Day 14

Monday April 20

Mile 144

Sassafras Gap Shelter

Today was a short day. In hiker terms it is called a Nero, or near zero day. We only went 6.9 miles, but it was 6 miles uphill.

Heard storms roll in early this morning. Very glad to be inside instead of out in the rain again. Got up around 7:30 about the time it was clearing up. Slowly got ready, had another shower, and packed up my now mostly dry stuff.

Had pancakes, eggs and bacon at the restaurant with Blazer. Everyone else chose to eat hiker food. Not happening when I'm in a town.

Hung around for a while until everyone else started hiking. They were doing 15 miles today so they had to get an earlier start. After they left I got resupplied and Nicole made it into the noc from wesser shelter. Robert joined us for lunch, grilled cheese and a salad, and then we just relaxed until about 12:30. Got everything packed back up and started hiking about 12:50.

The first part of the climb was easy, with the sun shining and a breeze blowing. Good hiking weather. After about an hour and a half it got steeper and harder. We took more breaks and stopped at views longer.

The Jumpup view was awesome, but after that it got even harder. 900 feet elevation gain in less than a mile. It drizzled a little after that but soon cleared up. Didn't even get wet.

Made it to the shelter about 5 and set up. Lots of people here which is not a surprise as it is the first spot after the noc. Ate my dinner of snacks and relaxed for a while. Showed Nicole how to hang her bear bag PCT style.

In the tent about 8:15 only to find that my seemingly flat ground is very sloped so that I roll downhill. Great. Too late to move and too lazy. Oh well.

Overall good day with a better day planned tomorrow with the weather. Going to do about 15 miles. Should have a good view from the bald first thing in the morning. Forecast still calls for sunny all day. Yay!

Feet are decently happy and dry which is nice. Hoping that the right foot stops being sore in the morning. It is not bad just annoying.

And very surprisingly 420 was not celebrated anywhere near me today.