Date: 2015-04-23
From: Cold Spring Shelter camping area

To: NOC - Nantahala Outdoor Center hostel
Miles today: 11.5
Weather: overcast clouds

Day 11 - I may have a room to myself here at the Nantahala Outdoor Center [NOC]. Wouldn't that be something? At least here at 5:55 I'm the only one in a four bed room (for $19.38).So, I walked out of Cold Spring at about 7:30 -- milepost 125.6 -- and got here at NOC around 2:00 -- milepost 125.6 -- for 11.5 on the day and a 12.46 average over my 11 days on the Trail.I got my room and an ice cream, the went to the outfitter and bought a pair of swim trunks for the lining (to make my walking more comfortable), and picked up my food box to get me to Fontana, and bought some alcohol for my stove. That all done I ate dinner at the restaurant next to the river (pizza and salad and beer). I texted Ann, and sent some pictures to Instagram and the blog.Uncle Walter sent a very nice blog comment on my trail name to the effect that my grandmother must have often entered the city gate at Lubeck over which is their motto "Concordia Domis, Foris Pax" (Harmony Within, Peace Without). How thoughtful and helpful!I saw several butterflies today, some little lavender ones, several kinds of brownish ones, and two dark swallowtails. Lots of nice flowers as I got lower in elevation. We're down at 1,723 feet here. The grand view off Wesser Bald was at 4,267 feet. Wonderful 360 degree views. I took a movie and 4 stills to try to capture it (really, a pointless task). Called Ann from up there, too.The long downhill to NOC was tough and slow. But I noticed here after getting into the room (which is across the river and up a small hill) that the walk back down to the restaurant, involving several sets of stairs and downhill paths, didn't hurt at all. Thank the Lord that I'm not trying to carry any more weight than I have.A guy at the shelter last night when I was finishing up supper came up with a full-sized guitar. Said he's carrying a 75 pound pack. Told a funny story about waking up one night in a shelter hearing the strumming of strings. He turned on a light and saw two mice peeking out of his guitar's sound hole. They'd been filling the body with nuts from his trail mix. His total weight may have been brag or estimate, but maybe not.Another guy a few nights ago (the 19th) was packing military MREs for his food. Said he ate one a day and then just snacked in between. Really? He said the weight wasn't all that different from regular hiker food, and that he got14 or 21 different meals before they started repeating. But what a load of trash they create! He had extras, too, giving one to another hiker and showing him how prepare it with its auto-generated heat pack. This was the same guy whose fiancee was hiking with him until she broke her foot a few days earlier, so maybe the extras were her meals. Anyway, they took 3 days to go 6 miles to where her parents picked her up and drove her back to Wisconsin. They're apparently planning a 1 October wedding atop Katahdin.I picked up some Pop Tarts from the hiker box in the kitchen building that's for these hostel/cabins. Been a long time since I've had any. Still kind of cardboard-flavored, but they fill me up with useful carbs. Oh, and a trail magic beer was sitting at the Wesser Bald Shelter waiting for me to pick it up; that was nice. By the way, none of these balds I've been on so far are still actually bald, which has been somewhat disappointing.Tomorrow it's about 16 miles to the Brown Fork Shelter. Then look like it's 10-12 to the Fontana Dam Shelter. I'll have to check how to get in to pick up my food box for the Smokies. that second day into Fontana is Saturday and it's supposed to be another rainy one. And it's a very long downhill to get to Fontana, almost 2,000 feet in about 3 miles. Oy!Expenses at NOC: Room, $19.38; Ice Cream, $1.59; Swim Trunks, $33.63; 7 oz. alcohol, $1.64; Dinner, $26.72. It's pretty easy to see how the kids who drop into every town anywhere near the Trail can end up spending themselves empty way before Katahdin.averaging 12.46 miles per day)