I awoke from a dream in which I was using the bathroom, realizing with relief that I hadn't let my bladder go in my waking life. After birthing out of my tent, as it always feels, I shuffled away to make water. I didn't leave until 9:30am, but was still only the second to leave for the day (behind Tree Trunks).
It was mostly descents today leading to Laurel Falls, and the closer I got, the more I realized we were still among the Memorial Day crowd. I came to a road crossing with a parking lot and found myself surrounded by 40 people. Most of the people were black, which is only worth mentioning because we pretty much don't see anyone who isn't white, or occasionally Asian. So we smelly hikers quickly became the minority in this area. Another mile brought me to Laurel Falls, and it became apparent that there would be no escaping the day-hikers today. As I started a severely steep rocky descent to the Falls I passed a family who shouldn't have been attempting such an extreme hike. The mother was a tenth of the way down and begging her family to stop for the sake of her knees. I chatted with them for a bit before passing them, and had time to eat lunch and go for a swim before they made it to the bottom. I waffled between wanting to scold them of the danger, as they had little kids, and commend them on their efforts. I split the different and did neither, but did recommend trekking poles to the mother (she honestly complained to me that they hadn't installed handrails).
Laurel Falls was absolutely beautiful, and the best place to eat lunch so far on the trail. Tree Trunks and Rose were swimming when I got there, and we chatted it up while the tourists came and went. When the rest of our crew arrived they went swimming as well, and after a good long break we took off in search of lunch.
The rest of the hike into town was also stunningly beautiful, if not a little too crowded. Our band of merry hikers headed to town consisted of Optimus, Lavender, Purple Rain (no longer feeling ill), Pinky, Mr. Fantastic, and myself. We got to the road, and made a beeline for Subway for first dinner.
We took a long time there, enjoying the A/C and free refills. Purple Rain had already gone on to the hostel, and Pinky was working on a plan to hitch to Watauga Lake for "the big party" that he knew he was meant for.
Heading back the way we came we made our way to the Castle Hostel. Upon arriving we met up with Purple Rain, Wendigo, and Meta! While still about a day behind Meta, he got here from a different road, and was taking it easy as he had felt a little ill. It's interesting this far into the hike that when you go to a hostel there's a good chance you'll know every other hiker there.
Mr. Fantastic went across the street with Lavender and Optimus to the biker bar that housed the laundry facility. I charged my devices while watching Romancing the Stone on VHS with Meta, Wendigo, and Purple Rain. Of course I also watched the latest Game of Thrones. A lot of changes from the book, but I was very happy to finally see the Battle of Blackwater Bay!
Everyone came back from the bar, sans laundered clothes which were still drying, and I returned to it with Mr. Fantastic to eat some dinner and retrieve them. The food was tasty with big portions, and dirt cheap. Dollar draught beers makes everyone's night a happy one!
With the chores out of the way, we still plan to take it easy tomorrow. This oppressive heat makes everything much more challenging, and everyone is feeling it. We only have 7.8 miles planned for tomorrow, which will leave us at Watauga Lake to cool off and have a great place to camp. After that it's just a straight shot to Damascus down what is known as the Tennessee Turnpike, a very flat section of trail. I'm personally hoping it lives up to it's name.
