Date: 2018-03-25
To: The NOC
Miles today: 16.5
Weather: light rain

I woke up at Wayah Bald Shelter at roughly the same time as always. The hike today would cover some beautiful landscape and bring myself and the crew I've been with for a while (Green Grass and Samesies) into the NOC or Nanahala Outdoor Center. We we're currently at 4700' in elevation and would peak two mountains both just about 5000' before diving into a ravine where the NOC sits at 1700'. The day was absolutely gorgeous and we scored some awesome views! We hiked through forests that had been plagued with forest fires that were partially linked to the Gatlinburg, TN fires that killed 13 people and caused tons of damage.The trail at times would walk a ridge line with only 3' of safety before dipping straight down on each side. It was wild! Not only that but the trees had all been burned and the landscape torched into an unbelievable sight. Once or twice the trail seemed to disappear as it descended so rapidly and turned corners at 180 degrees. Such an awesome hike!The descent into the NOC hurt the knees but nothing to worry about. Everyone has some minor knee pains and for good reason constantly slamming down on rocks. We thu-hikers seem to adapt as we take smaller and more deliberate steps aiming more for dirt than roots or rocks. It helps in the long run. My trail legs have definitely begun to sprout as I can do more miles, faster even with consistent breaks. What used to be a big hike (8+ miles) is a morning stroll and 15 miles is typically the expected amount with 20 easily in reach depending on the terrain and weather. It feels nice and will surely get a bit easier as time goes on.At the NOC, Samesies, Green Grass, sprout ( a 19 y/o we recently met), Armor (a Dutch man who is the nicest guy ever and wears a solar panel charger on his chest while hiking to charge his phone-- hence, armor) and myself all relaxed. It's a facility right along the river specifically for kayaking. The rapids are awesome here and we grabbed some snacks and layed out on the beach taking in the sun and drying our gear. Eventually, after many awkward stares we went to the restaurant for a proper meal. They usually sit us far away from other guests because of our smell but thats not a problem, we typically like it! I had a full pizza to myself and topped it off with beer. Samesies had to pick up a maildrop she had sent herself at the outfitter and Green Grass had to print his smoky pass. By the time they had finished it was already 4pm so we bartered with the hostel and got a fairly inexpensive room.The night consisted of us drying our gear out and giving the puppy dog eyes to a group of kayakers also staying the night cooking a huge meal. No luck. Sleeping on a mattress was nice!P.S: a week or so ago when I was in my tent for 16 hours staying warm during the snow storm I specifically remember listening to my iPod for a fair amount of time. One of the first songs to come on was my boy JT (James Taylor not Justin Timberlake) singing "Carolina in my Mind." I remember cracking up hysterically as he sang "can't you feel the sunshine, can't you just feel the moon shine" in reference to Carolina, be it, North or South. No JT, I can't feel the sunshine over the wind burn I've gotten hahaha