Date: 2017-05-15
From: Black Bear resort

To: Black Bear resort
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: clear sky

I started my day with the seed of an idea stuck in my head. The shelter 13 miles north was closed due to bear activity so I would have to hike a 17 mile day to get past the closed section (I was allowed to hike through it but not camp in the closed section of trail). I was also feeling quite unmotivated and the thought of another big day on the trail was less than appealing. I was expecting my new hip buckle yo arrive in the mail today but didn't want to wait around all day for the mail to come. All these thoughts tempted me to slackpack again because there was a trail head 13 miles north of me that I could catch a shuttle to. I convinced four other people to join me (three of which I had met the night before) so we could all split the shuttle fee. It also made us feel less guilty about taking a slackpack day. The group took a while to get rolling though and I didn't start hiking until 11. I learned some tricks from my first time slackpacking though so I was able to set myself up for success this time. I chose a reasonable number of miles this time for starters. I also used my regular hiking pack so I could still access the system I've established (to drink, eat and brush my teeth while I hike).Toward the beginning of the day, I accidentally followed a trail for .4 miles away from the AT because I was supposed to turn down a road instead. So I added some extra off trail miles to my day which made the start to my day feel even slower. I got back on track and after another mile or two, I found a campsite on lake wanuga and took a midday dip. It was my first lake swim of the season which was amazing! The water was cold but also the warmest I've been in yet this year. Traveled along the lake for a bit and then bumped into some trail magic. There's a group of past thruhikers called rif raf that brings trail magic and hosts parties for hikers before trail days each year. I bumped into the goon squad here and ate some snacks with them. They were done hiking for the day but I was heading south back to Black Bear resort and had many miles left. I had a mountain to go over next. I thoroughly enjoyed the climb. It took much less energy because I had lighter pack so I easily pushed up the three miles without taking a single break. It was quite enjoyable and most of the time I was toying with the idea of running a marathon post AT (it's always fun to think of new challenges when I'm feeling motivated). Took a long break at the top with blue bird, one of my slackpacking buddies for the day. I'm really good at taking breaks. We still had 5 miles left to do by 4:30 but the sun stays out late these days so we can get away with it. The last few miles of my day were pretty flat and wound along a large river. I've been traveling on fairly flat terrain at a low elevation recently today and there's been a lot of water! I love it. I passed Laurel Falls which was probably a 70ft drop with 5 main tiers. I ended my day with a steep rocky climb. I was exhausted but as I pushed through it, I thought to myself that there's no where else I'd rather be. Made it back to the resort around 7:45 and my belt buckle had arrived! I ate the same dinner here as the night before: poptarts, candy bars and a beer. I'm excited to have access to a grocery store again soon, it's very limiting trying to feed myself at hostels and I haven't been able to stick to my diet.