Day 18 - Mar 10
I cant remember if I mentioned the angle of our tents last night. Since we didnt feel like staying at the hostel after the smokies, we camped a few tenths of a mile away near the creek. There was not a single level campsite. The best we could do was set up on a slightly downhill section, with a slight lean to the left.
As you know from last night, I posted the blog around 9pm. Walker and I then stayed up somehow until 1130 talking and laughing about whatever came to mind. After realizing how late it was we went to sleep. Even with the grade of the campsite, we slept fantastic. It was mid 50's, the warmest sleeping temp yet, and an all around fantastic sleeping temp in general. Also, not being forced to sleep in a shelter was great since we both prefer to tent camp. To top it all off there was a nice flowing stream nearby that provided a nice gentle noise to fall asleep to.
We woke up and 7 and packed and ate by 815. The first half of the day was grueling. Whenever you walk into town or whatever sort of civilization the trail runs through, you descend the current mountain and then ascend the next range when you leave town. Yesterday, we descended from 5000 feet to 18 feet over the course of 5 miles. This morning, we had a 4.5 mile walk, from 1800 to 4300. Although the trail is typically comprised of up and down, the length and elevation change of the entry and exits to town are really quite something.
Once we reached the summit of snowbird mountain, our last major mountain for the day was max patch. After the early morning climb, we were so tired walking up max patch. Walkers quads were tight and my calves were once again screaming at me.
After hiking with someone for 250 plus miles, you start to notice when something starts bothering them. Walker was stretching much more frequently than he typically does so I was worried it was his knee acting up. Thankfully, and as strange as it sounds, it was only his right quad being tight. Muscle pains can typically be dealt with much easier than joint or tendon pain. I'm sure that tomorrow we will be back to our appropriate / normal soreness levels.
Upon summiting max patch, we were astonished by the views. We could see the ridgeline that we walked as we left the smokies as well as the upcoming mountains. I wouldn't be shocked if the distance we could see was over 150 miles away, really great view on top.
Max patch was mile 16 for the day. While we were coming off of the bald we could definetly tell that we were starting to get sore. I should also mention that it rained the entire day today. Not an inch per hour like it enjoyed doing in georgia, but a nice steady rain. We had planned to hike more than 15 miles today but less than 22. As we were rounding a creek bed at 430, we noticed a flat peice of ground tucked away and secluded by a group of rhododendrons. After checking out we decided to camp here for the night, making it a 19 mile day. Immediately after setting up our tents, the sky broke loose. Although we easily could have gone farther, not getting poured on after already hiking above average miles was a great reason for us to set up camp and relax for the rest of the night.
Tomorrow we will hike 14.5 miles into the town of hot springs North Carolina. We will shower for the first time in over a week and do laundry for the first time in 13 days.
You have never smelled people as bad as walker and I smell and if by the off chance you have then I apologize that you had to suffer like that.
Goodnight,
Tyler M.
As you know from last night, I posted the blog around 9pm. Walker and I then stayed up somehow until 1130 talking and laughing about whatever came to mind. After realizing how late it was we went to sleep. Even with the grade of the campsite, we slept fantastic. It was mid 50's, the warmest sleeping temp yet, and an all around fantastic sleeping temp in general. Also, not being forced to sleep in a shelter was great since we both prefer to tent camp. To top it all off there was a nice flowing stream nearby that provided a nice gentle noise to fall asleep to.
We woke up and 7 and packed and ate by 815. The first half of the day was grueling. Whenever you walk into town or whatever sort of civilization the trail runs through, you descend the current mountain and then ascend the next range when you leave town. Yesterday, we descended from 5000 feet to 18 feet over the course of 5 miles. This morning, we had a 4.5 mile walk, from 1800 to 4300. Although the trail is typically comprised of up and down, the length and elevation change of the entry and exits to town are really quite something.
Once we reached the summit of snowbird mountain, our last major mountain for the day was max patch. After the early morning climb, we were so tired walking up max patch. Walkers quads were tight and my calves were once again screaming at me.
After hiking with someone for 250 plus miles, you start to notice when something starts bothering them. Walker was stretching much more frequently than he typically does so I was worried it was his knee acting up. Thankfully, and as strange as it sounds, it was only his right quad being tight. Muscle pains can typically be dealt with much easier than joint or tendon pain. I'm sure that tomorrow we will be back to our appropriate / normal soreness levels.
Upon summiting max patch, we were astonished by the views. We could see the ridgeline that we walked as we left the smokies as well as the upcoming mountains. I wouldn't be shocked if the distance we could see was over 150 miles away, really great view on top.
Max patch was mile 16 for the day. While we were coming off of the bald we could definetly tell that we were starting to get sore. I should also mention that it rained the entire day today. Not an inch per hour like it enjoyed doing in georgia, but a nice steady rain. We had planned to hike more than 15 miles today but less than 22. As we were rounding a creek bed at 430, we noticed a flat peice of ground tucked away and secluded by a group of rhododendrons. After checking out we decided to camp here for the night, making it a 19 mile day. Immediately after setting up our tents, the sky broke loose. Although we easily could have gone farther, not getting poured on after already hiking above average miles was a great reason for us to set up camp and relax for the rest of the night.
Tomorrow we will hike 14.5 miles into the town of hot springs North Carolina. We will shower for the first time in over a week and do laundry for the first time in 13 days.
You have never smelled people as bad as walker and I smell and if by the off chance you have then I apologize that you had to suffer like that.
Goodnight,
Tyler M.
I've smelled you boys at deer camp, on the brighter side you're chewing up some miles and enjoying nature and the views. From the modern disconnect with nature imagine now what hiking in the wilderness would have entailed say 400 years ago. You would not have the advanced gear, food types, exact locations etc...
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