Miles Today - 18.4
Happily, it did not rain last night. Unhappily, it was saving it all for the afternoon.
The morning was warm and bright. It was going to be a hard day, with some extreme elevation loss then gain. I was a little stiff, but feeling pretty good as I stumbled onto the trail, the first one out as always.
Beginning with an ascent up to a fire tower, dark clouds were gathering overhead and a light drizzle was starting. I pulled myself to the top of the tower, briefly enjoyed the view, and then hid underneath it to chow down on some Fritos. When I got back on the trail I stupidly ended up going the wrong direction, and wasted ten minutes correcting the mistake.
After a ridiculous descent I arrived at the NOC around noon. Going to the outfitter's, I grabbed my mail drop and then went down to the river, out of the rain to open it.
Inside I found food. Oh so much food. Too much food. I grabbed some snacks to help get me to Gatlinburg, ate a huge lunch, and then packed the rest up and shipped it ahead to a motel in Gatlinburg. I briefly considered getting some hot food at one if the restaurants, but knew if I did I wouldn't want to push on anymore that day. So trying hard to ignore the guy eating a huge pizza outside I put the NOC behind me.
The next 8 or so miles were rough. The rain had settled down, but the mist had drifted in, limiting views to just about nothing. Weary and footsore, I trugded into a busy shelter. Lots of new faces, which is the norm as I mostly leave the old ones behind.
I got a corner spot in the rafters (score!) and settled in. We had a fire going in the shelter which clogged everything up with smoke. First tears were shed here, as the smoke filled my eyes trying to put out my bag. Rose arrived an hour or so after me, and from the register I learned that Bear Juice is about a day ahead. My Lo Mein noodles burned my pot a bit, so I had to scour it out some in the river. After the fire burned low we retired to our bags, the shelter still smelling vaguely of smoke. Perhaps that will help keep the mice at bay.
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