Date: 2023-04-14
From: Sassafras Gap Shelter

To: Cable Gap Shelter
Miles today: 15.4
Weather: scattered clouds

Today wasn't a bad day, but it was a day where things didn't align very well.The first 11 miles were pretty difficult. Nothing like the 3000+ climb from yesterday, but there were more climbs and they were all hundred or more foot climbs and most of them had sections where the incline was probably close to 45 degrees, if not more and they went on for a while. The biggest one was right at the beginning and it was close to 700 feet. Then once you got to the top, it was oftentimes a fairly steep climb down.After I got to Stecoah Gap, there was a pretty tough climb out buy then it leveled out pretty good. Unfortunately, right when the terrain got easier, it started raining. It would rain for an hour, then quit, rain for 45 minutes, then quit, and just for good measure when I was about a mile from the shelter I'd be staying at, it started raining again. Heaven forbid I have some dry clothes for the morning.I will also say that I do feel a bit of frustration with how slow I hike sometimes. This was most acute between Cody Gap (mile 156) and the Cable Gap Shelter (159.2). I left Cody Gap knowing that I wanted to get to the shelter as quickly as possible so that I would increase the chance that I could sleep in the shelter and not have to put up my tent in the rain. I also knew that there were others who were going to do the same thing. I don't know how much time was between when I left and when they left, but it didn't take long before I could hear them behind me. So I tried to pick up my pace and there were sections that I literally started running. Yet they were still able to pass me with about a mile still left to go. Fortunately it didn't matter because I was able to get into the shelter. Now, this isn't something I'm losing any sleep over, but it is a minor annoyance that even when I'm trying to be quicker, it's still not enough. Damn young people and their better knees and higher energy reserves.Overall though it was a good hike. I managed to get 15+ miles which will make tomorrow a lot easier. I'll hopefully be able to get to the lodge I'm staying at early and have plenty of time to relax. I'm taking the next day off as well so that I am as fresh as possible when I start the Smokey mountains. According to what I've read, this will be one of the hardest sections on the entire AT, but the views should be spectacular. Breakfast: Good To-Go Oatmeal. This was better than I expected. Usually when I make oatmeal at home, I have to put a bunch of brown sugar or some other kind of sweetener in order to eat it. This had enough stuff in it that I was able to eat it pretty easily. It still wasn't sweet enough for my liking, but it was close enough. Snack 1: Second Nature Super Omega Smart Mix. It was fine. I can't say I prefer this over the other variety or not. They are both basically just nuts.Lunch: 2 Keto tortillas with Starkist BBQ chicken packets. This would have been better warm and with maybe some greens or something else to enhance it, but it was still good enough cold and by itself. I also had a trail magic banana. I had stopped in a parking lot area on the side of a fairly busy road. Some lady pulled up, dropped off a bag of bananas and then left.Snack 2: Frosted honey bun. 720 calories in compact form.Recovery Drink: Around 5 scoops plus a full packet. I ran out of the powder I'd been carrying from the beginning and the NOC only had individual packets so I ended up making more than usual.Dinner: Mountain House Chicken Fajita Bowl: I liked this one quite a bit. The beans weren't even hard like some of the other times I've had meals with beans in them.