One night in the shelter was enough for me. I didn't have any problems with mice, but all those people packed in made for poor sleeping conditions. I'll stick to my tent for the time being.
I started out today around 7:15am, since the plan was for 15.2 miles today. It was rough at the offset, beginning with a climb up to Cheoah Bald for breakfast. Worth the hungry mile hike. I wanted to catch the sunrise, but was a little late (when you camp in Gaps, it's hard to tell when exactly morning begins.
Mr. Fantastic and I continued on from there, talking about subjective vs objective regarding the meaning of good and bad. It kept us moving and we made it to a shelter for lunch around 1pm. We stayed a full hour, chatting with the big crew of people having lunch there. Mr. Fantastic made some hot water for tea for Optimus, himself, and me. It was excellent, and may be one of the contributing factors to how the rest of my day went.
We had hiked 9.1 miles to get there for lunch, and had another 6.1 to go. I started out before Mr. Fantastic, and just took off. Everything just clicked for some reason. I pushed hard and found I had the capacity to do so. The last few miles included a harsh incline, a harsh decline, and a few rock scrambles; but I kept pace throughout, and even felt like I was almost jogging. I passed a lot of hikers on my way into camp, breezing past around 12 people. This energy boost saw me arriving at the shelter at 4pm, averaging my fastest pace of 3mph, while finishing my longest day-hike yet. That was a great feeling, especially paired with getting first shot at a campsite.
After setting up camp and washing my clothes and self, I got my dinner out of my bear bag. Climbing up to the shelter with my cook set in hand, I saw that a few others had arrived. I had already seen Just Brian and Cyborg at the shelter when I arrived, as well as Baramus and Tea is Ready setting up tents. Up at shelter Dick Flap, Optimus, Meta, and Stonechair had all arrived. They had all been at the same shelter last night, so we're all keeping pace.
Mr. Fantastic arrived as I was cooking my dinner. It was one of my best yet, combining Uncle Bens mixed grains with smoked flavored tuna. The best part was that the mixed grains had corn and beans in there as well. What a way to end a day that felt like pure success!
Tomorrow we arrive at Fontana Dam, which presents us with a few options. We'll either go into the small town and stay at the hostile, or move right past it and stay at the shelter which has shower access at the dam. Beyond that we're in the Smokies, and just a few days to Clingmans Dome. Big things ahead.. literally.
