Day 11 – What Goes Up
Miles high today 16.5. Total miles 137!
Remember how I told you I was going to regret it… Boy did I ever! Worst. Night. Ever. It was a total Slip and Slide in my tent. I’d slide down, wake up, push myself back up. Repeat. Slide down, push myself back up. Repeat. It was also cold. I was not cold at night because my bag kept me warm, but when morning came and it was time to get everything put up and ready to hike I was freezing! I turned to my compatriots and said, “I’ll brush my teeth down the road. I’ve got to start hiking. I’m so cold” and I left everyone behind.
About 30 minutes after I started hiking, thinking I would warm up… It started raining. My fashion sense here on the Appalachian Trail is absolutely amazing. (Wink)
There is no way for this picture to actually show you what I see. Sometimes I feel like I am in the movie ‘Lord of the Rings’ and I’m in Frodo’s world. With all of the green mask that covers everything, sometimes this place is all inspiring.
As we started to climb Wesser Bald – this was the sign that we encountered. The fire has truly done some damage to the trail. With all the weakened roots of the dead trees there have been many trees that have fallen across the trail. The volunteers are quick to clear them, but there is so much to clear and they continue to fall with their weakened roots.
The mist continued until about 11 o’clock. Giving us a wonderland to walk in. Then the sun came out.
And the views became incredible. Below are Mark and Juergen enjoying the view.
It seems like we passed quite a few roads today in our journey to the top. At one such stop we met Mr. Waters. If you look on his Jeep you will see he has ‘shuttle’ printed. He gives rides to different hikers. He is a 90 year old vet who does this just to have some fun. He stood around and talked to us for about a half an hour and offered the guys beers. And God bless his little heart, he had a Pepsi for me.
At the top of our climb there was a tower and of course we climbed it. There was only one word to say – incredible! We had a 360° view. https://youtu.be/qJLTwzqnmc8
Then what goes up must come down. And let me tell you it was down, down, down, down, down. I climb down and then turned around and took a picture of Linda coming down-you can see the challenge that we faced.
But a Snickers makes everything better. It is the go-to choice on the trail for extra energy. And believe me we do need extra energy.
At the bottom of the mountain is the NOC – The Nantahala Outdoor Center. The Appalachian Trail runs directly through the NOC. But more importantly the NOC has a hostile and a restaurant!
They give you a towel. No sheets, no pillows, no washcloth, no amenities. Home sweet home, at least for tonight.
This place is set up much like a summer camp. They have bunks in rooms. And they have a communal shower for girls and a communal shower for boys. My compatriots and I all got cleaned up and then we headed to the restaurant for a hamburger. Along the way I came across this chair. Who remembers Edith Ann?
That’s it for tonight. I’m a happy camper. I have a mattress and a roof over my head. But most of all my bed is flat!
Tomorrow we have a huge mountain to climb. 7.7 miles up… I can’t say I’m looking forward to it.
Sweet dreams,
