So, my new friend White Walker and I decided to push on-first just by 2 or 3 more miles, then to the shelter 23 miles from the morning’s shelter. But, the weather was quite nice, and my legs felt like they could do more when I got to the planned campsite at 16 miles. I broke camp and started hiking at a little before 8:30 am, thinking I’d be hiking 13-16 miles. Surprisingly, the rain did not come! I spent the rest of the evening eating as much food as I could manage, setting my stuff up, and hanging out with my friends at camp.ĭay 26: Groundhog Creek Shelter to Deer Park Mt Shelter (23.0 miles, EOD 271.7)ĭay 26 was a long but really good day. She and I hiked the few miles of descent into the shelter together. After a few miles of climbing, I met a section hiker named Gups. I only had 7 miles to do at that point, but they were surprisingly difficult because I did not eat enough and the air was thick with impending rain. After making a few FaceTime calls on the wifi and forgetting to eat lunch, I headed out a little before 2 pm. A bunch of us chilled there and let our devices charge for a few hours after a week mostly off-grid in the Smokies. The resupply at Standing Bear had a shockingly good selection of vegan foods. We got trail magic after the first mile (thanks Win(e)d Up & Profesor!), & then headed to Standing Bear Hostel for a resupply. The permit deposit box at the north end of the Smokiesįingies caught up with me shortly after, and we hiked the next few miles together. It felt incredible to stick my permit in the box at the north edge-I was awe-struck by my luck at the weather we’d had throughout, and by how much we’d all hiked so far. I woke up a mile from the edge of the Smokies and hiked out in the morning. Day 25: Davenport Gap Shelter to Groundhog Creek Shelter (9.8 miles, EOD 248.7)ĭay 25 was awesome, if unexpectedly difficult for a ~10 mile day.

Big creek shelter 3