We woke up at 6:45 in the Econolodge to ensure we had PLENTY of time for breakfast. Sleeping in a bed, especially with another person, is weird these days. I took another shower and shaved with shave gel. What a luxury!
We ate breakfast next door to the hotel at Log Cabin Pancake House. I had French toast with sausage links and OJ. It was amazingly good and kept me going for hours. We met the rest of the crew at the outfitter to shuttle back to Newfound Gap. I ran inside to get some Camp Suds. Dr Bronners is inferior when it comes to washing hair and I lost mine anyway. Honestly, I rarely use soap out here. If I have gunk stuck or burned to my pot I throw so dirt in there to scour it then rinse with creek water. Standards are low these days.
We fit 12 people in the FREE 10 person shuttle. When we got to the gap the winds were blowin' and the fog was movin'. There was a woman squatting down near the sign taking photos for ages. Her butt crack was hanging out the whole time so I made sure to capture the moment in the photo I took for Twist. ;-)
The terrain was pretty easy but it was a cold, rainy, long day. There were supposed to be views but the weather was too bad. I saw a few field mice but nothing else. Someone behind us saw a bear just before Icewater Shelter where we stopped for food. I have no peripheral vision with the hood of my rain jacket on, so who knows if I passed it.
My legs took a pounding today but we finally made it to the shelter. I got a spot inside! I stripped off my wet clothes and hung them on a line in the shelter to dry. I put on my nice dry clothes. There's a guy here named Towny that has the same down jacket, same down hat, and same food bag as me. We're practically twins!
I had curry cous cous (yum!), peanut M&Ms, and chocolate Carnation instant breakfast for dinner. Snickers for dessert. Dinner of champions! My food bag is so full!
It's supposed to be super cold tomorrow. Maybe rainy. I think we're doing less than 6 miles tomorrow. My legs are so worn out. I hope our gear dries by morning!
Best Thing: Breakfast and Camp Suds. I love new "gear" no matter how small.
Looking Forward To: Seeing what the weather does tomorrow. Might be pretty!
Stacey, thanks so much for sharing your adventure. I love your blog posts and appreciate that even though you must be exhausted you are are putting forth the extra effort necessary to make them!
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