Date: 2012-04-17
From: Standing Bear Farm

To: Walnut Mountain Shelter
Miles today: 20.0
Weather: scattered clouds

17 April. Standing Bear to Walnut Mountain Shelter.  20 miles.   "Today we hiked 20 miles. We hiked with Beacon! We got up from the hostel at 7:00. And the day was quick.  We wanted to get a spot in the shelter and so at lunch dad walked ahead at full speed(he is very fast and I am slower) and I walked with Beacon! And it is raining very hard  but the shelter was full."               ¢Sunshine:-)  We only had 33 miles left to Hot Springs where we will enjoy our first zero.  So, we decided we would rather have a longer day today and a nearO tomorrow.  A whole day and a half off will be a great break.  We need to go into REI to exchange a silk sleeping bag liner, because it tore out at the foot on night 3.  Rumor has it that there is an Olive Garden in the same town (Asheville, NC) and you know how Sunshine craves the Olive Garden while on the trail.   We started at first light this morning and snuck out of the Hostel before the others arose.  3 hikers stayed up till 11:00 pm sitting directly in front of the bunk house door talking.  Remember, hiker midnight is at 8:00pm.  Most serious hikers go to sleep as soon as it gets dark.  One made the comment that he wouldn't be able to sleep for a while because all the "old guys" will be snoring. At 10:00, I tried to shut the door and one had to move her chair for me as it was pinning the door open.  I politely reminded them that most the others were trying to sleep, but we could still hear their condescending conversation through the thin glassed windowed door.  After these self-declared superior hikers crawled into bed, the one who assumed that us "old guys" would be snoring, began snoring louder than anyone I've ever heard before... All night.  I'm telling you, this trail is good training for survivor.    We started with 5 miles of up hill, which is one of the longest assents we've seen here so far.  It was unbelievably muggy and rain was in the forecast. After the up hill slog the trail became pretty easy with rolling hills, flat stretches, and even several miles of down hill.  We saw some great scenery along the long grassy ridges.    We are really enjoying the lunches we packed from Carolina Shelf Reliance.  We have freeze dried Sloppy Joe Mix, taco, and Chicken Salad (just add 2 mayo packs).  We add cold water, wait 10 minutes, add to tortillas and we have the best lunches ever. Their food is all so delicious! We are thrilled to have found them this year.  Its not your dad's freeze dry!  And the prices are great too.  If you do order from them include AT with your name and they'll give us 10% of your order's value towards our CDT hike.  Their web address is on our about page.  It's a win win. I'm not actually unashamedly advertising here.  Just keep it in mind if you happen to be ordering freeze dry anytime soon.  I promise You will be satisfied.  Oh, and we add 1 cup of Ham, refried bean flakes, or sausage crumbles to every meal to add calories and volume. I highly recommend this.  It really brings the "same ole" meals to life.  Where were we?  Oh, hiking.  So after lunch at 2:00, I decide to blaze ahead to find a spot for Sunshine in the shelter as rain was looming.  Beacon and Sunshine followed behind at their usual pace.  I passed an empty shelter that was 5 miles shy of our goal.  I hesitated for a moment because the heavy sky looked quite threatening, but continued on.  Of course it began to rain with fury 1 mile later.  I pushed on only to find a full shelter (of course), so I set up my tent that I had been wearing as a poncho.  I had dinner cooked and a hot cup of Oregon Chai mocha waiting for Sunshine when she arrived.  I was worried about her, but she was dry under her poncho/tent and smiling. Apparently, she talked Beacon's ear off on the way here.  Despite the rain, they enjoyed the afternoon and the coolness that the rain brought.  Sunshine and I set up her tent and collected water during a short break in the rain just before bed.  It's dumping buckets again with a strong wind.  Our plan is to wake up at 5:00 am so we can just get our last wet 13 miles to Hot Springs done and over with.