Date: 2014-04-24
From: NOC

To: Locust Cove Gap
Miles today: 10.3
Weather: overcast clouds

Well, we were all a little bit hungover and what better remedy is to have a morning beer which we did. At the time it seemed like a good idea but sitting in my tent exhausted after today's hike, it probably wasn't the best one we've had.   So the plan was to do ten miles today but it wasn't going to be pretty. Since we had a downhill coming into the NOC, we now had a steep uphill leaving the NOC. Almost two thousand feet of elevation gain in about 7 miles. Everyone packed up, we got some breakfast and hung out in the common room at the cabin for a bit. There were two guys there who hung out with Delaware, Yogi and Radio last night and they had some beer so we drank some more morning beers, it was shaping up to be an interesting day.    Thankfully Delaware got up first and made the move to leave and hike, I followed soon after and Mouse stayed behind for a bit. Hiking while buzzed is a new experience for me, it was fun at first, put some music and on and kept it stead on the trail. The fun soon faded away as the day got hotter and the inclines for steeper and headache became stronger, it was the trifecta if miserableness. A lot of water and Powerade was drank with many breaks during the day. I hiked solo for the most part and it was tough. I took a break and had lunch at the Jump-up which had beautiful views of the valley, I had some tuna fish and some jerky. I probably should've waited to have lunch because right after I was hiking to the top of the mountain and doing that on a full belly was pretty uncomfortable.    Soon after that climb, I stopped in at a shelter to see if anyone was there and to sign the journal. Guppy was sitting there resting for a bit and unsigned the journal, A Bear and Crews were here three days ago so they're moving along pretty quickly. I stayed at the shelter for about fifteen minutes and headed out. After another climb , I was at Cheoah Bald which was beautiful. It made up for all the uphills and miserableness of the day, it one fell swoop the wind took it all away. I stayed up there with Guppy and these two other guys, Tim and James for while but then it was time to end this day. So the last few miles were now steep downhill which kills the knees and that's what it did to mine but I wasn't stopping until I got to that campsite which I finally did. Doctor D was already there, he's a elderly guy who used to own his own ice cream truck and the kids would call him Doctor Delicious, he's a really cool, laid back guy. After setting up the tent, I made an attempt to start a fire, it's been awhile but luckily for me, the coals were still got from the night before and it didn't take much to get the fire going. About an hour later, The rest of the group showed up except for Mouse who showed up about an hour after that. When she arrives to camp, it's like she's Norm from Cheers, everyone gets happy and yells her name as she comes down the trail.    For the rest of the night, we all hung out around the campfire, eating and listening to Radio and Yogi jam out on the guitar and sing a bit, it was a good way to end the day. Tomorrow, there's a chance of rain which is always fun to hike in. I'm about to head to bed, going to test out this new sleeping pad out in the woods, Thanks again Guppy!                                                                                    Keepin' It Steady