Day 22 - Mar 14

I cannot stress enough how nice it is to be sleeping in our tents again instead of a shelter. I almost slept through the night last night, which is rare for me to do at home. I only woke up once or twice... I slept good. 

We got moving at 645 again and were on trail by 8. Our morning was very easy hiking. Other than a quick 200 feet of elevation gain, spread over .3 miles or so, the first hour of the day was flat / slightly downhill. My body gets acclimated to the trail quite easily when the conditions are not straight up or straight down. I often find that if my muscles get warmed up with minimal stress, and then I stretch them, that they will rarely get sore throughout the day. 

Unlike yesterday where we spent the majority of the day climbing up and then down two large mountains, today was a combination of several ups and down. After the initial 4 miles, we gained 1700 feet over 2 miles. Then we went down 800 feet. Then back up 600, then down 1500. By 1 we had gone 12 miles. We ate lunch at Sam's gap and checked the guide book for what the rest of our day would look like. For the next 7 miles, we were going uphill, gaining almost 2000 feet of elevation. 

I havent decided which method of elevation gain I prefer yet. This morning we gained 1700 in 2 or 3 miles while this afternoon we gained 2000 in 7. When you gain elevation quickly you do become very sore, but the soreness doesnt last very long since you summit quickly. 7 miles, at least to me, seems as though the mountain never ends. Maybe it's more of a mental battle than a physical one. We'll see what happens in the future. 

Rain followed us for most of the afternoon. Thankfully we have not gotten drenched like we did in Georgia and southern NC in quite some time. The difference between a tenth or two of an inch of rain vs. an inch of rain is quite drastic. 

We did another 20 mile day today. We got to camp by 5 and had dinner made and camp set up by 630. By 715 we had eaten and hung out bear bags. Getting to camp early, especially after a long day feels great. We set the alarm for 630, which is in 10 hours and 30 minutes from now. Should be a nice night of relaxation and sleep. The rain should pick up tonight and into tomorrow morning. 

We plan on going into Erwin tomorrow for a resupply. We have also heard that there is a pizza place that offers all you can eat pizza from 11am to 4 pm. Hopefully we can get to town before 4 and devour some pizza. 

Goodnight,

Tyler M.