Friday, April 23, 2010

Day 10: Nonhikerness

I feel like a real person again! What a grand day off... It's amazing what a few modern day treats will do for your soul after 9 days of hiking...

Tried to sleep in, but was up around 7:30. Had a fitfull night of sleep since I decided to turn the heat on and chug water before bed. Had to pee TWICE and air out the hot room. (tmi?) Buuuut got up in my empty bunk room and busied myself with organizing before going to eat breakfast. The boys came round, and since Marissa drove here, she had a car and would take us supermarket shopping! Xan, Brian, Marissa and I cruised through the curvy mountain roads to Ingles in Bryson City and shopped a bit. The boys were set on bbq-ing steaks. I re-supplied for the next few days (my mom's package made it here to the NOC, too - yay/thanks!) and got some cold meds. Then it was a lazy afternoon of snacking, figuring out the next stops, and then sitting by the river. Beautiful day (and a shame not to be hiking in it) and this place is quite nice. Worth a check out for anyone close by for sure. Another one or Xan's friends, Jessica, came up from Atlanta, and we all chatted while we watched the kayakers float by and the ducks beg for food. Nice and lazy...



Later, the steaks were cooked and we all ate heartily. Chats and giggles and then on to bed. Got food, got it organized, and ate today... And that's about it!!

TOMORROW, tho, shall be another story. First of all, it's uphill for a long while... I go from 1723 feet to the first shelter 7 miles away at 4330 feet. But then the summit is up higher at 5062 feet! And here's the kicker: it's supposed to thunderstorm at more than one point in the day. SO! If it's not raining when I wake up, I guess it's run and gun (with a fuuuulllll pack) to try to make it to the shelter before a storm. OR it's wait out the storm (if it's on early) and hike in the rain and hope it doesn't storm again... We will just have to wait and see... No one's really sure what's gonna happen.

I've just taken NyQuil and am hoping for a peaceful slumber in just a few. (I secretly wouldn't mind taking a second zero day, but I know I should get back to making progress...)

OH! And so my Spot tracker is NOT working properly. Aparently, it hasn't been sending a signal since the 18th. Boo. I called their service dept today, and it seems as tho I got myself a lemon. Looks like I will probably have to ship it back and get another sent to me up the line. Sorry about that! I was looking forward to tracking me too!

(this photo is upside down)




-- Posted from the trail...

Location:Noc Way,Bryson City,United States

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

what guide book is that?