Wednesday, May 27 7:09 pm 19.9 miles
AT 274.6 Laughing Heart Hostel → AT 294.5 Little Laurel Shelter
Weather: Overcast and breezy. Drizzled for about 5 minutes early afternoon
Trail Conditions: Running into a lot of people just getting back on, assumedly where they left off from. Big uphill out of Hot Springs
My Condition: Feeling great! Almost pushed on to next shelter in about 7 miles. Beginnings of hiker hunger?
Hikers Met: Father Time, Ants
Got an early start – left the hostel at about 6:45 am this morning to get on trail. Saw more bear scat on the trail today and was informed of a rattlesnake about a mile up the trail about 3.5 miles from the shelter. Have my tent set up to stay in – 3 older guys at shelter tonight – 62, 65, and 73. The trail really is for everybody! Ate loaf of lemon bread, pro bar, 2 strips of fruit leather, Greenbelly bar, block of smoked swiss cheese, half a bag of flamin’ hot party mix, 2 packs of chili ramen, 5 serving bag of pepperoni, a white chocolate blondie brownie, and some sour patch kids. Morale is high knowing all my gear is currently dry and I don’t have to choose which damp/soaking wet pair of socks to don tomorrow. Hopefully things dry out a little – the stretch through the Smokies was fairly wet and I’d definitely appreciate some good ol’ sunshine. Nearby owl calling out “who cooks for you, who cooks for you?”
Post Trail Analysis
Good ol Barred Owl! Incredibly distinct noise that you hear a ton of along the trail at night. Every once in awhile, I hear them here at home. With the trail towns that you pass right through, the descent (always a descent) is always lovely, especially with your food bag near empty and your pack as light as it ever gets. The ascent (always an ascent) out of town is a different story – burdened down by days worth of food, your pack might weigh 10 pounds more than it did on the way in to town. This isn’t helped by the post zero hangover, when your body is trying to get back into the rhythm of the trail. I made the climb out of town early when it was cool, but still ended up drenched in sweat by the time I reached elevation. Looking at what I put down food-wise, this sounds like the true beginnings of hiker hunger. In town, the pizza lasted me multiple meals. Later on, that would DEFINITELY not be the case.
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