Date: 2015-05-27
From: Overland Shelter, aka 'the barn' TN

To: Vango/Abby Memorial Hostel
Miles today: 21.3
Weather: broken clouds

1783.3 miles to go.It wasn't raining when I woke, so I checked the weather before I even got out of bed. As I was doing that, I heard a familiar voice to my left greet me - I had been sleeping within arm reach of Dinner Roll and Pumba, but not even known it because they were asleep when I got into the barn last night!The weather looked mostly clear for the day, so I decided to pack up and hit the trail. Pockets, Sir Teensy, Gilligan, Dinner Roll, Pumba, Big Sexxxy, and Doodlebug were all hitting the trail as well, but Twister, Black Dynamite, Half Full, and Foxfeet all wanted to stay and zero at the shelter. I ate breakfast, leftovers from dinner last night: a half a bag of salad, a half bag of shredded cheese, and a half of a summer sausage. I polished it off with a cold s'mores made with a Reese's Cup instead of Hershey's. After a little chatting and a few pics, I packed up, bid them farewell, and set out. I had no real plan for the day, I just knew I wanted to get some miles.The climb out of Overmountain Shelter was pretty much steep from the get-go, but it did afford a few nice views of 'the barn' nestled in a gap. We continued up Little Hump Mountain to the top, where you could see the trail continue painfully up and over the next mountain: Hump Mountain (yes, I climbed Hump Mountain on Wednesday - HUMP DAY!!!). The trail up Hump Mountain was steep and long, but mostly a soft dirt trail through grass fields. I'm not sure which is worse: being in the woods and not knowing how much further to the top, or being on a bald mountain and being able to see exactly how much farther you have to walk!Gilligan and Sir Teensy were at the top, and mentioned that they had hiked up it in their bare feet. Going shoeless was something I had wanted to try (after giving my feet time to acclimate to the rigors of the trail), so I decided to take my shoes off for the descent. While we were up there soaking in the views (and I munched on an apple), Pumba and Dinner Roll, and then later Doodlebug joined us as well.From there, it was all downhill to the TN border, and even more downhill to the road. I only went a mile or two barefoot before washing my feet off in a puddle and putting my shoes back on, but I did enjoy the mud squishing through my bare toes. I got to the road, which I knew was the place where I had to make a decision. I could go into town, enjoy a nice shower and some good food, charge my phone, and maybe even do laundry.Or, I could push on: more miles, more sweat, more mud. But I had only done about nine miles, and had plenty of daylight left to burn! I sat to eat lunch as I contemplated the conundrum.As I ate and studied the guidebook, I realized there was a third option: a hiker hostel another 13 miles up the trail. I could get more miles, plus still recharge my phone and sleep in a real bed tonight? It was sounding good, and then I saw that if I got there by 8 pm I could buy pizzas, Ben & Jerry's ice-cream, sodas, etc at their store ... that settled it, I was going to the hiker hostel, crossing the 400 mile mark, and then pigging out on anything I wanted in celebration! I had a little over four hours, so I finished lunch (a packet of salmon, an avocado, a banana, dried apricots, and another Reese's s'more), then hit the trail.I made it to my first stopping point, Jones Falls, in 1 hour and 45 minutes. I checked the guidebook and saw that I was 5.4 miles in - I was making good time. After cooling off in the falls and drinking some water (and seeing the biggest crawfish I've ever seen - bigger than my hand!), I took off again. When I passed the next shelter right at 7 pm, I knew that I had about 3-3.5 miles left, and one hour to do it in. I kept right on going, pushing hard. Unfortunately, from the shelter to the hostel was almost ENTIRELY uphill, and there were several stretches of treacherous mud, several inches deep. I ended up getting into the hostel at about 8:15, with low hopes of getting my pizza and ice cream.Fortunately, the guy who runs it was still willing to let me buy food.Unfortunately, the oven for cooking pizza was broken. I settled for a pint of Ben & Jerry's (peanut butter cookie was the closest they had to peanut butter cup) and a few sodas. Yes, that was my dinner ... and I could have eaten more, but I knew that with my heart set on pizza, no amount of calories was going to truly satisfy me. Oh well, I should make Hampton tomorrow, so I can do a proper '400 mile celebration dinner' there.