Today was a good day. We woke up early, just as the sun was rising over the ridge. We only had a 5.9 mile downhill walk into the Nantahala Gorge. It was a really nice hike with lots of views, sun, and a relatively easy trail.
When we got to the NOC, we went right to the outfitters to pick up our package (thanks Michelle! ) which had this round of resupply. We were excited for this one because it had a lot of the homemade dehydrated meals that we prepared for this trip. Those provide way more variety than the mashed potatoes, Ramen, and tuna that we’ve been eating so much of.
Next, the general store opened up, so we decided to get a couple of bunks for the night. This place had beer and food… we were definitely going to spend the night. Unfortunately, it was quite a climb up to the bunkhouse, and they have separate male and female bunks, but it was okay. We took showers, gathered our dirty clothes, then went back down to the general store to do laundry, then trudged back up the hill to change into the clean clothes.
Next, it was time for food and beer. We went to the restaurant attached to the NOC. Even though it was super busy, our food came out fast, which was good, because we were hungry. We ate, drank a few beers, then headed back over to the general store and bought a six pack. Pretty much the rest of the day was spent relaxing by the river, enjoying a few beers. That’s the greatest thing about the NOC… you can buy a beer or beers, and as long as you’re on their property you can drink it anywhere. It was an awesome way to spend the day.
We ran into a bunch of our new hiker friends. Some decided to move on after lunch, others decided to stick around for the night. After the first beer, I made the final decision that I would be replacing my sleeping bag… I’d had enough of being cold at night, and I wanted a down bag that would be more compressible. The camp gear guy at the NOC store was super helpful. He let me pull the bags down, get into them, roll around a bit, stuff them into stuff sacks… all to make sure I was getting the right bag. I ended up with a Nemo Fusion 30° bag, and I also picked up a bag liner to turn it into a 15° bag on those cold nights. I also cut almost a pound of weight with the new combo, so no matter what, that’ll be nice.
After the sleeping bag swap was complete, we just relaxed by the river. Slowly, more and more hikers joined us with their six packs. We just sat around, chatted, watched the rafts float by, and just enjoyed the beautiful day.
There was one bad part of the day, however. Three of our hiker friends, Calorie, Tater, and Mass Cat had their clothes stolen out of the dryer. I don’t understand who would want to steal hiker clothes. That was a bit of a lesson to us, since we actually left our dryer unattended and perused the store while we did laundry. It becomes easy to forget that not everyone is honest when you get off the trail. I know we’ll take that lesson and make sure we’re careful with our gear in town.
Even with that bit of negative, it was a nice day just hanging around with everyone we’ve been getting to know over the last few days. I kind of hope we’ll be at least someplace close to some of these folks as we hike through the Smokies. I think that’d be a lot of fun.
Sounds like a great day! You know you can change up the old mashed potatoes and tuna packets. I used to go for Zattermans Jambalaya and picked up a smoked sausage to toss in it. Everything is in one packet so trash is minimal. Remember bags of chips are 1000 calories at least and make good fire starters. Also making your own gorp is wise and packing Snickers bars (bite size are awesome) make great snacks or after dinner treats. Smokies are fun and daunting! Careful for the bears!