April 28 2017 Friday
Miles today 11.5
Total miles 311.5
Jerrys cabin shelter to stealth camp 1.9 past laurel hostel
We started the morning later than we planned as usual haha. But, it gave us time to dry off some gear that was wet from the rain and morning dew and humidity. Out of the shelter was a 600 foot climb, but afterwards opened up into exposed open and beautiful fields where there was a campsite that would have been really cool to stay at. That happens though, if you would have just gone a little further there's always greener grass, like with anything I assume :-)
In the middle of the field, Xavier got cell service and was checking on email correspondence with big Agnes, an outdoor gear company. Their tent has been giving them issues during the rain storms so they were checking on what they should do etc so they had to take out their rain fly and snap some additional photos and provide some more info to see if they could go through the warranty process.
We got started on a regular pace around 10 am or so. I got to snack a good amount while waiting for the photos and emails to be completed and it's always great eating down the food! It's amazing how much it can weigh and I need to do better in the future about it bringing too much food or food that's too dense with mostly sugar calories. Brayden and I have been talking about getting some protein powder and/or a multivitamin for having at dinner or breakfast time. We've also read that fish oil pills are supposed to be really good for inflammation and just feeling good as well. You just have to be careful with the kind you get as it supposedly doesn't keep well in high or hot temperatures. We will have to see what's in the next town or if we can get some on amazon or perhaps someone can send us some in a resupply box.
The terrain for the first half of the day after a couple climbs was a downward trend that wasn't too steep and the weather was sunny and absolutely lovely with a breeze. Mid way thru the day there was a nice campsite area but we pressed on and planned to have lunch and a break at the shelter 0.8 miles up the hill from the campsite. We took a break at the flint mountain shelter Which had a picnic table and the shelter was really nice and clean. There were notes about a hostel and small store up ahead and we planned to stop by for a soda or snack. But we were surprised by some trail magic right at the devil fork gap road junction! A long distance hiking regular, who has done the AT twice, the Florida trail, long trail and others in Florida, said he travels around helping with AT things during the season and doing trail magic and the same in Florida. He had a sweet set up with a smaller motor home that had a huge AT symbol on it and miscellaneous stickers, he was previous military as well, and he had his mtn bike, kayak and outdoor gear right at his disposal! It's like a post trail dream come true haha. He offered us soda and beer and unfortunately had just run out of ice cream, but we each took a soda with great thankfulness. Truly, nothing is more delicious than a ice cold drink by happy surprise on this trail.
There were signs at the road for the laurel hostel just half a mile down the trail. A couple other hikers said there wasn't much there, just some sodas, beer and chimichangas. We've learned so far on the trail to always say yes to things so we decided to go by the 'hostel' anyway; it was only 150 ft off the trail. The hostel was a large shed with an interior of probably 12 by 12 with a fridge, microwave, washing machine, shower/sink, and some bunks. There was a large covered porch area, probably 12 by 20 that had a grill, lots of chairs and some makeshifted tables. It appeared to be ran by some local guys from the hollers. They seemed nice, but I don't think they had done any of the trail before. It was nice to be able to eat a calorie dense chimichanga and soda before the giant hill we were about to climb though. We didn't stay long and the food cost a few bucks but it hit the spot for me. We got a soda for the campsite later that night as well. We have learned to do that now ;-) It might not be ice cold when we get to camp, but the bubbly drink still tastes good.
We hiked up the big climb after the hostel which crossed back and forth over a small steam that built on itself until it came to a large waterfall where we filled up our sawyer bags and bottles so we would have enough water when we stealth camped at the top of the hill tonight. The spring water is ice cold and feels good now in the middle of the day to dip a bandana in it and put it on your neck or head. We decided tonight we would try to do a backcountry shower with my bladder and the dr bronners soap at the campsite tonight. We planned to hide behind our tyvek or trees etc. The shower sounded good at the time while we were sweating and puffing up the hill but once at our site, it was quite windy and we waivered on whether to go thru with it or not. We finally decided to and it was well worth it! It was a chilly experience but felt great because you could actually get sort of clean and wash off the dirt and get 'clean' as opposed to baby wipes which help, but seem to leave a residue behind. They are certainly better than nothing though!! I felt like a new person after the mini shower and we came up to have dinner. The trail apparently cut around our shower so hopefully no one saw more than they bargained for haha.
Dinner for me was ramen with lemon pepper tuna and some loaded instant potatoes mixed in. I don't use too many potatoes, just enough to thicken up the ramen if it's too watery. I also had either hot chocolate with powdered milk or breakfast essentials with powdered milk, can't tell the difference after pouring it in baggies haha. The wind didn't let up and we hung out for a bit trying to figure out our plans for getting into Erwin on Sunday or Monday until the sun started to go down and it got cooler. We retreated to our tents and called it a night. Hoping for warm toes and peaceful sleep, happy trails.
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