Date: 2014-04-13
From: Mile # 118

To: NOC
Miles today: 19.3
Weather: overcast clouds

We were up before 7:00, we wanted an early start to get into the NOC tonight because of wet weather moving in Monday for a few days. However, we didn't leave camp before 8:00 because everything was soaking wet from a heavy dew last night. We finally got tired of waiting for the sun to make an appearance and packed our wet tents and moved on. Nothing like a little extra weight in your pack to make things more challenging. We soon came to Wayah Bald an old stone tower with 360 degree views from the top. On the way up we met Tabasco (N.C.). He was working on a thru hike last year when he fell in Pennsylvania. It scabbed over but was infected underneath and he got a staph infection from it. He finally went to a doctor when he got to New York but he had to go to a hospital for treatment. They said he was only a few days away from losing his leg. He was doing practice hikes so that he could go back to New York and finish his hike. AT hikers are a determined bunch. We met Bama, Iron Cheeks, and Dale Earnhart at the tower and we visited them for awhile. They were camping by us last night but went to bed before we could visit with them. Just before the Wayah Bald Shelter we met up again with Safety First and Wonder Bus, she had set up a challenge for thru hikers. She called it the Southern Belle Challenge, she left a couple of dresses for anyone bold enough to accept the challenge. You had to wear the dress for the entire length of the trail from one town to the next to win the challenge. There are lots of crazy hikers and lots of crazier challenges for them. One group of hikers challenged another group to hike into town and bring pizzas back for the other hikers in camp. There is a challenge called the Snickers challenge where you can eat nothing but Snickers bars as you hike through the Smokies,roughly a 5-6 day hike. We had a couple of tough climbs today but we still took time to enjoy the views from the balds, a really nice view was on top of the tower at Wesser Bald. We have been lucky to have good weather when we reach a place that you would want to take pictures. We stopped at a service road to eat an early dinner and take care of some foot problems. We were thinking pretty hard about finishing our day at the NOC and get ahead of a large group of hikers that will be seeking shelter on Monday. We met Patience, and leap frogged with other hikers that we had met that day. We stopped briefly at the next 2 shelters but moved on. We caught up with Spirit and he hiked the last few miles with us. We did about a half hour of night hiking and got into the NOC just before 9:00 at night. We met up with Grizzzelle and he showed us around the complex. This area is where the white water kayak events were held the last time the U.S. hosted the Olympics. The NOC stands for Nantahala Outdoor Center, they are probably the biggest whitewater outfitter on the East coast. It really is a neat place to visit. Unfortunately, everything was closed so we couldn't get a bed for the night, we just slept on the porch of a vacant store on the property. We did get hot showers though, 25 cents a minute, kind of like a car wash. Our feet and legs hurt so bad that it was difficult to fall asleep, but the weather was perfect for sleeping outdoors. During the night I woke up and decided to go wash up my stove and brush my teeth in the bathroom. Someone walked in while I was there and I think that I scared him half to death. He was fishing down at the river and needed a potty break. He had caught 8 nice Walleye already, I didn't even know that you could catch them in the South. I guess they like the clean stream and cold water. I am learning new things every day, I might just learn how to like the uphills before I get to Maine. The saying on the trail goes no pain, no Maine. Mailman