Date: 2016-03-31
From: Hiawassee, GA

To: Nantahala Outdoor Center
Miles today: 71.3
Weather: broken clouds

Day eight on the trail (March 26th) I woke up early at the Top of Georgia Hostel and had a wonderful breakfast of coffee and homemade baked goods. Before leaving I weighed my pack which came out to 40lbs ??. For only a week on the trail dropping so much pack weight was a huge feat. Especially since that was including a food bag with 5 days of rations that weighed 10.5lbs (still a bit heavy but I eat a lot lol) and 2 liters of water. I was back on the trail by 9am and crossed my first state border in to North Carolina by lunch! I made it to Muskrat Creek Shelter by 2:45pm and decided to stop there and rest my still recovering ankle. Another woman named Captain Ahab was at the shelter and shortly after a man I'd never seen before arrived. He made some small talk and seemed nice enough but then when he went to pitch his tent he started speaking and laughing to himself... I was a bit creeped out and very relieved when more guys showed up an hour later. Easter Sunday I woke to an intense fog that never really let up and the whole day I hiked in mist and occasional rain showers. Regardless of the weather a group called the Omelet Angels set up tents near the trail and provided the most amazing trail magic ever... Made to order omelets with bread and meat ??. In addition to the omelet feast they even had us put down on a menu (yes you read that right) what we would like in our takeaway sandwich pack. I couldn't believe the generosity of this group and will say that they made my day as well as all of the fellow hikers who experienced the trail magic. Monday the sun came out and I was so glad as the final ascent of Albert Mountain was quite steep so it was much safer and meant we had a fantastic view. Two miles from Rock Gap Shelter where I camped I came across my first snake which was green and about a foot long. Tuesday everyone at the campsite was super motivated to get up and moving as almost everyone had plans to hitch hike in to the nearby town of Franklin (mainly for the beer lol). I resisted the temptation of town and was rewarded with two trail magic experiences! About 4 miles in to my hike a man was giving coffee, peanut butter cookies and fruit. Then at the very end of my day at the top of Wayah Bald Tower an old thru-hiker had a whole rest station with a med kit (if needed), drinks and snacks (I ate 5 donuts haha). Since most of the hikers I've come to know the last few days went in to town most of the people at the shelter were new to me either because they started before me and are just hiking slowly or are section hiking. It's crazy how easily you bond with fellow hikers once you've shared a shelter/campsite for a few nights. Wednesday was a long day... I hit the trail by 8:20am and wasn't expecting the hike to be too intense to Rufus Morgan Shelter especially since it was mostly down hill. The hike up to Wesser Bald ended up being quite an ascent. Fortunately Raudir and I enjoyed having lunch at the top of the bald where a tower was located with amazing panoramic views. The afternoon was when the descent was supposed to begin but we just kept going up and down. Then when we finally started going down it was steep and rough. By the time we reached the shelter myself as well as Raudir and Andy (two hiking buddies I've made) were exhausted. By 6pm I was starving and ate two packets of ramen with a packet of tuna and for dessert a Butterfinger and Oreos with hot cocoa.Today we hiked a mile further and reached the Nantahala Outdoor Center where we plan on staying the entire day to run errands and enjoy cheeseburgers, pizza and beer. The neat thing is that I came to the NOC with my friend Andre around September of 2016 for white water rafting and recall seeing hikers going Southbound and thinking how intriguing that sounded and now I am one of them!! Figures and Fun Facts:Average daily mileage (first 13 days): 11.2 Avg daily low elevation: 2,917Avg daily high elevation: 4,505Hiker TV includes: watching fire, watching each other hang bear bags, watching the strange meals people assemble and of course observing nature including sunrises and sunsets