Well, I only got 7.5 miles in today. I swear it wasn’t all my fault! I was held up by trail magic and a spectacular view from Wayah Bald. I am also camped here with Woodstock, Giggles and Gemini from last night. Oh and Chef is here too. Tonka and Slingshot got picked up at Wayah Bald for a town night in Franklin. Oh and there’s also about 5132 other people here. Tent space is at a premium here at Cold Mountain, folks!
Speaking of cold, last night was… well, COLD! But is was no match for the bad ass Western Mountaineering Alpinlite, currently in my possession. I was nice and toasty throughout the night.
Morning is a different story. It’s hard to leave a warm bag and put cold clothes on. I put my clothes in the bag to warm them up first. This group I was camped with ate late-out-of-camp people like me. They’re the first I’ve seen on the trail! Somehow I fit right in by not leaving camp until 1230pm. (That was the part that was my fault, for only getting 7.5 miles in)
It’s no big deal though, it is only 11.5 miles from here to the Nantahala Outdoor Center. I’ve proven on three other occasions that I can cover that distance. To increase my chances, I will head my 6am alarm with aim to leave by 9am.
My hiking was strong today, even in the late afternoon. I think I’m finally starting to hit something resembling a stride and endurance. Tomorrow’s plan, should I pull it off will be a fine finish to this last leg of my trip.
So here we are at camp. I’ve got the best tent site on the mountain. I have pictures to prove it! Before the sun went down I took photos of the mountains as seen from my tent. After the sun went down, there were a ton of town lights down in the valley that could be seen. I tried to take a photo of that too. We’ll see if it comes out or not. Usually one needs a bad ass camera for night shots like that.
When I get to the NOC, I will be sure to update my itinerary spreadsheet with all the latest deviations. I will also try to plan out my next few weeks taking into account my current mileages. I know I need to start making more miles soon, or I won’t be able to finish this hike the way I’ve planned.
It should happen! I’m up to 11+ mile days now, so I just need to start aiming for some 15 mile days in the near future. I’ll get there.
For now, I’m going to sleep. 6am will be here soon. Night!
Wandering on…
Mojo
Hurry up I can’t wait to see you ;)!!!!!
Woohoo! Looking forward to it!
Kelly – I hope you had a wonderful Easter on the trail. I wish I could have seen the sun rise like you did. Keep up the good work.
Thanks Linda! 🙂
Kelly, sounds like you are doing great! I’m glad you feel you’ve hit your stride. You will make it all the way, I have no doubt! I look forward to your posts every day and your writing brings it all to life for me. Thank you for keeping up on your blog. I’m sure it’s hard to do that after long days on the trail, but I’m living through you, so keep it up! I can’t wait to see you! Hugs and blue skies….
Thank you Heather, I totally look forward to seeing you! 🙂