This mornings hike started along the Laurel river…with the rhododendron starting to bloom.

Laurel Falls was quite impressive.

Salty negotiating some tricky trail.

It rained a bit in the late AM then the clouds started to lift. We will hike around and along the lake in the background for much of the afternoon.

After a long descent we made it down to the lake and had a snack as the clouds lifted.

It was in the mid 70’s today with 90% humidity which made for some steamy climbs.
I felt surprisingly good at the end of a 22mi day with a lot of climbing, but I’m definitely ready for bed !

  This was our campsite next to the Elk River…just about perfect other than all the dew on the ground and tents in the AM.

This was a good looking shelter about 4 miles up the trail. I stopped for water and a quick bite to eat.

Such civilized hiking… a comfortable park bench to kick back on and enjoy the view (this had to be 15 miles from a paved rd. in either direction)

The View…
this is the ridge line and Balds we hiked over yesterday The trail made a giant horseshoe over the last 30+ miles.
A quaint little cabin, but a bit drafty.
There was a forest fire that came through this area the week before. We were glad it wasn’t worse and we could now hike through. It still smelled quite strong,like a fireplace that needs cleaning.
More great views

We finished our 19 mile day by 4pm at a road crossing and being that it was supposed storm around 5pm we decided to get a cabin at the Bear Resort 1/2 mile down the road. Plus, they had ice cream, cold drinks, and all sorts of other hiker goodness. Around 5:30 the skies cut loose and we were feeling pretty smart. Several other hikers arrived during the rain completely soaked (not as smart).

Inside our cozy cabin…we shared it with another hiker (AJ) from Littleton, CO.

It was great to get a hot shower and have the time and room to clean and organize gear. We weren’t expecting to have time to do a lot of these chores until we got to Damascus in 3 days. Damascus is one of the best Trail Towns on the whole AT, plus, it’s the first town we will hit in Virginia! It’s setting up nicely for us to have a short day into town for resupply, laundry and relaxing before heading out mid afternoon the following day.

Pretty much all the nagging aches and pains have gone away, even the back muscles felt better today. Hopefully, they stay away for good. That would make the rest of this hike primarily a mental challenge. As I say, hiking the AT is 20% Physical, 90% Mental 🙂

Woke up to a cool foggy morning on top of Roan Mtn.

Some great view from the Balds on Little Hump Mtn.

The red barn has been converted into an AT shelter. What a spectacular setting!

Hiking up another Bald.

We’ve been crossing back and forth between NC and Tenn since we got to the Smokies. Now we say goodbye to NC.

This is Mountain Man. He started a southbound thru hike last August and left the trail in January and restarted mid March. He’s in the home stretch now. .

Even though we had a big 22 mile day planned we still managed time to hitch a ride 5 miles into town for Milkshakes et al.

Our driver, Mark.

AT hikers destination of choice.

This was my ride back (Mom was driving).

Jones Falls about a mile before camp.

Wound up doing 23 miles today with some minor side trips and detours. Felt surprisingly OK at the end of the day, though definitely ready to stop…at 7:45. It’s almost 10pm and I can barely keep my eyes open.

This little guy greeted me just after my 7am departure. I think he’s a newt.

More great views.

This is DirtMan, a local trail angel giving out bananas and Mtn. Dew

This would have been a great camp spot.

I met Lucky at a shelter during lunch. He’s doing a small section hike but he finished an AT thru hike last year at age 72…so impressive!

View from High Rock Knob

Delicate flowers on the way up Roan Mtn.

We entered a very dense Spruce forest before summiting Roan Mtn, our last peak over 6000′ until the White Mtns of New Hampshire.

It was a long day with a lot of climbing but definitely feeling strong and the minor nagging pains are getting better. My back still has some muscle tightness…too much constant tension between hiking and bending over (filtering water, setting up tent, etc). A good massage would be great in Damascus, VA.

It’s almost 10pm, well past hiker midnight (sundown), I’m going to bed!

The Noilchucky River flowing near Erwin, TN.

A view of the Mountains we descended from town.

Salty and I are riding bikes from our lodging into town (4-miles) for breakfast at the Huddle House (think Waffle House). Salty had coffee, two eggs, waffle soaked in butter/syrup, a double order of French fries and a milkshake. I had OJ, waffle, fries and a vanilla shake (pics next time for sure).

Ran into Odie with the Hiker Yearbook again (last seen on Day 3).

This is a footbridge over a creek we followed on the pleasant hike out of town.

Someone got creative with their log end cuts.

Trail Magic stop #1 today (sweet tea, Apple and a brownie).

The view from Beauty Bald.

Trail Magic stop #2, a can of Coke to go 🙂

We pitched our tents just in time before the rain came around 7pm on this wonderful bed of pine needles. Luckily, the rain cleared for a bit before bed.

The following are some pics Salty has taken (of me) over the last couple days. iPhones’s AirDrop makes backcountry file transfers a breeze!

I didn’t even realize we stayed in the same room as Earl Schaffer (the first AT Thru Hiker) in Hot Springs.

  This is our campsite we left this morning. A couple other folks were camped near us.
   I started hiking at 7am and climbed to the top of Big Bald by 8am…a bit windy but impressive clouds.

  
Big scary trees near the Bald…

  
Kind of looks like a haunted forest.

 
Drying sweaty gear out in the sun at a lunch break (love the hiking pole sick drying technique).

This is a video of Salty doing log Acrobatics:

I hiked with Apple Cheeks the last 6-miles to Erwin. We’ve leapfrogged her the last couple days. She’s one of only a handful of folks I’ve met who’s clearly on the “Varsity” team, bustling out 20+ mile days.
This is the same bear from several days ago…Salty forward me the pic he took.

I got into Erwin,TN today a popular trail town the AT skirts. I picked up a resupply box Andrea sent to me that should get me most of the way to Damascus, VA, one of the most well know towns on the AT (the trail runs right down main st.)

I totally forgot o get a picture this morning of our great campsite in the meadow…I need to be better at remembering those pics. The pic above is from some Trail Magic at Devils Fork Gap. Ice cream Sandwiches and soda…perfect snack eight miles in on a beautiful sunny day.

A selfie shot with some other hikers and our Trail Angel to my right. He drives his camper around all summer up and down the trail giving out trail magic.

A refreshing cascade coming down Laurel Mtn.

Salty assessing where we’ve just climbed from with the trail switch-backing below us.

This is a pic from one of the shelter registers. Andrea drew this awesome Bug Juice pic and I had it made into a stamp. The registers are a good way to keep tabs on people you’ve met who might be ahead of you and also pass along useful info to other hikers (spring is dry, bear activity here yesterday, etc).

Some wildflowers are starting to bloom.

This is how Salty (Legs) got his name.

Hiking into the early evening through a beautiful high mtn. meadow.

20 Miles has been the magic number lately as camp spots seem to keep popping up at this distance. My Achilles tightness and foot bruise was significantly better today. I was feeling strong with no discomfort until about a mile before camp. Today’s biggest bother is some muscle tightness in my lower back…oddly not from my pack. If someone out here has a foam roller I will be all set !

Packing up from tent city at 7am. It was much warmer camping at 2500′

It rained bit last night. This is the dry spot under my tent.

About 30 minutes into todays hikeI heard some rustling in the woods so I stopped. A couple seconds later a cute little bear cub scampered across the trail, then a second cub. So of course we waited until mama came out before we proceeded…and she even gave us enough time to get out the iPhone for a pic.

Hiking up Sugarloaf Mtn. under ominous skies.

View from Sugarloaf Mtn.

Then the rain came…the first time I’ve hiked in the rain so far in two+ weeks. This is the view from under my pack mounted umbrella. Best piece of gear ever. Kept me completely dry for 8hrs and I didn’t even wear a rain jacket. (Plus you don’t get that uncomfortable dampness from sweating out the jacket.)

Max Patch is spectacular even in poor weather.

Selfie with my umbrella.

You can see another hiker in the distance with their umbrella.

The green tunnel…again.

Wet and muddy boots, but dry-ish feet.

Another 20 mile day and mostly in the rain. The sun popped out for about 5 minutes before the day ended with a pretty good downpour. Luckily, the weather broke just as I was setting up camp and eating.

One of the last big views from the Smokies.

I made the smart move of not sleeping in the shelter last night and set up my tent nearby. By 7:45 pm there was a big old guy snoring like it was an Olympic event and mixing in some hacking fits every so often for good measure. Needless to say, I slept great 50 yds away, everyone else not so much. I was hit the trail with Salty by 7:15am

This shelter name takes on a whole new meaning nowadays. Also notice the sign warning about bears. Apparently, they were causing some issues over the last several days.

The temps started to warm up as the day wore on and we dropped elevation. This is me at a lunch break staying cool while drying sweaty socks out on the log. (dry helps prevents blisters).

As we dropped elevation the trees were leafing out around 3000′. We’d hit our lowest point on the trail so far at 1500′ after being at the highest point on the AT just the day before.

Wildflowers were blooming.

A rarity, hiking next to a stream )for a half mile) Splashing cold mtn.water on my face felt great!

Crossing the Pigeon River.

and then under I-40.

A short rest and snack break at the Standing Bear hostel. After the stiff climb to get there in 80 degree heat a cold Gatorade tasted great as well as a sleeve of Pringles.

There was one more 1000′ climb to our campsite to end our 20mi day. I listened to part of the audio book Bossy Pants by Tina Fey to power me up the final climb and got to camp ~7:30. I hope to get a pic of camp and post tomorrow. It’s Much past my bedtime now ( 10pm) and there is a light drizzle to put me to sleep.

The forest seems to have changed on the East side of Clingmans Dome.

Word had spread on the trail that there would be Trail Magic at Newfound Gap…although we were misinformed that it would be pancakes and bacon.

Luckily, hikers aren’t too picky…this was a Thru Hikers Dream 🙂 Big thanks to the Trail Angels from Knoxville, TN !

Happy hikers stuffing their faces.

We are now officially inside of 2000 miles to Katahdin …still a daunting number (coincidentally, my birth year).

Classic Smoky Mtns scenery.
Afternoon tree tossing competition.

The shelter was very crowded, even the tents sites were slim pickings. Look at all the food bags being hung. In the Smokies you have to stay or camp at the shelters so we start to get bunched up. Only 2 other hikers left the shelter we were at this AM. Most of the others here tonight did 8-12 miles to get here.

Overall, it was another long day. I was hiking by 7am and got into camp at 6:30pm, but the weather was fantastic again (probably about 10 hours of actual hiking.) it will be three more days until a small rest in Hot Springs, NC…that will be well earned 🙂

Sorry for not getting back to folks sooner who are posting comments…I do appreciate them! I only have good signal occasionally, so I plan to catch up in Hot Springs.