the slowest, and I mentioned my fatigue. She said she was staying at the ‘Above the Clouds’ hostel and was being moved around a section and they gave me her number if I was interested. As I’ve advised before, plan your trip as rigidly as a bowl of Jell-O. So I called the hostel and booked a bunk for the next two nights and planned to bring my luggage for the next day. As he continued, Melissa stayed behind, but he saw her later that night but did not recognize her outside of her hiking clothes. Lihat juga mnh4. Walking down the trail I kept hearing machine gun fire and I remember people saying that the Army Rangers train nearby (hopefully not too close).

nice afternoon

The afternoon seemed easier in terms of grades. At Devil’s Kitchen Campground, I lost the trail once again, but Duffy and his dog (Mouse) let me know I was lost. I filtered water in the creek with them and met Ty from Canada who informed us that he was pushing hard (he started a day after me) because he has to return to work before July 6th. I walked the trail filled with mountain laurel and rhododendron, nice hike. They haven’t bloomed yet but they will be beautiful in a few more weeks. Frosty and Duffy walked past me as I walked towards the end of my day.

magic trail

I arrived at Gooch Gap (end of the day’s planned hike) at 3:00 p.m. I was pleasantly surprised to meet Fresh Ground, a gentleman who owns a food truck and provides food to hikers. It does not accept donations from hikers (but does in winter to fund its efforts). I had a big salad and a grilled cheese sandwich. HIGHLY APPRECIATED! The ferry was waiting for me and others at Gooch Gap, so I didn’t ask for seconds.

Hostel Above the Clouds

While loading into the transport vehicle, I met Grandbee from Tennessee (best described as a hard-hitting Master Scout Emeritus) and Willie (a retired math teacher from North Carolina), good people. The hostel was very nice, I enjoyed a hot shower and then washed my dirty clothes. My bunk was a top bunk, I don’t think I’ve slept on a top bunk in maybe 50 years, it felt different. I bought soda and frozen pizza for dinner and was surprised to receive peach cobbler. The owner discussed the pros and cons of packaging looseness. Luckily, I took his advice because the next day was a tough 14.4 miles. It was great to rest that night in the bunk bed.

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