Date: 2022-04-10
To: View Entry
Miles today: 4.5
Weather: clear sky

We took a short day today. We slept in which felt so nice in the warm bed rather than out in the 20 degree snow and ice. It¢s supposed to get to 70 today so that¢s exciting. We did a resupply at Dollar General. Packed our bags and then checked out around 10:30am. We walked a half mile up the road to a diner for breakfast. It was so amazing! I had a fully spread of biscuits and gravy, grits, eggs, and bacon. And endless cups of coffee. It was just what I needed. I have been in a great mood all day. A gentleman named Dave picked up the tab for all 6 of us. He was really nice. We then walked about a mile into downtown to Outdoor 76, they are an outfitter here. They had so much gear and knowledge to share. They had a hiker lounge with a ping pong table. I picked up a trowel since the privy¢s will be getting scarcer from here on out. Another gentleman named Bill talked to us at the diner and offered to drive us out to the trail in his truck when we were ready. So we called him from the outfitter around 12:30. While we waited for him I called Poppop to wish him a happy birthday. He is 79. I also got to talk to nana and Emma. I told them about waking up in the snow and making the decision to get off trail for the night. It¢s still crazy to think that we woke up to 2 inches of snow on Saturday, we walked 12.5 miles with it still snowing, and then waking up to sun and it hitting 70 today.We put all 6 of us in the back of Bill¢s truck and 2 others in the front with him. He is really cool. We talked to him for a little while at the trail head. He is a Vietnam Veteran. He worked on film crews in Miami for 40 years. He claims he worked on the original Miami Vice, Burn Notice, the first couple of Fast and Furious, and worked for Carnival on their ships tv networks. I hate we didn¢t have time to stick around and talk to him.We only walked 4.5 miles up and over to a campsite for the night. So it¢s been a chill day. The whole way over the last mountain I have been pushing things and moving faster. My knees and Achilles¢ tendons are feeling so much better with these new shoes. I was whistling and singing and talking up a storm with the others. They are all a little tired today. We came across Moore Creek waterfall and I climbed down to stick my head in it. I slipped a little and my shoe got soaked. So I just stuck my whole upper body in. I finished out today with wet shoes and no shirt. It was great!Sitting around the fire Emily (Spicy Onion) was coming up with the plan for how many miles and when we would get to places to resupply ahead. It was originally her idea to book the motel and get out of the snow last night. So there were jokes about her being the ¢fearless leader¢ of the group. It¢s nice to have someone who is looking ahead and planning things. Or to make little decisions like when we were going to dinner in town. But I can¢t help but think that sticking with this group for the whole trail would slow me down. I like the group we all get along and inside jokes are developing. It would be a blast to stick right with them but I don¢t want to get so sucked in in that I can¢t make the personal decision to push on when they don¢t want to. Like today when I was in a good mood and feeling strong I could have push on and made it several more miles before sundown. But we had a plan to stop and we were all so close together it would have been hard to push past them. At the same time I don¢t see them really picking up the mileage per day in the future. I think they would ride the 12 miles a day for the whole trail. I started a conversation about being excited to push it and got the group to agree to push for 15 miles tomorrow. So I¢m pumped to push myself that far and to see how that goes over with the others. It may be that I push past them further up the trail. Right now there is a system to getting to the next resupply points and the getting through the Smokies. I am reminding myself that we are all individuals out here. Who independently decided to hike the AT. We owe no allegiance to each other. I think if I decided that I was going to push myself further than others it would be accepted. There would be jokes about me leaving the group but I think it would be okay.Well it¢s 8pm and everyone has turned in for the night. I¢m far too awake to go to sleep. Some hiker just went by us. Still moving in the last rays of day light. Well I¢m settled in for the night. So I¢ll relax and listen to some music.