Day 8-11

Day 8: Distance hiked: 11.8 miles. After that nice recovery day, I left Dicks Creek Gap (to me the word gap is starting to mean a whole lot of downhill followed by a whole lot of uphill) and made excellent time to Muskrat Creek shelter, arriving around 2 pm. My knees seemed to be responding better and after leaving Georgia behind for good, my spirits could not have been higher. North Carolina ensured us it would be no picnic though, sending Pacman and I over an immediate 800 ft rise upon crossing the State line. All said and done, it was a great day -- I met back up with Leon and Le-dizzle again and we played cards, ate, and relaxed until nightfall. It was also the first night I left the rain tarp off my hammock so I could look at the moon and stars. It was the best I felt all trip and I was happy to be back on the trail.


Day 9: Distance hiked: 19.3 miles. I started the day with a rude awakening when my knees would not cooperate again. Searing knife-stabbing pain with every step -- uphill, downhill, or level. Not good. While gimping through the pain for a few miles, I decided that I was not going to allow my knees to win. Did my knees think they were unionized and could go on strike? Was the 12 mile work day too much for them? BS. So I decided to handle the situation the military way. If my knees wanted to give up over a 12 mile work day, then I was going to push them to do 17 + miles everyday until 12 miles became a dream vacation. Screw my knees and the pain. Because I'm not a Union, I'm not a democracy, and I'm not falling out on account of pain. This is the ******* Appalachian Trail! My body better get on board or die altogether. (I apologize for the rant but that's the kind of thinking that got me through the next few days). Anyway, so I did 19.3 miles that day, ending with Albert Mountain, the most technical vertical so far on the trail. Crazy and challenging way to end the long day. That hike also put me over 100 mile mark (first 100 down, some 2000 plus to go!). After setting up camp at Big Spring shelter, I settled into my hammock and remained for the night. 

Day 10: Distance hiked: 17.3 miles. I pushed myself through another exhausting day, ending with yet another 1000 ft climb up Siler Bald. Some of the day's highlights included splashing my head and face with ice cold water from the streams, eating a grapefruit that some guy gave me at a road crossing for letting his friend use my cell phone (he would not let me decline -- I must have looked pretty hungry and in the end was very grateful he insisted because the grapefruit was super refreshing), and making it to camp that night before the sunset.









Day 11: Distance hiked: 19.1 miles.  The hardest day to date. I pushed from Wine Springs campground to the Nantahala Outdoor Center in Wesser, NC (call it 20.1 miles, explanation below). Dramatic elevation changes throughout the day, finishing the day with a 3000 ft descent into town. Hello quads and feet. It rained throughout the night and in the morning as I packed up, so the whole morning was damp, cold, foggy, and my shoes were soaken wet. Not the most ideal conditions but I buried my head and kept trudging. When I finally reached the Outdoors Center 12 hours later, the sun was out (if setting) and the temperature difference 3000 ft from where I came from was noticeable. The Outdoors Center is awesome and I've decided to stay here another day. At ease, knees. I ran into two guys I know, Yoda and Ray, and met a few new people (Wrong Way, Yedie, and Peanut). All good guys. We ate dinner, drank beers (first beer of the trip), talked of the trail, and listened to live music at a restaurant/bar on the river. So now as to why I said the day was a 20.1 miler vice a 19.1 miler imagine this: you just hiked an exhausting 19.1 miles to the check-in counter at the lodge. The guy behind the counter then directs you to your room and he says: "You see hear, you go out those doors, over that bridge, across that parking lot, over the railroad tracks, up part of the Appalachian Trail on the other side there, take your first right on the side path, go up the hill until you hit the road, and then walk straight uphill on that road to the cabin at the very top of the hill." Great. And then imagine struggling all the way up there with your heavy, back breaking pack only to to find out he didn't include a key with the envelope he gave you...yeah, that's right.  But being at the Outdoors Center makes it all worth it.