Day 12 - Mar 4
I got another great night of sleep last night. I had the windows open and all the blankets on. Perfect temp and I slept great. We woke up at 7, cooked some eggs and bacon, cleaned and packed up, and were out the door by 9.
We were both glad to be back on the trail. Although it is very easy to do nothing but relax and be comfortable, our purposd for coming down here was to hike the appalachian trail and it's rather hard to do that from a bed.
We got to the noc around 915, purchased some supplies, talked to a few other hikers and officially started hiking around 1015.
The first 9.5 miles of the day were straight up. Our starting elevation was 1700 and the mountain we were climbing up to was 5050.
About halfway up, Walker and I felt as if we had lost every bit of endurance we had built up. Even our lungs weren't used to breathing 4000 foot plus air. Slowly but surely our endurance came back to us. My calves stopped screaming at me as we ascended cheoah bald. I dont quite remember what time we summited cheoah but I want to say it was sometime around 230.
With half the mileage done for the day and the hardest part out of the way, we were able to get to camp by 6. This time actually surprised us because with breaks factored in we only hiked for 7 hours. In that time we went 17.5 miles. That's a really positive sign for us as 17 miles per day on average is our mileage goal.
We stopped at brown fork gap shelter and quickly realised two things. There was nobody else here yet there was also nowhere to camp. There may have been one spot for a tent but I wouldn't bet on it. So we clambered into the shelter and prepared to bed down for our first night in a shelter. What's strange is that typically shelters are just absolutely packed. This is the first one we have seen that nobody else is in or near it.
Tomorrow we plan to go anywhere from 11 to 19 miles, depending on how quickly we can resupply at Fontana dam.
Walker's and my right knee gave us some issues today. Hopefully we can regain our strength in the upcoming days.
Not much happened today apart from walking. Didnt see many people, not much to report. Good day though. It's supposed to rain tomorrow but the next 3 days, which will be our days in the smokies, should be all sun. Lovely when plans come together.
Goodnight,
Tyler M.
We were both glad to be back on the trail. Although it is very easy to do nothing but relax and be comfortable, our purposd for coming down here was to hike the appalachian trail and it's rather hard to do that from a bed.
We got to the noc around 915, purchased some supplies, talked to a few other hikers and officially started hiking around 1015.
The first 9.5 miles of the day were straight up. Our starting elevation was 1700 and the mountain we were climbing up to was 5050.
About halfway up, Walker and I felt as if we had lost every bit of endurance we had built up. Even our lungs weren't used to breathing 4000 foot plus air. Slowly but surely our endurance came back to us. My calves stopped screaming at me as we ascended cheoah bald. I dont quite remember what time we summited cheoah but I want to say it was sometime around 230.
With half the mileage done for the day and the hardest part out of the way, we were able to get to camp by 6. This time actually surprised us because with breaks factored in we only hiked for 7 hours. In that time we went 17.5 miles. That's a really positive sign for us as 17 miles per day on average is our mileage goal.
We stopped at brown fork gap shelter and quickly realised two things. There was nobody else here yet there was also nowhere to camp. There may have been one spot for a tent but I wouldn't bet on it. So we clambered into the shelter and prepared to bed down for our first night in a shelter. What's strange is that typically shelters are just absolutely packed. This is the first one we have seen that nobody else is in or near it.
Tomorrow we plan to go anywhere from 11 to 19 miles, depending on how quickly we can resupply at Fontana dam.
Walker's and my right knee gave us some issues today. Hopefully we can regain our strength in the upcoming days.
Not much happened today apart from walking. Didnt see many people, not much to report. Good day though. It's supposed to rain tomorrow but the next 3 days, which will be our days in the smokies, should be all sun. Lovely when plans come together.
Goodnight,
Tyler M.
It is fantastic when plans just fall into place. I'm glad to hear your night in the shelter was not cramped. Hope you have luck like that in the Smokies.
ReplyDeleteI'm excited that your weather will be good. Your views should be great but your overall comfort will benefit as well from no rain!
I'm sure it won't take long for your bodies to regain the hiking endurance that you may have lost on your resting days. Hope the knee pain stays away.
Have fun, thinking of you always.
Mom