The NOC and Fontana Dam

Days 14-15: April 4-5, 2015

Weather: sunny and warm 

Miles travelled: 5.9

Total miles on AT: 137.3

I walked from Wesser Bald shelter to the NOC (Nantahala Outdoor Center) right behind Morgan (Weasley) and we talked the whole time. I don't remember very clearly anymore though, it seems like so long ago. It was actually like four days ago, but I haven't had service for blogging at night. It was supposed to be all downhill from the shelter but it was kind of strange because it seemed mostly uphill and rocky.

We got to the NOC early and had lunch with Morgan's hiking partner, Margaret. It was incredible. I couldn't believe how good apple cider and a burger could taste. Morgan and Margaret went off to have a zero with their friends and I spent two nights at the NOC with Evergreen and Bumblebee. Bumblebee, Morgan, Margaret and I are all 21 and it's a really fun group. 

My mail drop wasn't there yet so I had to stick around for another day. It didn't even make it to me but Evergreen's daughter said she'd bring it to me at Fontana Dam so I decided to stay with them at least till then.

We got a free dinner from a Osprey because there was a gear/hiker festival happening when we arrived, so there were tons of hikers around. It was fun. I bought mini playing cards because they seem so useful.

The first night we spent in a hostel and took showers and the second night we stealth camped.

The whole zero day, we sat around talking to people. I did laundry. We had a campfire. Pretty uneventful, but very nice. We camped with very nice people and I fed the fire a lot so we had a big fire and good conversation.

Day 16: April 6, 2015

Weather: foggy and raining all day

Miles travelled: 6.7

Total miles on AT: 144.0

We only hiked 6.7 miles because it was mostly uphill. It still didn't take much time to get there. It felt like we were just going up and up and not getting anywhere. When I finally got to the shelter, I decided to tent because it was really loud. It rained all night and I got wet inside my tent. All of my clothes and my sleeping bag were wet too, but I'd bought a sleeping bag liner so I was really warm.

Day 17: April 7, 2015

Weather: foggy, rainy, thunderstorms 

Miles travelled: 9.1

Total miles on AT: 153.1

I packed up all my wet gear and set off in the rain. My tent was soaked and leaking out of my pack onto me all day, it was miserable. I was listening to an audiobook all day and it helped me cope with being wet and uncomfortable. There were places where you could tell there would be a really good view of you weren't in such thick fog. Lots of flowers are starting to come up.

Bumblebee and Morgan decided to go into town for a pizza buffet and ended up going and coming back in less than an hour because it was so easy for them to hitch. I decided to go on and got to the shelter at 2, with time to dry all my gear and hang out for hours. I only had to go to Fontana dam the next day, so I didn't have much left to do.