We took the free shuttle from the budget inn this morning at 9 am, and were back on the trail by 9:30. We’ve decided to start taking it a bit easier on ourselves the next few days to make sure we don’t exacerbate any of the foot/ knee pains. With that in mind, we only did about 10 miles today, but it was almost all uphill to Wayah Bald. There were some really interesting parts of the trail… the climb began with a waterfall which was nice. As we got up higher, we turned a corner on the trail, and the forest floor was covered in these little white flowers, so many that the ground looked like it was covered in a fresh snow.
On top of the bald was this big stone fire tower. We got pretty lucky that the haze of the late morning started to burn off, and we had some amazing views. Since we had a short day planned anyway, we hung out on top for probably about 2 hours, just enjoying the views, and chatting with other hikers. It’s really days like today that make me glad we’re out here.
Our camp tonight has turned into another tent city, but we’re happened to be with a bunch of other hikers that we’ve been crossing paths with since day 1. Some of the hikers here are Wet Tent, Croc, Google, Calorie, Tater, Wiki, Monarch, Trail Talker, and What’s Next. I was even given my tail name while we were all prepping dinner… Silver Fox, or SF is what’s probably going to stick. This is a pretty good group, and it seems like they’re planning to hike a similar schedule for the next few days, so I’m sure we’ll learn more and more about everyone.
In other trail news, and I don’t mean this to scare our parents, a few days ago, a hiker had gone missing. We heard this morning on the shuttle that he was found, and is fine, but it was a bit scary. We had actually been with him the night or two before he went missing at Muskrat Creek. Apparently he had fallen, and called 911 saying he was too scared to move. I guess he had wandered off on the wrong trail without his gear and was stuck out in the woods for at least one night. We had chatted with some emergency workers at Winding Stair gap the day we headed into Franklin and told them the last time we had seen him. Everyone on this section of the trail was talking about it the past two days, and everyone was of course relieved to hear that he was found safely. It’s just a bit of a reality check that what we’re doing is not easy, and things can go wrong if you’re not prepared. However, it’s comforting to know that all the other hikers out here will look after one another, and are willing to help out in an emergency.
Another couple of shorter days are ahead to prep our legs for the Smokies. Bring ’em on.
Love your trail name Alex. ..it brings tears to my eyes because Grampy was also know as the Silver Fox when he worked in the bank in Boston …he also liked to hike and once climbed Mount Washington. ..I take it as a sign that his spirit is with you and he will keep you safe..looking forward to Casey getting her name. ..Love you both ????????
Don’t kill yourselves by pushing too hard. You’ll get those miles back once you get to Virginia.