Due to lack of service, days 49 and 50 will both come out today

I was up early today. Which is really just code for I didn’t sleep well. For some reason, I decided that I didn’t need to put on my warm clothes last night even though I was pretty cold when I got into hammock. So it should have come as no surprise that I was freezing all night and barely able to sleep. 

But with morning came a new day and a new hike. I headed out of camp, still the last one to hit the trail, and began the walk through the ever densening (don’t think this is a word, but you get the point) forest. Some sunlight trickled through but mostly it was well lit but shaded. 

I walked gingerly for the first 6 miles of downhill. Favoring my knees and being sure to take as slow, small and deliberate steps as possible. I stopped for water and stretched out. I continued walking like this – very composed and purposeful up the next uphill. It was steep and I was drenched in sweat by the time I slowly plodded my way to the top. 

Once up there I ate lunch with a trail runner who was out for a 10 mile run because “this was the best cure for the morning after a wedding.” Sure. But she was lovely and the view was fantastic – rolling hills and tree tops as far as the eye could see. I surveyed the lands as she told me about Asheville and how crowded it had gotten during the pandemic. While she was happy to see her town grow, she said, she found herself missing the older, smaller feel. 

I walked off from there and was starting to find my stride when I passed a guy going the other way. “Trail magic in 4 miles”, he said. “Ed’s making pizzas.” And that was all I needed to get a little pep in my step. Between lunch and the extra motivation, I finally felt like I was hitting my stride. I walked down the next 2,000 ft downhill much less gingerly. I felt like I was walking again –  not just trying not to fall. 

And when I got down to the bottom, boy was there trail magic. I sat with Woodsman and had 2 fresh made personal pizzas, a soda, a lemonade and a coors lite (for the calories). We chatted with Ed who was more into telling us how much he dislike his daughters fiancé than I expected. 

When  we finally left, stuffed to the core, it was only a .2 mile walk to camp. Gator-Aide and Klutz were there already. I set up my hammock by a flowing creek, won a game of rummy and now I’m crawling into bed. 

Key stats: 

Miles: 18

Elevation gained: 3,200 ft

Mile marker: 671 

Baths in the creek: 1