Date: 2016-03-11
From: Long Branch Shelter 

To: Wayah Bald Shelter
Miles today: 18.3
Weather: overcast clouds

I forgot to turn off the alarm on my watch, so the morning started for me (and everyone else on the top bunk) at about 6:30. I began moving around and packed up. The morning was clear, good news on a day that was supposed to be rainy. I was about the second out of camp, just after Magic Man. The miles to Winding Stair were mostly lovely and gentle and had some nice views. I also ran into a kid named Nutella who had just started the day at Rock Gap. A former thru hiker had left cases of soda right near the trailhead and I picked up a Dr. Thunder. Magic man and I started trying to hitch into town. Statler and Waldorf showed up momentarily. Soon enough, out from a line of cars pulled three identical red pickups who beckoned us into the flatbeds. Soon enough, we were speeding down the highway at 60 miles an hour, holding on for dear life. The trucks dropped us off right off the highway, near three eagles outfitters but far from the actual town and the budget inn, where I was planning to spend the night. I went in and tried to find a fix for my poles (the tips of which have sheared off, making them less "sticky") but they had none. I waited for a while in a parking lot before setting off for town with the other three. We were picked up after a few minutes of walking by another former thru hiker who brought us to the budget inn. But I was having second thoughts. It was such a beautiful day and rain was called for for the next three. I didn't want to sit around. I asked him to drive me to Outdoor 76, a local outfitter. I asked there about my poles, and they told me to look online. Turns out Black Diamond has a very easy online form for warranty claims. I had a reply in only a few hours! I'm getting some new tips. A generous but somewhat creepy man at the store just offered to buy me new poles, but I declined. I said hi to Rob, whom I had sent pictures of my feet a month ago for advice, and told him I was happy with my boots and my new insoles. I foolishly forgot to buy freeze dried meals before heading to eat a burger at the local 50s cafe. I walked down to the ingles market to resupply. After buying my groceries I was offered a ride, amazingly, by the same creepy guy from Outdoor 76. He had brought another hiker down to buy groceries. I was not very happy to take it, but I was about to, and then another old man offered to bring me to Winding Stair. I had him drive me back to Outdoor 76, where i bought a couple meals, then headed back out through the sunny afternoon. I knew I had to push, but I really wanted to make it to Wayah Bald, one of the nicest views in North Carolina, before it got dark or I got rained on. But it was 10 miles away, and I'd already done 7.3 from Long Branch. But I began hiking and hiking quick. The terrain got progressively harder and I began to feel more and more exhausted, but I made it. With the stone observation tower behind me, I looked down into the valley and away to the mountain ranges in the distance. It was a glorious glorious view, and the falling sun made it that much more lovely (plus I only had a mile of hiking left!!) I threw on some Fleet Foxes and made my way down the mountain to Wayan Bald Shelter. The campsites and shelter were pretty full, but I snagged the last spot in the shelter, not wanting to get rained on. I had found myself among a slower moving bubble of hikers, among them Rusty, cheetah, turtle, Corncob, and jelly ankles. It was already about 6:30, so I made dinner quick and was busy the whole night before bed. The most memorable piece of the evening talk is a song from Corncob, which is subject to infinite variations: "I got my crab hand,I got my normal hand,I'm bout to cut some stuff upWith my crab hand." Corncob - "Cob" - and I traded back knock knock jokes while cheetah and jelly wrote in their journals before we all turned in. The night was warm and I was looking forward to a good sleep.