Got up at 6:45am so we could catch a shuttle to a free, all you can eat, pancake breakfast at some church. It was awesome! We literally just walked in the door, and they gave us free pancakes bacon and juice. It was at a church, so they did make religious pamphlets available, but there was no hard sell. They did it every year for the through hikers and it was a good carb load for a day of hard hiking. Plus there was bacon, the best stuff on earth! We ventured to the post office and mailed our boxes to Fontana damn and grabbed a shuttle at 9am back to the trailhead. Those shuttles were very convenient! We unloaded our heavy, freshly restocked bags and resumed the hike. One of the tough parts of going into town is not only going back into the wilderness, but the fact that all the roads are in “gaps” so you are always starting the day with a serious climb. The weather in the morning was about 70 degrees, and clear. We decided to try to smash out big miles while the weather was nice, because according to the news, some nasty storms were on their way. It continued to get warmer throughout the day, and by the afternoon it was straight up, hot. Aside from the heat slowing me down, he trail became tougher than it had been. I went up and over a couple of 5,000.00 foot peaks as the sweat dripped down my face. My neck got a little sunburned and some bugs were starting to coming out. On Wayah Bald, there was a paved foot path and a stone tower. While we rested at the foot of the tower, Seth came along. We all hiked down into the gap together. In the gap, the wind picked up and we started to hear thunder. The team stopped and we debated whether to hike another 3.5 miles up to the next shelter or make camp in the gap. I didn’t like the idea of hiking up to a shelter, with an aluminum roof, at the top of a 5000 foot mountain, in a lightning storm. So we ventured off the trail toward a green area hoping to find water and a place to camp.
A huge oak tree on the edge of a strange field in the middle of the forest.
About 50 feet through the woods, suddenly we were in an open, grassy field, with a huge rotten old oak tree. Past the tree to the left was a rhododendron thicket with a small stream. As we explored the area further we found an old logging road near the back of the open area. Grass had grown up onto it, and parts were seriously eroded, but it was flat and seemed like a good enough camp spot. We all set our tents up in a straight line on the old road. Just as I buckled the last strap of my rain fly, suddenly it started hailing. Large pea sized hail pelted the back of my head and bounced off the ground. We all dove into our tents, then all hell broke loose! The storm was cracking lighting and thunder all around us. Our tents were set up close enough to talk, so we all chatted as the storm continued. Violating one of the cardinal rules of camping, we all cooked dinner in our tents. After we finished eating Seth and I ventured out into the storm to hang the bear bags. I did some “R Rated” Gold Bonding, then I layed down in my bone dry tent and listened to the storm raging around me. At some point I fell asleep.
Smooth's Appalachian Trail Thru-Hike 