Date: 2007-12-02
From: Sunnybank Inn, Hot Springs, NC

To: Walnut Ridge Shelter
Miles today: 13.1

Made it out of town after an interesting night. There was this kid working for Elmer, whose name was Charlie. I spent most of the evening having a discussion about corporations with him after Elmer asked me to explain why corporations and capitalism are not evil (this was after I told him that I was considering going to get an MBA in a year or two). The conversation went everywhere from Wal-mart to using money as a medium of exchange. Charlie ended up running his hands through his hair and storming off after I told him that he was profiting by being a member of a food co-op. Apparently he doesn't like to be on the receiving end of profit.Anyways, I slept well last night, and hit up the outfitter for my Smokies backcountry permit and some resupply. Apparently there was a rather large brush fire just outside of town overnight, which had everyone talking. We also spent quite a bit of time ripping on the beauty queen pageant contender who mumbled and bumbled over some question about a map (can't remember the exact question, but the whole episode is on You-tube). It all ended in about four of us yelling and shouting about how in America you can be free to be as stupid as you please. I think we scared some of the customers.Snack Time had come into town while I was running errands, so I grabbed lunch with him at the diner and split. It was a 3,000 ft climb out of town, which was pretty intense; I don't believe that my pack has ever been this heavy! I got tons and tons of junk food, including a pound of Nilla Wafers, box of fruit roll-ups, three bags of candy (Werther's, Jolly Ranchers), two tubes of Chips-Ahoy, a massive chunk of cheese, and I'm sure that I'm forgetting something other than the banana chips and Peanut M&Ms. I actually had to leave some of the food out of my food bag, because first it wouldn't all fit, and then when I was able to close the food bag, it was too large to fit in my pack how I usually put it in there!I knew that it was supposed to rain, but it hadn't rained once I got to the shelter. I lugged 6.6 pounds of water most of the way up the 3,000 ft climb because the water source at the shelter was sketchy according to the people at the outfitter. I cooked up a nice dinner of mac & cheese and hot cocoa after setting up my sleeping area. I was the only one there, but someone had left a big piece of heavy plastic, which I decided to use under my sleeping pad. The wind picked up quite a bit and leaves started blowing through the shelter wall, which I didn't take as a good sign. The shelter was built in 1938, and is in a rather significant state of disrepair. I crawled into my bag knowing that if it started to rain, I would be getting rather wet. It did start to rain, and I was able to rig up my ground cloth and the piece of plastic to keep myself clear of any blowing rain. It also got really misty, though, so everything got damp rather quickly. It was blowing and noisy enough that I couldn't sleep, which was no fun, because I needed all of the sleep I could get in order to make it through the Smokies.257.6 miles until not having to treat all of my water!Quick quote: "Add her to the 'not allowed to breed list'"--Numskull