2014/4/17 Mile 240.5
Another cold morning led to a late 0815 start. I was one of the last people out of the shelter. Ice still on the ground but not nearly as bad as yesterday.
Beautiful hiking once I got myself thawed out. Not a cloud in the sky, perfect temp (50's or 60's ?), and light dusting of snow sticking around. Did some nice ridge walking and then moved on to winding trails through old pine forests.
After lunch was all down hill. 7 miles of it. I knew my right knee was going to be upset so I had an ibuprofen with lunch. Can't tell if the medicine did the trick or if the downhill wasn't that bad but by the time I hit Davenport Gap (the end of the Smokies) it was only a little stiff. Awesome.
Met a hiker named Chigger Bite at the gap who lived on Edisto Island. This was the place my family went for beach vacations while I was growing up. Small world...
Pulled into the Standing Bear Farm hostel to get my mail drop and planned to head on but some level headed hikers convinced me that two miles wasn't worth it. Rocket, who was running the place, showed me around. Kitchen, bunkhouse, beer shed, and store. Store was on the honor system and so were the mail drops.
Lots of folks ended up staying including the British guy I met way back at Neel's gap who goes by Mighty Blue. Gordy, the fireman I met yesterday, was also there. Met Sketch (a hiking artist), Sandstorm, New Heights, and a few others as they wandered in through the evening.
Hung out and made a frozen pizza from the store for dinner. Unpacked my mail dropped food and made a plan to get to Irwin. Going to try to push 20's for the next couple days and see how it feels.
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