Back at it.

Day 24 - 5/5/10
It's funny how quickly plans can change. My mind was set on tenting
out down the trail a bit, but I was having such a good time at Uncle
Johnny's I ended up staying in the bunkhouse again. I'm trying to be
more flexible out here, go with the flow, because anything can change
in an instant. I think that mindset has done me well thus far.

I had a late start though, leaving at 9, so most people were ahead of
me. Not Markus though, he was taking a bike into town as I left so he
could see a doctor. Send good vibes his way, he really wants to keep
hiking! When I was about a mile from Johnny's I realized I hadn't
taken 1 picture there. My bad. I guess I was so caught up in the
atmosphere or something. I wish I had because it was a nice place.
Plus there was one guy working there who looked exactly like the
Christopher Lloyd villain from the Dennis the Menace movie. He was
crazy too, he'd be cleaning the bunks and stuff and then suddenly
start throwing things around and cussing because he was frustrated
about the mess, but that's part of his job! He was a character to say
the least.

Anyway, the day ended up being another scorcher, in the 80's, so it
was a tough one. Pretty much all uphill too because being near towns
means being in a valley. At about 12 I made it to this section that
was literally a dead forest. All the trees were burnt or dying, it was
so dry and plants were brittle, like being in the desert. And I had to
hike there during the hottest part of the day. It was new and
different, but that didn't necessarily make it fun.

After that it wasn't too bad, only one steep uphill in the afternoon.
I made it to the top of that mountain and it was covered in spruce
trees. It smelled like a bad Christmas candle, just way too much pine.
It was nice shade though. Then it was pretty much all downhill to the
shelter I was aiming for, and I made it in a little before six. To my
surprise there was hardly anyone there, so most people must have
pushed farther along. I made some dinner, mashed potatoes and bacon
bits, then hung up my bag for the night. I had to use my own rope
because there aren't any cables at this shelter. Not Worthy actually
showed me this new method of tying it up that is supposed to be better
against hungry bears.

I'm pretty tired for only doing 16.6 miles today, but it's always a
little hard the first day out with a full pack of new food. I'll just
have to eat the weight down, which shouldn't be hard considering I'm
looking at a few 20's for the next couple days. I'll probably be going
over Roan Mountain tomorrow, the last one that's more than 6000 ft.
until Mt. Washington in NH. Crazy to think that. Good night, hope you
all had a good cinco de mayo!

And to Paulina, I left your message at the first two shelters out of
Erwin, so hopefully your friend gets a chance to see it.

Total miles: 356.5