Date: 2016-03-14
From: Nantahala Outdoor Center

To: Sassafras Gap Shelter
Miles today: 7.7
Weather: clear sky

Day 22 - 3/14/16 Nantahala Outdoor Center to Sassafras Gap Shelter 7.7 milesWoof, I woke up around 7am pretty hungover and exhausted. Popped tylenol and ibuprofen for my knee and head and chugged some water. Cheetah eventually woke up and was also in a little pain. We decided to have a hardy breakfast at the River's End so we walked that way. Rusty saw us and joined. The bunkhouses are in a small concentrated compound on the side of a mountain. In the middle stood a recreation hall with a kitchen, playroom and bathrooms/showers underneath. Boys and girls are separated which was a relaxing change of pace from having to make the effort to be private about everything. The NOC is cut in half by the Nantahala River with a beautiful wooden bridge connecting the two halves. The 3 of us walked across the bridge to the restaurant which shares a side with the General Store and The Outfitters. Rhodo showed up during breakfast and ordered sweet potato pancakes which were delicious. I felt much less hungover but still not like a hiker should feel. Our task for the day was 7.7 miles of straight uphill. Needless to say I was feeling some anxiety about what was to come. During breakfast all Rusty got were 2 beers. He's awesome and sure knows how to take advantage of time in town. Walking back across the bridge we ran into Lorax, The Mayor and Schwepps. Ugh, I was so embarrassed. I apologized to Schwepps for the crazy UK fan talk and hung my head. They laughed. It took Cheetah and I a while to get moving. All the other girl hikers had headed out and it took everything I had to get my butt moving and pack up my stuff. Got our pack together by 10:30am and went down to the main drag of the NOC again. We saw Corncob, AK, Quick, Turtle and his friends head up the hill. We ran into Lorax, Schwepps, and the Mayor again. Lora was trying to convince us to do a higher mileage day but we said "we'll see" with no promises. We bid them farewell and went down to the river to filter water. Ria braided my hair and then we saw Rusty yelling at us to wait. He ran over and told us that Turtle had left already and wanted to hike with us. We finally got going around 12:30pm and Rusty came with us. The 7 miles began and at first it wasn't bad. My legs were very fresh and my hangover had surprisingly vanished. It was very pleasant hiking with Rusty. He told us about how important his family is to him and how amazing his father is. His father practices "Crucial Conversations" which is also a book. Hearing him praise his father made me think of my family. How lucky I am to have this time to truly reflect on the greatness of my father, mother, brother, etc. My life has been nothing but wonderful bc of their love and support. Up and up we went. We passed a fallen firefighter memorial (RIP Wade Sutton), we passed amazing minecraft-like rock formation, and we came upon the most breathtaking view. It began raining and started to get colder. We became fatigued. As soon as our good spirits began to falter we hit the shelter. 2 stories in the shelter tonight. We all smashed in bc it was a packed house. Slept well.