A new day, but still gray! I woke at 6:30 this morning and it was still dark outside. Hoping that the forecast for another cloudy day might be wrong I got dressed and prepared my backpack for the day. The hostel has a waffle making machine so I mixed up some batter and made a waffle for breakfast. While I was eating, the light began to filter in and I could begin to see that the forecast was not wrong as the mountain tops were covered in a thick layer of clouds. 

Bags (the trail name of the hostel owner), met me at his vehicle at 7:30 am and we made the one hour drive on gravel backroads to my drop off point. You may recall from yesterday’s posting that I hiked north to south today, ending at the hostel I will stay at again tonight. 

Bags is a really interesting young man as I found out from our long drive this morning. Originally from Florida, he and his Mom bought the hostel property several years ago. At the time, there was no hostel on site, so he and his Mom, along with some others, built it. He is an avid hiker having traversed the AT for more than 5,000 miles but he still has not completed the entire trail. In addition to managing the hostel he and his Mom have 140 apartment units that they manage in Orlando, FL. And, he also has a side business where he oversees security operations for large music venues and shows around the country.  I would say that Bags has done a great job diversifying his career interests!

I began my hike promptly at 8:30 am and finished right at 3:30 pm. Today was my longest hike and my legs are feeling it a bit, especially after the grueling uphill climb yesterday. There is really very little that I can share with you about today’s hike that is different from prior days on this journey. I only saw one person on the trail today and it turned out to be Taj Mahal! We talked for about 10 minutes and then headed off in opposite directions. The leaves now cover most of the trail making it neatly impossible to see rocks, sticks, etc. I probably trip over these objects at least 30-40 times a day, always managing to catch myself with my hiking poles and averting a hard fall so far. But…like the spider I finally ran into yesterday, I know one of these unseen hazards will eventually take me down. I did do one stupid thing today which was to walk straight into a tree that had fallen over the trail that was just at head height. I really do not know why I did not notice it and duck, but I didn’t and I nearly fell backwards as my head cracked against the tree trunk. Man, did that hurt and left me with a headache for the remainder of the hike. 

The hostel here has a small “store” where you can buy food items. Last night I baked a frozen veggie pizza (not so great) and tonight I’m heating up a frozen chicken pot pie. All guests are expected to was their own dishes, but the drying rack was full of all kinds of dishes, bowls and utensils when I arrived yesterday evening. So, after getting my shower this evening I put everything away as best I could. Now time to wash and dry my clothes before digging in to my scrumptious chicken pot pie (which seems to have nicely burnt edges!).